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HISTORY 


WESTERN  MASSACHUSETTS. 


THE  C0UKTIE3  01 


HAMPDEN,  HAMPSHIRE.  FRANKLIN,  AND  BERKSHIRE. 


£MnRACINQ  AN  OUTLINE,  OR  GENERAL  HISTORY,  OF  THE  SECTION,  AN 

ACCOUNT  OF  ITS  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS  AND  LEADING  INTERESTS, 

AND  SEPARATE  HISTORIES  OF  ITS  ONE  HUNDRED  TOWNS. 


JOSIAH  GILBERT   HOLLAND. 


3n  Ciijo  ?laUme0  miii  Clirpp  '\iu\5. 


VOL.  I.— Parts  I  and  n. 


SPRINGFIELD: 

PUBLISHED     V.r     SAMUF.L     BOWLES     AND     CO:irPANT. 

18  5  5. 


Entero.d  accoirlin^  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1855,  hj 

SAJIUFX  F.OWLKS   &  COMPANY, 

1  n  the  Clerk's  Oflice  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massacbusetfs. 


SAMItKI,    nOHI.KS    it   COMl-ANY, 

Printers  mid  Storeotyiiors. 


fc\ 

H7I  ' 

v-l 

PREFACE. 


The  collection  of  the  materials  of  this  work,  their  composition,  and 
their  publication  in  weekly  numbers  in  the  columns  of  the  Springfield 
Bepuhlican,  originated  in  the  wish  to  add  value  and  interest  to  that 
paper,  and  were  simply  regarded,  at  first,  as  a  newspaper  enterprise. 
The  initial  number  was  issued  during  the  first  week  of  1854,  and  but 
a  few  numbers  had  been  presented  to  the  pubhc,  when  letters  began 
to  be  received,  from  every  quarter,  expressive  of  the  hope  that  the 
papers  would  be  placed  in  a  form  more  accordant  with  the  character 
of  a  permanently  valuable  work.  .The  writer  had  already  become 
aware  of  the  richness  of  the  field  upon  which  he  had  entered,  and 
was  only  too  happy  to  see  that  the  importance  of  his  undertaking  was 
popularly  appreciated.  To  produce  a  work  of  permanent  value,  rather 
than  one  of  passing  interest,  became  his  leading  motive,  and  the  re- 
sults are  the  two  volumes  here  presented. 

The  plan  of  the  work  has  its  imperfections,  as  well  as  its  marked 
advantages.  It  seemed  necessary  to  present,  at  first,  a  history  of  the 
whole  territory, — to  caiTy  it  through  the  period  of  settlement,  the  in- 
ception of  its  industrial  interests,  the  Indian,  and  French  and  Indian, 
wars,  the  Revolution, — through  all  those  great  processes,  events  and 
epochs  to  which  the  whole  territory  was  related  alike,  and  in  which 
its  components  were  intimately  related  to  each  other.  Then,  it  seemed 
necessary  to  exhibit  those  leading  interests  and  physical  characteris- 
tics which,  while  they  could  hardly  be  introduced  with  propriety  into 
the  general  civil  and  political  history  of  a  number  of  counties,  would 


ysioGo 


4  PREFACE. 

be  still  more  out  of  place  in  the  history  of  separate  townships.  In 
one  case  there  would  be  loss  of  congrnity  and  continuity;  in  the  oth- 
er, the  sacrifice  of  that  classification  and  grouping,  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  development  of  the  subjects  presented.  Then, 
beyond  all,  there  was  the  history  of  each  town,  of  and  within  itself, 
— perhaps  more  important  and  interesting  than  all  the  rest. 

Thus  was  the  work  naturally,  and  even  necessarily,  divided  into 
three  parts, — first,  the  outline  history;  second,  the  history  of  the  lead- 
ing interests  and  the  description  of  the  scientific  aspects;  and  third, 
the  history  of  the  towns,  of  the  region  under  historical  treatment. 
The  disadvantages  of  this  plan  are  principally  in  the  fact  that  no  town 
history  can  be  rendered  complete  in  itself,  without  a  repetition  of  cer- 
tain facts  stated  in  the  two  preceding  parts  of  the  work.  This  diffi- 
culty is  sought  to  be  remedied  by  giving  references,  in  each  town  his- 
tory, to  the  pages  in  Parts  I  and  n  where  other  facts  necessary  to 
complete  the  history  of  the  town  are  stated. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  offer  an  apology  for  the  division,  historical 
and  geographical,  of  Massachusetts,  indicated  in  the  title  of  this  work. 
Old  Hampshire  Cotmty,  extending  originally  from  the  uncertain  East- 
ern line  of  New  York  on  the  West,  into  the  present  territory  of  Wor- 
cester County,  on  the  East,  and  occupying,  throughout  that  distance, 
the  entire  width  of  the  Massachusetts  patent,  was,  at  first,  in  almost 
everything  but  the  name,  a  colony  of  itself.  The  settlements  were 
planted  in  the  wDderness,  and  the  waste  of  woods  that  lay  between 
them  and  the  seat  of  authority  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  was  hardly 
less  to  be  dreaded,  or  easier  of  passage,  than  the  waste  of  waters  that 
interposed  between  the  Bay  and  the  Mother  Country.  Its  interests 
have  been  developed  by  themselves.  Its  institutions,  habits  and  cus- 
toms have  sprung  out  of  its  own  peculiar  wants,  circumstances  and 
spirit,  and  the  history  of  Western  Massachusetts  is  but  the  history  of 
the  old  mother  county  and  her  children. 

In  the  execution  of  this  work,  the  author  has  been  assisted  by  hands 
too  numerous  to  be  mentioned.  Kind  correspondents  in  each  of  the 
one  hundred  towns  embraced  in  the  work,  have  copied  records,  gath- 
ered statistics,  and  corrected  mis-statements  after  their  publication  in 
the  newspaper.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  work  is  from  entirely 
new  and  original  materials.    That  the  labor  of  collecting  these  mate- 


PREFACE.  0 

rials,  and  arranging  tliem  in  their  present  shape,  has  been  ardttons 
and  perplexing,  does  not  need  to  be  told  to  those  accustomed  to  sim- 
ilar efforts.  But  this  labor  would  be  well  repaid,  were  the  author  not 
conscious  that  it  must  have  been  accompanied  by  many  mistakes. 
Any  one,  in  taking  up  the  second  volume  of  the  work,  will  perceive 
that  it  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  names  and  dates.  These  are 
presented  in  such  numbers  that  a  life-time  would  hardly  suffice  to 
verify  them  all.  All  that  the  author  can  say,  is,  that  he  has  spared  no 
practicable  pains  to  make  his  work  authentic,  and  that,  although  minor 
eiTors  may  be  found,  he  believes  that  it  may  be  accepted  by  Ihe  pub- 
lic as  reliable  in  all  essential  points. 

A  few  of  the  town  histories  have  been  published  unaltered,  as  they 
were  furnished  by  correspondents.  Among  them  are  the  excellent 
histories  of  Brimfield,  Greenfield,  Stockbridge,  and  perhaps  two  or 
three  others.  Some  of  them  have  been  greatly  condensed  from  their 
manuscripts,  while  others  have  been  drawn  from  every  available 
source.  Wherever  a  town  history  has  been  found  in  print,  its  pages 
have  been  freely  used.  The  town  histories  will  be  found  of  unequal 
lengths,  and  of  unequal  importance  and  interest,  in  many  instances. 
The  diflFerence  results  from  various  causes,  among  which  the  unequal 
manner  in  which  the  records  of  the  towns  have  been  kept,  relative- 
ly, is  the  most  prominent. 

In  the  Second  Part  of  the  work,  other  pens  than  the  writer's  have 
done  the  more  important  office.  The  excellent  paper  on  Geology  is 
furnished  by  Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock  Jr.,  of  Williston  Seminary, 
Easthampton;  that  on  Agriculture  by  William  Bacon  Esq.,  a  prac- 
tical farmer  of  Richmond,  Berkshire  County;  and  that  on  Education 
by  Ariel  Parish,  A.  M.,  principal  of  the  Public  High  School,  in 
Springfield.  It  is  only  justice  to  say  that  they  have  performed  their 
tasks  with  entire  success.  Without  offense  to  the  many  to  whose  po- 
liteness the  author  has  been  greatly  indebted  in  the  preparation  of 
this  work,  he  begs  leave  to  acknowledge  that  bestowed  by  Sylvester 
Judd  Esq.  of  Northampton,  Hon.  Oliver  B.  Morris  of  Springfield, 
Hon.  H.  W.  Cushman  of  Bcmardston,  Lucius  M.  Boltwood  Esq.  of 
Amherst,  Hon.  William  Hyde  of  Ware,  Samuel  Nash  Esq.  of  Had- 
ley,  and  Rev.  Emerson  Davis,  D.  D.  of  Westfield.  To  these  gentle- 
men, and  to  the  multitude  of  others,  unnamed  but  not  unremem- 
1* 


6  PREFACE. 

bered,— many  thanks!  In  the  Outline  History,  authorities  have  not 
been  given,  a  fact  which  renders  it  proper  to  say  that  the  published 
works  to  which  the  author  is  principally  indebted  are  Hoit's  Antiqui- 
ties, Hubbard's  Indian  Wars,  Dwight's  Travels,  Holmes'  American 
Annals,  Mather's  Magnalia,  and  Minot's  History  of  the  Shays  Rebel- 
lion. The  principal  published  works  consulted  in  the  preparation  of 
the  town  histories  have  been  Field's  History  of  Berkshire  County  and 
Packard's  History  of  the  Churches  and  Ministers  in  Franklin  County. 

Since  the  pubhcation  of  the  work  in  the  Republican,  it  has  been 
thoroughly  revised,  and  portions  of  it  entirely  re-written;  and,  hav- 
ing honestly  and  laboriously  endeavored  to  make  it  worthy  of  the 
place  which  it  assumes  to  fill,  it  is  submitted  to  the  people  of  Western 
Massachusetts  and  all  interested,  with  that  strong  confidence  in  then- 
kind  judgments  which  their  constant  and  cheering  interest  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  work  has  been  so  well  calculated  to  inspire. 
Republican  Office, 

Springfield,  January  1, 1855. 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  FIRST. 


CHAPTER  I. — Ijttroduction — A  Sketch  of  earlt  colonial  histo- 
KY.— Removal  of  the  Puritans  from  England  to  Holland,  p.  15 ;  Emigra- 
tion to  America,  16;  Settlement  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  17;  First  movements 
towards  emigration  Westward,  20;  The  Roxbury  people  obtain  liberty 
to  settle  at  Agawam,  21. 

CHAPTER  n. — First  settlement  on  the  Connecticut— Springfield. 
Woodcock  and  Cable  build  the  first  house,  22 ;  William Pynchon— journey 
from  Roxbury,  23;  Arrival  of  the  emigrants— their  covenant,  24;  First 
Indian  deed,  29;  First  minister,  30 ;  Destruction  of  the  Pequots,  31;  First 
local  magistracy,  33;  Agawam  becomes  Springfield — first  settlements  in 
Woronoco,  34;  Saybrook  Fort  and  its  tolls,  35;  Mr.  Pynchon  writes  a 
heretical  book— its  consequences,  37;  He  returns  to  England,  38;  First  case 
of  witchcraft  in  New  England,  40;  New  board  of  magistracy,  42;  Settlo- 
ment  of  Rev.  Pelatiah  Glover— the  "  old  Pynchon  house,"  44. 

CHAPTER  m.— Settlement  of  Northampton  and  Had  ley— erection 
of  Hampshire  County.  Purchase  and  settlement  of  Nonotuck,  45 ;  Set- 
tlement of  Mr.  Mather,  49 ;  Northampton  magistracy,  united  with  that  of 
Springfield,  50;  First  birth,  death  and  marriage  in  Northampton,  53; 
Mounts  Holyoke  and  Tom  named— settlement  of  Hadley,  54;  Erection  of 
Hampshire  County,  59. 

CHAPTER  IV.— Completion  of  the  first  line  of  settlements  on 
the  Connecticut  Riveu-Incidents  of  interest.  Town  offices,  63; 
New  settlements  around  Springfield,  64;  Grants  and  settlements  at  Woro- 
noco, 65;  Westfleld  incoi-porated,- early  physicians,  66;  Hadley  asks  for 
more  land,  68;  Hatfield  incorporated — Deerfield  settled,  69;  Settlement  of 

vNorthfield,  71;  Population  in  1673,72;  The  Connecticut  Valley  Indians, 
74 ;  The  early  militia,  76 

CHAPTER  v.— Kino  Philip's  waji— the  campaign  of  1675.  Introduc- 
tory events  of  the  war,  77;  Philip's  conspiracy,  79;  The  first  bloodshed, 
80;  Burning  of  Brookfield,  81;  Fight  near  Sugar-loaf  mountain,  84;  Slaugh- 
ter of  Capt.  Beers  and  his  men  at  Northfield,  86;  Massacre  at  P>loody 
brook,  88;  Celebration  of  the  event,  91;  Disaflection  of  Connecticut,  94; 
The  Springfield  Indians  become  enemies,  95;  Springfield  burnt,  96;  Major 
Pynchon  resigns  his  command,  99—102;  Attack  upon  Hatfield,  105:  In- 
dian murders  at  Longmeadow  and  Westfield,  107;  Operations  at  the  East, 
109. 

CHAPTER  VI.— The  campaign  of  1676.— King  Philip's  war  contin- 
HED  AND  concluded.    The  musteiing  of  forces,- attack  upon  North- 


8  CONTENTS. 

ampton,  112;  Order  fortbe  towns  to  come  together,  113;  Northampton  and 
WestUeM  object,  114;  The  collection  of  Indians  at  the  North,  120;  The 
Falls  Fight,  121;  Kew  attack  on  Hattie'd,  126;  Arrival  of  reinforcements, 
under  MajcrTalcot  and  Capt.  Ilencliman,— attack  on  Hadley,  127;  Appear- 
ance ofGofe,  the  "  Eegicide,"  128;  Ketirement  of  the  Indians  from  the 
Connecticut,  130;  Indian  massacre  at  Stockbridge,  131;  Death  of  Kmg 
PhUip,  132. 

CHAPTER  Vll.— New  Indian  dipficuxtiks,  and  tbteik  close.  Terri- 
ble massacre  at  Hatfield— seventeen  captives  taken,  134;  Captures  at  Deer- 
fleld,  135 ;  The  captives  reclaimed— peace,  136. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— Peace— THE  Courts— King  William's  Wae— Witch- 
craft—general  matters  OF  interest.  Early  attorneys,  138;  Com- 
mencement of  French  and  Indian  hostilities,  139;  First  demonstration  at 
Brookfield,— the  Indians  at  Deerfield,  141 ;  Case  of  witchcraft  at  Hadley, 
143;  West  Springfield  settles  a  minister,  146;  Settlement  commenced  at 
Wilbraham— incori  oration  of  the ThiulParish  of  Springfield— Rev.  Solo- 
moaStoddiird  of  Northampton,  147. 

CHAPTER  IX.— Queen  Anne's  War.  Deerfield  attacked,  148;  108  cap- 
tives taken,  1.50;  Death  of  Mrs.  Williams,  153;  The  party  in  Canada,  154; 
Eunice  Williams  becomes  a  savage,  155 ;  Return  of  the  captives — tlie  old 
Indian  house,  156;  Indian  muiders,  157;  Unsuccessful  attack  on  Deerfield 
— sis  men  killed  in  Brookfield,  159;  Cessation  of  hostilities,  160. 

CHAPTER  X. — New  settlements  out  the  Connecticut — first  set- 
(  tlements  ON  the  Housatonic.  Re-settlement  of  Northfield,  161 ;  Grant 
and  incorporation  of  Brimiield — death  of  Major  John  Pynchon,  162 ;  Grant 
of  the  Housatonic  townships,  163;  Their  settlement,  164;  The  Stockbridge 
Indians,  165;  Four  townships  laid  out,  between  the  Connecticut  and  Hou- 
satonic settlements,  169 ;  Progress  of  settlements  in  the  Western  part  of  the 
patent,  170 ;  Establishment  of  Worcester  County,  171. 

CHAPTER   XI.  —  Resumption  of  French  and  Indian  hostilities. 

^  Establishment  of  border  forts,  172;  Attack  on  Bernardston — affray  near 
Fort  Massachusetts,  173;  Gallant  defence  of  Fort  Massachusetts,  174 ;  The 
"Bars  Fight,"  175;  Another  affray  near  Fort  Massachusetts,  177;  Death 
of  Col.  John  Stoddard,  178;  The  "  Hobbs  Fight,"— Peace  once  more,  179. 

CHAPTER  XII.— Revolt  of  the  Connecticut  towns- The  Ceown 
Pines— The  Hampshire  bar.  The  line  between  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut, and  its  incidental  arrangements  of  jurisdiction — the  Connecticut 
towns  revolt  from  Massachusetts  181 ;  The  Pines  reserved  as  masts  for  the 
British  Nary,  182;  The  Hampshire  bar.  183. 

CHAPTER  Xm.— The  concluding  French  and  Indian  War.  Con- 
vention at  Albany,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  union  between  the  colonies, 
186:  Indian  outrage  at  Stockbridge,  187;  New  line  of  fortifications,  188;Cap- 
ture  of  women  and  children  at  Bridgman's  fort — the  Hampshire  regiment 
in  the  expedition  to  Crown  point,  190;  Fall  of  Col.  Ephraim  Williams — 
sufferings  of  the  Hampshire  regiment,  191;  Basis  of  Williams   College, 


CONTENTS.  9 

192;  Indian  murders  at  Greenfield,  193;  Close  of  the  Indian,  and  French 
and  Indian  wars,  194. 

CHAPTER  xrv.— Division  ob"  HAMPSHtRE  Countt— laitd  sales— Ne- 
gro SLAVERY — Ecclesiastical  excitement— Districts.  Berkshire 
County  erected,  196;  Courts  established— ten  townships  sold  at  auction  by 
the  General  Court,  197;  Nepcro  slavery,  198;  Eev.  Kobert  Break  called  to 
settle  in  Springfield,  199 ;  Incorporation  of  districts,  202. 

CHAPTEE  XV.— The  Americau-  Kevoltition.  Preliminary  events,  204 ; 
The  Berkshire  County  Congress,  206 ;  Pittsfield  protests,  208 ;  Hampshiro 
County  Congress,  210 ;  Minute  men  212  and  220 ;  The  Lexington  alarm— 
the  news  at  Greenfield,  213;  At  New  Salem,  214;  Convention  of  the  Com- 
mittees of  Safety,  216;  The  Tories,  224;  Establishment  of  the  National  Ar- 
mory at  Springfield,  227;  Declaration  of  peace,  228. 

CHAPTER  XVI. —The  Shays  eebellion,  its  origin  and  progeess. 
Conventions  to  consult  upon  grievances,  230;  Samuel  Ely  the"mobber" — 
mob  at  Hatfield,  231;  Mob  at  Springfield,  232;  Position  of  the  common- 
wealth, 233;  The  "Tender  Act,"  234;  Convention  at  Worcester,  236 ;  Con- 
vention at  Hatfield,  237 ;  Courts  stopped  at  Northampton  by  a  mob,  239 ; 
Courts  stopped  at  "Worcester,  241 ;  Convention  at  Lenox— mob  at  Great 
Barrington  Luke  Day,  244;  Daniel  Shays — another  mob  at  Springfield, 
245;  Another  mob  at  Great  Barrington,  248;  Another  Convention  and 
mob  at  Worcester,  251 ;  The  court  stopped  at  Springfield — troops  raised  to 
suppress  the  rebellion,  259. 

CHAPTER  XVII.— The  Shays  Rebellion— its  decline  and  sttppkes 
6ION.  Preparations  for  attacking  the  Springfield  arsenal,  261;  Approach 
of  the  rebels,  263;  The  rebels  fired  upon,— their  flight,  266;  Day's  flight 
from  West  Springfield— all  the  rebels  retire  to  Pelham,  266;  Capture  at 
Middlefield,  267;  Flight  of  the  rebels  from  Pelham  to  Petersham,  270;  The 
rebels  routed  and  dispersed,  271 ;  Operations  in  Berkshire,  278;  Eli  Par- 
eons,  274;  Action  of  the  Legislature  in  regard  to  the  rebels,  275;  Murder 
in  Bemardston,  276;  Plunder  of  Stockbridge,  277 ;  Sharp  fight  in  Berk- 
Bhire  County.  279;  Commi.ssion  of  Indemnity,  283;  Trial  and  sentences  of 
tte  rebels,  284 ;  Troops  recalled  and  rebellion  suppressed,  291. 

CHAPTER  X  Vin.- Sketches  op  Shays  and  Day— Comments  on  and 
INCIDENTS  OP  THE  REBELLION.  Sketch  of  Daniel  Shays,  292 ;  Luke  Day, 
295;  Review  of  the  rebellion,  297;  Interesting  incidents,  800. 

CHAPTER  XIX  .—Industrial  movements  and  sociai,  aspects.  Locks 
and  canals  on  Connecticut  river,  304;  South  Hadley  Canal  finished,  805; 
Dam  at  Turner's  Falls  completed,  309;  Shad  fishery,  810;  Lotteries  and 
Bridges,  311 ;  Turnpikes,  313 ;  Life  and  manners,  316. 

CHAPTER  XX.— The  war  op  1812— Conclusion  op  the  Outline  His- 
tory. Events  preliminary  to  the  war,  318;  Establishment  of  Franklin 
and  Hampden  Counties— grand  convention  at  Northampton,  821;  Gov- 
ernor Strong  and  the  federal  authorities,  326 ;  Militia  ordered  to  Boston, 
327;  The  Hartford  Convention,  328;  Conclusion,  329. 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  SECOND. 

CHAPTER  I.— The  Geology  op  Westeen  Massachtisetts.  The  Gneiss, 
835;  Red  sandstone  formation,  336;  Trap,  388;  Mica  slate,  339;  Talcose 
elate,— Lime-stone,  340 ;  Quartz  formation— Hematite,— Serpentine,  341 ;  Al- 
luvium, 342;  The  changesthe  Connecticut  Valley  has  undergone  during  its 
formation,  343;  Footmarks,  347;  Fossil  fishes,  350;  Marine  vegetables,  351 ; 
Mineral  products,- granite,  353 ;  The  Marble  and  Limestone  of  Berkshire, 
354 ;  Marble  quarries  of  Rice  &  Heebner,  Lee  Marble  Company,  Chester 
Good^le,  356;  of  J.  K.  &  N.  Freedley  and  Andrew  Fuarey,  357;  H.  S. 
Clark  &  Co.,  Mr.  Piatt,  358 ;  Frederick  Fitch,William  Milligan,  359 ;  James 
L.  Barrett  &  Brothers,  North  Adams  Marble  and  Lime  Company,  360 ; 
Statistics  of  Lime— Iron,  362;  Hudson  Iron  Works,  365;  Lenox  Furnace,— 
Stockbridge  Iron  Company,  Briggs  Iron  Company,  North  Adams  Iron 
Company,  366;  Richmond  Iron  Works,— Berkshire  Iron  Works,  367; 
Soapstone,  368 ;  Quarry  at  Middlefield,  370 ;  Firestone,  371 ;  Cheshire  glass 
works,  372 ;  Lenox  glass  works— Berkshire  glass  company,  373 ;  Lead  mines, 
374;  Roman  Cement,  377;  Points  of  scenographical  interest,  379-387. 

CHAPTER  n.— The  Agriculture,  and  Ageicultukal  Societies  of 
Western  Massachusetts.  Early  agriculture,  388 ;  Incorporation  and 
history  of -the  Berkshire  Agricultural  society,  393 ;  The  Hampshire,  Hamp- 
den and  Franklin  do.,  400;  Housatonic  do.,  402;  Hampden  County  do., 
403;  Hampshire  do.,  404;  The  Franklin  do.,  405;  Green  Mountain  do.— 
West  Hampden  do.— East  Hampden  do.,  406 ;  North  Stockbridge  Farmers' 
Club — Sunderland  do.— Northampton  ornamental  tree  society,  407 ;  Berk- 
shire Horticultural  Society— First  National  Exhibition  of  Horses,  408; 
County  statistics,  410. 

CHAPTER  in.— The  Railroads  ob-  Western  Marsachusetts.  His- 
tory of  the  Western  Railroad,  412 ;  Connecticut  River  do.,  422;  Amherst 
and  Belchertown  do.,  426;  New  London,  Willimautic  and  Palmer  do., 
427;  Hudson  and  Berkshire  do.,  428;  Hampshire  and  Hampden  do. — Ware 
River  do.,  429;  Troy  and  Greenfield  do.,  430;  Pittsfield  and  North  Adams 
do. ,  432 ;  Pittsfield  and  Stockbridge  do. ,  433 ;  Hartford  and  Springfield,  434. 

CHAPTER  IV.— The  Newspapers  op  Western  Massachusetts.  The 
press  of  Springfield,  436;  Of  Westfield,  448;  Of  Palmer— of  Chicopee, 
451;  Of  Holyoke,  452;  Of  Northampton,  453;  Of  Amherst,  458;  Of  Ware- 
of  Greenfield,  459;  Of  Pittsfield,  465;  Of  Great  Barrington,  469;  Of  North 
Adams,  471. 

CHAPTER  v.— The  Educational  Institutions  op  Western  Massa- 
chusetts. Early  history  of  education  in  the  state,  474 ;  Educational  in- 
terests in  Springfield,  478;  In  Northampton,  483;  In  Southampton,  485; 
Williston  Seminary,  486 ;  Hopkins  Academy,  487 ;  Mount  Holyoke  Female 
Seminary,  489;  Westfield  Academy,  492;  Normal  school,  493;  Monson 
Academy,  494;  Weslcyan  Academy,  495;  Education  in  Berkshire  Comity, 
497;  Pittsfield  Young  Ladies  Institute — Pittsfield  Semiuai-y  for  Young  La- 
dies—Berkshire  Medical  College,  498;  Lenox  Academy,  499;  Deerfield 
Academy,  500;  Greenfield  Schools— Shelbnrne  Falls  Academy,  501;  New 
Salem  Academy— Northfield  Institute— Goodale  Academy — Williams  Col- 
lege, 502;  Schools  of  Ware,  507;  Mt.  Pleasant  Classical  Institution,  Am 
her8t—Amhcr«t  Academy — Amherst  College,  508;  Family  Schools,  613. 
Appendix— Meteorological  Tables,  517 


I 


TAUT    I. 


OUTLINE    HISTORY. 


HISTORY 


OF 


WESTERN  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Introduction — A  Sketch  of  Eakly  Colonial 

History. 

Among  the  hills  of  Northern  New  Hamijshire  and  the 
mountains  that  abound  on  the  Southern  border  of  Lower 
Canada,  the  "  Quonektacut  River" — the  Loyig  River — 
has  its  source.  Forming;,  for  a  long  distance,  the  boundary 
between  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  it  sweeps  across 
the  Western  portion  of  Massachusetts,  and,  passing  through 
the  State  to  which  it  has  given  its  name,  discharges  its  pure 
waters  into  the  sea.  Another  natural  feature — the  Green 
Mountain  range — originates  in  the  same  Northern  latitude, 
and,  giving  its  name  to  Vermont,  traverses  that  State,  and 
rolling  across  Massachusetts  still  further  West,  passes  into 
Connecticut,  and  loses  itself  upon  its  seaward  looking;  plains. 
In  their  passage  through  Massachusetts,  the  river  and  the 
mountain  range  have  imparted  to  the  section  they  traverse 
the  grandeur  and  beauty  that  characterize  its  surface.  The 
three  counties  of  Hampden,  Hampshire  and  Franklin  are 
Strung  upon  the  river  as  upon  a  silver  cord.     Fertile  and 


14  INTHODUCTORT. 

beautiful  meadows  spread  out  ou  either  band,  until  tbey 
meet  the  Eastern  and  Western  slopes  that  gather  tribute 
ior  the  sea-bound  stream.  This  river,  these  meadows, 
these  inward  looking  slopes,  and  these  tributary  streams, 
have  determined  the  character  of  the  industry  which  has 
appropriated  them  to  the  purposes  of  human  life.  There 
is  hardly  a  farm  or  a  workshop,  a  dwelling  or  a  church,  a 
road  or  a  mill,  but  is  connected  in  some  way  with  Connec- 
ticut River.  Its  waters  feed  the  pride  of  local  feeling,  and 
mingle  w^ith  every  local  association.  Thus,  also,  has  the 
Green  Mountain  range  given  its  character  to  Berkshire 
County,  and  thus  shaped  there  the  plastic  forms  of  Indus- 
try. The  streams  that  gather  on  the  mountain  sides  turn 
the  wheels  of  lonely  or  clustered  manufactures,  herds  and 
flocks  feed  upon  the  sweet  grasses  that  grow  among  the 
rocks  and  upon  the  smoother  slopes,  while  many  a  favored 
home-lot  nestles  down  upon  a  broad  interval,  watered  by  a 
stream  that ,  has  found  a  smooth  path,  and  shutout  from 
bleak  winds  by  the  elevations  that  rise  on  every  side. 

The  four  counties  that  have  thus  received  the  impress  of 
two  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  natural  features  of  New 
England  scenery,  are  spoken  of  in  comiection  as  "  "West- 
ern Massachusetts."  But  two  brief  centuries  ago, 
they  were  the  home  mid  hunting  ground  of  the  red  man. 
Where  now  the  homestead  spreads  its  well  tilled  acres,  the 
camp  or  the  council  fire  sent  its  smoke  up  through  the 
trees.  Where  now  the  busy  wheel  drives  the  noisy  loom, 
the  savage  stalked  alone,  or  gathered  with  rude  strategem 
his  tribute  from  the  flood.  Where  the  church  and  the 
school-house  now  stand,  the  Indian  built  his  wngwam,  and 
planted  his  corn.  This  beautiful  realm,  thus  won  from  a 
wilderness  by  toil,  and  defended  at  the  cost  of  much  pre- 
cious blood,  has  had,  of  course,  an  interesting  history, 
which  will  be  alike  instructive  and  entertaining  to  all  who 
now  dwell  within  its  borders.  The  links  of  association  that 
bind  our  population  to  the  past,  though  long,  are  strong. 
Multitudes  who  now  till  the  soil  of  the  Valley,  or  pursue 
the  rougher  husbandry  of  the  Berkshire  hills,  bear  the 
names  and  the  blood  of  the  first  settlers,  while  the  streams, 
hills,  and  meadows,  from  the  Ilousatonic  to  the  Connecti- 
cut, and  from  Hoosac  to  Taghconic,  arc  still  called  by 
names  first  shaped  by  the  Indian  tongue. 


THE   riLGRIMS    EMIGRATE.  15 

"  Ye  say  their  cone-like  cabins 

That  clustered  o'er  the  vale, 
Have  disappearetl  as  Avithered  leaves 

Before  the  Autumn's  gale; 
But  their  memory  liveth  on  your  hills, 

Their  Baptism  on  your  shore, 
Your  everlasting  rivers  speak 

Their  dialect  of  yore." 

This  region,  thus  beautiful  in  its  natural  scenery,  and 
thus  interesting  in  its  history ;  thus  varied  in  its  industry, 
and  thus  inhabited  by  the  descendents  of  the  noblest  men 
that  ever  founded  a  nation,  must  have  a  glorious  destiny  ; 
and  facts  and  statistics  that  will  enable  its  inhabitants  to 
form  an  estimate  of  that  destiny,  material  and  moral,  can- 
not but  be  regarded  with  lively  concern.  It  is  the  present 
purpose  to  recount  this  history,  and  present  these  facts  and 
statistics. 

The  history  of  the  first  sixteen  years  of  colonial  life  in 
Massachusetts  is  familiar  to  every  New  Englander,  but  it 
may  not  be  inappropriate  to  introduce  it,  and  pass  it  in  brief 
review.     In  1G02,  a  little  band  of  Puritans,  in  the  South 
of  England,  moved  alike  by  persecution  and  their  own  re- 
ligious convictions,  made  a  covenant  "  to  walk  with  God 
and  one  another  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  ordinances  of  God, 
according  to  the  primitive  fashion."     Among  these  wa^  Mr. 
Robinson,  a  learned  and  godly  minister,  who,  with  a  large 
number  of  his  congi'cgation,  left  England,  and  sought  in 
Holland  for  tliat  freedom  of  religious  worship   which  his 
own  country  denied  him.     First  settling  in  Amsterdam, 
they  removed  to  Leyden  in  1609,  and  there  they  lived, 
thought,  prayed,  and  worshii^ed,  in  accordance  with  the  lib- 
erality  of  their  ideas  and  the  straitness   of  their  creed. 
Though  they  bad  escaped  one  evil,  they  ran  into  another 
scarcely   less   perplexing.     The    Dutch   around,   and   on 
pleasant  terms  with  them,  were  dissolute,  and  corrupted 
the  raorals  and   mainiei's   of  the  Puritan  youth.     So,  in 
1G17,  Mi\  Robinson's  flock  began  to  talk  about  removing  to 
America,  thus   securing  the  double  object  of  religious  lib- 
erty and  exclusive  religious  society.     They  had,  too,  un- 
doubtedlv,    hitrher  motives   tlian  these,  —  motives   which 
reached  forward  to  the  establishment,  in  a  coming  cmpn-e, 
of  a  simple,  model  church,  that  should  grow,  and  be  pei'- 


16  EARLY     COLONIAL     HISTORY. 

petiial.  It  was  a  day  of  prayer,  and  solemn  consultation, 
and  of  hope,  doubt,  fear  and  faith,  when,  in  1G19,  a  por- 
tion of  Mr.  Robinson's  congregation  concluded  to  emigrate. 
The  arrangements  were  made,  the  Speedwell  lay  rocking 
at  Delft  Haven,  and  the  night  previous  to  the  embarkation 
was  spent  in  tears  and  prayers,  with  the  good  friends  in 
Amsterdam  and  Leyden  who  were  to  remain  beliind.  They 
embraced  each  other,  they  bestowed  upon  one  another  the 
tenderest  expressions  of  Christain  endearment,  they  com- 
mended one  another  to  God,  and  when,  at  last,  came  the 
parting  hour,  such  were  the  manifestations  of  friendship 
that  it  "  drew  tears  even  from  strangers  who  beheld  the 
scene."  At  Southampton,  the  most  of  them  took  the  May- 
flower, after  several  miscarriages  with  the  other  vessel,  and 
on  the  6th  of  September,  1620,  set  sail,  bidding  farewell 
to  the  shores  of  the  old  world,  and  turning  their  eyes  to 
the  new.  Long  and  boisterous  was  the  passage,  and  when 
at  last,  on  the  'Jth  of  Novem1)er,  the  Virginia-bound  emi- 
grants found  themselves,  through  the  treachery  of  their 
Captain,  confronted  by  the  bleak  shores  of  Cape  Cod,  it 
may  well  be  supposed  that  the  tears  and  distresses  which 
the  ocean  winds  had  just  swept  away  were  renewed  in  all 
their  bitterness.  But  they  all  prayed,  and  prayed  again, 
and  grew  strong.  And  then  they  sat  calmly  down  in  their 
vessel,  and  drew  up  their  civil  contract,  and  chose  John 
Carver  for  their  Governor,  giving  utterance  by  their  act 
to  that  great  principle  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  institu- 
tions of  a  continent — that  the  v.^ill  of  the  majority  shall 
govern.  Born  of  such  parentage,  and  rocked  by  the  ocean 
in  the  cradle  of  the  MayfloAver,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
infimt  principle  has  grown  gigantic,  and  shakes  thrones  and 
thrall  wherever  it  walks. 

On  the  21st  of  December,  the  Pilgrims  disembarked, 
and  knelt  on  Plymouth  Rock.  It  is  not  necessary  to  tell 
the  trials  and  terrors  of  that  early  settlement, — to  tell  how 
six  of  the  number  died  during  that  very  month,  how  their 
storehouse  was  burnt,  how  sickness  and  death  reigned  in 
every  grief-stricken  cabin  during  that  terrible  winter;  how, 
in  the  following  March,  only  fifty-live  of  the  one  hundred 
that  came  in  the  Mayflower  survived ;  how  Peregrine  White 
came  shivering  into  the  world  as  the  first-born  of  the  col- 
ony, and   how   his  mother  Susanna  was  married  in   the 


FIRST    SETTLEMENTS.  17 

Spring  to  Mr.  Edward  Winslow  (her  husband  havhig  died 
meantime)  and  thus  became  first  in  every  good  worle;  and 
how  Governor  Carver  died,  and  Mr,  William  Bradford 
was  chosen  as  his  successor. 

Other  settlers  soon  followed  the  pioneers.  In  1 622,  Mr. 
Weston,  a  London  merchant,  sent  out  a  couple  of  vessels 
with  fifty  or  sixty  men  to  settle  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
■u'here  he  had  secured  a  patent.  They  settled  at  Wey- 
mouth, having  jjreviouslj  lived  for  a  time  at  Plymouth. 
Soon,  either  because  they  were  a  godless  company,  or  be- 
cause they  were  distressed  by  poverty,  they  stole  from  the 
Indians,  and  in  so  doing  brought  a  dangerous  conspiracy 
against  themselves,  as  well  as  the  Plymouth  colony,  which 
was  most  Providentially  discovered  and  averted.  Cotton 
jMather  did  not  think  very  highly  of  the  "  Westonians" 
who,  he  says,  were  "  Chmx-h  of  England  men,"  and  this 
latter  feet  may  account  for  the  outspoken  detraction  with 
which  he  visited  them. 

In  1624,  a  settlement  was  made  at  Cape  Ann,  of  new 
immigrants,  and  the  same  year  the  Plymouth  colony,  which 
had,  in  the  meantime,  received  considerable  accessions  to 
its  number,  also  received  a  good  supply  of  clothing  from 
abroad,  and  a  bull  and  three  heifei-s,  the  first  cattle  that 
had  arrived  in  New  England.  In  the  year  following,  came 
the  ncAvs  of  the  death  of  the  good  pastor  Robinson,  at 
Leyden,  and  following  closely  this  sad  intelligence  came 
his  wife,  children,  and  the  most  of  his  congregation,  and 
the  re-union  of  these  old  friends  was  rendered  doubly  ten- 
der and  touching  by  the  trials  through  which  all  had  pas'^ed 
during  their  separation.  Thus  they  went  on  togethei",  untii, 
in  1630,  when  they  numbered  some  three  hundred  persons, 
they  took  out  a  patent  covering  a  large  extent  of  country, 
whose  boundaries  need  not  be  defined  here,  and  under 
their  charter  the  colony  governed  itself  until  some  seventy 
years  later,  when  it  was  incorporated  with  Massachusetts. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  had 
thus  far  received  but  weak  and  scattered  clusters  of  adven- 
turers, commenced  in  1628.  In  that  year  and  the  year  fol- 
lowing, a  colony  of  more  than  two  hundi'cd  persons,  with 
four  ministers  attending  them,  planted  themselves,  their 
church,  and  their  corn,  at  Salem,  under  Mr.  Endicott.  In 
tins  place,  and  by  this  people,  the  second  church  in  New 


18  EARLY    COLONIAL     HISTORY. 

England  was  organized.  Another  year  brought  over  sev- 
enteen ships,  with  more  than  1500  immigrants,  comprising 
men  of  gentle  birth  and  life,  men  of  learning  and  mark, 
men  of  heroism  and  deep-toned  piety,  and  women  and 
children.  And  now  the  work  of  settling  the  wilderness 
Avent  on  apace.  The  immigrants  planted  themselves  in 
Charlestown,  Cambridge,  Dorchester,  Roxbury  and  Bos- 
ton. 

In  1G29,  an  event  occurred  of  vast  importance  to  the 
colony,  and  one  which,  in  its  origin  and  development,  pre- 
sented a  remarkable  aspect.  The  directors  of  the  corpo- 
rate body  created  by  royal  patent  in  1620,  and  called 
"  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth  in  the  county  of 
Devon  for  planting,  ruling,  ordering  and  governing  of  New 
England  in  America,"  met,  and,  yielding  to  the  voice  of 
the  more  wealthy  and  important  men  who  were  anxious  to 
emigrate  from  the  religious  thralldom  at  home,  agreed  that 
the  company,  its  rights  under  the  charter,  and  its  govern- 
ment should  be  transferred  to  New  England.  Thus,  a 
corporation  which,  by  the  terms  of  its  charter,  was  to  re- 
side in  London,  transformed  itself  into  an  American  com- 
pany, and  the  King  looked  on,  and  found  no  fault.  He  was 
evidently  glad  to  get  rid  of  the  troublesome  Puritans  at 
home,  and  supposed  that  he  would  have  less  trouble  with 
them  abroad,  if  he  allowed  them  to  manage  their  own  con- 
cerns in  their  own  way.  However  this  might  be,  the  event 
was  pregnant  with  good  to  the  colony.  Having  achieved 
this  movement,  they  ordered  a  General  Court  for  an  elec- 
tion of  officers,  and  chose  John  Winthrop,  Governor ;  John 
Humfrey,  deputy  Governor ;  and  a  number  of  assistants. 
Thomas  Dudley,  one  of  the  assistants,  was  afterwards 
chosen  deputy  Governor  in  place  of  Mr.  Humfrey,  and  in 
1630,  the  Governor  and  his  deputy  came  over  in  the  nu- 
merous fleet  that  sailed  for  the  new  world  during  that  year. 
Thus  the  charter  of  Govei'nment,  and  the  men  to  govern, 
were  planted  on  New  England  soil.  The  first  General 
Court  of  the  colony  was  holden  at  Boston,  and  here  the 
freemen  attended  in  person.  Here  it  was  enacted  that  the 
freemen  should  in  future  choose  the  Assistants,  who,  in 
in  turn,  should  choose  from  their  own  number  the  Gov- 
ernor and  deputy  Governor.  This  rule,  however,  stood 
less  than  a  yiear,  when  it  was  decided  at  the  next  meeting 


CHURCH    AXD    STATE.  19 

of  the  Court  that  the  freemen  should  choose  not  only  tho 
assistants,  but  the  higher  officers.  This  method  of  holding 
the  General  Court  was  not  long  persisted  in.  Tlie  num- 
ber of  freemen  or  voters  had  become  so  largely  multipHed 
that  their  meeting  in  a  body  was  inconvenient,  and,  by  the 
general  consent  of  the  towns,  the  power  of  the  freemen 
was  delegated  to  twenty-four  deputies  or  rej^i-esentatives, 
and  to  these  representatives,  the  appellation  of  "  General 
Court"  was  transferred. 

On  this  basis  of  population  and  government,  the  pros- 
perity and.  wonderful  development  of  New  England  was 
established.  It  was  such  a  population  and  such  a  govern- 
ment as  the  world  had  never  seen.  But  just  escaped  from 
a  country  where  toleration  was  an  unknown  word,  deeply 
imbued  with  the  religious  sentiment,  regarding  the  relig- 
ious doctrines  they  held  with  an  importance  i)ro[)ortioned 
to  the  toils  and  sacrifices  expended  in  their  behalf,  and 
conscientious  to  a  sensitive  degree,  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
religion  and  the  religious  doctrines  of  the  Puritans  were 
so  placed  in  the  basis  of,  and  so  became  complicated  with, 
the  civil  government,  that  their  })atriotism  was  tinged 
with  illiberality,  their  religion  with  bigotry,  and  their  gov- 
ernment with  intolerance.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
transplanted  government  was  to  make  church  membership 
a  condition  in  the  qualification  of  voters.  Thus,  indirect- 
ly, the  whole  power  of  the  government  was  thrown  into 
the  hands  of  the  clergy.  Such  intolerance  as  this  would, 
at  the  present  day,  create  a  revolution  in  twenty-four  hours, 
yet  this  act  was  not  a  whit  more  objectionable  than  hun- 
dreds of  others  passed  in  those  days.  But  we  judge  a  tree 
by  its  fruits.  New  England  of  to-day  is  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  then  planted.  It  was  planted  in  the  love  of  God,  and 
watered  by  prayer;  and,  in  its  vigorous  growth,  the  defen- 
ses of  intolerance  and  bigotry  that  were  blindly  staked 
around  it,  and  chained  to  it  for  its  protection  against  tho 
tusks  of  libei'tinism  and  the  teeth  of  schism,  were  upheaved 
by  the  swelling  roots,  and  falling  away,  left  only  their  scars 
upon  the  healthy  rind. 

Previous  to  lGo3,  nearly  half  a  score  of  churches  had 
been  estaldished  in  tlie  IMassachu setts  colony,  and  in  IGoO, 
about  twenty  towns  liad  been  planted.  In  IGoo,  Britain 
became,  alarmed  at  tlie  crowd  that  was  pressing  toward  the 


20  EARLY    COLONIAL     HISTORY. 

prosperous  colony,  and  the  King  issued  an  order  ,to  pre- 
vent farther  emigration.  "  Tliere  were  many  counter- 
mands given  to  the  passage  of  people  that  were  now  steer- 
hig  of  this  Westward  course ;  and  there  was  a  sort  of 
uproar  made  among  no  small  part  of  the  nation  that  this 
people  should  not  he  let  go."  Notwithstanding  this,  Messrs. 
Cotton,  Hooker,  and  Stone,  ministers  of  note  and  high- 
toned  piety,  with  200  emigi-ants,  evaded  the  order,  and  ar- 
rived at  Boston,  where  Mr.  Cotton  remained,  his  two  com- 
panions going  to  Cambridge.  The  colony  had  at  this  time 
become  so  strong  that  the  arm  and  the  spirit  of  adventure 
began  to  reach  out  into  the  wilderness,  and  then  was  born 
that  disposition  which  has  been  perpetuated  in  all  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Puritans  :  to  go  further  West — a  disposi- 
tion that  had  a  worthy  birth,  has  since  conquered  a  world, 
and  has  worlds  still  to  couauer.  In  the  words  of  Cotton 
Mather  :— 

"  It  was  not  long  before  the  IMassachuset  Colony  was  be- 
come like  an  hive  overstocked  with  bees,  and  many  of  the  new 
inhabitants  entertained  thoughts  of  swarming  into  plantations 
extended  further  into  the  country.  The  colony  might  fetch 
its  own  descriptions  from  the  dispensations  of  the  Great  God 
unto  his  ancient  Israel,  and  say — '0  God  of  Hosts!  Thou 
hast  brought  a  ruin  out  of  England;  Thou  hast  cast  out  the 
heathen  and  planted  it ;  Thou  preparedst  room  before  it,  and 
didst  cause  it  to  take  deep  root,  and  it  filled  the  land;  the 
hills  were  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs 
thereof  were  like  the  goodly  cedars  ;  she  sent  out  her  boughs 
unto  the  sea.'  But  still  there  was  one  stroak  wanting  for  the 
compleat  accommodations  of  the  description  ;  to  wit,  she  sent 
forth  her  branches  unto  the  river,  and  this,  therefore,  is  to  be 
next  attended.  The  fame  of  Connecticut  River,  a  long,  fresh, 
rich  river,  had  made  a  little  Nilus  of  it,  in  the  expectation  of 
the  good  people  about  the  Massachuset  Bay,  whereupon  many 
of  the  planters,  belonging  especially  to  the  towns  of  Cam- 
bridge, Dorchester,  Watertown  and  Roxbury,  took  up  resolu- 
tions to  travel  an  hundred  miles  Westward  from  those  towns, 
for  a  further  settlement  upon  tins  famous  river." 

This  "  famous  river"  first  became  known  to  the  English 
in  1631,  and  early  in  the  Autumn  of  1633,  John  Oldham, 
Samuel  Hall  and  tv*^o  others  of  Dorchester,  journeyed 
through  the  wilderness,  on  a  visit  to  its  banks,  and  were 
probably  the  first  white  men  who  ever  stood  there.    Pleased 


I 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    CONNECTICUT   RIVEU.  2l 

Avith  the  hospitality  of  the  natives  who  entertained  them, 
pleased  with  the  stream  and  the  meadows  through  which  it 
ran,  and  pleased  particularly  with  the  beaver  which  they 
had  received  from  the  Indians,  their  report  was,  of  course, 
a  favorable  one.  Among  other  products  of  the  Valley  they 
reported  hemp  as  growing  in  large  quantities  and  of  an  ex- 
cellent quality.  Corn  was  cultivated  by  the  natives,  fish 
of  the  largest  sort  were  stated  to  be  in  the  river,  such  as 
sturgeon,  bass,  shad  and  salmon,  (all  of  which  but  the  sal- 
mon still  remain,)  while  the  woods  were  teeming  with  the 
noblest  and  most  useful  game.  A  number  of  men  in  the 
Plymouth  colony  now  took  the  "  Western  fever,"  and  in 
October,  1 633,  led  by  William  Holmes,  they  made  a  water 
passage,  sailing  as  far  up  the  Connecticut  as  the  present 
town  of  Windsor,  Ct.  Here  they  built  the  first  dwelling 
house  ever  erected  by  civilized  hands  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  though  the  Dutch  from  New  Netherlands  had  a 
few  days  before  thrown  up  a  fortification  at  Dutch  Point, 
Hartford,  and  from  that  point  menaced  the  advancing  ves- 
sel of  Holmes,  who  with  cool  contempt  passed  confidently 
by,  and  received  not  a  gun.  Holmes  enclosed  his  house 
witli  a  stockade,  bought  his  building  spot  of  the  Indians, 
and  set  up  trade. 

It  was  in  1G34  that  the  people  of  the  several  towns  to 
which  Mather  alludes  began  to  thmk  seriously  of  removing 
to  the  Connecticut  River.  In  the  month  of  July,  of  that 
year,  six  men  from  Newtown  (Cambridge)  visited  the  river 
to  select  a  place  for  settlement,  but  the  people  were  not 
immediately  successful  in  obtaining  liberty  from  the  Gen- 
eral Court  to  remove.  In  1G35,  however,  such  permission 
Avas  given,  not  only  to  the  inhabitants  of  Caml)ridge,  liut  to 
those  of  Dorchester  and  Watcrtown.  The  people  of  llox- 
bury  obtained  a  similar  favor  in  May  of  that  year,  and 
leave  to  emigrate  was  cou])lcd  with  tlie  condition,  in  each 
case,  that  emigrants  should  not  remove  from  under  the  ju- 
risdiction of  Massachusetts.  The  Dorchester  people  went 
to  Windsoi",  the  Watertown  people  to  Wetlierslield,  the 
Cambridge  people  to  Hartford,  and  the  Roxbury  people  to 
Agawam — the  Springfield  of  the  present — and  with  these 
latter  commences  the  history  of  the  settlement  of  Western 
Massachusetts. 


CHAPTER    II. 

First  Settlement  on  the  Connecticut— Springfield. 

Soon,  if  not  immediately  after  permission  to  remove 
Lad  been  gi-anted  to  the  citizens  of  Roxburj,  two  men — 
John   Cable  and  John  Woodcock — were  sent  forward  to 
build  a  house  for  the  plantation,  and  ancient  records  and 
manuscripts  lead  to  the  belief  that  William  Pynchon,  alike 
the  founder   of  Roxbury  and    Springfield,  together  with 
Henry  Smith  his  son-in-law,  and  Jehu   Burr,  had  visited 
the  spot  in   1634,  and  selected  the  location.     Considering 
the  importance  of  the  undertaking,  and  the  leading  position 
of  Mr.  Pynchon,  it  seems  probable,  almost  to  certainty, 
that  the  location  of  a  plantation  without  his  personal  super- 
vision and  decision  would  never  have  been  made.     Wood- 
cock and  Cable  buUt  the  house,  and  the  fii'St  civil  action 
tried  in  Springfield  grew  out  of  their  joint  agency  in  this 
structure,  although  they  built  it  at  the  common  charge  of 
the  planters.     This  house  was  built  on  the  West  side  of 
the   river,   in   the   Agawam   meadow,    afterwards    called 
"  Housemeadow,"  from  this  circumstance.     The  location  is 
incidentally  described  in  the  Registry  of  Deeds,  in  an  en- 
try by  John  Ilolyoke,  in  1679,  as  "that  meadow  on  the 
South  of  Agawam  River  where  the  English  did  first  build 
a  house,"  and  where  "  the  English  kept  their  residence  who 
first  came  to  settle  and  plant  at  Springfield,  now  so  called." 
They  "kej^t  their  residence,"  (Cable  and  Woodcock)  at 
this  house  during  the  Summer,  planted  on  grounds  that  had 
been  cultivated  by  the  Indians,  nearly  opposite  the  present 
city  of  Springfield,  and  returned  to   Roxbury  in  the   Au- 
tumn, probably,  though  it  is  not  positively  known  that  they 
did  not  remain  during  the  Winter.     This  was  doubtless  the 
last  of  the  occupation  of  the  house,  as  the  Indians,  who 
were  friendly  to  the  settlers,  and  who  were  as  well  aware 
of  the  character  of  the  ground  as  the  present  residents  are, 
informed  the  builders  that  the  site  was  subject  to  overfiows. 
This  intelligence,  of  course,  caused  a  change  to  be  made  in 
the  location  of  the  plantation,  and  it  has  been  stated  that 


■WILLIAM     PYNCHON.  23 

the  builders  abandoned  the  house,  and  built  another  on  the 
East  side  of  the  river,  '"probably  on  the  lot  afterwards 
owned  by  Mr.  Pynchon,  and  still  in  the  possession  of  Jiis 
descendants."  No  mention  is  made  of  this  house  in  the 
allotment  of  land  to  Rlr.  Pynchon  subsequently,  and  the 
statement  seems  to  have  no  confirmation.  In  fact,  the 
original  record  of  the  trial  of  the  Woodcock  and  Cable 
case,  above  mentioned,  speaks  of  their  occupying  the  house 
and  cultivating  the  grounds  near  them  "  all  that  Sommer." 
Mr.  William  Pynchon  was  the  father  of  Springfield,  and 
was  revered  as  such  while  he  lived  here,  and  mourned  as 
such  when  he  departed.  He  had  been  connected  with  the 
atlairs  of  the  Massachusetts  colony  in  England,  having 
been  one  of  the  patentees  named  in  the  colony  charter  of 
1G28.  When  Governor  Winthrop  received  his  appoint- 
ment, in  1G29,  Mr.  Pynchon  was  appointed  a  magistrate 
and  assistant,  and  accompanied  the  Governor  in  his  })as- 
sage  to  the  colony,  and  settled  at  Roxbury.  Mr.  Pynchon 
was  a  man  of  wealth,  education,  piety,  and  consideration, 
and,  from  the  first,  exerted  much  influence  in  the  colony. 
Early  after  the  opening  of  the  Spring,  in  1636,  he  and  his 
Roxbury  associates  packed  up  their  goods  at  Roxbury,  and 
dispatched  them  by  w^ater,  in  Governor  AVinthrojj's  vessel 
— the  "  Blessing  of  the  Bay" — which  sailed  from  Boston  on 
the  26th  of  Ai)ril.  Bidding  farewell  to  the  scenes  that,  by 
the  very  hardships  with  which  they  had  been  associated, 
had  become  dear,  the  ])ilgrim;ige  of  sturdy  manhood,  buoy- 
ant youth,  and  tender  but  strong-hearted  womanhood, 
through  a  hundred  miles  of  Avilderness,  commenced.  The 
eye  spontaneously  fills  with  tears  as  it  turns  back  to  this 
scene,  of  which  imagination  is  the  best  and  only  painter. 
The  weary  marches  of  the  day  through  a  pathless  forest, 
the  fording  of  swollen  streams,  the  camp-fires  of  the  night, 
at  w-hich  the  friendly  red  men  gathered,  and  where  first 
they  heard  the  n:une  of  God  as  it  arose  from  supplicating 
lips,  the  rude  couches  upon  which  childhood  and  age  threw 
themselves  with  a  faith  that  transformed  the  very  boughs 
beneath  them  into  the  arms  of  Providence,  the  morning 
sunlight  creeping  in  through  the  rude  old  trees,  arousing 
to  the  renewed  march  the  aching  limbs  that  had  roamed  all 
night,  in  di-eams,  in  the  busy  streets  or  the  quiet  parks  of 
Old  England ;  the  simple  meal,  blessed  before  the  eating 


24  SETTLEMENT    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

by  a  solemn  and  godly  voice ;  the  kind  offices  extended 
here  and  there  to  the  weak  and  the  fearful  by  noble  hearts 
and  strong  hands ;  the  pious  conversation,  mixed  with  sub- 
jects of  import  to  the  colony  and  the  enterprise,  as  two  or 
thi-ee  wise  ones  trudged  along  together — all  these  have 
been  unwritten,  but,  knowing  the  components  of  that  little 
band,  the  fancy  is  weak  that  lacks  power  to  realize  them 
to  itself  in  a  large  degree,  or  refuses  to  write  them  because 
the  records  fail. 

By  subsequent  allusions  to  the  "  Bay  path,"  and  the  in- 
cidental definition  of  its  location,  it  is  probable  that  the 
emigrants  entered  the  territory  then  known  as  Agawam, 
(or  Agaam  as  it  was  often  spelled)  upon  the  elevation  noAv 
known  as  Springfield  Hill.  There  they  came  in  view  of 
the  "  famous  river,"  with  Avliich  were  associated  their  fu- 
ture prospects.  Where  multitudes  of  pilgrims  have  since 
paused  to  admire  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  they  paused, 
and  looked  down  upon  the  silent  river  then  unbridged,  and 
off  upon  the  Western  hills,  forest-crowned  as  now.  There 
were  no  homes  opened  to  receive  them,  no  hospitable  voices 
to  bid  them  welcome.     All  was 

"  Noiseless  as  tear  in  a  wide  wilderness." 

What  wonder  is  it  that  such  a  band  should  be  a  pious 
band  ?  Who  doubts  that,  as  they  gazed  around,  and  saw 
no  hand  to  lielp,  they  stood  there  upon  the  imquestioned 
earth,  and  sent  their  silent  aspirations  on  wings  of  faith  to 
heaven  ? 

The  date  of  the  arrival  of  the  emigrants  upon  the  river 
is  not  known,  but  it  was  probably  among  the  first  days  of 
May,  and  immediately,  as  did  the  Pilgrims  before  landing 
at  Plymouth,  they  set  about  the  establishment  of  rules  by 
which  they  would  govern  themselves  and  be  governed. 
On  the  14th  of  May,  they  drew  up  and  signed  an  agree- 
ment, the  original  of  which  is  now  in  the  first  book  of 
records  at  the  City  Hall  in  Springfield.  This  document  is 
signed  by  eight  individuals,  while  the  allotments  of  land  to 
the  settlers,  which  it  disposes,  are  made  to  twelve.  So  an- 
cient and  important  a  record  cannot  be  without  interest, 
and  it  follows  entire  : 

'•  May  the  14th,  1636. — We  whose  names  are  underwritten, 
being  by  God's  Providence  ingaged  together  to  make  a  planta- 


AGREEMENT    OF    THE    SETTLERS.  25 

tion,  at  and  over  against  Agaam  on  Conecticot  doe  mutually 
agree  to  certayne  articles  and  orders  to  be  observed  and  kept 
by  us  and  our  successors,  excpt  wee  and  every  of  us,  for  our- 
selves and  in  oure  persons,  shall  think  meet  uppon  better  rea- 
sons to  alter  our  present  resolutions. 

'•  lly.  Wee  intend,  by  God's  grace,  as  soon  as  we  can,  with, 
all  convenient  speede,  to  procure  some  Godly  and  faitlifull 
minister,  with  whome  we  propose  to  joyne  in  church  covenant, 
to  walk  in  all  the  ways  of  Christ. 

2ly.  Wee  intend  that  oure  towne  shall  be  composed  of 
fourty  family's,  or  if  wee  think  meete  after,  to  alter  our  pur- 
pose ;  yet  not  to  exceed  the  number  of  tifty  family's,  rich  and 
poore. 

"  3ly.  That  ever}'  inhabitant  shall  have  a  convenient  propor- 
tion for  a  house  lott,  as  wee  shall  see  meete  for  every  ones 
quality  and  estate. 

4ly.  That  every  one,  that  hath  a  house  lott,  shall  have  a 
proportion  of  the  Cow  pasture  to  the  north  of  End  Brooke, 
lying  northward  from  the  towne  ;  and  also  that  every  one  shall 
have  a  share  of  the  hassfky  mariah  over  against  his  lott,  if  it 
be  to  be  had,  and  every  one  to  have  his  proportionable  share 
of  all  the  woodland. 

"  5]y.  That  every  one.  shall  have  a  share  of  the  meddow, 
or  planting  ground,  over  against  him,  as  nigh  as  may  be,  on 
Agaam  side. 

"  6ly.  That  the  Long  meddowe,  called  IMasacksick,  lying  ia 
the  way  to  Dorchester,  [Windsor,  Ct.,]  shall  be  distributed  to 
every  man,  as  wee  shall  think  meete,  e.\cpt  wee  shall  find 
other  conveniences,  for  some  for  theyre  milch  cattayle,  and 
other  cattayle  also. 

"  7ly.  That  the  meddowe  and  pasture  called  Nayas,  towards 
Patuckett,  on  ye  side  of  Agaam,  lyeinge  about  fourer  miles 
above  in  the  ridge  shall  be  distributed '^  [erasure  of  six  and  a 
half  lines,]  "  as  above  said  in  the  former  order,  and  this  was 
altered  and  with  consent  before  the  hands  were  set  to  it. 

"Sly.  That  all  rates  that  shall  arise  upon  this  towne,  shall 
be  layed  upon  lands,  according  to  every  ones  proportion,  aker 
for  aker,  of  house  lotts,  and  aker  for  aker  of  meddowe,  both 
alike  on  this  side,  and  both  alike  on  the  other  side ;  and  for 
farmes,  that  shall  lye  farther  ofl",  a  less  proportion,  as  w^ee 
shall  after  agree  except  wee  shall  see  meete  to  remitt  one 
half  of  the  rate  from  land  to  other  estate. 

'•  9ly.  That  whereas  Mr.  William  Pynchon,  Jehue  Burr, 
and  Henry  Smith,  have  constantly  continued  to  prosecute  the 
same,  at  greate  charges,  and  at  greate  personal  adventure, 
therefore  it  is  mutually  agreed,  that  fourty  akers  of  meddowe, 

3 


26  SETTLEMENT    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

lying  on  the  south  of  End  Brooke,  under  a  hill  side,  shall  be- 
long to  the  said  partys  free  from  all  charges  forever.  That  is 
to  say  twenty  akers,  to  Mr.  William  Pynchon,  and  his  heyres 
and  assigns  for  ever,  and  ten  akers  to  Jehue  Burr,  and  ten 
akers  to  Henry  Smith,  and  to  their  heyres  and  assigns  for 
ever;  which  said  fourty  akers  is  not  disposed  to  them  as  any 
allotment  of  towne  lands ;  but  they  are  to  have  their  accom- 
modations in  all  other  places  notwithstanding. 

"  lOly.  That  whereas  a  house  was  built  at  a  common  charge 
which  cost  £6  and  also  the  Indians  demand  a  grate  some,  to 
bye  their  right,  in  the  sayd  lanfls,  and  also  a  greate  shallope, 
which  was  requisite  for  the  first  planting,  the  value  of  which 
engagements,  is  to  be  borne  by  each  inhabitant,  at  theyre  first 
entrance,  as  they  shall  be  rated  by  us  till  the  said  disburse- 
ments shall  be  satisfyed,  or  else  in  case  the  said  house  and 
boat  be  not  so  satisfyed  for  ;  then  so  much  meddowe  to  be  sett 
out  about  the  said  house  as  may  counter  vayle  the  sayd  extra- 
ordinary charge. 

'•  Illy.  It  is  agreed  that  no  man  except  Mr.  William  Pyn- 
chon shall  have  above  ten  akers  for  his  house  lott. 

"  12ly.  Annulled. 

"  13ly.  Whereas  there  are  two  cowe  pastures,  the  one  lying 
towards  Dorchester,  and  the  other  Northward  from  End 
Brooke.  It  is  agreed  that  both  these  pastures  shall  not  be  fed 
at  once  ;  but  that  the  time  shall  be  ordered  by  us,  in  disposing 
of  it  for  tymes  and  seasons,  till  it  be  lotted  out  and  fenced  in 
severalty. 

"■  14ly.  May  16,  1636. — It  is  agreed  that  after  this  day,  wee 
shall  observe  this' rule,  about  dividing  of  planting  ground  and 
meddowe,  in  all  planting  ground,  to  regard  chiefly,  persons 
who  are  most  apt  to  use  such  ground.  And  in  all  meddowe 
and  pasture,  to  regard  chiefly  cattel  and  estate,  because  estate 
is  like  to  be  improved  in  cattel,  and  such  ground  is  aptest  for 
their  use.  An  yet  wee  agree  that  no  person,  that  is  master  of 
a  lott,  though  he  hath  not  cattel,  shall  have  less  than  three 
akers  of  planting  ground,  and  none  that  have  cowes,  steeres, 
or  year  olds,  shafl  have  under  one  aker  apiece,  and  all  horses 
not  less  than  four  akers,  and  this  order  in  dividing  meddowe 
by  cattel,  to  take  place  the  last  of  May  next,  so  that  all  cat- 
tayle  that  then  appeare.  and  all  estates  that  shall  then  truly 
appeare  at  £20,  a  cowe  shall  have  this  proportion  in  the  med- 
dowe, on  the  Agawam  side,  and  in  the  large  meddowe  Ma- 
sacksick,  and  in  the  other  long  meddowe  called  Nayas,  and  in 
the  pasture  at  the  north  end  of  the  towne  called  End  Brooke. 

''  15ly.  It  is  ordered  that  for  the  disposinge  of  the  hasseky 
marish  and  the  granting  of  home  lotts,  these  five  men  under- 


AGREEMENT    OF    THE    SETTLERS.  27 

named,  or  theyre  Deputyes  are  appointed  to  have  full  power, 
namely  Mr.  Pynchon,  Mr.  Michell,  Jehuc  Burr,  William  Blake, 
Henry  Smith. 

"  It  is  ordered  that  William  Blake  shall  have  si.xteen  polle 
in  bredth  for  his  home  lott  and  all  the  marish  in  bredth  abut- 
tinge  at  the  end  of  it  to  the  next  highland,  and  three  ackers 
more  in  some  other  place. 

"Next  the  lott  of  William  Blake  northward  lys  the  lott  of 
Thomas  Woodford,  being  twelve  polles  broade  and  all  the 
marish  before  it  to  the  upland.  Next  the  lott  of  Thomas 
Woodford,  lys  the  lott  of  Thomas  Ufford,  b^inge  fourteen  rod 
broade,  and  all  the  marish  before  it  to  the  upland.  Next  the 
lott  of  Thomas  Ullbrd,  lys  the  lott  of  Henry  Smith,  being 
twenty  rods  in  breadth  and  all  the  marish  before  it,  and  to  run 
up  in  the  upland  on  the  other  side  to  make  up  his  upland  lott 
ten  akers. 

"  Next  the  lott  of  Henry  Smith  lyes  the  lott  of  Jehue  Burr, 
being  twenty  rods  in  bred'h  and  all  the  marish  in  bredth  abbat- 
tinge  at  the  end  of  it,  and  as  much  upland  ground  on  the 
other  side  as  shall  make  up  his  lott  ten  akers.  Next  the  lott 
of  Jehue  Burr,  lys  the  lott  of  Mr.  William  Pynchon,  beinge 
thirty  rod  in  bredth  and  all  the  marish  at  the  east  end  of  it 
and  an  addition  at  the  further  end  of  as  much  marish  as  shall 
make  the  whole  twenty  four  akers  ;  and  as  much  upland  ad- 
joining as  makes  the  former  howse  lott  thirty  akers,  in  all  to- 
gether fifty-foure  akers. 

"  Next  the  lott  of  Mr.  Pynchon  lys  the  lott  of  John  Cabel 
fourteene  rod  in  bredth  and  four  akers  and  halfe  of  marish  at 
the  end  of  the  lott.  Next  the  lott  of  John  Cabel,  lys  the  lott 
of  John  Reader,  beinge  twelve  rod  in  bredth,  and  four  akers 
and  halfe  of  marish  at  the  forend  of  his  homelotL 

"  The  lotts  of  Mr  Matthew  Mitchell,  Samuel  Butterfield, 
Edmund  Wood,  and  James  Wood,  are  ordered  to  lye,  adjoin- 
ing to  mill  brooke,  the  whole  being  to  the  number  of  twenty- 
live  akers,  to  begin  three  of  them,  on  the  greate  river  and  the 
fourthe  on  the  other  side  of  the  same  river. 

''  Tt  is  ordered  that  for  all  highways  that  shall  be  thought 
necessary  by  the  five  men  above  named,  they  shall  have  lib- 
erty and  power,  to  lay  them  out  when  they  shall  see  meete, 
though  it  be  at  the  end  of  mens  lotts,  giving  them  allowance 
for  so  much  ground. 

"  We  testifie  to  the  order  above  said,  being  all  of  the  first 
adventurers  and  undertakers  for  this  Plantation. 

"  William  Pynchon,  Nath.  Michell,  Henry  Smith,  The  mark 
/—of  Jehue  Burr,  William  Blake.  Edmund  Wood,  The  mark 
T  of  Thomas  Ufford,  John  Cabel.'' 


28  SETTLEMENT    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

The  absorbing  and  controlling  character  of  the  religious 
faith  of  these  men  is  witnessed  in  the  opening  terms  o£ 
their  agreement.  They  were  by  "  God's  Providence  in- 
gaged  together  to  make  a  plantation,"  and  by  the  very  first 
article  of  their  covenant  they  intended  "  by  God's  grace  to 
procure  some  godly  and  faithful  minister,"  with  whom  to 
join  in  church  covenant,  "to  walk  in  all  the  ways  of 
Christ."  The  allotments  of  land  were  divided  by  lines 
running  from  the  river  to  and  upon  the  Hill,  each  contain- 
ing a  home-lot  bordering  the  river,  each  a  portioi>  of  the 
"  hasseky  marish,"  or  meadow,  lying  between  the  home-lots 
and  the  hill,  while  the  latter  constituted  the  wood-lots.  Of 
the  immediate  action  of  the  settlers,  in  the  erection  of  their 
dwellings,  there  is  no  record.  It  was  the  season  for  plant- 
ing, and,  doubtless,  the  labor  of  the  field  was  mingled  with 
the  arrangement  for  temporary  shelter.  Before  another 
Winter  arrived,  they  were  housed.  Probably  no  framed 
dwellings  were  put  up  during  the  season',  but  the  first  one 
erected  was  by  Mr.  Pynchon,  and  the  facts  of  his  wealth 
and  importance  favor  the  i^resumption  that  it  was  built  at 
an  early  date  in  the  settlement. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  in  the  history  of  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  that  not  one  of  the  twelve, 
to  whom  were  made  the  original  allotments  of  land  in 
Springfield,  died  there.  Blake,  Ufford,  Mitchell,  the  two 
AVoods,  Reader,  Butterfield  and  Cable,  (or  Cabel)  gave  up 
or  sold  their  allotments  to  the  company.  Burr  remained  but 
a  phort  time,  and  then  removed  to  Connecticut.  Pynchon 
and  Smith  died  in  England,  as  will  hereafter  be  more  par- 
ticidarly  noticed.  The  original  allotments  being  so  univer- 
sally broken  u]i,  the  actual  settlement  was  made  on  a  dif- 
ferent basis.  The  lots,  running  as  before,  were  reduced  in 
width,  and  the  necessity  of  limiting  the  population  to  "fifty 
families,  rich  and  poore,"  was  obviated.  Allotments  were 
also  made  on  the  West  side  of  the  river  to  each  man,  as 
nearly  opposite  as  possible  to  his  lot  on  the  East  side. 
Immediately  after  the  allotments  were  made,  other  settlers 
arrived,  thougli  ])i-olmbly  in  no  considerable  numbers,  and 
then,  as  a  measure  of  security  to  themselves  and  of  justice 
to  the  Indians,  who  held  from  Nature  their  unwritten  title 
to  the  lands  in  occupation,  they  set  al>out  a  formal  purchase 
of  the  same.     The  deed  conveying  these  lands  was  the  first 


FIRST    INDIAN    DEED.  29 

ever  executed  in  "Western  Massacliu setts,  and  is  now  on 
record  at  the  Registry  of  Deeds  in  Hampden  County.  It 
conveys  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  river  to  "  "William 
Pynchon  Esq.,  IMr.  Henry  Smith,  (his  son-in-law,)  and 
Jehu  Burr,  and  their  heii's  and  associates."  It  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Aguam,  alias  Agawam:  this  fifteenth  day  of  July,  1636. 

"  It  is  agreed  between  Commucke  and  Matanchan,  ancient 
Indians  of  Aguam,  for  and  in  the  name  of  all  the  other  In- 
dians, and  in  particular  for  and  in  ye  name  of  Cuttonas,  the 
right  owner  of  Aguam  &  Quana,  and  in  the  name  of  his 
mother  Kewenusk,  the  Tamashara  or  wife  of  Wenawis,  & 
Niarum,  the  wife  of  Coa,  to  and  "U'ith  William  Pynchon, 
Henry  Smith  and  Jehu  Burr,  their  heirs  and  associates  forever, 
to  trucke  and  sel  al  that  ground  and  muckeosquittaj  ormedow 
Accomsick,  viz  :  on  the  other  side  of  Quana;  &  al  the  ground 
&  muckeosquittaj  on  the  side  of  Aguam,  except  Cottinack- 
eesh,  or  ground  that  is  now  planted,  for  ten  fathom  of  Wam- 
pum, Ten  Coates,  Ten  howes,  Ten  hatchets  and  Ten  knifes  ; 
and  also  the  said  ancient  Indians,  with  the  consent  of  the 
rest,  and  in  particular  with  the  consent  of  Plenis  &  Wrutherna 
&  Napompenam — do  trucke  and  sel  to  William  Pynchon, 
Henry  Smith  and  Jehu  Burr  and  their  successors  forever,  al 
that  ground  on  the  East  side  of  Quinnecticot  River  called 
Vsquaiok  &  Nayasset,  reaching  about  four  or  five  miles  in 
length  from  tlie  North  end  of  Massaksicke  up  to  Chickuppe 
River  for  four  fathom  of  Wampum,  four  coates.  four  Howes, 
four  hatchets,  four  knifes :  also  the  said  ancient  Indians  doe 
with  the  consent  of  the  other  Indians.  &  in  particular  with 
the  consent  of  Machetuhood,  Wenepawin  &  Mohemoos,  trucke 
and  sel  the  ground  &  muckeosquittaj  &  grounds  adjoining, 
called  Masacksicke,  for  four  fathom  of  Avampum,  four  coates, 
four  hatchets  &  four  howes  &  four  knifes. 

"  And  the  said  Pynchon  hath  in  hand  paid  the  said  eight- 
een fathom  of  Wampum,  eighteen  coates,  18  hatchets,  18 
howes,  18  knifes,  to  the  said  Commucke  &  Matanchan,  &  doth 
further  condition  witli  the  s'd  Indians  that  they  shal  have  &. 
enjoy  all  that  Cottinackeesh,  or  ground  that  is  now  planted; 
And  have  liberty  to  take  Fish  and  Deer,  ground-nuts,  Avalnuts, 
akornes  &  Sasachimosh,  or  a  kind  of  pease.  And  also  if  any 
ye  cattle  spoile  their  corne,  to  pay  as  it  is  worth  ;  &  that  hogs 
shall  not  goe  on  the  side  of  Aguam  but  in  akorne  time  :  Also 
the  said  Pynchon  doth  give  to  Wrutherna  two  coates  over  and 
above  the  said  particulars  expressed,  and  in  Witness  hereof 
the  two  said  Indians  &  the  rest,  doe  set  to  their  hands,  this 
present  15th  Day  of  July,  1636." 

3* 


30  SETTLEMENT   OP    SPRINGFIELD. 

This  deed  is  signed  by  thirteen  Indians  by  their 
"  markes,"  whicli  present  a  great  variety  of  designs.  The 
names  are  as  follow :  Menis,  Kemic,  Messai,  alias  Nepi- 
nam,  Winnepawin,  Machetuhood,  Commuk,  Macossak,  We- 
nawis,  Cuttonus,  Matauchan,  AVrutherna,  Coa :  Kokuinek. 
The  witnesses  to  this  deed  are  John  Allen,  Joseph  Parsons, 
Eichard  Everet,  Thomas  Ilorton,  Faithful  Thayeler,  John 
Cownes  and  A.  Ilaughton.  Everet,  Cownes  and  Haughton 
made  their  marks.  It  will  be  noticed  that  not  one  of  the 
witnesses  to  the  signatures  of  this  deed  were  among  those 
Avho  received  the  original  allotments,  thus  demonstrating 
the  accession  to  the  number  of  settlers,  who,  probably,  took 
the  place  of  the  majority  of  the  first  company,  of  whose 
stay  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  there  is  no  evi- 
dence. The  land  designated  in  the  deed  as  Quana  is 
the  middle  meadow,  adjoining  Agawam  meadow.  Us- 
quaioh  is  Mill  River  and  the  lands  adjoining  it.  Nayasset 
is  "  the  three  corner  meadow  and  land  adjoining,  extending 
Northerly  to  Chicopee  River."  3Iassahicke  is  the  "  long 
meadow,"  and  now  bears  the  latter  name  as  a  town. 

In  the  excitements  and  perplexities  of  an  early  settle- 
ment, the  people  did  not  forget  the  leading  purpose  of  their 
lives.  In  1G37,  the  year  following  the  settlement,  they  se- 
cured the  services  of  Rev.  George  Moxon,  and  under  him 
was  formed  a  church,  although  a  meeting  house  was  not 
commenced  until  nine  years  later.  Of  Mr  Moxon  we  have 
no  description,  further  tlian  that  he  had  received  Episcopal 
ordination  in  England,  though  Johnson,  in  his  "  Wonder- 
working-Providence," touches  poetically  upon  his  personal 
characteristics,  in  the  following  lines,  commencing  a  horta- 
tory apostrophe : 

''As  thou  with  strong  and  able  parts  art  made, 
Thy  person  stout,  with  toyl  and  labor  shall, 
With  help  of  Christ,  through  difficulties  wade,''  &c. 

In  1637,  Mr.  Moxon  was  made  a  freeman  at  Boston,  and 
the  next  year  he  was  appointed  a  deputy  to  go  to  Hart- 
ford, Agawam  uniting  in  jurisdiction  with  the  settlements 
in  Connecticut,  for  two  or  three  years,  until  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  the  plantation  was,  Avithout  doubt,  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  Massachusetts  patent.  In  1639,  a  house 
was  built  for  him  by  a  voluntary  assessment,  and  he  en- 


DESTRUCTION    OF    THE   PEQUOTS.  31 

joyed  a  salary,  at  first,  of  forty  pounds  a  year.     Whether 
he  was  "  passing  rich  "  on  that  sum,  is  doubtful. 

In  1637,  occurred  the  first  of  a  series  of  difficulties  with 
the  Lidians  that,  in  long  subsequent  years,  resulted  in  the 
destruction  or  banishment  of  all  the  tribes  on  the  Connecti- 
cut River.  In  the  South-Eastern  part  of  Connecticut, 
lived  the  Pequots,  a  chivalrous  and  daring  tribe,  under 
Sassacus,  a  fearless  and  implacable  chief.  Not  participat- 
ing in  the  friendly  feelings  which  the  Connecticut  River 
Indians  exhibited  towards  the  settlers,  he  looked  upon  them 
as  intruders,  and,  stimulated  by  difficulties  he  had  already 
encountered  from  the  authorities  in  Eastern  Massachusetts, 
he  detei'mined  to  drive  every  white  settler  from  the  Con- 
necticut. The  first  hostilities  were  made  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  English  fort  at  Saybrook,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
where  they  killed  stragglers  and  kept  the  gari'ison  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  alarm.  In  the  Spring  of  1637,  a  demonstra- 
tion occurred  further  up  the  river,  at  Wethersfield,  where 
nine  men,  gouig  to  Avork  in  the  fields,  were  killed,  and  two 
women  taken  prisoners.  The  Connecticut  settlers  then 
went  into  active  preparation  for  Avar,  and,  with  a  force  of 
ninety  men,  and  a  large  number  of  Indian  allies,  the  ever 
memorable  expedition  against  the  Pequots  was  made  under 
Capt.  Mason  of  Windsor.  The  Massachusetts  and  Plym- 
outh colonies  ordered  230  men  to  be  raised  for  their  as- 
sistance, but  they  did  not  arrive  upon  the  ground  in  time 
for  the  first  decisive  action.  It  was  a  movement  of  im- 
mense moment  to  the  settlers,  for  on  its  issue  depended 
their  future  destiny.  With  an  intrei)i(lity  far  beyond  that 
of  their  Indian  allies,  who  forsook  them  as  they  entered 
the  Pequot  country,  tlie  daring  little  band  penetrated  to 
their  fort  on  the  Mystic  River,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th  of  May,  surprised  them.  In  one  short  hour  the  whole 
encampment  within  the  fort  was  a  heap  of  smoking  ruins, 
and  five  or  six  hundred  Pequots — men,  women  and  chil- 
dren— were  shot,  hewn  down,  or  burnt  to  death.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  terrible  scenes  ever  enacted  in  border  war- 
fare. The  loss  on  the  English  side  was  but  trifiing,  only 
two  men  having  been  killed.  The  expedition  achieved  a 
safe  return,  and  on  arriving  at  their  plantations,  were  re- 
ceived with  every  possible  demonstration  of  joy.  Dr. 
Trumbull   says  that  "every  family  and  every  worship- 


82  SETTLEMENT    OF   SPRINGFIELD. 

ping  assembly  spake  the  language  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving." 

Agawam  was  assessed  with  the  towns  in  Connecticut  for 
its  portion  of  the  expenses  of  the  Pequot  war,  to  the 
amount  of  £8G  16s.,  and  required  to  furnish  seven  men. 
Beyond  the  statement  of  Trumbull,  to  the  effect  that  Aga- 
wam did  not  furnish  the  troops,  but  paid  the  assessment, 
there  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence  that  either  men  or  money 
were  furnished.  The  Springfield  recoi'ds  make  no  allusion 
to  the  fact  whatever.  The  Winter  follov/ing  the  expedition 
was  long  and  severe,  and  the  diversion  of  such  a  number 
of  men,  and  such  an  amount  of  attention,  from  the  duties 
of  the  field,  so  reduced  the  aggregate  of  production  that 
all  the  towns  upon  the  river  were  in  want.  Mr.  Pynchon 
was  applied  to  for  assistance,  but  unsuccessfully,  he  being 
neither  able  to  furnish  it  from  the  Agawam  plantation  nor 
from  the  Indians.  Famine  stared  them  in  the  face,  and  as 
Spring  opened,  Capt.  Mason,  with  two  companions,  set  off 
in  search  of  food,  and  proved  himself  as  efficient  in  com- 
merce as  in  war.  Passing  up  the  Connecticut  as  far  as 
Pocomtuck,  (now  Deerfield,)  he  there  succeeded  in  pur- 
chasing of  the  friendly  Indians  a  large  amount  of  corn,  to 
be  delivered  at  the  plantations.  Such  a  fleet  the  waters  of 
the  Connecticut  never  bore  before — shall  never  bear  again. 
A  fleet  of  fifty  canoes,  each  laden  with  corn,  and  propelled 
by  the  red  man's  oar,  passed  down  the  silent  stream.  It 
was  a  scene  for  the  painter,  as  those  crouching  fonns  bent 
to  their  labor,  leaving  behind  them  long  lines  of  thread-like 
wake,  or  paused  upon  their  oars  to  exchange  salutations 
with,  and  explain  their  errand  to,  their  dusky  brethren, 
who,  with  curiosity  or  apprehension,  gathered  here  and 
there  upon  the  banks.  They  all  aiTived  at  their  destina- 
tion, and  the  joy  with  which  they  were  received  by  the- 
half-starved  settlers  in  Connecticut  may  easily  be  imagined. 

Incidental  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  political  con- 
nection of  the  settlement  at  Agawam  with  the  new  planta- 
tions on  the  Connecticut,  below.  All  these  settlements — 
Wethersfield,  Hartford,  Windsor  and  Agawam — ^being  far 
from  the  Colonial  seat  of  Government,  were  united  under 
a  joint  commission,  and  at  a  Court  holden  at  Hartford,  in 
November,  1G3G,  Mr.  Pynchon  was  present  among  the 
magistrates.     IMr.  Pynchon  was  also  present  at  the  Court 


THE   FIRST  LOCAL   MAGISTRACY.  33 

in  1637,  and,  in  tlie  following  year.  Rev.  George  Moxon 
and  Jehu  Burr  were  appointed  "  Committys  for  tlie  general 
Court  to  be  holden  at  Hartford."  This  was  the  last  that 
Agawam  had  to  do  with  the  settlements  in  Connecticut. 
On  the  14th  of  February,  1638,  the  Agawam  settlers  had 
become  satisfied  that  they  were  within  Massachusetts,  and 
being  without  any  government,  they  came  to  a  voluntai-y 
agreement,  and  chose  Wm.  Pynehon  to  be  their  magistrate. 
This  agreement  occupies  the  second  page  of  the  Pynehon 
]jook  of  Records,  in  Mr.  Pynchon's  hand  writing.  The 
book  is  still  extant,  and  in  good  preservation  ;  and  the  pen- 
manship, though  ancient  in  style,  is  of  the  best  execution. 
The  document  follows : 

^'■February  the  14/A,  1638. — Wee  the  inhabitants  of  Aguam, 
uppon  the  Quinnectticot,  taking  into  consideration  the  mani- 
fould  inconveniences  that  may  fall  uppon  us  for  want  of  some 
fit  magistracy  among  us  :  Beinge  nowe  by  God's  Providence 
fallen  into  the  line  of  the  Massachusette  jurisdiction  ;  and  it 
being  farr  of  to  repayre  thither  in  such  cases  of  iustice  as  may 
often  fall  out  among  us,  doe  therefore  thiuke  it  meett,  by  a 
generall  consent  and  vote,  to  ordaine  (till  we  receive  further 
directions  from  the  General  Court  in  the  Massachusett  Bay) 
Mr.  Wm.  Pynehon  to  execute  the  ollice  of  a  magistrate  in  this 
our  plantation  of  Aguam,  viz  :  to  give  oaths  to  constables  or 
military  officers,  to  direct  warrants,  both  processes,  executions 
and  attachments,  to  heare  and  examine  misdemenors,  to  de- 
pose witnesses  and  upon  proof  of  misdemenor  to  inflict  cor- 
poral punishment  as  whipping,  stockinge,  byiidiuije  to  the 
peace  or  good  behavior,  and  in  some  cases  to  require  sureties, 
and,  if  the  otTence  require  it,  to  commit  to  prison,  and  in  default 
of  a  common  prison,  to  commit  delinquents  to  the  charge  of 
some  fit  person  or  persons  till  iustice  may  be  satisfied.  Also 
in  the  tryall  of  actions,  for  debt  or  trespass,  to  i^ive  oaths,  di- 
rect juries,  depose  witnesses,  take  verdicts,  and  l^eep  records 
of  verdicts,  judgments  and  executions,  and  whatever  else  may 
tend  to  the  kinge  peace,  and  the  manifestation  of  our  fnlelity 
to  the  Bay  jurisdiction,  and  the  restraining  of  any  that  violate 
God's  laws,  or  lastly,  whatever  else  may  fall  within  the  power 
of  an  assistant  in  the  Massachusett. 

"  It  is  also  agreed  uppon  by  a  mutuall  consent  that  in  case 
any  action  of  dett  or  trespasse  to  be  tryed,  seeinir  a  jury  of 
twelve  lit  persons  cannot  be  had  at  present  among  us,  that  six 
persons  shall  be  esteemed  a  good  and  sulhcient  jury  to  try 
any  action  under  the  sum  of  ten  pounds,  till  we  see  cause  to 
the  contrary,  and  by  common  consent  shall  alter  this  number 


34  SETTLEMENT    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

of  jurors,  or  shall  be  otherwise  directed  by  the  general  court 
in  the  Massachusetts." 

The  General  Court  subsequently  approved  of  these  pi^o- 
ceedings,  and  confirmed  Mr.  Pynchon  in  his  office.  ISIi: 
Pjnehon,  who,  previous  to  his  removal  from  Eoxbury,  had 
been  Treasurer  of  the  Colony,  and  a  magistrate  during  his 
residence  there,  was  re-chosen  assistant  in  1643,  a  position 
which  be  held  by  annual  election  until  1650. 

The  settlement  at  Agawam  was  now  more  alone  and 
self-dependent  than  ever,  but  it  had  become  stronger  also, 
and  had  given  evidence  of  the  wisdom  of  its  councils  by 
the  admirable  act  which  has  been  recorded.     On  the  14th 
of  April,  1640,  the  inhabitants,  being  assembled  in  general 
town  meeting,  changed  the  name  of  their  plantation  from 
Agawam  to  Sin'ingfieid,  as  a  compliment  to  Mr.  Pynchon, 
who  resided  in  a  town  of  that  name  before  his  removal 
from  England ;  though  the  common  idea,  that  the  new 
name  originated  in  the  plentifulness  of  springs  with"  which 
the  place  was  favored,  is  a  natural  one.     The  date  of  its 
incorporation,  as  a  town,  is  not  known.     In  fact,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  it  was  ever  incorporated.     Felt,  in  his  "  Sta- 
tistics," says  that  the  common  date  of  its  incorporation  was 
March,  1645.     There  is  nothing  upon  the  records  to  indi- 
cate this  year,  and  the  whole  matter  is  left  in  uncertainty. 
The  place  was  recognized  in  the  General  Court  as  a  to\\'n 
by  the  name  of  Springfield,  in  1641,  and  if  any  formalities 
equivalent  to  incorporation  were  had  in  the  case,  it  was 
doubtless  previous  to  that  time, — or  between  that  time  and 
the  town  vote  alluded  to.     About  this  time,  the  people  of 
Connecticut  purchased  Woronoco,  embracing  probably  all 
of  the  present  to^vn  of  "Westfield,  and  begun  a  plantation 
there.     Holmes  says  that  Governor  Hopkins  of  Connecti- 
cut erected  a  trading  house  there,  and  had  considerable  in- 
terest in  the  plantation.     It  was  claimed  as  being  within 
the  patent  of  Connecticut,  and  the   claim  in  subsequent 
years  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  bitter  controversy,  the  3Iassa- 
chusetts  Genei-al  Court,  in  1647,  ordering  Woronoco,  in- 
cluding portions  of  the  towns   of  Suffield.  Westfield  and 
Southwick,  "  to  be  a  part  of  the  town  of  Springfield,  and 
liable  to  pay  charges  there." 

The  people  of  young  Springfield  were  not  without  sub- 
jects of  excitement.     In  1635,  John  Wintlirop,  son  of  the 


SAYBROOK   FORT.  35 

Governor  of  Massachusetts,  ai'rived  from  England,  bring- 
ing a  comniissiou  from  Lord  Say  and  Lord  Brook  and 
others,  to  be  Governor  in  Connecticut.     He  brought  with 
him  the  armament  of  a  fort,  and  £2,000  sterling  to  build 
it  with.     This  fort,  of  which  incidental  mention  has  already- 
been  made,  was  built,  and  named  Saybrook  Fort,  after  Lords 
Say  and  Brook.     This  interfered  Avith  the  possessions  of 
the  Windsor,  Wethersfield  and  Hartford  settlers  from  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  but,  for  the  sake  of  2")eace,  they  were  not 
disturbed.     They  wei*e,  however,  Avith  Springfield,  laid  un- 
der contributions  for  the  support  of  the  fort,  all  vessels 
passing  up  the  river  being  required  to  pay  toll.     The  set- 
tlers in  Connecticut  who,  perhaps,  had  some  apprehensions 
that  they  might  be   disturbed  in  their  possessions,  if  they 
refused,  paid  the  toll.     Sprijigfield  would  do  no  such  thing, 
and  out  of  this  refusal  grew  the  most  serious  controversy 
that  ever  occurred  between  the  two  Colonies.     The  Con- 
necticut autliorities  becoming  determined  to  enforce  pay- 
ment, Springtield  appealed  for  protection  to  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  General  Court  sided 
with  them,  and  assumed  their  quarrel.     During  a  series  of 
years,  the  Connecticut  settlements  on  the  river  had  gov- 
erned themselves  independently  of  the  Saybrook  govern- 
ment, and   Avhen,  in    1G44,  they  purchased   the   fort,  they 
purchased  Avitli  it  the  claim  against  Springfield  for  the  tolls 
that  had  accrued,  and  presented  it  for  liquidation.     This 
claim  was  long  the  subject  of  discussion  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies,  and  when,  at  last,  the  Com- 
missioners (those  of  INIassachusetts  not  acting)  decided  tiiat 
the   claim   was  just,  Springfield  again  refused  payment. 
Then  Massachusetts,  as  a  measure  of  retaliation,  or  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  injustice 
of  the  claim,  tried  the  toll  system  upon  all  vessels  of  the 
colonies  entering  the  harbor  of  Boston.     This  measure  cre- 
ated immense  disturbance,  and  came  near  breaking  up  the 
imion  of  the  colonies.     But  common  danger  heals  many 
difficulties,  as  it  did  in  this  case.     INIore  serious  matters  at- 
tracted attention,  and  the  claim  of  Connecticut  upon  the 
town  of  Springtield,  somewhat  the  Avorse  for  the  Avear  of 
two  centuries,  remains  unadjusted  to  this  day. 

The  boundaries  of  S])ringfield,  indefinite  from  the   first, 
Aver©  enlarged  from  timy  to  lime,  until  thev  included  por- 


36  SETTLEMENT   OF   SPRINGFIELD. 


I 


tions  of  Westfield  and  Southwick,  the  wliole  of  West 
Springfield,  the  present  territory  of  Springfield,  Chicopee, 
Wilbraham,  Ludlow  and  Longmeadow,  and  Enfield  and 
Somers  in  Connecticut,  all  of  which  were,  in  the  progress 
of  settlement  and  growth,  erected  into  separate  towns. 
Enfield,  Somers  and  Sufiield  were  adjudged  to  belong  to 
Connecticut  by  Commissioners  appointed  in  1713. 

It  is  diificult  to  trace  the  course  of  justice  during  the 
magistracy  of  Mr.  Pynchon,  through  the  ancient  glyphics 
contained  in  his  book  of  records.  He  had  a  good  many 
grievances  to  adjust,  and  no  one  seems  to  have  been  in  hot 
water  more  frequently  than  "Jo.  Woodcock,"  as  he  is 
styled.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  was  engaged  in  the 
first  case  with  Cable.  Afterwards,  Rev.  Mr.  Moxon  com- 
plained of  him  for  slander,  Woodcock  having  accused  the 
reverend  gentleman  of  taking  a  false  oath  against  him  at 
Hartford.  Mr.  Moxon  claimed  £9  19s  damages,  and 
Woodcock  being  found  guilty,  £G  13s  was  awarded.  We 
next  find  him  engaged  in  a  long  and  somewhat  complicated 
suit,  in  which  Henry  Gregory  was  the  party  of  the  other 
part,  and  in  which  a  "  pigge  "  and  a  "  hogge  "  played  prom- 
inent accompaniments.  Then  John  Woodcock  commenced 
an  action  against  Henry  Gregory  for  slander.  Two  or 
three  days  after  this,  "  John  Searles,  constable  of  Spring- 
field," Avas  required  by  the  magistrate  "  to  attach  the  body 
of  John  Woodcock,  uppon  an  execution  granted  to  Mr. 
George  Moxon,"  the  damages  to  whose  reputation  Wood- 
cock had  failed  to  satisfy,  in  accordance  with  the  verdict  of 
the  jury.  Following  this  up  closely,  Robert  Ashley  com- 
plained of  John  Woodcock  for  not  delivering  to  him  a  l| 
"  gunn,"  which  the  plaintiff  had  purchased  of  him,  and  for 
which  he  had  paid  22s  Gd.  At  the  same  time,  Ashley 
complained  that  Woodcock  had  not  broken  up  a  piece  of 
ground  for  him  "  according  to  bargaine."  In  short,  John 
Woodcock  had  rather  a  lively  time  of  it,  and  had  the  op- 
portunity of  proving  that  human  nature,  two  centuries  ago, 
was  much  the  same  as  now.  All  or  most  of  these  cases 
were  tried  by  a  jury  of  six  men. 

Mr.  Pynclion,  who  was  alike  the  ruling  spirit  and  the 
good  genius  of  Springfield,  was  largely  engaged  in  the 
beaver  trade,  and,  besides  his  duties  as  magistrate,  was  oc- 
cupied in  all  the  concerns  of  the  settlement.     Notwith- 


MK.   PYNCHON'S   heretical    BOOK.  37 

standing  this,  he  found  time  to  write  a  book.  It  was  a  re- 
ligious book,  and  in  its  fatal  pages  were  contained  the  seeds 
of  sorrow  and  disturbance  ;  and  in  the  movements  that  fol- 
lowed its  publication,  are  strikingly  exemplified  the  promi- 
nence given  to  religious  doctrine  by  our  well  meaning 
ancestors,  and  the  small  estimate  placed  ui)on  a  consistent 
Christian  life,  when  considered  in  connection  with  such 
doctrine.  Those  movements  exhibit  also  the  perfect  iden- 
tification of  churcli  and  State  that  then  existed.  The 
union  of  religion  and  government  was  something  more  than 
the  union  of  individual  systems — it  Avas  an  interfusion  of 
law  and  gospel,  covenant  and  constitution,  church  and 
chancery,  magistracy  and  ministry.  Mr.  Pynchon,  though 
strict  in  the  discharge  of  his  magisterial,  social  and  Chris- 
tian duties,  gave  utterance  in  his  book  to  some  opinions 
that  were  not  considered  orthodox  by  the  authorities  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  The  book  was  published  in  England, 
and  in  the  Summer  of  1650,  copies  were  received  in  Bos- 
ton, where  they  gave  rise  to  the  strongest  feeling.  Endi- 
cott  was  then  Governor  of  the  Colony,  and  Dudley  was  his 
second  in  authority.  They  were  men  of  ultra  soundness 
of  faith,  and,  with  the  other  leading  men  ol'  the  colony,  de- 
nounced the  doctrines  of  the  book  as  heretical.  The  clergy 
unitedly  joined  their  denunciations,  and  declared  the  work 
to  be  calculated  to  subvert  the  Ihith  of  the  churches.  The 
General  Court  took  fire  under  this  alarming  state  of  things, 
and  summoned  the  old  man  who  had  dared  to  think,  and 
publish  what  he  thought,  before  them,  to  answer  for  his 
crime.  He  was  deposed  from  the  magistracy  by  that  au- 
gust body,  and  Mr.  Norton  of  Ipswich  was  appointed  to 
write  an  answer  to  the  book ;  and  then,  still  further  to 
carry  out  their  ends,  they  ordered  the  book  to  be  publicly 
burnt  in  Boston  Market,  and  the  sentence  was  fully  exe- 
cuted !  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  account  of  the  life  of  John 
Norton,  does  not  call  Mr.  Pynchon  by  name,  but  speaks  of 
him  as  "  a  gentleman  of  New  England  who  had  written  a 
book,  entitled  The  Meritorious  "price  of  Man's  Redemption, 
wherein  he  attempts  to  prove  that  Christ  suffered  not  for 
us  those  unutterable  torments  of  God's  wrath  which  are 
commonly  called  hell-torments,  to  redeem  our  souls  from 
them ;  and  that  Christ  bore  not  our  sins  by  God's  impu- 
tation, and  therefore  also  did  not  bear  the  curse  of  the  law 

4 


:?2iOf'>o 


38  SETTLEMENT   OF   SPRINGFIELD. 

for  them."     This  gives  the  subject  and  the  drift  of  Mr. 
Pynchon's  book. 

The  General  Court  were  not  content  with  the  humilia- 
tion they  had  visited  upon  the  darmg  book-maker,  in  de- 
posing him  from  his  office,  and  by  the  aid  of  John  Norton 
and  fire,  annihilating  his  book  ;  but  they  earnestly  requested 
the  ministers  to  labor  with  him,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
vincing him  of  his  error,  and  of  bringing  him  to  the  act  of 
its  recantation.  The  effect  of  this  public  condemnation 
and  humiliation,  and  the  labors  of  the  divines  could  not 
but  have  an  effect  upon  the  conscientious  mind  of  Pynchon  ; 
and,  whether  convinced  against  his  will  or  otherwise,  it  is 
recorded  that  the  zealots  accomplished  their  end,  and  that 
he  recanted.  It  is  impossible,  at  this  time,  to  look  back 
upon  such  proceedings  with  any  degree  of  complacency. 
They  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  the  veriest  exhibitions  of 
tyrannical  bigotry.  Here  was  a  man  who  had  left  home 
and  friends  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  his  religion,  had  been 
among  the  foremost  in  the  councils  of  the  colony,  had 
planted  two  settlements — the  last  one  in  the  midst  of 
the  wilderness — had  borne  more  than  his  share  in  the  dan- 
gers, toils  and  responsibilities  of  the  Massachusetts  colony, 
and  had,  through  all,  maintained  a  Christian  character  se- 
cure beyond  the  chai'ge  of  inconsistency  or  taint,  cut  off 
from  influence  and  power,  publicly  condemned  and  publicly 
insulted,  for  giving  utterance  to  a  doctrine  in  religion  at 
variance  in  nice  points  with  the  doctrines  generally  held 
by  the  churches  and  the  General  Court.  Though  Mr. 
Pynchon  recanted,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  these  facts 
and  considerations  weighed  upon  his  mind  in  all  their  in- 
iustice.  and  influenced  him  in  his  decision  to  return  to  En"-- 
land,  and  there  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days — a  de- 
cision which  he  carried  into  effect  in  1652.  This  lesson  of 
intolerance,  drawn  from  the  history  of  the  fathers  of  the 
State,  should  be  improved  by  their  descendents.  Unedu- 
cated conscience  and  conscientious  ignorance  are  the  only 
apology  that  can  be  offered  for  those  who  thus  trampled 
upon  the  very  liberty  for  the  acquisition  and  enjoyment  of 
which  they  had  planted  themselves  in  the  Avilderness. 

That  Mr.  Pynchon  was  convinced  of  his  alleged  errors 
against  his  will,  and  that  one  of  his  motives  for  returning 
to  England  was  that  he  might  enjoy  that  freedom  of  reli- 


MR.  PYNCHON  GOES  TO  ENGLAND.        89 

gious  opinion  denied  him  here,  is  evident  from  his  subse- 
quent action.  In  1655,  his  book  was  issued  in  a  new 
edition  in  London,  by  Thomas  Newberry,  with  additions, 
in  wliich  Mr.  Norton's  book  was  dissected  "byAVilliam 
Pynchon  Esq.,  late  of  New  England."  The  venerable 
controversialist  endeavored  in  his  new  edition  to  "  clear 
several  Scriptures  of  the  greatest  note  in  these  controver- 
sies from  Mr.  Norton's  corrupt  exposition,"  and  fully  reiter- 
ated all  his  former  opinions.  This  book  is  very  elaborate, 
covering  440  pages  quarto — a  favorite  form  in  those  days — 
and  its  leading  doctrine,  as  stated  on  its  title  page,  and  as 
given  by  Cotton  Mather,  is  one  which  has  been  univei'sally 
adopted  by  the  orthodox  Christianity  of  later  days.  The 
writer's  sin  consisted  m  being  in  advance  of  his  age — hap- 
pily one  of  those  sins  which  posterity  does  not  consider 
damnable  beyond  forgiveness.  This  antiquated  vohime,  in 
a  most  honorable  binding,  now  reposes  in  the  Harvard 
College  library,  and  pasted  upon  the  inner  side  of  the 
cover  are  the  following  words:  ^^ Ex  Dono  Reverendi  Ed- 
vardi  Holyoke  Proesidis  Pronepotis  Materni,  Authoris 
17G4-69."  The  donor  was  a  descendent  of  Elizur  Hol- 
yoke and  of  Mr.  Pynchon,  the  former  of  whom,  very  prob- 
ably, once  owned  the  book,  for,  by  the  side  of  it,  in  the 
same  style  of  printing  and  binding,  is  another  work  by 
William  Pynchon,  on  "  the  Sabbath,"  containing  "  Elizur 
llohjoke,  his  hook"  in  his  own  excellent  hand  writing. 
This  book  was  presented  by-the  donor  of  the  other.  The 
second  book  covers  nearly  300  pages,  and  both  show  the 
author  to  have  been  a  good  writer  and  a  very  able  theolo- 
gian. One  of  the  doctrines  put  forward  by  Mr.  Pynchon 
in  regard  to  the  Sabbath,  is,  "  that  the  Lord's  day  doth  be- 
gin with  the  natural  morning,  and  that  the  morning  of  the 
natural  day  doth  begin  at  midnight,  and  so  consequently 
that  the  Lord's  Day  must  begin  both  with  the  natin-al 
morning  at  midnight,  and  end  with  the  natural  evening  at 
midnight."  In  this  he  was  even  in  advance  of  many  of 
the  later  dwellers  of  the  Valley,  who  to  this  day  observe 
Saturday  night  as  holy  time. 

Mr.  Pynchon  was  accompanied  on  his  return  to  Eng- 
land by  Mr.  Moxon,  the  minister  at  Springfield,  and  by  his 
son-in-law,  Henry  Smith,  who  had,  in  the  meantime,  been 
appointed  to  the  magistracy  in  Pynchon's  stead.     Neither 


40  SETTLEMENT    OF   SPRINGFIELD. 

» 

of  the  three  ever  returned  to  America.  The  causes  of  Mr. 
Moxon's  removal  are  not  known,  but  they  were  doubtless 
connected,  in  some  measure,  with  Mr.  Pynchon's  adversi- 
ties. It  has  been  conjectured  by  some  that  he  sympathized 
with  Mr.  Pynchon's  views,  and  was  either  disgusted  or 
alarmed  at  the  treatment  he  had  received.  That  these  two 
men  were  on  the  most  intimate  terms,  is  presumable  from 
their  position — the  one  the  leader  in  civil  matters,  the 
other  in  religious.  That  the  book  was  written  without  Mr. 
Moxon's  knowledge  is  not  probable.  That  it  was  sent  oft' 
for  publication  under  his  condemnation,  is  not  likely.  But 
another  cause  for  his  removal  has  been  assigned,  which 
carries  upon  its  face  a  strong  look  of  probability,  and  which 
renders  it  necessary  to  return  to  somewhat  earlier  history. 
Springfield,  the  first  of  all  the  towns  of  New  England, 
was  visited  by  witchcraft.  This  occurred  sometime  during 
the  year  1645.  The  minister's  family  was,  very  naturally, 
the  object  of  the  Devil's  malice,  and,  accordingly,  Mr.  Mox- 
on's children  were  "  affected  mysteriously  by  an  unseen 
hand."  At  that  time,  and  in  New  England,  almost  every- 
body believed  in  witchcraft,  for  the  bigotry  that  produces 
intolerance  is  the  hot-bed  of  superstition.  This  case  of 
witchcraft  was,  of  course,  the  constant  theme  of  gossip  and 
speculation,  and  imdoubtedly — for  it  was  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  times — of  public  and  private  prayer. 
It  made  an  uncomfortable  and  suspicious  neighborhood. 
Friends  suspected  each  other  of  having  made  a  league  with 
the  devil,  and  of  tormenting  the  children.  These  children 
were  in  a  miserable  plight.  They  were  distressed  with 
fits,  and  all  those  torments  which  characterized  the  subse- 
quent operations  of  witches  in  the  Eastern  part  of  the  col- 
ony, and  which  are  connected  with  the  blackest  and  blood- 
iest page  in  the  annals  of  New  England  delusions.  The 
case  must  have  l)een  sowing  its  poison  in  the  settlement  for 
some  years  when,  according  to  the  Pynchon  Record  Book, 
"  the  widdow  Marshfield  complained  against  Mary  H.,  wife 
of  Hugli  Parsons  of  Springfield,  for  reporting  her  to  be 
suspected  for  a  witch,  and  she  produced  Jo.  Matthews  and 
his  wife  for  her  witnesses."  Goody  Parsons  had  her  trial 
for  this  singular  slander,  was  found  guilty,  and  sentenced 
to  be  "  well  whipped  with  20  lashes  by  the  Constable." 
This  Goody  Parsons  Avas  a  poor,  nervous  creature,  and 


ARREST   FOR    "WITCHCRAFT.  41 

subject  to  fits  of  insanity,  and  may  liave  been  instijrated  to 
make  the  report  against  Mrs.  Marslifield,  from  finding  sus- 
picion directed  against  herself;  for  subsequently,  certainly, 
if  not  before,  she  was  publicly  charged  with  aftiicting  Mr. 
Moxon's  children.  In  March,  1G51,  while  in  a  state  of 
partial  insanity,  she  murdered  her  infant  child,  and  tliis 
was  enough,  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  town,  to 
confirm  all  their  suspicious.  The  unfortunate  creature  was 
ai'rested,  conveyed  to  Boston,  and  imprisoned  to  await  her 
trial  on  the  double  charge  of  witchcraft  and  murder. 

Previous  to  this,  one  poor  woman,  Margaret  Jones  of 
Charlestown,  had  been  tried  for  witchcraft,  and  executed. 
Goody  Parsons,  on  arriving  at  Boston,  was  found  to  be 
so  very  sick  that  it  was  feared  she  would  die  in  prison, 
yet,  notwithstanding  this,  she  was  brought  into  Court  then 
in  session,  and  arraigned  on  the  charge  of  having  "  made 
a  league  with  a  familiar  spirit  to  hurt  Martha  and  Rebekah 
Moxon."  It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  that  she  had  the  sense 
beyond  some  of  the  victims  of  her  times,  to  plead  not 
guilty,  and  that  she  was  acquitted.  She  plead  guilty  to 
the  charge  of  murdering  her  child,  and  received  sentence 
of  death.  Probably  on  account  of  her  sickness,,  her  exe- 
cution was  postponed  to  the  last  of  May,  and  she  doubtless 
died  in  prison^as  no  further  mention  is  made  of  her.  But 
this  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  matter.  Hugh  Parsons,  her 
husband,  after  all  the  trials  arising  from  the  infirmities  of 
his  wife,  and  her  sad  end,  was  himself  charged  with  witch- 
craft in  the  following  year,  and  found  guilty  by  the  jury 
before  which  he  was  tried.  The  magistrate  did  not  con- 
sent to  the  verdict,  and  the  matter  being  brouglit  before  the 
General  Court,  that  body  found  that  lie  was  "  not  legally 
guilty,"  and  discharged  him. 

It  is  not  strange  that  Mr.  Moxon,  in  view  of  the  depart- 
ure of  Mr.  Pynchon,  and  with  a  pair  of  bewitched  children 
on  his  hands,  whose  tormentors  he  was  not  able  to  brinsr  to 
justice,  should  conclude  to  leave  the  country,  and  return  to 
his  home.  His  determination  having  been  made  known, 
the  town  purchased  his  real  estate,  and  appropriated  it  for 
the  use  of  the  ministry.  Mr.  Moxon  lived  in  England  un- 
til 1 687,  when  he  died,  out  of  the  ministry,  and  in  poverty. 
AVith  him  and  his  children  witchcraft  departed  from 
Springfield.     Mr.  Pynchon  died   in   England,  Oct.  29th, 

4* 


42  SETTLEMENT    OF   SPRINGFIELD. 

1661,  at  tlie  age  of  72  years,  having  survived  his  return 
but  about  nine  years ;  but  his  memory  will  be  held  in  high 
honor  here  on  the  ground  of  his  old  trials,  and  the  theater 
of  his  efforts,  wliere  he  won  from  wild  men  and  the  wilder- 
ness the  beautiful  region  of  the  Connecticut  Valley.  He 
left  behind  him  in  this  country  four  children — John  Pyn- 
chon,  who  was  destined  to  play  even  a  more  important  part 
in  the  history  of  Western  Massachusetts  than  his  father, 
the  wife  of  Henry  Smith ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Capt.  Elizur 
Holyoke,  and  Margaret,  the  wife  of  William  Davis  of  Bos- 
ton, who  the  very  year  that  his  father-in-law  returned  to 
England,  was  elected,  though  a  non-resident,  as  a  deputy 
to  represent  Springfield  in  the  General  Court.  He  was 
repeatedly  elected  to  the  same  office  in  after  years,  as  were 
also  John  Pynchon,  Henry  Smith  and  Elizur  Holyoke,  and 
thus  did  Springfield  honor  the  old  man  in  the  persons  of 
his  children. 

And  now,  the  affairs  of  the  still  tender  settlement  opened 
under  new  auspices.  On  the  departure  of  Pynchon  and 
Smith  for  England,  the  General  Court  appointed  John 
Pynchon,  Elizur  Holyoke  and  Samuel  Chapin — the  latter 
being  "  the  ancestor  of  all  of  that  name  in  New  England  " 
— as  a  board  of  magistracy  in  Springfield.  This  board  re- 
mained without  modification  of  constituents  or  authority 
until,  in  1658,  further  settlements  on  the  river  had  made  a 
change  necessary.  A  copy  of  the  Commission  issued  to 
these  gentlemen  is  preserved  in  the  Pynchon  Book  of 
Records,  as  also  a  copy  of  their  oath,  in  which  they  "  swear 
by  ye  Living  God  that  they  will  truly  endeavor  to  their 
best  abilitys,  in  the  place,  according  to  the  laws  of  God 
and  this  Commonwealth."  The  Commission  gave  them 
authority  to  govern  the  inhabitants  of  Springfield,  and  to 
hear  and  determine  all  cases,  both  civil  and  criminal,  "  that 
reach  not  to  life,  limbs  or  banishment."  This  board  intro- 
duced system  into  its  operations,  and  assumed  the  dignity 
of  an  important  legal  tribunal.  The  first  Thursday  in 
March  and  the  first  in  September  were  appointed  as  regu- 
lar Court  days.  The  first  cases  considered  by  this  board 
will  show  somewhat  the  nature  and  spirit  of  the  regulations 
and  laws  which  prevailed.  Reice  Bedortha  and  Benja. 
Mun  were  presented  by  Richard  Sikes,  the  town  "  pre- 
senter," "  ffor  taking  of  tobacco  on  (each)  his  hay -cock." 


PUNISHMENT  FOB  LETTDNESS.  48 

It  seems  that  the  fees  of  the  presenter,  and  his  incentive  to 
diligence,  consisted  of  half  of  Avhatever  fines  should  be 
impo'sed  in  cases  of  conviction.  In  these  cases,  he  re- 
leased his  pi*oportion,  and  they  were  let  off  with  a  propor- 
tionately small  ^pe.  Margarite  Joanes  was  fined  five 
shillings  for  the  breach  of  a  town  order.  Deacon  Chapin 
and  Widow  Bliss,  with  others,  were  fined  one  shilling  each 
for  a  breach  of  town  orders.  In  1654,  we  come  to  the 
record  of  more  serious  cases.  One  Samuel  Wright  Jr., 
Avas  charged  with  the  paternity  of  Mary  Burt's  illegitimate 
child,  and  being  tried,  Avas  found  guilty,  by  a  full  jury  of 
twelve  men.  lie  was  sentenced  "  for  his  evill  behavior 
therein,  to  be  whipped  with  12  strypes  on  the  naked  body, 
well  layd  on,  and  to  pay  the  charges  of  the  Court,  and  to- 
wards the  mayntenance  of  the  said  child  to  pay  after  the 
rate  of  one  shilling  four  pence  per  week,  making  payment 
every  month  during  the  term  of  seaven  yeares,  and  at  the 
end  of  seaven  yeares  to  pay  fforty  shillings  towards  the  put- 
ting forth  of  the  said  child  to  be  an  apprentice."  Mary 
Burt,  also,  "for  her  great  wickedness,"  was"  adjudged  to 
be  Avhipped  on  ye  naked  body  Avith  12  stripes  well  laid 
on  " — a  very  questionable  Avay,  certainly,  of  punishing  a 
crime  of  that  character.  Poor  Maiy  Avas  sentenced  to 
receive  20  stripes  more  for  another  offense  of  the  same 
character,  unless  she  should  "  redeem  "  her  second  Avhipping 
by  the  payment  of  thirty  shilhngs,  Avhich  she  managed  to 
do.  But  for  the  first  crime,  "  she  received  her  punish- 
ment." 

The  place  vacated  by  Mr.  Moxon  Avas  not  readily  filled, 
and  for  nine  years  the  people  Avere  Avithout  a  settled  min- 
istei'.  For  brief  periods  during  this  time,  they  enjoyed 
the  ministrations  respectively  of  Mr,  Ilosibrd,  INIr.  Thomp- 
son and  Mr.  Hooker,  son  of  llev.  Thomas  Hooker  of  Hart- 
ford, Avhom  Cotton  Mather  denominates  "  the  light  of  the 
Western  churches."  In  the  intervals  of  their  labors,  men 
Avere  appointed  by  vote,  in  toAvn  meeting,  from  among  their 
own  number,  to  lead  every  Sabbath  in  public  Avorsliip. 
Deacon  Wright  Avas  voted  fifty  shillings  per  month  tor  tiie 
service.  Deacon  Chapin,  Mr.  Holyoke  and  Henry  Burt, 
also  received  payment  for  the  performance  of  the  same 
duty,  and  Mr..  Pynchon  occasionally  instructed  the  people 
ou  the  Sabbath,  "  sometimes  by  readmg  notes,  and  some- 


44  SETTLEMENT    OP   SPRINGFIELD. 

times  by  his  own  meditations."  In  IGGl,  the  inhabitants 
succeeded  in  procuring  the  permanent  settlement  of  Rev. 
Pelatiah  Glover,  a  man  of  fine  talents,  fine  attainments, 
and  ardent  piety.  His  ministry  was  a  long,  and,  in  the 
end,  a  prosperous  one.  He  remained  i^  Springfield  more 
than  thirty  years,  and  died  March  29,  1692. 

The  incongruity  of  the  ancient  method  of  calling  con- 
gregations together  on  the  Sabbath,  with  the  spirit  of  the 
day,  is  noticeable.  John  Matthews  was  hired  by  a  vote  of 
the  town  to  beat  the  drum  half  an  hour  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  morning  service,  beating  it  all  the  Avay 
"  from  Mr.  Moxon's  to  R.  Stebbins'  house,"  for  which  he 
was  to  receive  4d.  in  wampum,  from  each  family,  or  its 
equivalent,  a  peck  of  Indian  corn.  How  long  this  method 
of  announcing  the  hour  for  the  solemn  assembly  continued, 
does  not  appear,  but  it  must  have  formed  a  unique  sight 
and  sound  for  Sabbath  morning.  In  16G0,  the  famous 
"  Pynchon  House  "  was  built  by  John  Pynchon,  and  was 
the  first  brick  structure  in  the  Valley.  This  building,  after 
surviving  the  perils  of  the  Indian  wars,  and  the  changes  of 
nearly  two  centuries,  was  torn  down  in  1831  by  his  de- 
scendants. Its  picture  is  very  appropriately  preserved  in 
the  seal  of  the  city  of  Springfield. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Settlement  of  Northampton  and  Hadlet — Erec- 
tion   OF   HA3IPSHIRE    COUNTT. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  fertile  bottom  lands  on 
the  river  North  of  Springfield  remained  unknown,  or  un- 
appreciated.    But  population  did  not  crowd,  and  adventure 
Avas  in  a  degree  satisfied  with  the  fields  already  won.     In 
1653,  Nonotuck,  a  territory  embracing  the  present  towns 
of  Northampton,  Southampton,  Easthampton,  Westhamp- 
ton,  and  a  part  of  Hatfield  and  Montgomery,  was  purchased 
of  the  Indians,  and  conveyed  by  the  deed  of  AVawliillowa, 
Nenessahalant,  Nassicohee  and  four  other  Indians,  to  John 
Pynchon,  Elizur  Ilolyoke  and  Samuel   Chapiu,  the  Com- 
missioners of  Springfield.     The  settlement  was  commenced 
in  the  following  year,  in  the  present  town  of  Northamp- 
ton, by  twenty-one  planters,  principally  from  Springfield 
and   Windsor.      The    ancestors  of   those  in  the   several 
Hamptons  who  bear  the  names  of  Parsons,  Wright,  Steb- 
bins,  Burt,  Bridgman,  Edwards  and  Scarle,  were  originally 
from  Springfield.     The  original  petition  lor  liberty  to  plant 
and  settle  at  Nonotuck  was  made  by  several  planters  who 
represented  to  the  General  Court  that  "  it  was  a  place  suit- 
able to  erect  a  town  for  the  furtherance  of  the  public  weal, 
and  the  propagating  of  the  Gospel,  and  which  promised, 
in  an  ordinary  way  of  God's  Providence,  a  comfortable 
subsistence  whereby  they  might  live  and  attend  upon  God 
in  his  holy  ordinances  without  distraction."     At  the  same 
time,  the  Springfield  Commissioners  presented  a  petition  in 
aid  of  this,  stating  tliat  there  was  tillable  ground  suflicient 
for  two  large  plantations.     They  declared  that  they  had  no 
private  ends  to  answer,  but  wished  for  liberty  to  erect  the 
plantations,  "  so  that  the  glory  of  God  might  be  furthered, 
and  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  government  not  re- 
tarded." 

Liberty  to  plant  was  granted,  and  the  purchase  made  as 
stated.  The  territory  sufficient  for  two  large  plantations, 
indicated  in  the  petition  of  the  Springfield  Commissioners, 


< 


46  SETTLEMENT    OF    NORTHAMPTON. 

embraced  the  land  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from 
Northampton,  now  occupied  by  the  town  of  Hadley.  The 
General  Court  appointed  a  committee  to  lay  out  both 
plantations,  but  they  reported  when  they  had  laid  out  but 
one.  This  embraced  the  great  meadow  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  and  the  little  meadow  "  Capawonk,"  which  they 
described  as  lying  about  two  miles  above.  The  length  on 
the  river  was  from  the  upper  end  of  this  little  meadow, 
"  to  the  great  falls  down  towards  Springfield."  Westward- 
from  the  river,  the  tract  extended  nine  miles  into  the 
woods.  Rev.  Solomon  Williams,  in  a  sermon  delivered  at 
Northampton  in  1815,  mentions  a  tradition  to  the  effect 
that  as  early  as  1652,  an  English  family  settled  in  that 
town,  on  land  which  lies  East  of  what  is  called  Hawley- 
street,  a  locality  wliich  the  later  inhabitants  have  but  re- 
cently come  to  regard  as  favorable  for  building  spots,  and 
where  new  streets  have  been  opened  and  elegant  dwellings 
erected.  The  entire  price  paid  for  this  large  and  valuable 
tract  was  100  fathom  of  wampum,  (strings  of  beads  made 
of  shells  and  used  by  the  Indians  as  money,)  ten  coats 
some  small  gifts,  "  and  ploughing  up  sixteen  acres  of  land 
on  the  East  side  of  Quounecticot  river  the  ensuing  Sum- 
mer." 

It  is  legitimately  a  matter  of  complacent  reflection  that, 
as  in  Northampton  and  Springfield,  so  in  all  the  early  set- 
tlements of  New  England,  the  right  of  the  wild  Indian  to 
his  wild  lands  was  recognized,  and  was  always  extinguished 
by  formal  purchase.  The  price  paid  for  the  valuable  lands 
on  the  Connecticut  was  small,  or,  rather,  seems  small  to 
their  present  occupants  and  owners,  but,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  they  were  made  valuable  to  the  settlers  only  by 
patient  cultivation,  and  that,  Avith  all  the  labor  expended  in 
cultivation  and  defense,  the  owners  w^ere  extremely  poor 
for  many  years,  the  price  paid  will  appear  to  have  been 
sufficiently  large.  Subsequent  to  the  purchase  of  Nono- 
tuck,  the  Sachem  Umpanchela  complained  that  he  had  not 
received  his  proportion  of  the  proceeds,  or,  at  least,  as 
much  as  he  expected,  and  the  inhabitants  immediately 
voted  to  satisfy  him,  and  he  executed  a  new  deed  of  the 
township. 

The  inhabitants  of  Northampton  elected  what  they  de- 
nominated "townsmen"  in  1655 — one  year  after  their  set- 


ALLOTMENTS    OP    LAND.  47 

tlement — officers  answering  to  the  present  "selectmen," 
though  probably  clothed  with  somewhat  more  extended 
powers.  The  town  was  probably  incor2)orated  the  year 
before.  Springfield  established  and  filled  the  same  offices 
some  nine  years  previously,  and,  by  a  vote  of  the  town, 
their  duties  were  "  to  direct  in  all  the  fundamental  affiiirs 
of  the  towne,  to  prevent  everything  which  they  shall  judge 
to  be  of  damage  to  the  towne,  and  to  order  anytliing  which 
they  shall  judge  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  towne.  Also,  to 
hear  complaints,  to  arbitrate  controversies,  to  lay  out  high- 
ways, to  see  to  the  scouring  of  the  ditches  and  to  the  kill- 
ing of  wolves,  and  to  the  training  u)>  of  the  children  in 
their  good  ruling,  or  any  other  thing  tliey  sliall  judge  to  be 
to  the  pi'ofit  of  the  towne." 

By  a  mutual  agreement,  made  by  the  purchasers  of 
Nonotuck,  in  November,  1653,  and,  consequently,  previous 
to  the  permanent  settlement,  all  who  should  go  there  to 
settle  should  receive  "  every  single  man  four  acres  of 
meadow,  besides  the  rest  of  his  division,  and  every  head  of 
a  family  six  acres  of  meadoAv  besides  the  rest  of  his  divi- 
sion." It  was  further  agreed  that  the  territory  should  be 
allotted  to  the  families  according  to  their  names,  estates 
and  qualifications.  It  was  also  provided  that  the  twenty 
men  who  had  paid  for  the  land,  and  had  borne  its  original 
charges,  should  be  entitled,  in  the  aggregate,  to  one  fourth 
of  the  meadow,  then  estimated  to  be  800  acres.  The 
home-lots  granted  to  the  original  settlers  were  located  al- 
'most  entirely  on  what  now  are  known  as  Pleasant,  King, 
Market  and  Hawley  streets.  In  tlie  settlement  at  Nono- 
tuck,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Springfield,  and,  in  fact,  in  all 
the  early  settlements  of  the  region,  great  value  was  at- 
tached to  meadow  land,  or  interval.  At  that  date,  interval 
was  esteemed  to  be  the  only  land  that  possessed  more  than 
a  nominal  value.  Particulaidy  was  this  the  case  at  North- 
ompton,  Avhere  mendow  land  al)Ound('d.  Here,  all  other 
laud  was  very  liglitly  esteemed,  and  this  high  estimate  of 
meadow  land  has  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 
until  the  present  day ;  and  no  considi'rable  fanner  now 
lives  near  the  central  portion  of  the  town  but  is  able  to 
boast  of  his  meadow  lots.  Grants  of  house  and  meadow 
lots  were  made  to  subsequent  settlers,  on  condition  that 
they  would  occupy  and  cultivate  them  for  four  years  ;  and 


'v 


48  SETTLEMENT    OP    NOETHAMPTON. 

the  fulfillment  of  this  condition  seems  to  have  secured  to 
its  observers  rights  equal  to  those  of  the  original  settlers. 
The  houses  and  barns  built  by  the  settlers  were  necessarily 
of  logs,  and  their  cultivation  was  of  those  open  patches 
upon  the  meadow  on  which  the  Indians  had  planted  their 
corn  and  beans. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1654,  measures  were  instituted, 
looking  forward  to  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry, and  for  the  meeting  of  Christian  assemblies.     This 
was  at  a  time  when  the  families  probably  did  not  exceed 
the  number  of  twenty.     William  Holton,  Joseph  Lyman, 
Joseph   Parsons,  John   Lyman  and  Edward  Elmore  con- 
tracted to  build  a  meeting  house,  which  was  to  be  made  of 
"  sawen  timbex*,"  26  feet  long  and  18  feet  wide,  for  the  sum 
of  14  pounds  sterling,  to  be  paid  in  work  or  corn.     The 
contract  designated  the  15th  of  April,  1655,  as  the  time 
when  the  job  was  to  be  concluded.     In  this  little  edifice — 
meaner  and  more  rude  in  its  construction  than  any  build- 
ing now  in  the  Valley — the  fathers  of  the  town  held  their 
solemn  assemblies,  offered  up  their  united  prayers,  and  put 
forth  their  stern  views  of  doctrine.     Here,  after  the  toils 
of  the  week,  in  plain  and  carefully  kept  clothes,  the  saintly 
heads  of  families,  with  their  closely  trained  and  solemn- 
faced  children,  observed  holy  day.     The  imagination  can- 
not but  revert  to  those  occasions,  with  an  admiration  toned 
down  almost  to  holy  reverence.     There,  in  the  midst  of  a 
silent  wilderness,  the  voice  of  prayer  arose.     The  curious 
Indian  paused  at  the  door,  and  was  filled  with  awe  as  the 
white  man  addi'essed  the  Great  Spirit.     Far  away  from 
the  busy  haunts  of  men,  they  seemed,  and  felt  nearer  God 
— more  alone  Avith  God — than  ever  before.     With  rever- 
ent joy  they  rejoiced  in  that  blessed  intimacy  of  com- 
munion, and  drew  from  it  the  strength  they  needed  for  the 
trials  and  duties  that  formed  the  staple  of  their  daily  lives. 
There  not  being  a  time-piece  in  the  settlement,  some  mode 
of  calling  worshipers  together  was  rendered   peculiarly 
necessary.     Whether  the  instrument  used  was  a  drum,  as 
in  Springfield,  or  a  more  dignified  instrument,  is  not  known. 
It  may  be  stated  that  Rev.  Rufus  Pomeroy  of  Otis  now 
has  in  his  possession  a  very  large  and  sonorous  "  cow-bell," 
to  which  tradition  assigns  the  honor  of  being  the  first  in- 
strument used  in  calling  the  settlers  of  Northampton  to 


CHURCH    DISSENSIONS. 


their  worship.  At  a  later  date,  Jedediah  Strong  had  a 
salary  of  eighteen  shillings  a  year  "  for  blowing  the  trump- 
et." The  purpose  for  which  the  trumpet  was  blown  is  not 
stated  in  the  record,  but  it  is  presumed  that  this  was  the 
mode  of  announcing  the  hour  of  religious  meetings.  This 
house  was  occupied  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  de- 
signed, until  about  the  year  1662,  when  a  larger  edifice 
was  erected,  capable  of  accommodating  an  enlarged  popu- 
lation, and,  in  the  following  year,  the  old  building  was 
probably  converted  into  a  school  house. 

There  was  disagreement,  even  in  a  church  after  tliis  ul- 
tra-primitive pattern.  This  disagreement  afterwards  pro- 
ceeded so  far  that  it  was  taken  notice  of  by  the  General 
Court.  The  difference  of  opinion  touched  particularly  the 
manner  of  conducting  public  worship,  in  the  absence  of  a 
minister.  The  Court  decided  "  that,  though  some  private 
men  may  exercise  their  gifts,  when  there  are  such  as  are 
known,  able,  approved  and  orthodox  ;  their  best,  safest,  and 
most  peaceable  way  was  to  assemble  all  at  one  place,  and 
to  spend  their  Sabbath  together,  besides  praying  and  sing- 
ing, in  reading  and  repeating  of  known  godly,  orthodox 
books  and  sermons."  But  the  people  did  not  long  remain 
without  the  regular  ministrations  of  the  Gospel.  Their 
destitute  case  and  their  want  of  a  minister  were  made 
known  to  the  General  Court,  and  the  wish  stated  that  Mr. 
Eleazer  Mather  of  Dorchester,  (the  term  "  Reverend  "  was 
not  much  used  in  those  days,  and  is  often  misapplied  in  the 
present,)  might  become  their  spiritual  leader.  The  Court 
commended  their  condition  to  the  reverend  elders,  and 
their  assistance  was  solicited  in  tlie  matter.  This  was  at' 
the  May  Court  of  1658,  and  the  Court  subsequently 
"judged  it  meet  to  declare  that,  in  case  God  so  inclined  tiie 
hearts  of  those  who  are  concerned  therein,  and  Mr.  Mather 
go  unto  Northampton,  to  minister  unto  the  inhabitants 
there  in  the  things  of  God,  they  both  approve  thereof,  and 
shall  be  ready  at  all  times  to  encourage  liim  in  that  service, 
as  there  shall  be  occasion,  in  whatsoever  shall  be  rationally 
and  meetly  expected."  Mr.  Mather  accordingly  went  to 
Northampton,  and  was  ordained  on  the  Ibth  of  June,  1061, 
about  a  month  previous  to  the  vote  of  the  town  to  build  a 
new  and  more  commodious  meeting  house.  This  gentle- 
man, like  a  majority  of  the  ministers  of  those  days,  was  a 


50  SETTLEMENT     OF    NORTHAMPTOK". 

man  of  learning.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College. 
Cotton  Mather  says  of  him :  "  As  he  was  a  very  zealous 
preacher,  and  accordingly  saw  many  seals  of  his  ministry, 
so  also  was  he  a  very  pious  walker ;  and  as  he  grew  near 
the  end  of  his  days,  he  grew  so  remarkably  ripe  for  heav- 
en, that  many  observing  persons  did  prognosticate  his  be- 
ing not  far  from  his  end."  He  died  on  the  24th  of  June, 
1669,  at  the  early  age  of  32 ;  and,  as  Mather  says  that  he 
labored  at  Northampton  "  eleven  years  in  the  vineyard  of 
our  Ltord,"  it  would  appear  that  he  preached  thei'e  three 
years  before  his  ordination,  or,  from  the  date  of  the  action 
of  the  General  Court  concerning  his  settlement,  ab-eady 
recorded.  The  new  meeting  house,  built  at  an  early  date 
in  his  ministry,  was  erected  near  the  site  of  the  first  one, 
on  what  was  known  as  "  Meeting  House  Hill,"  and  the 
present  large  structure,  now  known  as  the  "  Old  Church," 
is  the  fourth  occupying  the  same  locality. 

At  the  May  session  of  the  General  Court,  1055,  and  in 
answer  to  a  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Northampton, 
desiring  the  establishment  of  a  Government  among  them, 
Wilham  Holton,  Thomas  Bascom  and  Edward  Elmore 
were  empowered  to  adjudicate  all  small  causes,  according 
to  law,  being  previously  required  to  take  their  oaths  of 
office  before  Mr.  Pynchon  and  Mr.  Holyoke  at  Springfield. 
Just  three  years  later,  it  Avas  ordered  that  there  should  be 
two  Courts  held  yearly  by  the  Springfield  and  Northamp- 
ton Commissioners,  the  Courts  to  be  held  alternately  in 
each  place.  The  Court  thus  constituted  had  power  to  de- 
termine "  by  jury  or  without,  according  to  the  liberty  the 
law  allows  in  County  Courts,  all  civil  actions  not  exceed- 
ing £20  damages,  and  all  criminal  cases  not  exceedmg  £5, 
or  corporeal  punishment  not  exceeding  ten  stripes,  reserv- 
ing appeals  in  all  such  cases  to  the  County  Court  at  Bos- 
ton." The  Court  were  also  empowered  to  grant  licenses 
for  houses  of  public  entertainment,  and  for  the  vending  of 
wine,  cider  and  ardent  spints,  to  administer  the  freeman's 
oath,  to  commit  malefactors  to  prison,  &c.  Under  this 
commission,  the  first  Court  was  lield  at  Northampton,  Sept. 
28,  1 658.  Any  four  of  this  united  Commission  were  com^ 
petent  to  hold  a  Court,  and  only  Mr.  Pynchon  and  Mr. 
ilolyoke  were  present  from  Springfield  at  the  first  session. 
The  next  session  was  to  be  held  at  Springfield,  and  the 


1 
I 


THE    COURSE    OF    EAW.  51 

Northampton  Commissioners — Mr.  Holton,  Arthur  "Wil- 
liams and  Richard  Lyman — accompanied  by  four  jurymen 
— the  largest  number  that  could  be  called  from  one  place 
to  another  for  service — presented  themselves,  by  certiiicate 
of  the  Northampton  constable,  to  be  sworn.  But  it  seems 
that  the  people  of  Northampton  were  not  satisfied  of  the 
legal  appointment  of  their  Commissioners,  and  declared 
that  they  were  not  even  freemen  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  this  Commonwealth.  And,  as  the  PjTichon  Rec- 
ord Book  hath  it,  "  therefore  after  the  busyness  was  longe 
debated,  the  result  mtis  that  there  could  be  no  Corte  Le- 
gally kept  here,  without  further  orders  from  Superior  Pow- 
ers :  and  soe  the  Assembly  brake  up," 

It  is  a  matter  of  amusement  to  look  over  the  knotty 
course  of  law  in  the  cases  that  came  before  the  authorities 
at  this  period.  Frequent  among  the  complaints  brought 
forward  was  that  of  Sabbath  breaking.  Joseph  Leonard 
was  complained  of  for  misbehaving  himself  on  the  Sab- 
bath day,  playing,  sporting  and  laughing,  &c.  In  this  cfise, 
two  witnesses  testified  that  "  last  Sabbath  day  they  saw 
Joseph  Leonard  sporting  and  laughing  in  sermon  tyme, 
and  that  he  did  often  Ibrmerly  misbehave  himselfe  in  the 
same  way."  Another  SAvore,  "  that  on  that  Ld's  day  was 
se'n-night,  or  Lord's  day  was  fortnight,  he  saw  Joseph 
Leonard  come  to  Sam  Harmon  at  the  meeting  house  dore, 
and  beate  of  his  hat,  and  then  ran  away,  and  afterwards 
came  to  him  again,  and  ofiered  to  kick  at  him,  and  run 
away,  and  then  S.  Harmon  ran  after  liim."  A  female  wit- 
ness had  seen  Joseph  and  Sam  "  whip  and  whisk  one  an- 
other with  a  stick  before  the  meeting  house,  in  sermon 
tyme."  Joseph  was  accordingly  found  in  debt  to  tlie  law 
to  the  amount  of  five  shillings.  Daniel,  a  servant  of 
Thomas  Merrick,  of  Springfield,  for  "idle  v.'atching  about, 
and  not  coming  to  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord,"  was  ad- 
judged to  be  worthy  of  stripes  to  the  number  of  five,  Avell 
laid  on.  Actions  for  slander  were  not  unfrcqucnt.  Abu- 
sive or  reproachful  language  Avas  also  a  common  cause  of 
complaint,  while  card-playing  and  keej^ing  a  house  Avhere 
card-playing  Avas  alloAved,  were  oftenses  punished  with  con- 
siderable fines.  Entire  chastity  by  no  means  prevailed 
among  the  eai'ly  settlers,  as  the  records  prove  ;  but  offenses 
against  this  virtue  Avere  usually  committed  by  the  appren- 


52  SETTLEMENT     OF    NORTHAMPTON. 

tices  or  servants — persons  attachecl  to  all  the  New  Eng- 
land colonies,  who  were  without  position  or  character. 
Still,  these  were  not  wholly  in  the  blame.  Robert  Bart- 
lett  of  Northampton,  to  whom  the  Springfield  Commis- 
sioners were  authorized  to  administer  the  constable's  oath 
in  1655,  was  brought  up  the  very  next  year  for  a  shameful 
assault  upon  the  wife  of  one  Smith. 

With  the  full  complement  of  trials  attached  to  an  early 
settlement  in  the  wilderness,  the  first  years  of  civilized  life 
in  Northampton  passed  slowly  away.     The  settlers  secured 
their  meeting  house  and  their  minister.     Soon  after  the 
ordination  of  Mr.  Mather,  INIr.  .John  Strong  was  appointed 
ruling  elder  of  the   church,  and  Mr.  Joseph   Elliot  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  teacher.     The  offices  of  pastor  and 
teacher  were  kept  distinct  in  many  of  the  New  England 
churches.     The  pastor's  office  was  to  administer  a  word  of 
wisdom ;  the  teacher's,  a  word  of  knowledge.     The  pastor 
exhorted  to  works  of  personal  devotion  and  obedience, 
while  the  teacher  expounded  the  weightier  matters  of  doc- 
trine.    As  in  other  places,  so  here,  the  distinction  was  not 
long  maintained.     Mr.  Elliot  was  never  ordained,  although 
he  assisted  Mr.  Mather  for  a  year  or  two.     Previous  to 
1659,  upwards  of  forty  planters  had  settled  in  the  town, 
some  of  whom  were  acquainted  with  mechanical  trades, 
but  all  relied  principally  upon  husbandry  for  a  livelihood. 
These,  with  the  families  belonging  to  them,  made  a  popu- 
lation  demanding  no  inconsiderable   supplies.     The   dis- 
tance from  other  and  more  advanced  settlements  was  se- 
verely felt   in   hardships   of  many  kinds.      The    settlers 
were,  and  felt  themselves  to  be,  very  poor.     They  had  no 
mill  at  which  to  grind  their  corn,  and,  with  their  slender 
means  and  conveniences,  were  obliged  to  build  one.     Their 
weak  and  impoverished  condition  was  fully  set  forth  in  a 
petition  to  the  General  Court,  to  liave  their  taxes  remitted 
for  some  years,  dated  Oct.  17,  1659.     The  reasons  given 
for  asking  this  favor  were — that  they  had,  in  consequence 
of  their  remote  situation,  been  at  heavy  cost  in  getting 
supplies,  that  they  had  commenced  to  build  a  mill  which 
had  been  a  long  time  in  building,  had  been  very  expen- 
sive, and   was  not  then  finished,  that   God  in  his  provi- 
cfence  had  cut  off  the  greater  part  of  their  crops  by  a 
dreadful  storm,  and  that  they  had  been  at  several  pub- 


THE   FIRST   BIRTH,   MARRIAGE   AND    DEATH.  53 

lie  charges  for  the  "  settling  of  the  ordinances "  among 
them. 

The  first  birth  in  Northampton  occurred  May  1,  1655. 
The  name  of  the  "  native  American  "  was  Ebenezer  Par- 
sons. James  Bridgman  was  the  first  person  who  died. 
His  death  occurred  in  the  following  January.  David  Burt 
and  Mary  Holton  began  life  in  the  new  settlement  by  get- 
ting married,  on  the  18th  of  November,  1654.  Marriages, 
at  that  time,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  wei'e  solemn- 
ized only  by  magistrates.  These  great  events  of  birth, 
death  and  marriage,  so  common  in  large  communities  as  to 
cause  hardly  a  ripple  on  the  sux*face  of  society,  were  in 
tliat  young  settlement  matters  to  be  talked  about  for  days. 
The  first  child  was  doubtless  received  with  a  universal 
flutter  of  delight,  and  the  reverent  and  grateful  feelings  of 
the  mother  Ibund  expression  in  the  name  bestowed  upon 
her  offspring.  And  when  David  Burt  and  Mary  Holton 
held  one  another  by  the  hand,  in  pledge  of  life-long  love 
and  companionship,  were  there  no  tears  in  view  of  the 
trials  that  surrounded  them,  and  lay  before  ?  There  was 
not  a  wild  flower  for  the  bride's  hair,  and  veiy  scanty  and 
rude  must  have  been  the  marriage  feast.  But  when  death 
first  broke  into  the  little  band,  and  a  grave  was  made  in  the 
wilderness,  how  sad  and  solemn  must  have  been  the  scene  ! 
The  rude  coffin,  by  the  door  of  a  ruder  cabin,  was  placed 
out  in  the  calm,  cold  light  of  a  Winter  morning.  The 
planters  came  one  after  another,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  looked  their  last  upon  the  pale  face  of  their  com- 
panion. And  when,  after  a  fei'vent  prayer  from  some 
patriarchal  voice,  the  sleeper  was  borne  off  by  a  half  worn 
path  to  the  place  of  burial,  on  Meeting  House  Hill,  what 
tears  and  sobs  made  strange  notes  among  the  shivering 
trees !  To  all  the  natural  feelings  that  spring  everywhere 
on  such  occasions,  was  added  in  these  scenes  that  ever 
prevalent  reference  to  the  providence  of  God  which  dis- 
tinijuished  the  men  of  that  time,  and  clothed  even  their 
errors  and  weaknesses  with  moral  sublimity. 

Northampton  was  named  after  Northampton  in  Eng- 
land— whether  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  settlers  were 
originally  from  that  place,  or  because  it  was  the  northern- 
most toAvn  on  the  Connecticut,  is  not  known.  Possibly 
both  facts  had  sometliiug  to  do  with  the  matter.     The  mau- 

5* 


I 


54  SETTLEMENT    OF    HADLET. 

ner  in  which  the  tAvo  prominent  features  in  the  landscape  ■ 
in  the  vicinity  of  Northampton,  viz.  Mount  Holyoke  and  M 
Mount  Tom,  received  their  names,  is  variously  stated  by  ■ 
tradition.  The  most  probable,  and,  certainly,  the  most  po- 
etical,  account,  is  to  the  effect  that,  some  five  or  six  years 
after  the  settlement  of  Springfiekl,  a  company  of  the  plant- 
ers went  Northward  to  explore  the  country.  One  party, 
headed  by  Elizur  Holyoke,  went  up  on  the  East  side  of 
the  river,  and  another,  headed  by  Eowland  Thomas,  went 
up  on  the  "West  side.  The  parties  arriving  abreast,  at  the 
narrow  place  in  the  river  below  Hockanum,  at  what  is  now 
called  Eock  Ferry,  Holyoke  and  Thomas  held  a  conversa- 
tion with  one  another  across  the  river,  and  each,  then  and 
there,  gave  his  own  name  to  the  mountain  at  whose  feet  ho 
stood.  The  name  of  Holyoke  remains  uncorrupted  and 
without  abbreviation,  while  Mount  Thomas  has  been  cur- 
tailed to  simple  and  homely  "  Tom." 

While  the  settlements  on  the  Connecticut,  under  the  ju- 
risdiction of  Massachusetts,  were  passing  through  their  first 
stages  of  progi-ess,  their  stronger  neighbors  below  them 
found  time  to  engage  in  a  high  religious  controversy.     The 
subject  of  division  and  quarrel  was  Baptism,  with  particu- 
lar reference  to  the  qualifications  for  receiving  that  ordi- 
nance,   and    church    membership.      Among    those    whose 
feelings   were   strongly  implicated  in  this   business   Avere 
John  Webster,  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  Rev.  John 
Russell  of  Wethersfield.     For  the   sake  of  peace,  they, 
Avith  a  number  of  respectable  associates,  determined  on  re- 
moving, and  planting  themselves  anew.     On  the  18th  of 
April,   1G59,  these  individuals,  to  the  number  of  sixty, 
"  met  at  Goodman  Ward's  house  in  Hartford,"  and  signed 
an  agreement  to  remove  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecti- 
cut, into  the  jurisdiction   of  Massachusetts.     The  fertile 
lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Northampton  had  attracted  their 
attention,  and  they  had  presented  a  petition  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts   General    Court,  representing  their  wishes,   and 
asking  for  a  grant  of  land.     The  Court  acceded  to  their 
desires,  and  appointed  Capt.  Pynchon,  Lieut.  Holyoke  and 
Deacon  Chapin  of  Springfield,  and  William  Holton  and 
Richard  Lyman  of  Northampton,  "  to  lay  out  tlie  bounds 
c£  the  new  plantation,  on  either  or  both  sides  of  the  river, 
as  they  shall  see  cause."     This  board  attended  to  their  duty 


THE   BOUNDARIES.  55 

with  dispatch,  and  reported  the  bounds  of  the  plantation 
as  follows :  "  On  the  East  side  of  the  river  their  Southerly 
bounds  to  be  from  the  head  of  the  falls  above  Springfield, 
and  so  to  run  East  and  North  the  length  of  nine  miles 
from  the  said  river ;  and  their  Northerly  bounds  to  be  a 
little  brook  called  by  the  Indians  Nepasoanege,  up  to  a 
mountain  Quankwattchee,  and  so  running  Eastward  from 
the  river  the  same  length  of  nine  miles  ;  from  their  North- 
erly bounds  to  their  Southerly  bounds  on  the  river  is 
about  eleven  or  twelve  miles.  And  on  the  West  side  of 
the  river,  their  bounds  on  the  South  are  to  join  or  meet 
with  Northampton  bounds,  (which  said  bounds  of  North- 
ampton come  to  a  little  riverett  running  between  two 
pieces  of  land  called  Capawonke  and  Wequittayyagg,)  and 
on  their  North,  their  bounds  to  be  a  great  mountain  called 
Wequomps ;  and  the  North  and  South  bounds  are  to  run 
West  two  miles  from  the  great  river,  and  from  North  to 
Soutli  on  that  side  the  river  is  about  six  or  seven  miles." 

The  company  in  Connecticut  having  secured  their  grant, 
employed  Capt.  Pynchon  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to 
the  lands  they  wished  immediately  to  occupy.  The  ]>nr- 
chase  included  a  tract  North  of  JNIount  llolyoke,  about 
nine  miles  square.  Mr.  Pynchon  also  purchased  for  them 
Capawonkti  meadow,  belonging  to  Northampton,  on  the 
West  side  of  the  river.  This  latter  purcliase  comprised 
800  acres,  more  or  less,  of  rich  bottom,  in  tlie  present  town 
of  Hatheld,  and  the  price  to  be  paid  for  it  was  ten  pounds 
sterling.  There  were  certain  conditions  attached  to  the 
sale  which  were  not  fulfilled  by  the  purchasers,  and  a  deed 
was  not  given  until  March  11,  1059,  wluni  the  price  was 
increased  to  thirty  pounds  sterling,  and  this  was  the  sum 
paid.  The  price  given  to  the  Indians  for  the  land  on  the 
East  side  was  two  hundred  and  twenty  fatliom  of  wam- 
pum, and  one  large  coat,  "  besides  several  gifts  and  other 
good  causes  and  considerations."  The  land  on  the  West 
side  of  the  river,  besides  the  tract  purchased  of  Northamp- 
ton, was  bought  of  the  Indians  for  three  hundred  fiithom  of 
wampum,  and  other  small  considerations.  All  this  land 
was  embraced  under  the  general  name  of  Nonotuck,  or 
"Nolwotogg,"  as  it  is  spelt  in  the  deed.  The  Indian  deed 
is  dated  Dec.  25,  1G58 — some  months  previous  to  the 
agreement  to  remove,  made  at  Hartford.     A  considerable 


56  SETTLEMENT    OF   HADLEY. 

number  went  up  to  tlio  new  plantation  in  1659,  to  make 
preparations  for  tlie  general  removal.  Very  few  families 
removed  that  yeai*,  though  there  is  evidence  that  one  family, 
at  least,  lived  there  during  the  following  winter.  There 
were  doubtless  more  than  one.  And  thus  were  the  prelim- 
inaries arranged  for  the  settlement  of  Hadley.  The  terri- 
tory enclosed  within  its  bounds  was  very  large,  and  in- 
cluded the  present  towns  of  Hadley,  South  Hadley, 
Granby,  Amherst  and  Hatfield. 

The  projectors  of  the  settlement  at  Hadley  embraced  a 
larger  number  of  men  of  means  and  character,  than  were 
found  in  either  Springfield  or  Northampton.  Many,  and, 
probably,  the  most  of  them,  had  been  residents  of  the  Con- 
necticut settlements  for  a  period  of  twenty  years.  They 
had  prospered  in  worldly  matters  to  a  considerable  degree, 
and  possessed  that  experience  in  new  settlements  which 
enabled  them  to  set  about  their  enterprise  with  a  perfect 
understanding  of  all  their  wants.  Accordingly,  in  the 
agreement  drawn  up  at  Hartford,  they  decided  that  Wil- 
liam Westwood,  Richard  Goodman,  William  Lewis,  Jolm 
White  and  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  should  precede  the  re- 
moval of  the  settlers,  lay  out  fifty-nine  home-lots,  allowing 
eight  acres  for  every  home-lot,  and  leaving  a  street  twenty 
rods  wide  between  the  two  Westernmost  rows  of  home-lots. 
On  the  9th  of  November,  1659,  seven  townsmen  were 
chosen,  those  who  had  not  removed  as  well  as  those  who 
had,  participating  in  the  election.  The  names  of  the  indi- 
viduals chosen  were  William  Westwood,  Nathaniel  Dick- 
inson, Lemuel  Smith,  Thomas  Studley,  John  White,  Rich- 
ard Goodman,  and  Nathaniel  Ward.  The  men  appointed 
to  lay  out  the  settlement  attended  to  their  duty,  and  the 
Old  Hadley  street  of  to-day  bears  the  impress  of  their  la- 
bors. The  lots  were  laid  out  on  either  side  of  the  "  street 
twenty  rods  broad,"  which  extended  across  the  neck  of  the 
peninsula,  formed  by  the  bend  of  the  river  at  that  point. 
But  all  those  who  agreed  to  remove  to  the  new  settlement 
did  not  hold  to  their  agreement.  Only  foi'ty  of  them  set- 
tled in  Hadley ;  thirty-four  of  them  took  up  their  resi- 
dence on  the  East  side  of  the  river,  and  six  on  the  West. 
.Thirteen  persons,  unnamed  in  the  original  agi'eement, 
^  joined  the  settlers  on  the  East  side,  making  in  all  forty- 
seven,  and  to  them  the  allotments  of  home-lots  were  made. 


ALLOTMENTS    OF    LAND.  57 

The  manner  of  apportioning  the  meadow  lands  was  in  this 
wise :  a  certain  sum  was  placed  against  each  settler'^  name, 
representing  what  was  denominated  his  estate.     This  sum 
did  not,  in  fact,  represent  his   estate,  but,  in   comparison 
with  the  sums  set  opposite  the  names  of  the  others,  desig- 
nated the  relative  amount  of  land  to  which,  from  a  variety 
of  considerations,  he  was  entitled.     Thus,  a  young,  unmar- 
ried and  poor  man  received  what  was  called  a  £40  lot, 
while  a  man  of  wealth  and  family,  and  who  had  probably 
borne  a  larger  proportion  of  the  cliarges,  received  a  £200 
lot.     In  fact,  the  settlei-s  paid  to  Mr.  Pynchon  their  pro- 
portion of  the  purchase  money,  as  well  as  their  taxes  for 
several  years,  by  rates  based  on  the  size  of  their  lots  re- 
spectively.    The  majority  of  the  planters  were  from  Hart- 
ford  and   Wethersfield,  and   a   few  of  them   came    from 
"Windsor.     One  only  went  over  from  Northampton,  and  he, 
probably,  because  he  loved  the  daughter  of  William  AVest- 
wood,  whom  he  married.     His  name  was  Aaron  Cook  Jr. 
He  received  no  home-lot,  and  lived  with  his  father-in-law. 
No  inconsiderable  number  of  those  who  came  from  Con- 
necticut were  of  those  who,  more  than  twenty  years  before, 
removed  thither  from  Watertown,  Caml)ridge  and  Dorches- 
ter, Mass.,  where  they  arrived  from   England.     Some   of 
them  were  gray  with  years,  and  counted  their  grand-chil- 
dren.    The  first  settlers  called  the  new  plantation  New- 
town.    This  name  was  probably  given  by  Home  of  the  old 
settlers  of  Cambridge,  Avhich  place  originally  had  the  same 
name.     It  received  the  name  of  Iladley  probably  about 
the  commencement  of  the  year  IGGl — written  Ifddlcitili^ixt 
first,  after  a  town  by  the  same  name  in  Sutlulk  County, 
England — and,  at  the  May  term  of  the  General  Court  in 
that  year,  it  was  ordered  that  Hadley  should  be  its  name. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  ordered  "  that  for  the  better  gov- 
ernment of  the  people,  and  suppressing  of  sins  there,  some 
meet  persons,  annually  presented  by  the  freemen,  shall  be 
commissioned  and  empowered,     *     *     *     together  with 
the  Commissioners  of  Springfield  and  Northampton,  or  tlie 
greater  part  of  them,  to  keep  Courts  appointed  at  Spring- 
field and  Northam})ton."     They  also  had  sejjarate  jurisdic- 
tion in  a  certain  class  of  cases,  with  the  reservation  of  a 
right  of  appeal  to  the  Court  at  Springfield  and  Northamp- 
ton.    The  first  Commissioners  of  Hadley,  under  this  order. 


58  SETTLEMENT    OF   HADLEY. 

were  Andrew  Bacon,  Samuel  Smith  and  Mr.  William 
Westwood.  They  were  directed  to  take  their  oath  before 
Mr.  Pynchon,  who  seemed  to  maintain  for  himself  the 
eminence  formerly  occupied  by  his  father,  in  all  the  early 
settlements  of  the  Valley.  Up  to  this  date,  and,  in  fact, 
during  his  life — through  the  long  period  when  he  was 
sjioken  of  as  the  "  Worshipful  Major  Pynchon  " — no  trans- 
actions of  great  importance  were  effected  Avithout  his 
agency. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Russell,  the  minister,  has  already  been 
mentioned,  as  among  the  original  signers  of  the  agreement 
to  remove  from  Wethersfield,  and  he  was  also  among  the 
earliest  of  the  settlers.  His  appropriate  ministrations 
doubtless  commehced  with  his  residence,  and  it  is  asserted 
that  the  church  organized  there  was  the  second  regularly 
organized  in  Western  Massachusetts,  the  church  at  North- 
ampton having  no  regular  organization  until  IGGl.  Here 
Mr.  Eusseil  continued  his  pastoral  labors  for  thirty-three 
years,  proving  himself  a  faithful  and  godly  man.  But 
neither  the  Counnissionei's  of  the  General  Court,  nor  the 
Commissioner  of  Heaven,  could  entirely  "  suppress  sins  " 
among  the  young  people  of  Hadley  ;  and  we  find  in  a  vote 
passed  by  the  town  in  1G71,  more  than  ten  years  after  both 
had  commenced  to  exercise  the  duties  of  their  vocation — 
that  it  was  adjudged  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  order 
in  the  sanctuary,  that  "  there  shall  be  some  sticks  set  up  in 
the  meeting  liouse  in  several  places,  with  some  fitt  persons 
placed  by  them,  and  to  use  the  same  as  occasion  shall  re- 
quire, to  keepe  the  youth  from  disorder."  In  December, 
of  the  year  1G61,  the  to^vn  voted  to  build  the  structure 
which  was  the  scene  of  this  singular  watchfulness.  Its 
dimensions  Avere  45  feet  in  length  and  24  in  breadth,  with 
"  leanto's  "  on  each  side,  that  would  make  its  entire  breadth 
36  feet.  This  was  the  third  house  devoted  to  the  service 
of  God  in  the  Connecticut  Valley. 

In  all  three  of  the  early  settlements,  the  first  years  of 
whose  history  have  been  briefly  presented,  prompt  meas- 
ures were  taken  for  the  education  of  youth — the  initiative 
of  the  noblest  system  of  common  schools  now  existing  in 
the  world.  In  each  of  the  three,  a  military  company  was 
•f^  established  and  officered,  as  a  measure  of  defense  against 
the  possible  treachery  of  the  Indians,  with  whom,  thus  far, 


ERECTION    OF   HAMPSHIRE    COITKTT.  59 

they  had  maintained  entire  peace.     The  Indians  seem  to 
have  been  on  excellent  terms  with  the  settlers,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  they  had  absorbed  their  most  valua- 
ble lands.     They  had  been  treated  with  fairness,  and  their 
numbers  (much  less  than  many  suppose)  as  well  as  their 
habits  of  life,  did  not  allow  them  to  feel  the  real  magnitude 
of  the  encroachments  that  had  been  made.     Sometimes 
they  were  brought  before  the  magistrates  for  misdemeanors, 
and  fined.     Ardent  spirits  and  fire-arms  were  forbidden 
articles  in  all  traffic  with  them,  and  cases  were  not  uncom- 
mon in  whicli  whites  were  severely  fined  for  selling  to 
them  the  former  article.     Those  who  received  licences  to 
sell  strong  liquors  were  forbidden  to  sell  to  Indians — a 
measure  of  mercy  to  the  Indians,  and  safety  to  the  whites. 
In  each  of  tiiese  places  the  ordinances  of  religion  had  been 
established,  and  on  every  Sabbath  day  the  voice  of  prayer 
and  the  hymn  of  praise  ascended  from  three  rudely  built 
sanctuaries.     Almost  the   entire   variety  of  staple   crops, 
except  potatoes,  that  now  adorn  the  valley,  had  come  to  be 
cv;ltivated  then.     There  were  fields  of  wheat,  Indian  corn, 
peas,  barley,  rye  and  oats.     All  these  plantations  were 
weak,  and  yet  they  were  strong — strong  in  the  excellence 
of  their  soil,  in  force  of  will  and  purpose,  in  hardy  consti 
tut  ions,  and  in  faith  in  God. 

These  settlements,  united  to  each  other  by  constant, 
though  still  arduous,  intercommunication,  by  common  in- 
terests and  by  subordinate  jurisdiction,  had  grown  to  such 
importance  tliat,  in  tlie  Spring  of  1GG2,  the  General  Court 
set  them  off,  with  a  large  extent  of  unsettled  territory,  into 
a  County,  with  tlie  name  of  Hampshire.  The  act  con- 
stituting the  County  follows,  in  terms : 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  inhabitants  of  this  jurisdiction  are 
much  increased,  so  that  now  they  are  planted  far  into  the 
country,  upon  Connecticut  River,  who  by  reason  of  their  re- 
moteness cannot  conveniently  be  annexed  to  any  of  the  Coun- 
ties aheady  settled  ;  and  that  public  allairs  may  with  more 
facility  be  transacted  according  to  laws  now  established  :  It  is 
ordered  by  the  Court,  and  authority  thereof,  that  henceforth 
Springfiekl,  Northampton  and  Ihulley  shall  be,  and  hereby 
are,  constituted  as  a  County,  the  bounds  or  limits  on  the  South 
to  be  the  South  line  of  the  patent,  the  extent  of  other  bounds 
to  be  full  30  miles  distant  from  any  or  either  of  the  foresaid 
towns  :  and  what  towns  or  villages  soever  shall  hereafter  be 


60  HAMPSUIRE    COUNTY. 

erected  within  the  foresaid  limits  to  be  and  belong  to  the  said 
County.  And  further,  that  the  said  County  shall  be  called 
Hampshire,  and  shall  have  and  enjoy  the  liberties  and  privi- 
leges of  any  other  County ;  that  Springfield  shall  be  the  shire 
town  there,  and  the  Courts  to  be  kept  one  time  in  Springfield 
and  another  time  at  Northampton  ;  the  like  order  to  be  ob- 
served for  their  shire  meetings,  that  is  to  say,  one  year  at  one 
town  and  the  next  year  at  the  other  town,  from  time  to  time. 
The  Deputies  have  passed  this,  with  reference  to  the  consent 
of  the  honored  Magistrates. 
16  (day)  3  (month)  1662. 

William  Torrey,   Clericus. 

"  The  Magistrates  do  consent  hereto,  and  do  further  order 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  shire  shall  pay  their  public  rates 
to  the  County  Treasurer  in  fat  cattle  or  young  cattle,  such  as 
are  fit  to  be  put  off,  that  so,  no  unnecessary  damage  be  put  on 
the  County,  and  in  case  they  make  payment  in  corn,  then  to 
be  made  at  such  prices  as  the  same  do  commonly  pass 
amongst  themselves,  any  other  form  or  annual  order,  referring 
to  the  price  of  corn,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Their 
brethren,  the  Deputies,  hereto  consenting. 

Edward  Rawson,  Sec'y. 

"  Consented  to  by  the  Deputies, 

William  Torrey,  Cleric." 

Thus  roughly,  nnd  thus  indefinitely,  were  the  boundaries 
of  Hampshire  County  described.  These  boundaries  were 
not  curtailed  until  many  years  later,  when  "Worcester 
County  was  formed,  and  still  later  when  the  County  of 
Berksliire  was  erected.  The  Court  of  Assistants  in  Bos- 
ton held  appellate  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  brought  before 
the  somewhat  irregular  Courts  of  the  new  County,  and 
primary  jurisdiction  in  all  criminal  cases  extending  to 
"life,  member  or  banishment."  The  County  Court,  pos- 
sessing no  great  degree  of  legal  ability,  were  not  likely  to 
be  greatly  troubled  with  attorneys  more  learned  than  them- 
selves, for  the  General  Court  had  enacted  a  rule  which, 
whether  intended  for  that  purpose  or  not,  made,  or  tended 
to  make,  the  profession  of  law  contemptible.  No  person 
who  was  "  a  usual  or  common  attorney  "  could  hold  a  seat 
in  the  House  of  Deputies.  This  rule  was  adopted  in  1663, 
about  a  year  after  the  establishment  of  the  County. 

The  payment  of  the  County  rates  in  cattle  and  corn 
■I*  rendered  necessary  a  more  convenient  method  of  trans- 
portation than  the  upper  plantations  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 


TRANSPORTATION    OF   PRODUCE.  61 

Increasing  ability  to  carry  out  works  for  facilitating  inter- 
course between  the  settlers,  the  advancing  wants  of  a 
rising  population,  and  over-production,  Avere  all  felt,  and, 
in  1663,  a  road  was  made  between  Hadley  and  Northamp- 
ton, a  distance  of  three  miles.  In  the  following  year,  a 
road  was  laid  out  to  Windsor  from  Northampton,  ujjwards 
of  thirty  miles,  the  expenses  of  which  were  borne  by  the 
three  towns  in  equitable  proportions.  Over  this  road  was 
transported  the  produce  to  the  point  where  it  could  be 
shipped  for  Boston.  The  freight  from  Windsor  to  Boston, 
or  Charlestown,  amounted  to  the  price  of  one-third  of  the 
cargo,  in  an  instance  that  is  left  on  record,  while  the  land 
transport  could  not  have  amounted  to  much  less.  The 
changes  of  two  hundred  years,  in  view  of  these  facts,  may 
readily  be  appreciated  by  the  present  generation. 

6 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Completion  op  the  First  Line  op  Settlements  on 
THE  Connecticut  River — Incidents  op  Interest. 

There  are  some  facts  connected  with  the  manner  in 
which  New  England  was  settled,  in  its  earlier  days,  that 
are  worthy  of  mention  in  connection  with  the  mode  pur- 
sued in  later  times,  and  still  followed  in  the  advancing  set- 
tlements of  the  West.  In  consequence  of  the  isolated 
condition  of  the  settlements  at  that  day,  and  the  danger 
from  the  surrounding  savages,  the  settlers  always  planted 
themselves  together,  in  villages.  While  this  method  an- 
swered the  immediate  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed, 
the  ends  incidentally  secured  were  of  far  greater  imjjor- 
tance  than  were  then  dreamed  of.  All  the  inhabitants 
were,  in  that  manner,  brought  under  the  immediate  influ- 
ence of  the  ordinances  of  religion,  the  children  lived  by 
the  side  of  the  school  house,  and  the  social  features  of  civ- 
ilized life  were  retained  and  cultivated.  The  Connecticut 
Valley  now  bears  the  marks  of  this  ancient  policy,  not 
only  in  the  accumulation  of  its  inhabitants  at  scattered 
points,  but  in  the  morality,  education  and  urbanity  that,  by 
a  natural  consequence,  prevail  among  them.  The  influ- 
ence of  this  policy  can  only  be  fully  appreciated  when 
standing  by  the  side  of  the  solitary  settler's  hut  in  the 
West,  where  even  an  Eastern  man  has  degenerated  to  a 
boor  in  manners,  where  his  children  have  grown  up  uned- 
ucated, and  Avhere  the  Sabbath  has  become  an  unknown 
day,  and  religion  and  its  obligations  have  ceased  to  exer- 
cise control  upon  the  heart  and  life.  The  appearance  pre- 
sented at  this  day,  by  the  towns  first  settled  on  the  Con- 
necticut River,  is  unique.  All  the  towns  containing  at- 
tractive interval  lands  are  not  occupied  by  farms,  as  the 
word  is  popularly  understood.  The  inhabitants  live  in  vil- 
lages, and  have  their  home-lots,  their  meadow  lots,  their 
upland  lots,  and  their  Avood-land,  while  in  the  towns  in 
^heir  vicinity  more  recently  settled,  the  farmers  generally 
'  nold  tracts  undivided,  and  live  upon  them  separately. 


TOWN    REGULATIONS.  63 

This  settlement  in  villages,  however,  in  connection  with 
the  want  of  operative  general  laws,  produced  a  large 
amount  of  local  legislation,  and  created  a  great  number  of 
offices.  The  rules  and  regulations  of  these  early  towns 
were  numerous  and  minute.  In  IG-iD,  the  inhabitants  of 
Springfield  adopted  a  code  of  laws,  or  regulations,  number- 
ing twenty-eight,  in  which  there  Avas  hardly  a  thing  name- 
able  in  the  plantation  that  passed  unmentioned.  It  de- 
scended even  to  the  regulation  of  wages,  and  the  prescribing 
the  number  of  pence  per  day  to  be  paid  for  every  kind  of 
labor.  During  the  Winter  months,  laborei'S  were  not  al- 
lowed to  take  above  IGd.  per  day,  and  for  the  Summer 
months,  not  more  than  20d.  per  day.  Mechanics  had  some- 
what higher  wages,  and  tailors  the  lowest  of  all — 12d.  per 
day.  One  of  the  regulations  made  it  a  finable  offense  to 
neglect  attendance  upon  the  annual  town  meetings,  and 
another  imposed  a  high  penalty  on  any  one  Avho  should  re- 
fuse to  accept  an  office  to  which  he  might  be  elected.  The 
town  offices  were  many,  but  many  of  them  are  now  obso- 
lete, or  are  considered  nominal.  There  was  some  variation 
in  the  names  and  nature  of  the  offices  established  in  the 
first  towns.  In  Spi'ingfield,  there  was  a  general  "  swine- 
rhiger,"  whose  business  it  was  to  "ring"  all  the  swine  in 
the  town,  doubtless  because  they  were  allowed  to  run  at 
large.  Iladley  in  after  years  had  the  same  officer.  Be- 
sides the  Commissioners  "  for  the  ending  of  small  causes," 
and  the  "  select  townsmen,"  there  were  usually  measurers 
of  land,  constables,  surveyors  of  highways,  fence  viewers, 
meat  packers,  tythingmen,  sealers  of  weights  and  measures, 
hay  wards  (hog-reeves  and  field-drivers),  sextons,  in  some 
instances  cow  keepers  and  shepherds,  and,  at  a  later  day, 
deer-reeves.  The  latter  were  chosen  to  carry  out  a  law  of 
the  colony  against  killing  deer  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year.  Springfield  sent  a  deputy  (Henry  Smith,)  to  the 
General  Court  as  early  as  1641.  The  first  deputy  from 
Hadley  was  Lt.  Samuel  Smith,  who  was  chosen  in  1661. 
Northampton  sent  her  first  deputy  about  the  same  yeai\ 
The  uniform  pay  of  a  deputy  seems  to  have  been  £4  per 
session,  and  this  sum  did  not  come  from  the  Colonial  Treas- 
ury, but  from  the  towns  themselves.  The  practice  of  send- 
ing deputies  to  the  General  Court,  who  were  non-residents, 
was  not  confined  to  Springfield.     Northampton  and  Had- 


64  HAMPSHIRE     COUNTY. 

ley  sometimes  sent  deputies  belonging  in  Boston,  or  its 
vicinity,  for  the  purpose,  doubtless,  of  saving  expense.  In 
1663,  Northampton  chose  deputies  from  Hadley,  and  the 
latter  town,  in  1669,  cliose  a  deputy  from  Northampton. 

At  the  date  of  the  establishment  of  Hampshire  County, 
Springfield  had  made  grants  of  land  at  Woronoco  (West- 
field),  and  Freshwater  (Enfield,  Ct.),  and  at  each  of  those 
places  small  settlements  had  been  commenced.  As  early 
as  1655,  at  least  nine  house  lots  were  granted  by  Spring- 
field on  "  Chicopee  Plain,"  on  the  West  side  of  the  river, 
in  the  present  town  of  West  Springfield.  About  1660, 
Thomas  Cooj^er,  Abel  Leonard  and  Thomas  Merrick,  set- 
tled on  the  South-west  side  of  the  Agawam  river.  At  a 
still  earlier  date — about  1644 — settlements  were  made  at 
Masacksick,  or  the  "  long  meadow,"  in  the  present  tovra  of 
Longmeadow.  Benjamin  Cooley,  George  Colton  and  John 
Keep  were  among  the  first  who  planted  themselves  in  that 
locality,  near  the  bank  of  the  river.  Their  descendents  in 
this  -purt  of  the  country  are  numerous.  All  these  settle- 
ments were  made  within  the  recognized  limits  of  Spring- 
field, and  wei'e  within  its  jurisdiction.  Settlements  were 
also  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicopee  River,  and  at  the 
October  term  of  the  General  Court,  "  Richard  Fellows  pe- 
titioned for  a  grant  of  200  acres  of  land  at  Chicopee  River, 
upland  and  meadow,  engaging  in  consideration  thereof,  to 
build  a  house  there  for  travelers,  both  horse  room  and 
house,  and  lodgings  for  men,  and  provisions  for  both,  with 
beer  and  strong  liquors."  His  petition  was  granted,  on 
condition  that  he  should  keep  his  engagements,  and  main- 
tain his  establishment  for  seven  years.  The  latter  fact 
shows  that  considerable  communication  had  been  com- 
menced between  the  settlements,  and  that  it  was  so  consid- 
erable that  the  General  Court  deemed  it  important  that  it 
should  have  road-side  accommodations. 

At  the  May  Court,  1662,  certain  gentlemen  who  appear 
to  have  belonged  in  Windsor  and  Dorchester,  presented  a 
petition,  representing  themselves  to  be  much  in  want  of 
land,  and  asking  for  a  tract  six  miles  square  at  Woronoco, 
to  be  joined  with  the  farms  of  "  the  late  much  honored 
IVIaj.  Gen.  Atherton  and  Capt.  Roger  Clapp  of  Dorchester," 
to  whom  it  appears  grants  had  previously  been  made  by 
the  Court.     This  petition  was  signed  by  fifteen  individuals. 


I 


SETTLEilEXT    OP    ■VVESTFIELD.  65 

The  Deputies  voted  to  grant  the  petition,  and  decreed  that 
the  farms  alluded  to  should  belong  to  the  plantation,  in  re- 
spect to  public  charges,  and  that  "  the  order  for  Woronoco 
henceforth  to  lie  to  Springfield  should  be  void,"  provided 
the  petitioners  should  settle  themselves   and  a  minister 
within  three  years :  otherwise  the  land  was  to  belong  to 
Springfield  until  a  plantation  should  be  settled  there.     The 
Deputies  also   appointed   Capt.   Pynchon,  Capt.   Edward 
Jolmson,    David   Wilton,    Samuel    Smith   and   Nathaniel 
Dickinson,  Sr.,  to  set  out  the  plantation,  and  order  its 
affairs  until  twelve  inhabitants  should  be  settled,  of  whom 
six,  at  least,  should  be  freemen.     To  this  arrangement  the 
magistrates  disagreed,  who  deemed  it  best  to  appoint  a 
Commission  to  view  the  territory,  and  report.     But  this 
scheme  seems  to  have  entirely  miscarried,  as  no  considera- 
ble settlement  occurred  there  until  IGGG,  and  among  tJiose 
who  held  titles   confirmed  by  a  residence  of  five  years, 
thereafter,  the  name  of  but  one  of  the  petitioners  can  be 
found,  viz :  George  Phelps,  who  emigrated  from  Windsor. 
The  majority  of  the  settlers  were  from  Springfield,  and 
others  were  from  Northampton.     At  a  town  meeting  held 
at  Springfield,  Feb.  7th,  IGCl,  Capt.  Pynchon,  Elizur  IIol- 
yoke  and  Messrs.  Ely,  Colton  and  Cooley  were  appointed 
a  standing  committee  "  to  have  the  sole  power  to  order 
matters  concerning  Woronoco,  both  for  admitting  of  inhab- 
itants and  to  grant  lands,  or  for  any  other  business  that 
may  concern  that  place,  and  conduce  to  its  becoming  a 
town  of  itself."     By  a  vote  of  Springfield,  Thomas  Cooper 
had  a  grant  of  land  in  Woronoco  in  1G'>8,  l)ut  his  settle- 
ment on  the  Agawam  River  in  IGGO  indicates  that  he  did 
not  occupy  it,  iind,  in  fact,  his  name  does  not  appeal-  among 
those  who  held  confirmed  land  titles  at  a  later  date.     Nei- 
ther does  the  name  of  Dea.  Samuel  Chapin,  to  whom  a 
grant  was  made  in  16G0,of  land  adjoinmg  Cooper's,  appear 
in  this  list.     It  is  evident  that  neither  occupied  his  grant 
even  temporarily.     The  first  individual  born  in  Woronoco 
was  Benjamin  Saxton,  in  IGGG,  and  he  lived  to  the  good 
old  age  of  88   years.     Meetings   were  first  held  on  the 
Sabbath  in   1667.     Among  tlie   early  residents  was  INIr. 
John  Ilolyoke,  son  of  Elizur  llolyoke  of  Springfield,  and 
he  conducted  public  worship.     He  was  at  that  time  twen- 
ty-five years  old.     He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College, 

6* 


66  HAMPSHIRE     COUNTY. 

and  had  studied  theology  with  a  view  to  a  life  devoted  to 
the  ministry.  In  this  intention  he  did  not  persevere,  and, 
soon  after  the  death  of  his  father,  in  the  Winter  of  1675-6, 
he  returned  to  the  old  homestead  in  Springfield,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  a  long  life,  in  celibacy,  and  in  de- 
votion to  the  public  service  in  the  various  offices  of  Town 
Clerk,  Register  of  Deeds  for  Hampshire  county,  and  Mag- 
istrate. Mr.  Moses  Fiske  subsequently  preached  at  Wo- 
ronoco,  as  a  candidate  for  settlement,  but  a  church  was  not 
organized  until  1679,  when  Mr.  Edward  Taylor,  the  grand- 
father of  the  late  President  Stiles  of  Yale  College,  was 
ordained  as  pastor. 

Woronoco  was  incorporated  as  a  town,  with  the  name  of 
Westfield,  in  1669.  The  name  originally  proposed  for  the 
new  town  was  Streamfield,  from  its  situation  between  two 
streanis,  but  from  the  fact  that  it  was  then  the  Westernmost 
town  in  the  colony,  it  received  the  name  which  it  now 
bears.  From  the  fact  that  Westfield  was  one  of  the  best, 
if  not  the  best,  localities  for  beaver,  known  to  the  Indians 
and  the  settlers,  it  was  probably  more  abundantly  fre- 
quented by  the  Indians  than  any  settlement  in  the  Valley. 
The  skins  of  the  beaver  were  ahnost  the  only  thmgs  that 
the  Indians  had  to  sell  to  the  settlers.  Being  constantly  in 
want  of  articles  obtainable  for  these  skins,  they  naturally 
sought  out  the  resorts  of  their  important  game.  More 
skins  came  from  Woronoco  than  any  other  locality,  and 
the  occupation  must  have  concentrated  a  large  number  of 
Indians  there.  Mr.  Pynchon  of  Springfield  was  largely 
engaged  in  the  trade,  under  license  from  the  General  Court, 
and  it  all  passed  through  his  hands.  The  opinion  in  re- 
gard to  the  plentifulness  of  the  Indians  at  Woronoco  is 
confirmed  by  the  manner  in  which  the  settlement  was  ar- 
ranged. At  first  the  settlers  seem  to  have  lived  in  com- 
mons, although  they  cultivated  each  his  separate  tract  of 
land.^  They  lodged  in  a  fort  every  night,  and  fled  to  it  by 
day,  in  case  of  alarm.  Around  this  fort,  for  a  circuit  of 
two  miles,  the  land  Avas  strongly  inclosed,  and  within  this 
inclosure  were  afterwards  erected  all  their  dwellings. 

Physicians,  m  the  olden  time,  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  very  plenty,  and  none  of  the  settlements,  thus  far 
jfiade,  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the  services  of  one  at  so  early 
a  date  as  Westfield.     George  Filer,  who,  in  1665,  was  al- 


EARLY   PHYSICIANS.  67 

lowed  by  the  County  Court  at  Northampton,  "  to  practice 
as  a  chirurgeon,"  left  Northampton  soon  afterwards,  and  in 
16G7  settled  in  Wcstfield.  Hei-e  he  lived  a  few  years,  and 
then  removed  to  Connecticut.  Northampton  had  no  sur- 
geon within  its  limits,  except  during  the  temporary  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Filer,  from  1654  to  1730 — a  period  of  sev- 
enty-six years.  The  reason  of  this  did  not  exist  in  the 
exemption  of  the  settlers  from  disease  and  accident,  but  in 
the  fact  that  no  one  settlement  could  support  a  surgeon, 
and  thus,  such  surgeons  as  were  to  be  found  had  a  wide 
and  not  over-profitable  circuit  of  practice.  Dr.  John  West- 
carr  settled  in  Hadley  in  1666,  but  eked  out  his  living  by 
engaging  in  trade,  and  doubtless  alternately  sold  knives  to 
the  Indians  and  used  them  upon  the  whites.  It  is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  he  did  not  confine  his  dispensation  of  medi- 
cine to  the  whites,  as  a  brace  of  fines  for  selling  liquor  to 
the  Indians  must  have  interfered  somewhat  seriously  with 
ais  profits  as  well  as  reputation.  After  his  death,  some 
ten  years  subsequent  to  his  settlement,  Hadley  had  no 
physician  for  thirty-two  years.  Notwithstanding  the  early 
want  and  limited  practice  of  physicians  in  tliese  settle- 
ments, a  greater  number  ai-rived  to  an  advanced  age,  in 
proportion  to  the  population,  than  at  the  present.  The 
cause  may  possibly  lie  in  present  mal-jiractice,  but  more 
probably  in  the  out-of-door  pursuits  and  simple  mode  of 
living  that  then  prevailed,  in  contradistinction  from  the 
high  living  and  sedentary  employments  of  later  days. 

The  loose  manner  in  which  grants  of  land  were  made 
by  the  General  Court  produced  early  disturbance  at  Had- 
ley. Immediately  after,  or  within  a  year  or  tAvo  of  the 
settlement  of  Hadley,  the  Court  granted  considerable  tracts 
of  valuable  land  to  Mr.  Bradstreet  and  Major  Dennison. 
Mr.  Bradstreet's  grant  embraced  almost  the  whole  of  tlie 
Northei'n  meadow  in  the  present  town  of  Hatfield,  then 
belonging  to  Hadley.  There  is  some  evidence  that  Mr. 
]>radstreet's  grant  was  made  previously  to  that  made  to  the 
settlers  of  Hadley,  though,  from  the  wording  of  a  petition 
presented  to  the  jCourt  by  Hadley,  the  ojjposite  opinion  ap- 
pears to  have  prevailed  with  its  inhabitants.  The  people 
of  Hadley  pleaded  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  Court,  and 
that  body  requested  the  owners  of  these  tracts  to  resign 
their  claims,  with  which  request  they  complied  ;  and  then 


68  HAMPSniUE     COUNTV. 

tlie  Court  changed  the  form  of  the  grant  by  re-conveying 
the  land  to  them  in  farms,  which  made  them  ratable  in  the 
payment  of  town  charges.     This  was  by  no  means  satis- 
factory, as  Hadley  wanted  the  ownershiij  of  the  lands  for 
distribution  to  settlers.     In  this  matter,  they  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  their  Northampton  neighbors,  thirty -five  of  whom 
petitioned  the  General  Court  in  their  behalf,  representing 
that  they  had  a  hard  time,  mean  accommodations,   and 
ought  to  have  more  land.     They  also  represented  that 
there  was  danger  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  plantation,  and 
the  consequent  loss  to  the  petitioners  of  Christian  neigh- 
borhood.    The  people  of  Hadley  united  in  a  most  spirited 
declaration  to  the  Court,  which  breathed  a  tone  of  inde- 
pendence, that,  judging  from  the  closing  language  of  the 
document,  nearly  frightened  themselves.     In  this  declara- 
tion they  referred  to  the  grant  of  land  made  to  them  by 
the   Court,  and   their  contidence   in  the   integrity  of  that 
body  as  witnessed  in  their  removal  and  settlement.     They 
stated  that  a  committee  of  faithful  men  was  employed  to 
lay  out  the  plantation,  who  attended  to  their  duty,  and  that 
all  they  asked  for  was  what  that  committee,  with  full  pow- 
er, awarded  them.     They  professed  their -inability  to^  see 
how  the  Court  could  take  from  them  Avhat  it  had  given 
them,  and  asserted  that  the  granting  of  a  portion  of  their 
lands  to  these  two  gentlemen  had  discouraged  certain  in- 
dividuals in  Connecticut  from  coming  to  settle,  in  accord- 
ance with  their  intentions.     Their  declaration  concludes  in 
these  words :  "  Had  the  Honored  Court  told  us,  Avhen  we 
first  moved  for  a  place,  they  looked  upon  us  as  not  worthy 
of  it,  or  that  they  would  not  give  it  to  us,  or  that  there 
should  be  such  farms  and  we  should  have  the  remainder ; 
or  when  it  was  given  for  farms  that  it  must  so  remam  and 
there  was  no  reason  to  alter  it,  we  should  have  had  no  such 
cause  of  hard  thoughts,  but  having  had  such,  so  long  con- 
tinued, and   successive  encouragement,  now   to   have   it 
taken  from  us,  wlien  it  was  under  us,  how  hard  is  it  to  keep 
out  such  thoughts,  or  to  forbear  supplicating  to  men  and 
crying  in  the  ears  of  the  Lord  for  pity  and  help  in  our 
need."     The  two  grantees  were  not  dispossessed  of  their 
lands,  notwithstanding  the   urgency   of  this  plea,  and,  in 
/»iG64,  Hadley  sent  Lt.  Samuel   Smith  to   Boston  to  pur- 
chase the  meadow  of  Mr.  Bradstreet,  and  he  bought  and 


HATFIELD     INCORPORATED.  69 

paid  £200  for  it.  Mr.  Bradstreet  still  retained  a  thousand 
acres,  which,  vnth  Major  Dennison's  farm,  were  denomi- 
nated "  The  Fai-ms,"  for  many  years,  and  were  ultimately 
divided  up  and  sold. 

But  the  rich  lands  on  the  West  side  of  the  river  did  not 
long  remain  in  a  position  to  affoi-d  distress  to  the  people  of 
Hadley.  The  original  settlement  on  the  West  side  em- 
braced six  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hadley,  and,  as  the  allot- 
ments of  homesteads  on  the  East  side  were  perfected  at 
first,  the  new  comers  probably  took  up  their  residence  on 
the  West  side.  The  settlement  in  a  few  years  became  of 
considerable  strength  and  importance,  and  as  the  Connec- 
ticut river  was  seen  to  form  a  natural  town  boundary,  it 
aspired  to  the  dignity  and  advantage  of  incorporation.  It 
was  accordingly  incorporated  in  1G70,  with  the  name  of 
Hatfield,  and  chose  town  officers  for  the  first  time  in  1671. 
The  commissioners  for  ending  small  causes  were  Thomas 
Meekins,  William  AUis  and  John  Cole.  During  the  same 
year.  Rev.  Hope  Atherton,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1665,  united  with  the  inhabitants  in  requesting  of 
the  County  court  liberty  "  to  enter  into  Church  estate," 
and  leave  was  accordingly  granted.  Blr.  Atherton  was 
the  first  minister,  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  office  until 
1677,  when  he  died,  at  the  early  age  of  33.  In  1672, 
Hatfield  added  to  its  territory  in  a  Northerly  direction  by 
purchasing  of  the  Indians  the  tract  now  covered  by  the 
town  of  Whately,  the  price  paid  being  fifty  fathom  of 
wampum.  By  the  Indian  deed  conveying  to  Jolm  Pyuchon 
(who  acted  for  the  settlers  at  Hadley)  a  considerable  part 
of  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  bounds  of  Williams- 
burg, that  also  belonged  to  Hatfield.  Thus  was  a  large 
and  important  toAvn  erected,  tliough  we  have  no  record  of 
its  representation  in  the  General  couit  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years  after  its  incorporation. 

During  tlie  process  of  the  separation  of  Hatfield  from 
Hadley,  an  important  settlement  was  in  progress  at  a  point 
higher  up,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  Pocomtuck 
was  the  Indian  name  of  the  region  above  Hatfield,  and,  of 
this  territory,  the  General  court  granted,  in  1669,  eight 
thousand  acres,  to  a  number  of  individuals  of  Dedham,  in 
the  Eastern  part  of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  This  land 
embraced  a  considerable  portion  of  the  valuable  interval 


70  HAMPSHIRE    COUNTY. 

on  tlie  Pocomtuck  (now  Deerfield)  river,  and  extended 
Southward  to  the  Northern  bounds  of  Hatfield.  Subse- 
quent grants  extended  the  Western  limits  of  the  planta- 
tion nine  miles  from  the  Connecticut,  co-incident  with  the 
"Western  boundaries  of  Northampton  and  Hatfield,  and 
Northward  to  the  Southern  boundary  of  the  present  town 
of  Bernardston.  Within  this  large  tract  are  now  contain- 
ed the  towns  of  Deerfield,  Greenfield,  Shelburne,  Conway 
and  Gill.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  Indian  title  to  any 
very  large  portion  of  this  tract  was  ever  extinguished. 
The  land  on  which  the  settlement  was  made,  with  the 
interval  in  the  vicinity,  was,  however,  purchased  of  the 
Indians  by  John  Pynchon  of  Springfield,  "  for  the  use  and 
behoof  of  Major  Eleazer  Lusher,  Ensign  Daniel  Fisher 
and  other  English  at  Dedham,  their  associates  and  succes- 
ors."  The  deed  was  signed  by  Chauk,  the  sachem  of  the 
Pocomtuck  Indians,  and  his  brother  Wapahoale,  and  was 
made  in  1665,  several  years  previous  to  the  grant  made 
by  the  General  court.  In  this  deed  there  were,  as,  in  fact, 
was  the  case  in  most  of  the  Indian  deeds  which  had  been 
given  on  the  river,  certain  privileges  reserved  by  the 
Indians,  such  as  fishing  aiKl  hunting  on  the  territory  as 
before  the  sale,  and  "the  gathering  of  walnuts,  chestnuts 
and  other  nuts  and  things  on  the  commons."  A  considera- 
ble number  of  settlers  arrived  at  Pocomtuck  in  1670,  and, 
within  four  years  thereafter,  several  houses  had  been  erect- 
ed. At  the  session  of  the  General  court,  May,  1673,  the 
territory  was  "allowed  to  be  a  township,"  but  it  was  not 
regularly  incorporated  until  May  24th,  1682.  The  order- 
ing of  the  affairs  of  the  plantation,  for  the  first  few  years 
of  its  existence,  was  intrusted  to  a  Committee,  with  which 
'Mr.  Pynchon  was  associated,  both  as  a  voting  member  and 
a  counsellor  in  the  laying  out  of  lands  and  the  general 
conduct  of  affairs.  Pocomtuck  took  the  name  of  Deer- 
field, and  was  the  first  town  in  the  valley  that  could  give  a 
good  and  sufficient  reason  for  its  name.  The  name  chosen 
by  Westfield  could  only  have  a  temporary  significance, 
while  the  four  towns  of  Springfield,  Northampton,  Hadley 
and  Hatfield  were  named  in  honor  of  English  towns.  To 
have  retained  the  name  "  Pocomtuck,"  would  have  been  in 
<'*better  taste,  but  "  Deerfield"  holds  a  slight  appreciable 
connection  with  early  local  history.    The  settlement  was 


SETTLEMENT   OF   NORTHFIELD.  71 

made  on  the  site  of  the  present  "  Old  Deerfield-strcet,"  and 
formed  the  scene  in  subsequent  years  of  some  of  the  most 
stkring  and  painful  events  of  the  Indian  wars.  Tiiere  was 
no  settled  minister  in  the  town  until  1686,  when  Mr.  John 
Williams  assumed  the  duties  of  that  office  at  a  yearly  sal- 
ary of  £60.  The  worthy  minister  lived  a  hfe  of  marvel- 
lous vicissitudes  (as  will  in  the  regular  course  of  the  nar- 
rative appear,)  until,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his  ministry, 
he  was  laid  to  rest. 

In  1672 — two  years  after  the  settlement  of  Deerfield — 
Mr.  Pynchon,  with  a  number  of  associates,  received  the 
grant  of  a  township  on  the  Connecticut  River,  covering  a 
tract  known  by  the  Indian  name  of  Squakheag.  The  tract 
was  twelve  miles  in  length,  by  six  in  breadth,  lying  on  both 
sides  of  the  river,  and,  running  Northward,  passed  by  mis- 
take over  the  line  of  the  Massachusetts  patent,  and  entered 
the  present  States  of  Vei*mont  and  New  Ilanqishire.  The 
hriet'  record  is  that  "  the  planters  built  small  liuts  and  cov- 
ered them  with  thatch ;  made  a  place  for  public  worship, 
and  built  a  stockade  and  fort."  The  first  settlement  of 
Squakheag  was  made  in  167o,  by  individuals  from  North- 
ampton, Hadley  and  Hatfield,  and  the  place  received  the 
name  of  Northfield,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  then  the 
Northern  settlement  on  tlie  Connecticut.  The  history  of 
this  settlement,  weak  at  the  best,  was  brief,  and  its  end  dis- 
astrous. At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Northfield,  the  - 
Eastern  colonists  of  Massachusetts  Bay  had  pushed  their 
settlements  "Westward,  and  had  advanced  one  into  the  wil- 
derness, half  way  to  the  Connecticut  Iliver.  This  was  at 
Quaboag — the  present  town  of  Brookfield — and  noAV  be- 
longing to  the  county  of  Worcester.  That  town  was  em- 
braced within  the  original  boundaries  of  Hampshire  County. 
The  settlement  was  made  in  1660,  by  planters  from  Ipswich, 
Avho  had  a  grant  of  territory  six  miles  squai-e.  Tliey,  too, 
took  cai'e  to  purchase  their  land  of  the  natives,  and  dealt 
with  them  honorably.     In  1673,  the  town  was  incorporated. 

From  the  settlement  of  Springfield  in  1636,  to  that  of 
Northfield  in  1673,  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years  liad 
passed  away.  During  this  long  season  of  toil  and  hard- 
ship, a  string  of  settlements,  extending  along  the  Connec- 
ticut Iliver  across  the  entire  breadth  of  the  Massacliusetts 
patent,  had  been  made.     Springfield  sat  astride  the  river 


72  HAMPSHIRE   COUNTY. 

at  tlie  South,  and  Nortlifield  was  divided  by  the  same  stream 
at  the  North,  while  intermediately,  Northampton,  Hatfield 
and  Deerfield  occupied  the  western  bank,  and  Hadley  the 
eastern.  Westfield  was  alone,  some  eight  miles  west  of 
Springfield.  From  Springfield  to  Northampton,  and  the 
neighbors  who  had  settled  within  her  sight,  the  distance 
was  twenty  miles,  and  from  Northfield  and  Deerfield  it  was 
nearly  the  same  distance  to  the  centi'al,  trefoil  cluster. 
There  are  no  data  by  which  may  be  definitely  estimated 
the  aggregate  population  of  these  towns  at  the  date  of  the 
settlement  of  Northfield.  It  is  recorded  that  there  were 
71  qualified  voters  in  Springfield,  but  as  all  who  were  of 
the  age  to  vote,  according  to  present  laws,  were  not  "  free- 
men," or  voters,  then,  any  calculation  based  on  this  number 
must  be  unsatisfactory.  The  town  had  not  increased  so 
rapidly  as  Northampton,  but  it  probably  contained  a  greater 
number  of  inhabitants.  The  number  of  settlers  in  North- 
ampton was,  according  to  the  records,  about  one  hundred, 
and  allowing  three  to  the  family  of  each  settler,  which 
would  seem  to  be  a  reasonably  estimated  average,  that  town 
contained  400  inhabitants.  Hatfield  and  Hadley  probably 
contained  from  200  to  400  more,  Avhile  Westfield,  Deerfield 
and  Northfield  contained  an  aggregate,  perhaps,  of  two 
hundred.  Fifteen  hundred  would  doubtless  be  an  extrav- 
agant estimate  of  the  white  population  of  the  Valley  at  the 
idate  stated,  and  the  majority  of  these  were  dejiendents. 
The  Indian  inhabitants,  as  has  already  been  incidentally 
stated,  were  not  numerous,  and  calculation  is  entirely  at 
fault  in  giving  even  an  approximate  estimate  of  their  num- 
ber. All  the  land  occupied  by  the  settlers  had  been  fairly 
purchased  of  them,  they  were  well  treated,  and  found  it 
for  their  advantage,  in  the  way  of  trade,  to  maintain  amica- 
ble relations  with  their  new  neighbors.  Though  allowed 
to  govern  themselves  in  their  small,  independent  commu- 
nities, they  did  not  hesitate  to  claim  justice  at  the  hands  of 
the  magistrates,  when  they  had  received  injury  from  the 
whites,  nor  did  they,  as  a  body,  demur  to  magisterial  au- 
thority when  any  of  their  number  were  detected  in  acts  of 
aggression  upon  the  settlers,  though  the  latter  rarely  used 
^  violence  in  securing  their  persons.  In  some  instances,  the 
^  magistrates,  in  issuing  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  an  In- 
dian, gave  special  instructions  to  the  constable  to  abstain 


MR.    PTNCHON   AND    THE   INDIANS.  73 

from  force.  It  will  have  been  seen  that  Mr.  Pynchon  wag 
engaged  in  nearly  every  important  transaction  with  the 
Indians  of  the  Valley,  and  it  was  doubtless  due  to  his  just 
and  considerate  policy  that,  for  nearly  forty  yeai's,  the  set- 
tlers lived  in  perfect  peace  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian  pop- 
ulation. In  this  policy,  Mr.  Pynchon  took  his  first  and 
most  important  lessons  from  his  father,  of  whose  opinion 
the  General  Court,  in  one  remarkable  instance,  practically 
testified  their  appreciation.  In  1648,  two  or  three  of  the 
Quaboag  tribe  were  murdered  by  several  wandering  sav- 
ages, who  repaired  for  refuge  to  the  Nonotucks,  in  the  re- 
gion of  !Nortluunpton.  At  the  instance  of  the  Nashua 
Indians,  acting  for  the  Quaboags,  the  Massachusetts  magis- 
trates wrote  to  the  elder  Pynchon,  directing  him  to  cause 
the  arrest  of  the  murderers,  and  to  transmit  them  to  Bos- 
ton for  triaL  Mr.  Pynchon  disagreed  to  this  policy,  and 
wrote  a  letter  to  tlie  magistrates,  of  which  the  following  is 
an  extract :  "  If  things  be  well  examined,  I  apprehend  that 
neither  the  murthered  are  your  subjects,  nor  yet  the  mur- 
therers  within  your  jurisdiction.  I  grant  they  are  within 
the  line  of  your  patent,  but  yet,  you  "cannot  say  that  tliey 
are  therefore  your  subjects ;  nor  yet  witliin  your  jurisdic- 
tion, until  they  have  fully  subjected  themselves  to  your 
Government,  (which  I  know  they  have  not)  and  until  you 
have  bought  their  land.  Until  this  be  done,  they  must  be 
esteemed  an  independent  people,  and  so  they  of'  Nonotuck 
do  all  account  themselves."  The  magistrates  saw  the  force 
of  this  reasoning,  and  declined  all  further  action  in  the 
matter.  '' 

The  Indians  wei'e  not  only  treated  on  these  broad  and 
general  principles  of  justice,  but  they  were  allowed  re- 
markable privileges  ujion  the  very  territory  that  had  been 
purchased  of  them.  They  had  their  little  villages  of  wig- 
wams on  land  bclonirin<r  to  the  towns,  and  held  lliem  undis- 
turbed.  There  was  one  of  these  villages  near  Pecowsic 
brook  at  the  southern  border  of  Springfield,  and  another  on 
the  banks  of  tlie  Agawam.  On  "  long  hill,"  a  mile  and  a 
half  south  of  the  settlement,  they  had  a  strong  fortress. 
During  the  earlier  days  of  Northampton,  they  asked  the 
privilege  of  building  a  fort.  Their  request  was  granted, 
on  conditions  looking  so  considerately  to  the  good  of  the 
Indians  and  the  safety  of  the  settlers,  that  they  may  not 

7 


74  HAMPSHIRE    COUNTY. 

pass  unnoticed.  The  conditions  were — "  that  the  Indians 
do  not  work,  game,  or  carry  burdens  within  their  town  on 
the  Sabbath ;  nor  powow  here  nor  anywhere  else  ;  nor  get 
liquor,  nor  cider,  nor  get  drunk  ;  nor  admit  Indians  from 
without  the  town  ;  nor  break  doAvn  the  fences  of  the  inhab- 
itants ;  nor  let  cattle  or  swine  upon  their  fields,  but  go  over 
a  stile  at  one  place  ;  nor  admit  among  them  the  murderers 
Calawane,  Wuttowhan  and  Pacquallant ;  nor  hunt,  or  kill 
cattle,  sheep,  or  swine  Avith  their  dogs."  This  fort  they 
occupied  for  several  years,  and,  as  the  settlements  crowded 
upon  them,  they  removed  to  Pascommuck,  (now  Easthamp- 
ton,)  where  they  built  another  fort.  They  had  a  fort  in 
Hadley,  of  wliich  "  Fort  River"  and  "  Fort  Meadow"  are 
to-day  the  abiding  mementos,  and  about  a  mile  above  Hat- 
field, they  held  another  fortification. 

The  Indians  who  inhabited  the  Valley,  in  squads  that 
passed  under  different  names,  could  not  pretend  to  tlie  dig- 
nity of  distinct  tribes.  They  all  spoke  the  same  language, 
and  took  their  names  from  the  localities  they  inhabited. 
Thus,  tliere  were  the  Agawaras  at  Springfield,  the  Woron- 
okes  at  Westfield,  the  Nonotucks  at  Northampton  and  Had- 
ley, the  Pocomtucks  at  Deerfield,  and  tlie  Squakheags  at 
Northfield.  The  settlement  of  the  whites,  at  the  very 
points  inhabited  by  these  various  hordes,  simply  shows  that 
both  races  knew  where  the  best  land  existed.  All  these 
Indians  were  sometimes  called  Pocomtucks,  and  the  Po- 
comtucks proper,  according  to  Gookin,  were  under  the 
dominion  of  the  sachem  of  the  Massachusetts  Nation. 
However  this  may  be,  they  seem  to  have  operated  subse- 
quently with  entire  independence  of  superior  authority. 

The  uniform  policy  of  the  settlers,  from  the  first,  was  to 
keep  liquor  and  fire-anus  from  these  saAage  clans.  All 
their  laAvs  were  very  sti-ict  upon  the  subject.  Neverthe- 
less, the  frequent  fines  imposed  upon  those  Avho  engaged  in 
the  liquor  traffic  with  them  show  that  their  laws  Avere  of 
but  little  avail.  This  Avas  further  evidenced  in  their  drunk- 
enness, and  the  moral  debasement  consequent  upon  it.  The 
heaviest  penalties  imposed  upon  the  illegal  traffic  could 
not  check  it.  In  some  instances,  offenders  were  fined  £4:0, 
and  even  £44 — large  sums  for  those  days,  and  more  than 
■'were  paid  for  Avhole  tOAvnships  of  land — yet,  notwithstand- 
ing this,   drunkenness  became  fearfully  prevalent.     The 


DRUNKENNESS    OF   THE    INDIANS.  75 

records  of  the  Court  of  Hampshire  County,  in  1G70,  bear 
these  words  :  "  The  woful  drunkenness  of  the  Indians  calls 
aloud  to  use  the  most  laudable  means  to  prevent  that  sin 
among  them."  They  had  somehow,  too,  become  possessed 
of  fire-arms,  though  it  is  not  obvious  how.  There  are 
always  unprincipled  men  enough,  anywhere,  to  engage  in 
a  contraband  traflic,  and  an  Indian  would  doubtless  give 
five  times  the  value  of  a  fire-arm  in  beaver  skins,  in  order 
to  secure  an  implement  so  exactly  adapted  to  his  mode  of 
life.  Under  such  a  temptation  as  this,  it  is  not  strange  that 
cupidity  should  have  found  means  to  place  within  their 
power  an  agency  which  rum,  or  a  fancied  provocation, 
would  render  so  dangerous  to  the  settlers. 

Thouo;h  livinjj  in  almost  unrestrained  intercourse  with 
the  Indians,  the  planters  knew  the  native  treachery  of  their 
character,  and  had  provided  for  the  possibility  of  its  exhi- 
bition, fi-om  the  first.  In  every  town,  there  were  fortified 
houses.  There  were  three  in  Springfield,  one  of  which, 
built  of  brick  by  John  Pynchon,  in  1C60,  remained  stand- 
ing until  1831,  as  has  been  already  stated.  The  manner 
in  which  Westfield  was  fortified  has  already  been  described. 
It  was  thus  with  every  settlement.  The  fort  and  the  meet- 
ing house  were  the  essentials  in  every  plantation.  On  the 
14th  of  November,  1G39,  among  other  orders  and  regula- 
tions adopted  at  Springfield  was  the  following :  "  It  is  or- 
dered that  the  exercise  of  trayning  shall  be  practised  one 
day  in  every  month  ;  and  if  occasion  doe  sometimes  hin- 
der, then  the  like  space  of  tyme  sliall  l)e  oV)served  another 
tyme,  though  it  be  two  days  after  one  another.  And  who- 
soever shall  absent  himself  without  a  lawful  excuse  sliall 
forfeit  twelve  pence,  and  all  above  fifteen  years  of  age  shall 
be  counted  for  soldiers,  and  the  tyme  to  begin,  the  first 
Thursday  in  December  next."  Henry  Smith  was  appoint- 
ed Sergeant  of  this  company,  with  jiower  to  choose  a  cor- 
])oral.  This  was,  of  course,  a  military  force  comprising  all 
the  available  strength  of  the  plantation.  The  Northamp- 
ton planters  prol)ably  had  some  kind  of  a  military  organi- 
zation before  their  first  regular  company  of  militia  was 
formed,  which  was  in  August,  1661 — seven  years  after 
tlK'ir  settlement.  Hadley  attended  to  this  business  earlier 
in  its  history,  and  organized  a  company  in  1663,  choosing 
Samuel  Smith,  Lieutenant,  Aaron  Cooke  Jr.  ensign  bearer, 


76  HAMPSHIRE    COUNTY. 

John  Dickinson  and  Joseph  Kellogg  sergeants,  and  Jolin 
Russell,  the  father  of  the  minister  there,  the  clerk. 

The  earlier  military  organizations  seem  to  have  been 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  towns,  and  without  special 
regulation  on  the  part  of  the  Colonial  Government.  In 
16-43,  the  league  or  union  of  the  New  England  Colonies — 
Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut  and  New  Haven — 
was  effected,  by  which  all  wars,  offensive  or  defensive, 
were  made  chargeable  upon  the  respective  colonies  in  pro- 
portion to  their  male  inhabitants  between  sixteen  and  sixty 
years  of  age.  This  arrangement,  made  for  mutual  defense 
and  assistance,  naturally  called  for  an  efficient  organiza- 
tion of  the  militia,  and,  accordingly,  in  1G44,  the  Massa- 
chusetts colony  enacted  a  series  of  regulations  for  the  mili- 
tia, and  established  an  organization.  At  this  time,  there 
were  twenty-six  training  bands  in  the  colony,  who,  by  the 
new  laws,  were  ordered  to  be  exercised  and  drilled  eight 
days  in  the  year.  The  officers  of  the  several  companies 
were  made  elective  by  the  members.  The  companies  of 
each  county  comprised  a  regiment,  over  which  was  placed 
a  "  Sergeant  ISIajor,"  and  over  the  whole  was  placed  a 
"  Sergeant  Major  General."  The  commander-in-chief  and 
the  commanders  of  regiments  Avere  under  appointment  of 
the  General  Court.  "The  first  Major  General  was  the 
much  honored  Thomas  Dudley  Esquire,  whose  faithfulness, 
and  great  zeal,  and  love  to  the  truths  of  Christ,  caused  the 
people  to  choose  him  to  this  office,  although  he  were  far 
stricken  in  years."  At  this  date,  Hampshire  County  was 
not  in  existence,  but  some  years  after  its  establishment,  in 
1671,  Capt.  .John  P^Tichon,  who  had  previously  held  the 
command  of  the  Springfield  company,  and  also  of  the 
"  Hampshire  Troop" — a  company  of  horse,  having  its  mem- 
bers in  all  parts  of  the  county — was  appointed  commander 
of  tlie  river  regiment.  In  tliis  command  he  received  the 
title  of  "  Major,"  to  which  popular  veneration  subsequently 
prefixed  the  word  "  Worshipful." 

It  was  under  this  colonial  league  and  this  military  organ- 
ization that  a  new  and  most  important  era  commenced  with 
the  settlements  on  the  Connecticut  River — a  period  of  war, 
disaster  and  moral  and  physical  distress — a  period  during 
/which  was  shed  much  precious  blood,  and  which  resulted 
in  the  banishment  of  the  native  tribes,  and  the  peaceful 
occupation  of  their  lands  by  the  settlers. 


CHAP  TEE   V. 

King  Philip's  War  —  The  Campaign  of  1675. 

After  the  destruction  and  reduction  of  the  Pequot  In- 
dians, in  1037,  the  Narragansets,  who  were  allies  of"  the 
English  in  the  Pequot  war,  and  whose  territory  was  prin- 
cipally in  the  present  State  of  Rhode  Island,  became,  from 
not  very  obvious  causes,  inimical  to  them.  Uncas,  the 
sacheni  of  the  Mohegans,  had  manifested  his  good  will 
towards  the  English,  and  had  their  confidence,  in  conse- 
quence of  whic'li,  iMiantouomo,  the  chief  of  the  Narragan- 
sets,  was  undoubtedly  aftected  Avith  jealousy.  Miantonomo 
was  also  offended  at  the  distribution  of  the  Pequots  among 
the  tribes  after  their  reduction,  he  supposing  that  that  mat- 
ter would  be  left  to  him.  The  malice  engendered  by  these 
and  other  considerations  expended  itself,  through  a  series 
of  years,  in  indignities  upon  the  Mohegans.  Miantonomo 
endeavored,  by  every  subtle  stratagem,  to  destroy  Uncas, 
and  the  English  always  taking  the  part  of  the  latter,  he 
began  also  to  plot  against  them.  In  1642,  he  was  sus- 
pected of  having  contrived  a  genei'al  conspiracy  to  cut  off 
all  the  English  in  the  country.  The  conspiracy  was  dis- 
covered through  various  sources,  but  the  wily  chief  ap- 
jieared  before  the  magistrates  at  l^oston,  made  smooth  pro- 
lessions,  and  signed  a  treaty  in  which  he  yielded  all  that 
was  asked.  In  10-43,  making  war  upon  Uncas,  he  was 
taken  prisoner,  and,  by  the  consent  of  the  commissioners 
of  the  four  colonies,  lost  his  head.  This  did  not  placate 
his  tribe,  who  became,  in  104.5  and  1040,  so  insolent  that 
the  colonies  determined  to  make  war  upon  them,  but  suc- 
ceeded, without  shedding  blood,  in  over-awing  them. 

Massasoit,  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  and  the  high- 
est in  authority  among  numerous  petty  tribes  in  his  vicin- 
ity, is  immortalized  in  American  history  for  having  kept 
his  faith,  originally  pledged  to  the  settlers  at  Plymouth,  in 
1621,  for  the  long  pei'iod  of  forty-one  years,  or  until  his 
death  which  occurred  in  1002.  His  princijjal 'residence 
was  at  Mount  Hope,  in  the  present  town  of  Bristol,  Rhode 
Island.     Dying,  he  left  two  sons — Alexander  and  Philip. 


78  KING    PniLIP's    WAR. 

The  former  succeeded  to  the  dignities  of  his,  father,  but 
died  the  same  year,  when  Philip  became  the  sachem.  In 
almost  every  quality  of  mind  and  property  of  constitution, 
Philip  was  the  antipodes  of  his  father.  Jealous,  daring, 
brave,  indomitable,  and  possessing  remarkable  sagacity,  he 
formed  the  strongest  possible  contrast  to  the  mild  and 
faithful  old  chieftain  who,  before  his  death,  took  both  him 
and  his  immediate  predecessor  before  the  English,  and 
expressed  the  desire  that  between  them  and  the  English 
there  might  never  be  other  than  relations  of  amity.  For 
some  eight  or  nine  years  after  the  accession  of  Philip  to 
the  chieftainship,  but  little  is  heard  of  him,  save  in  busi- 
ness transactions  with  the  English,  involving  the  transfer 
of  his  lands.  During  this  time,  however,  and  in  those 
very  transactions,  he  saw  with  prophetic  forecast,  the  scep- 
ter departing  from  his  hand,  and  his  lands  absorbed  by 
strangers.  During  this  time,  too,  his  power  had  been 
increased  by  the  acquisition  of  English  arms,  and  by  the 
confirmatiou  of  friendly  relations  with  the  Narragansets, 
established  before  the  death  of  Massasoit.  The  Narragan- 
sets were  powerful,  and  hated  the  English,  a  fact  most 
favorable  to  any  schemes  which  Philip  might  devise 
against  the  latter.  And  these  schemes  did  not  long  slum- 
ber. Skilled  beyond  savage  diplomacy  in  deception,  pos- 
sessing a  mental  power  that,  among  the  various  tribes, 
cari'ied  with  it  great  influence,  brave  even  to  ferocity, 
jealous  of  the  English,  and  ambitious  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  his  intellect,  it  is  not  strange  that,  trampling 
upon  treaties,  he  should  conceive  the  design  of  annihilating 
the  English  settlements  in  New  England.  Li  1670,  his 
Indians  were  engaged  in  many  suspicious  movements. 
They  frequently  held  assemblies,  and  were  engaged  in 
repairing  their  arms,  and  grinding  their  hatchets.  There 
was  evidently  a  nursing  of  ill  blood  towards  the  English 
among  them,  which  found  vent  in  occasional  insults.  The 
Plymouth  colony  demanded  of  them  the  cause  of  such 
proceedings,  and  at  the  same  time  informed  Massachusetts 
of  the  step  they  had  taken.  The  latter  dispatched  three 
messengers  who,  with  the  Governor  and  two  other  gentle- 
men of  Plymouth,  met  at  Taunton,  where,  after  considera- 
ble difficulty,  they  succeeded  in  bringing  Philip  to  negotia- 
mons.  After  every  possible  equivocation,  he  confessed  his 
designs  upon  the  English.     Owing,  doubtless,  to  the  imper- 


PHILIP    IN    INTRIGUE.  T9 

fection  of  his  plans,  lie  consented  to  deliver  up  his  English 
arms,   numbering   some   seventy   muskets,    and  signed  an 
acknowledgement   of  his  breach    of  faith    and  a   renewed 
promise    of  fidelity.     Once   out   of  this   troublesome  pres- 
ence, he  forgot  all  his  promises,  and  refused  to  come  to 
Plymouth  when   sent   for.     The   policy  of  Plymouth,  all 
this  time,  was  to  go  to  war  with  him,  but  they  were  held 
in  check  by  the  more  moderate  counsels  of  Massachusetts. 
Philip  took  advantage  of  the  e\adent  dislike  of  Massachu- 
setts to  engage  in  war,  and  "happening  to  come  to  Bos- 
ton" on  the  very  day   an  impatient  message  was  received 
from    Plymouth,  he    appeared   before   the  Governor,    and 
represented  atfairs   so   favorably,  and  with  such  apparent 
fairness,  that   the    Governor    and   Council    wrote   back  to 
Plymouth,  urging  that  Government  to  lefer  the  matter  be- 
tween it  and  i'hilip  for  amicable  settlement.     Philip,  while 
at  Boston,  promised  not  to  enter  into  war  with  Plymouth 
without  the   approval  of  Massachusetts.     Very  soon  after 
this,  he  was  drawn  into  another  agreement,  in  which  ho 
pledged  fidelity  to  the  Plymouth  government,   and  prom- 
ised specific  reparation  of  wrongs.     From  this  time  until 
1674,  Philip  was  busy  with  his  schemes  for  uniting  all  the 
various  tribes    for  the  purpose  of  exterminating  the   Eng- 
lish.    The  Nonotucks  acknowledged  the  existence  of  such 
a  plot.     Suspicion  was  abroad,  and  this,  by  producing  cau- 
tion in   furnishing  the   Indians  with    arms,  made   the  Sa- 
chem's preparations  slow  and  diflicult.     Still  the  conspiracy 
progressed,    and   reached  and   aft'ected   the   most   friendly 
tribes,   the  Mohegans,    who   had    been   befriended    by  the 
English  in  their  troubles  with  the   Narragansets,  alone  re- 
maining true  to  their  pledges.     This  latter  tribe  were,  of 
course,  ripe   and  ready  for  a  scheme   which  would  so  re- 
venge  them  upon  the  whites,  and  they  agreed  to  furnish 
4,000  men.     The  entire  preparations  were  not  to  be  per- 
fected before  1G76,  but  the  storm  exploded  prematurely. 

John  Sausaman,  a  "  praying  Indian,"  converted  under 
the  labors  of  the  missionary  Eliot,  at  Natick,  had  fled  to 
Philip  on  the  commission  of  some  misdemeanor,  and  for 
some  years  was  his  counsellor  and  confidant.  He  was  then 
prevailed  upon  to  return  to  Natick.  Subsequently,  in  an 
interview  with  some  of  Philip's  Indians,  he  discovered 
their  plots,  and  gave  information  of  them.  For  this  he 
was  murdered  by  Philip's  command,  and  the  authorities  at 


so  KING    I'lIILirS    WAU. 

Plymouth  arrested  the  murderers  and  hung  them.  This 
infuriated  the  restive  chief,  and,  forgetting  prudence  in  re- 
venge, he  precipitated  the  war  for  which  his  allies  were 
not  yet  prepared.  After  considerable  angry  bluster,  and, 
by  mustering  and  marching  his  men  endeavoring  to  pro- 
voke an  attack,  he  entered  Swanzey,  killed  the  settlers' 
cattle,  and  rifled  some  of  their  houses.  On  the  24th  of 
June,  1675,  his  Indians  fired  upon  a  citizen  of  Rehoboth. 
On  the  same  day,  they  entered  Swanzey  again,  and  com- 
mitted several  murders.  This  started  out  the  Massachu- 
setts forces.  On  the  26th,  a  foot  and  a  horse  company  set 
off  froiTL  Boston,  toward  Mount  Hope,  and  they  were  soon 
overtaken  by  a  volunteer  company  of  110  men  imder 
Capt.  Samuel  Moseley,  an  old  Jamaica  bucanneer.  They 
met  a  Plymouth  company  at  Swanzey,  where  a  brush  with 
the  Indians  immediately  ensued,  in  which  one  of  the  sol- 
dier's and  half  a  dozen  Indians  Avere  killed,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  Philip  was  obliged  to  leave  Mount  Hope 
in  haste,  with  all  his  forces.  After  some  further  unimpor- 
tant skirmishes,  orders  came  from  Massachusetts  for  its 
companies  to  pass  into  the  Narraganset  country,  and  make 
a  treaty  Avith  that  tribe.  They  made  their  treaty,  (an  easy 
thing  to  do  with  Indians  unwilling  or  not  ready  to  fight,) 
and,  during  their  absence,  the  Plymouth  forces,  or  a  por- 
tion of  them,  went  to  Pocasset  on  a  similar  errand,  but 
found  themselves  engaged  in  a  different  business,  and  one 
which  cost  the  Indians  a  number  of  lives.  The  Massa- 
chusetts forces  having  concluded  their  treaty,  returned  to 
Taunton  on  the  17th,  where  they  were  joined  by  those  of 
Plymouth  in  an  attempt  to  dislodge  Philip  from  a  swamp 
at  Pocasset.  This  expedition  was  disastrous,  fifteen  of  the 
troops  being  killed,  and  Phili|)- taking  courage  from  their 
ill  success. 

This  sudden  onset  of  war  surprised  the  Indians  in  every 
direction.  They  were  not  ready  for  it.  Their  hearts  were 
in  it,  but  their  hands  wei*e  not  prepared.  Some  hesitated 
between  adherence  to  peace  with  the  English,  and  keeping 
faith  Avith  Phili]),  Avhile  others  professed  friendship,  to  gain 
time  for  Avatcliing  the  current  of  events.  But  the  war 
spirit  spread,  and  hostilities  Avere  commenced  against  the 
JEnglish  in  other  quarters.  On  the  14th  of  July,  the  Nip- 
^  mucks,  occupying  central  Massachusetts,  killed  four  or  five 


BURNIXG    OF   BROOKFIELD.  81 

people  at  Mendon.     These  Indians  were  in  acknowledged 
subjection  to  those  of  Mount  Hope,  and  their  co-operation 
with  them  was  not  only  natural,  but  had  been  anticipated 
and  feared.     Messengers  were  sent  to  them  from  the  ]Mas- 
sachusetts  authorities,  to  ascei'tain  their  state   of  feeling, 
and  they  were  found  surly  and  insolent.     On  the  28th  of 
July,  the  Governor  and  Council  sent  Captains  Hutchinson 
and  Wheeler,  with  twenty  horsemen,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  some  arrangement  with  these  Indians.     They  were 
to  meet  them  at  Brookfield,  with  the  inhabitants  of  v/hich, 
tlie  Indians  had  promised  to  make  a  treaty  on  the  2d  of 
August.     On  this  promise  the  people  of  that  lonely  settle- 
ment fidly  relied,  and  suspected  no  danger.     This  company 
reached   Brookfield  without  trouble,  and  without  seeing 
any  Indians  ;  and  then,  with  a  number  of  the  settlers,  and 
three  Christian  Indians,  set  out  for  the  place  agreed  upon 
by  the  Indians  for  making  the  treaty.     They  reached  the 
spot  designated,  but  not  an  Indian  was  to  be  seen.     Pass- 
ing carelessly  on,  the  Brookfield  men  being  unarmed,  they 
proceeded  some  five  or  six  miles  in  the  direction  of  the 
chief  town  of  the  tribe.     Ai-riving  at  a  narrow  passage 
between  a  hill  and  a  heavy  swamp,  in  the  vicinity  of  Wick- 
aboag  Pond,  they  came  suddenly  upon  an  ambuscade,  and 
from  two  to  three  hundred  Indians  sprang  to  their  feet,  and 
poured  in  upon  them  a  deadly  fire.     Eight  of  the  com- 
pany fell  dead,  and  three  more  received  mortal  wounds, 
among  whom  was  Capt.  Hutchinson.     The  names  of  those 
killed  were  Zachariali  Phillips  of  Boston,  Timothy  Farley 
of    Billerica,    Edward    Colburn    of    Chelmsford,    Samuel 
Smedlcy  of  Concord,  Sydrach   Hapgood  of  Sudbury,  and 
Capt.  Ayres,  John  Coye,  and  Joseph  Pritchard  of  Brook- 
field.   Several  others  were  badly  wounded.     Capt.  Wheeler 
was  one  of  these.     His  horse  fell  under  him,  and  he  re- 
ceived a  ball  through  his  body.     His  son,  who  formed  one 
of  the  expedition,  leaped  from  his  own  horse,  and,  with 
such  assistance  as  he  could  give  with  one  arm,  the  other 
being  shattered,  placed  his  father  upon  him,  and  himself 
mounting  another  whose  rider  had  been  killed,  they  gal- 
loped off"  and  escaped.     The  first  movement  was,  of  course, 
a  precipitate  retreat.     They  were   several  miles   distant 
from  the  settlement,  and  taking  a  by-path,  pointed  out  by 
one  of  tho   Christian  Indians,  they  at  last  reached  home 


82  KING   PHILIPS   WAR. 

without  further  damage,  though  hotly  pursued.  Before 
their  arrival,  either  from  hearing  the  report  of  the  mus- 
ketry, or  by  the  intermediation  of  a  messenger,  the  town 
had  been  alarmed,  and  the  inhabitants,  leaving  their  dwell- 
ings, repaired,  about  seventy  in  number,  to  a  house  forti- 
fied in  the  hurry  of  the  occasion,  and  but  poorly  prepared 
to  resist  a  furious  attack.  Into  this  house  the  returning 
remnant  of  the  company  rushed,  panting  with  excitement 
and  effort,  adding  strength  as  well  as  terror  to  the  affrighted 
assemblage.  They  were  hardly  witliin  the  walls  before 
the  savage  host  was  around  them.  They  poured  in  their 
fire  upon  the  house,  and  from  every  loop-hole  received  a 
well  aimed  fire  in  return,  which  forced  them  to  take  a 
more  respectful  distance.  While  this  passage  at  arms  was 
in  progress,  the  torch  of  the  incendiary  was  busy  with  the 
other  dwellings,  and  the  crackling  of  fierce  flames,  as 
houses  and  barns  were  swallowed  up  in  destruction,  min- 
gled with  the  yells  of  the  assailants.  The  cattle  of  the 
plantation,  affrighted  at  the  sounds  and  the  spectacle,  fled. 
After  in  a  measure  glutting  themselves  wdth  destruction, 
they  surrounded  the  fortified  house  with  redoubled  fury, 
determined  to  burn  it,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  the  precious 
lives  it  contained.  Too  near  an  approach  was  death  to 
them,  and  they  were  driven  to  every  possible  ingenuity  of 
stratagem.  Arrows  armed  with  fire  were  discharged  at 
the  house,  and  long  poles,  tipped  with  torches,  were  thrust 
toward  the  frail  citadel,  but  without  effect.  A  cart  was 
then  filled  with  combustible  stuffs,  which  on  being  set  fire 
to,  was  pushed  towai-d  the  house  by  poles  spliced  upon  one 
another.  As  this  feaiful  engine  approached,  destruction 
seemed  inevitable,  but,  by  a  most  providentially  opportune 
shower  of  rain,  the  fire-bearer  was  disarmed. 

Thus  night  closed  down  upon  the  besieged,  and  what 
daylight  would  not  j^ermit,  was  sought  to  be  effected  under 
cover  of  darkness.  A  quantity  of  combustibles  was  stealth- 
ily conveyed  to  the  side  of  the  house,  and  then  set  fire  to. 
The  building  was  so  much  endangered  that  some  of  the  in- 
mates were  obliged  to  go  out,  and  draw  water  from  a  well, 
to  quench  the  flames  ;  and,  though  fired  upon  continually, 
they  escaped  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  The  night  passed, 
^«jnd  another  day,  when,  on  the  4th  of  August,  Major  Simon 
"Willard,  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  forty  horse,  near  Lan- 


TROOPS  COME  TO  THE  RESCUE.  83 

caster,  and  on  a  hostile  expedition  to  the  Indians  near  that 
place,  heard  of  the  danger  to  which  Brookfield  was  ex- 
posed, and  dashed  off  with  all  haste  to  its  relief.  The  af- 
frighted cattle  which  had  remained  away  from  the  scenes 
that  have  heen  described,  after  their  stampede,  fell  into  his 
rear,  and  in  the  darkness  of  night  followed  him  into  the 
village.  An  Indian  guard  had  been  placed  at  the  very 
avenue  through  which  he  approached,  but  the  dusky  forms 
that  swept  past  them,  horses  and  animals  being  counted 
alike,  appeared  so  numerous  that  they  did  not  venture  to 
fire  a  gun.  As  soon  as  the  company  were  Avithin  the  gar- 
rison, however,  the  Indians  poured  in  upon  the  house  a  hot 
fire.  No  damage  being  done,  except  in  the  killing  of  sev- 
eral horses,  they  then  set  fire  to  such  houses  as  remained 
unharmed,  and  retreated  to  the  woods.  The  besiegers  lost 
eighty  of  their  men,  while  only  one  man  in  the  house  was 
killed.  News  of  the  attack  on  Brookfield  by  some  means 
found  its  way  to  Springfield,  and  a  Springfield  company 
under  Lieut.  Thomas  Cooper,  comprising  also  thirty  men 
from  Hartford,  for  whom  Major  Pyn(;hon  had  sent,  and  a 
number  of  professedly  friendly  Indians — in  all  eighty 
men — immediately  set  out  for  the  relief  of  that  settlement, 
but  they  arrived  after  the  danger  was  past,  and  some  days 
afterwaz'ds  returned  home.  Companies  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captains  Lathrop  and  Beers,  fi'om  the  Eastern 
part  of  the  colony,  also  arri\-ed,  but  too  late  to  render  any 
service.  In  the  meantime,  Pliilip,  after  remaining  in  the 
swamp  at  Pocassst,  and  engaging  in  several  skirmishes, 
left  those  quarters,  among  the  last  days  of  July,  and  found 
his  way  into  the  Nipmuck  country  unpursued,  or  pursued 
with  little  efficiency.  It  appears  from  the  narrative  of  a 
Christian  Indian,  named  George,  who  was  taken  prisoner 
at  the  surprise  of  Capt.  Hutchinson's  party  on  the  2d  of 
August,  that,  on  the  oth  of  tliat  month,  which  must  have 
been  within  a  few  hours  of  the  time  when  the  Indians  re- 
tired from  Brookfield,  Pliilii),  at  the  head  of  forty  men  and 
a  much  larger  number  of  women  and  children,  made  his 
appearance  in  a  swamp  to  which  the  besiegers  had  retired. 
But  thirty  of  his  men  had  muskets,  and  ten  of  them  were 
wounded.  The  hunted  chief  was  immediately  a  gratified 
listener  to  the  story  of  the  massacre  and  the  siege  that  had 
just  transpired,  and,  to  signify  his  approbation,  he  distrib- 


84  KING  Philip's  war. 

uted,  with  royal  munificence,  a  peck  of  unstrung  wampum 
each,  to  three  of  the  Ni£muck  sagamores.  But  he  was 
poorer  in  men  than  in  treasure.  He  started  from  Mount 
Hope  with  250  men.  Some  had  left  him,  others  were 
killed,  and  at  that  time  only  forty  of  his  men  stood  around 
him.  Philip  acknowledged  that  if  the  English  had  fol- 
lowed him  a  day  or  two  longer  in  the  swamp,  or  even  if 
he  had  been  efficiently  pursued  when  he  left  it,  he  must 
have  been  taken,  as  his  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted. 

Major  Willard  and  his  force  still  remained  at  Brook- 
field,  and  had,  in  company  with  the  auxiliaries  fi-om  Spring- 
field and  the  East,  scoured  the  forests  around  without  find- 
ing the  enemy.  The  latter  had  fied  Westward,  towards 
the  Connecticut.  In  consequence  oT  this  movement  prob- 
ably, rather  than  fi-om  any  specific  suspicion  of  the  inten- 
tions of  the  Indians  about  Hadley,  Captain  Beers  and 
Lathrop,  pushed  on  to  that  town,  and  there  had,  under  their 
command,  180  men.  At  last  they  became  suspicious  that 
the  Indians  there  were  only  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
join  in  the  schemes  of  Philip,  of  whose  arrival  among  the 
Pocomtuck  Indians  at  Deerfield  the  event  proved  they 
were  aware.  These  suspicions  were  based  on  the  facts 
that  they  asked  for  no  lands  on  which  to  plant  corn  as 
usual,  that  one  of  them  had  said  there  would  be  war  that 
year,  that  they  had  withdrawn  all  their  goods  from  the 
possession  of  the  settlers,  with  whom  they  had  been  in- 
trusted, that  "  they  gave  eleven  triumphant  shouts  after  the 
burning  of  Brookfield,  as  their  manner  was,"  that  two  of 
Philip's  Indians  had  been  admitted  into  their  fort,  and  va- 
rious other  equally  suggestive  circumstances.  Hubbard 
says  that  these  Indians  first  professed  enmity  to  Philip, 
and  offered  to  assist  in  fighting  him,  and  that  their  duplicity 
was  discovered  by  some  friendly  Mohegan  Indians,  allies 
of  the  English.  Accordingly,  they  were  ordered  to  deliver 
up  their  arms.  Intimating  their  readiness  to  do  this, 
though  after  considerable  manifest  hesitation,  they  deferred 
the  matter  until  night,  when,  it  being  the  25th  of  August, 
they  secretly  left  their  fort,  and  fled  up  the  river.  Their 
flight  was  discovered,  and  the  next  day  Beers  and  Lathrop 
pursued  them.  Coming  up  with  the  fugitives  near  the  base 
of  Sugarloaf  Mountain,  in  what  is  now  known  as  South 
Deerfield,   they  fired  upon  them,  and   a  hot   engagement 


FALL    OF    CAPT.   BEERS.  85 

followed,  in  which  the  Indians  lost  twenty-six  killed,  and 
the  English  ten.  The  remainder  fled,  and  made  good 
their  escape  to  Philip,  and,  ceasing  from  the  pursuit,  La- 
throp  and  Beers  returned  to  Hadley.  The  names  of  nine 
of  the  soldiers  killed  at  Deerfield  were  as  follow : — Wil- 
liam Cluff,  Azariah  Dickinson,  James  Levens,  Richard 
Fellows,  Samuel  Mason,  John  Plumer,  Mathew  Scales, 
Mark  Pitman  and  Joseph  Person. 

Hadley,  by  its  central  position  in  the  settlements,  and, 
from  its  location  upon  the  neck  of  a  peninsula,  being  less 
exposed  to  sudden  attacks  than  other  neighboring  points, 
became  the  head-quarters  of  the  English  forces  in  the  river 
campaign.     The  presence  of  the  Mohegans  at  Hadley  has 
been  mentioned.     They  formed  a  portion  of  re-inforce- 
ments  sent  to  the  spot  by  both  Massachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut.    Detachments  from  these  new  troops  were  stationed 
in  garrison  at  Northampton,  Hatfield,  Deerfield  and  North- 
field.     Preparations  had  been  made  for  the  worst,  and  the 
worst  was  expected.     Deerfield  was  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  hostile  forces,  and  the  exasperated  Philip  was  on  the 
spot.     The  Squakheags,  at  Northfield,  were  one  with  the 
PocQmtucks  in  intention  and  policy,  and  were  doubtless  in 
daily  communication  with  Philip,  while  he  was  probably 
with  them,  more  or  less.     These   facts  were  apparent  to 
Major  Treat  (of  Connecticut,  then  commanding  at  Hadley,) 
and  even  while  he  was  deliberating  and  determining,  the 
Indians  had  commenced  their  cruel  work.     A  week  had 
elapsed  after  the  action  in  Southern  Deerfield,  when  they 
fell  upon  the  settlers  at  Deerfield,  killed  one  of  them,  and 
burnt  the  most  of  the  village.     Tliis  was  on  the  first  of 
September,  and  but  two  or  three  days  pa.ssed  thereafter 
when  they  attacked  Northfield,  killed  nine  or  ten  men,  and 
the  remaining  settlers  barely  escaped  destruction  by  flying 
to  their  fort.     Before  these   disasters  became   known   to 
Major  Treat,  he   dispatched   Capt.  Beers,  with  thirty-six 
mounted  men,  to  Northfield,  to   convoy  provisions  to   the 
garrison  and  settlers.     His  path  was  a  long  and  tedious 
one,  through  an  unbroken  forest,  for  about  thirty  miles. 
He  passed  up  through  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
towns  of  Sunderland,  Montague  and  Erving,  going  through 
many  dangerous  places  without  seeing  an  Indian.     At  last, 
his  company  dismounted,  left  their  horses,  and,  retarded  by 

8 


86  KING   PHILIP'S    WAR. 

the  difficult  progress  of  their  baggage  wagon,  continued  the 
march  on  foot.  The  company  arrived  within  two  miles  of 
their  destination,  and  were  happily  dreaming  that  their 
toils  and  dangers  were  over,  when,  in  crossing  a  swampy 
ravine,  they  fell  upon  an  ambuscade.  The  ravine  opened 
up  upon  their  right  for  some  distance,  and  here,  and  in 
front  of  the  approaching  victims,  the  savages  lay  con- 
cealed. As  soon  as  Capt.  Beers  and  his  men  walked  un- 
suspectingly into  the  snare,  they  received  a  murderous  fire 
from  the  front  and  right,  and  many  of  them  fell  dead  upon 
the  spot.  The  remainder  scattered  in  wild  confusion,  and 
turned  in  retreat,  the  Indians  being  in  full  pursuit.  Gain- 
ing the  brow  of  a  hill,  at  the  distance  of  some  thr(?e-quar- 
ters  of  a  mile  from  the  scene  of  slaughter,  Capt.  Beers 
rallied  his  men,  or  such  as  were  in  his  vicinity,  and  there 
bravely  maintained  his  ground  against  overwhelming  odds, 
until  he  fell,  fatally  wounded.  He  fought  to  the  last,  and 
the  plain  over  which  he  retreated,  and  the  hill  where  he 
fell,  now  most  appropriately  bear  his  name.  At  his  fall, 
his  gallant  men  tied,  and  took  their  way  back  to  Hadley, 
leaving  their  dead  and  wounded.  Of  the  thirty-seven  who 
engaged  in  the  expedition,  only  sixteen  returned  to  tell  of 
the  disaster.  Of  the  twenty  soldiers  killed,  the  names  of 
only  tAvelve  have  been  preserved,  which  are  as  follow : — 
John  Gatchell,  Benjamin  Crackbun,  Ephraim  Child,  John 
Wilson,  George  Dickens,  Thomas  Cornish,  Robert  Pepper, 
John  Genery,  Jeremiah  Morrell,  Elisha  Woodward,  Wil- 
liam ]\Iarkhani  and  James  Mullard, — or  James  Miller,  as 
it  is  otherwise  written. 

As  soon  as  the  fight  was  over,  the  savages  gave  them- 
selves up  to  the  intliction  of  the  most  revolting  barbarities 
upon  the  persons  of  the  dead  and  dying.  From  some 
they  cut  otf  the  heads,  and  stuck  them  up  upon  poles  by 
the  side  of  the  traveled  path.  Upon  one,  the  barbarity 
inflicted  was  so  cruel  that  it  would  seem  that  it  must  have 
been  visited  upon  a  living  subject.  The  hook  of  a  chain 
was  fastened  behind  the  lowfer  jaw,  and,  by  this  fixture,  he 
was  suspended  to  a  tree.  All  this.  Major  Ti-eat  and  a  hun- 
dred of  his  men  saw  two  days  afterwards,  on  arriving  at 
the  spot,  to  bring  aid  to  the  sufferers  at  Northfield.  One 
>'6bject  the  Indians  had  in  view  was,  doubtless,  to  terrify 
those  who  might  attempt  revenge,  and  the  effi2ct  seems  to 


THE  BLOODY  CROOK  TRAGEDY.  87 

have  been  secured,  for  tlie  witnesses  were  appalled.  They, 
however,  pushed  on  to  Northfield,  and  brought  away  the 
garri>on  and  the  inhabitants.  In  returning,  Major  Treat 
met  Capt.  Samuel  Appleton  with  another  force.  The  lat- 
ter was  anxious  to  advance  up  the  river,  and  chastise  the 
enemy,  but  Major  Treat,  as  well  as  his  command,  either 
from  conscious  inferiority  of  numbers,  or  in  consequence  of 
the  sickening  impressions  then  upon  them,  were  averse  to 
the  proceeding,  and  all  returned  to  Hadley.  But  a  short 
time  after  the  departure  of  this  last  force  from  Nor'.tofield, 
the  Indians  apjilied  the  torch  to  the  fort,  houses,  and  all 
the  pi'operty  left  behind,  and  thus  brought  to  a  sad  conclu- 
sion the  first  settlement  at  Northfield. 

At  this  time,  Capt.  Moseley,  who  had  distinguished  liim- 
-self  in  the  Eastern  part  of  the  colony,  commanded  the 
garrison  at  Deerfield.  Reinforcements  of  the  troops  at 
Hadley  had  taxed  that  and  the  adjacent  towns  beyond  tlieir 
capacity  for  supplies.  But  around  Deerfield,  in  the  fields 
of  its  inhabitants,  was  a  large  amount  of  wheat,  in  stack. 
Hubbard  states  the  amount  to  have  been  3,000  bushels, 
but  this  seems  like  an  exaggeration,  considering  the  weak- 
ness of  the  plantation.  Whatever  the  amount  may  have 
been,  it  was  the  nearest  and  most  available  resource  in  the 
extremity, — an  extremity  made  the  more  appai-ent  by  the 
rapid  approach  of  winter.  The  wheat  was  a  treasui*e,  and 
it  was  within  the  power  of  the  enemy  to  destroy  it.  Ac- 
cordingly, Capt.  Lathrop  was  detached  from  Hadley  witli 
eighty  young  men,  and  a  large  number  of  teams.  These 
young  soldiers  were  all  from  the  Eastern  part  of  the  col- 
ony, and,  according  to  Hubbard,  were  "  the  very  flower  of 
tlie  county  of  Essex."  Ca[)t.  Lathrop  himself  was  from 
Salem.  Deerfield  was  distant  fi-om  Hadley  about  fifteen 
miles,  and  all  arrived  at  their  destination  without  disturb- 
ance. There,  after  threshing  the  grain,  the  baggage 
wagons  were  loaded,  and  on  the  18th  of  September  the 
party  set  out  on  their  return.  During  all  their  operations 
at  Deerfield,  no  Indians  had  been  seen,  and  with  but  little 
miso-iving  the  return-march  was  commenced.  But  thev 
had  been  watched,  and  their  march  and  mission  known. 
Arriving  nearly  opposite  Sugarloaf  Mountain,  and  in  not 
remote  vicinity  of  the  scene  of  the  fight  with  the  fugitive 
Indians  of  liaJley,  their  path  lay   across  a  stream,  on 


88  KING  Philip's  war. 

which  the  events  of  that  day  conferred  the  name  of 
"  Bloody  Brook."  This  stream  was  then  overshadowed 
with  trees,  over  which  the  native  grape  had  chambered, 
and  from  which  it  displayed  its  tempting  clusters.  This 
brook-side  thicket,  like  that  which  had  been  the  scene  of 
the  successful  ambuscade  at  Northiield,  afforded  the  best 
possible  opportunity  for  the  operations  of  the  Indians,  and 
here,  to  the  overwhelming  number  of  seven  hundred,  they 
planted  themselves.  No  scout  had  been  sent  in  advance 
to  look  for  danger,  and  no  danger  was  suspected.  The 
company  marched  entirely  or  partly  across  the  morass, 
and  then  halted,  either  for  rest,  or  to  watch  ,the  passage  of 
the  laboring  teams.  Here  they  paused,  within  the  very 
jaws  of  death,  and  tradition  says  that  the  soldiers  climbed 
the  trees  to  feast  themselves  upon  gi-apes.  This  tradition 
has  been  commemorated  in  a  rude  painting  that  hung  in 
the  dining  room  of  the  old  "  Pocomtuck  House  "  at  South 
Deerfield,  many  years  ago.  Those  who  are  deemed  sound 
authority,  however,  contradict  the  tradition,  and  attribute 
the  climbing  of  the  trees  to  the  teamsters.  Traditions  of 
this  character,  on  the  very  ground  of  the  events  they  per- 
petuate, always  have  a  basis.  Whether  soldiers  or  team- 
sters were  thus  careless  or  not,  all  had  halted,  and  all  were 
off  their  guard. 

Now  was  the  moment  for  the  murderous  host.  The  im- 
placable Philip  was  doubtless  with  them,  and  his  was 
prol;ably  the  signal  gun  that  brought  from  eveiy  bush,  and 
brake,  and  sheltering  tree,  the  fiery  shower.  Among  the 
English,  all  was  dire  confusion.  Many  fell  dead  at  the 
first  discharge,  and  leaping  from  their  lurking  places,  the 
savages  rushed  upon  them  with  terrible  slaughter.  The 
troops,  broken  by  death  and  broken  by  surprise,  scattered  in 
all  directions.  Capt.  Lathrop  fell  early,  but,  following  his 
professed  tactics — to  fight  Lidians  in  their  own  way — the 
remainder  of  his  men  took  each  his  tree,  and  resolved  to 
sell  his  life  at  the  dearest  rate.  One  after  another  the  In- 
dians fell  beneath  their  unerring  aim,  and  one  after  another 
themselves  dropped  away,  each  man  the  aim  of  a  dozen 
Indian  marksmen.  But  the  contest  was  decided,  and  such 
o^  the  English  as  could  fiee,  tied.  The  wounded  were 
scbldly  butchered,  and  there,  as  the  result  of  the  terrible 
massacre,  lay  ninety  men,  soldiers  and  teamsters,  still  warm 


TIIE    BLOODY    BROOK    TRAGEDY. 


# 


Vitli  tlie  buoyant  life  that  was  theirs  but  an  hour  before,  in 
the  ghastly  sleep  of  death.  Only  seven  or  eight  of  tlieir 
companions  escaped.  The  roar  of  the  musketry  rolled 
across  the  silent  woods,  and  reached  the  ears  of  the  garri- 
son at  Deeifield.  The  valiant  Capt.  Moseley,  with  his 
little  company,  was  immediately  on  the  march  for  the  scene 
of  action,  but  when  he  arrived,  the  struggle  was  over,  and 
the  savages  were  engaged  in  stripping  the  dead.  The 
whole  body  of  Indians  were  together,  and  in  a  position 
most  favorable  for  Capt.  Moseley's  attack,  which  com- 
menced with  a  spirited  and  splendid  charge.  In  compact 
order  they  cut  their  way  through  the  enemy,  inflicting  ter- 
riljle  slaughter  on  every  side.  Rapid  in  movement,  and 
always  together,  they  charged  back  and  forth,  until  the 
savage  host  sought  safety  in  flight.  Reaching  a  swamp 
near  by,  they  rallied  again,  and  the  action  went  on  for  sev- 
eral hours.  But  the  ammunition  of  the  Indians  becoming 
exhausted,  they  retreated,  and  left  the  gallant  band  of 
English,  masters  of  the  field.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
arrival  of  INIajor  Treat  from  Hadley,  with  a  hundred  men, 
had  its  part  in  determining  the  savages  to  fly,  for  the  rein- 
forcement fell  immediately  in  with  the  final  pursuit.  The 
loss  of  the  Indians  was  estimated  at  ninety-six,  and  the 
large  majority  of  these  must  have  been  slain  by  Capt. 
Moseley  and  his  men,  who  lost  but  two  of  their  number — 
Peter  Barron  and  John  Gates.  It  was  a  gallant  exploit, 
and  a  befitting  revenge  for  the  most  terrible  massacre  of 
whites  furnislied  by  the  annals  of  New  England. 

Tlie  shades  of  evening  began  to  fall  upon  the  bloody 
field,  and  fancy  only  can  call  up  the  feelings  of  the  tired 
soldiers  as  they  repaired  to  the  spot  where  their  old  com- 
panions in  arms,  and  in  the  social  circle,  lay  reposing  in  a 
bloody  death,  their  brows  gashed  with  the  tomahawk,  their 
hearts'  blood  stooping  the  ground,  and  their  ghastly  faces 
looking  still  more  ghastly  in  the  dim  light  that  fell  through 
the  trees.  A  silent  farewell  taken  of  the  murdered  sleep- 
ers, Treat  and  Moseley,  with  their  men,  proceeded  to  Deer- 
field.  The  command  of  Major  Treat  Avas  composed  partly 
of  Mohogan  and  Pecpiot  Indians,  and  all  slept  in  the  Deer- 
field  garrison  that  night.  In  the  morning,  they  returned 
to  the  scene  of  the  previous  day's  action,  but  before  they 
arrived,  a  few  Indians  were  on  the  ground,  engaged  in 


90  KING  rniLip's  wak. 

stripping  the  slain.  These  fled,  at  the  approach  of  the 
soldiers,  and  the  latter  proceeded  to  the  melancholy  task  of 
burying  the  dead.  While  about  this  work,  one  Eobert 
Dutch,  of  Ipswich,  who  was  left  for  dead  by  both  whites 
and  Indians  on  the  previous  day,  and  from  whose  person 
every  garment  had  been  stripped,  rose  from  the  gi'ound, 
his  head  and  face  covered  with  contusions  and  blood,  and 
walked  up  to  the  soldiers,  "  to  their  no  small  amazement." 
He  was  then  clothed,  probably  from  the  bodies  of  his  dead 
companions,  subsequently  taken  back  to  the  garrison,  and 
survived  his  supposed  death  for  several  years.  Hubbard, 
in  the  religious  spirit  of  his  time,  gives"  him  this  apostro- 
phe :  "  INIay  he  be  to  the  friends  and  relations  of  the  rest 
of  the  slain  an  emblem  of  their  more  perfect  resurrection 
at  the  last  day,  to  receive  their  crowns  among  the  rest  of 
the  martyrs  that  have  laid  down  and  ventured  their  lives, 
as  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  their  religion,  as  well  as 
love  to  their  country." 

This  same  old  writer,  to  whom  almost  every  subsequent 
historian  has  been  indebted  for  the  leading  facts  connected 
Avith  this  terrible  aifair,  takes  occasion  to  bestow  no  incon- 
siderable degree  of  blame  upon  Lathrop,  and  a  propor- 
tionate degree  of  praise  upon  Moseley.  So  far  as  Lathrop 
was  careless,  and  it  is  indisputable  that  he  was  so,  he  was 
undoubtedly  in  the  blame.  But  Hubbard  discusses  the 
relative  merits  of  the  military  policy  of  the  two  command- 
ers. Lathrop's  policy  was  to  fight  as  the  Indians  fought — 
behind  trees,  and  separately.  To  this  policy  the  historian 
attributes  the  terrible  slaughter  that  was  made,  on  this 
occasion  not  only,  but  at  the  time  Lathrop's  action  occurred 
with  tlie  fugitives  from  Hadley,  near  the  same  spot.  Mose- 
ley's  policy  was  that  exhibited  in  his  action — fighting  in 
close  order.  The  merits  of  the  two  systems  are  contrasted 
by  the  contrast  of  results.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  Lathrop's  men,  whatever  may  have  been  their  action 
on  the  previous  occasion  alluded  to,  were,  on  this,  crippled 
at  the  first  onset,  and  while  the  Indians  were  fully  pre- 
pared for  action,  they  were  entirely  unprepared.  Capt. 
Moseley,  on  coming  to  the  ground,  was  prepared,  and  the 
enemy,  in  the  very  excitement  of  victory,  and  engaged  in 
v'their  indignities  upon  the  slain,  in  a  measure  off  their 
guard.     That  Moseley  was  the  better  soldier,  is  probable ; 


HONORS    TO    THE    FLOWER    OP   ESSEX.  91 

and  that  his  was  the  better  system  of  policy,  is  more  than 
likely ;  but  censure  applied  to  Capt.  Latlirop  for  the  scat- 
tering of  his  company  at  Bloody  Brook,  seems  unjust. 
Hoyt,  who  writes  critically  of  the  military  operations  of 
the  times,  is  of  this  opinion,  and  Mi'.  Hubbard's  censure 
will  find  few  mdorsers. 

According  to  Iloyt,  the  precise  spot  where  the  massacre 
occurred  was  where  the  regular  highway  from  South  to 
Old  Deerfield  crosses  Bloody  Brook.     A  rude  monument 
was  erected  near  the  spot  some  time  after  the  occurrence, 
but  time  crumbled  it,  and  nothing  stood  for  many  years  to 
tell  where  fell  the  "  Flower  of  Essex."     But  the  residents 
of  the  locality  could  not  always  forget  the  precious  blood 
in  Avhich  their  noble  soil  was  baptized,  and,  accordingly,  on 
the  30th  of  September,  1835,  the  inhabitants  of  Deerfield, 
Greenfield,  Conway,  Shelburne  and   Gill  celebrated  tlie 
anniversary  of  the  sad  event.     A  committee  had  previously 
been  appointed  to  ascertain  the  precise  spot,  if  possible, 
where  in  one  grave  Major  Treat  and  Capt.  Moseley  buried 
the  slain.     This  committee  were  successful  in  attaining  the 
object  of  their  search.     On  digging  down,  tlic  bones  Avere 
found.     They  "  were  much  decayed,  or  rather  changed  to 
terrene  substances,  still  retaining  their  primitive  forms,  yet 
easily  crumbled  to  dust  by  pressure  of  the  fingers."     The 
celebration  of  the  day  was  signalized  by  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  a  marble  monument,  and  by  an  eloquent 
address  by  Hon.  Edward  Everett.     The  monument  which 
rose  upon  this  corner  stone  is  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  lias 
become  a  lamiliar  object  to  passengers  through  the  Con- 
necticut Valley.     It  stands  a  few  rods  North  of  the  grave, 
on  the  East  side  of  the  road,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  tlie 
brook.     Gen.  Hoyt  of  Deerfield,  the  able  historian  of  the 
Indian  wars,  was  present  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone, 
and  made  a  brief  address.     It  was  well  that  one  Avhose 
name  will  always  be  honorably  associated  with  the  Indian 
history  of  the  Valley  should  be  a  spectator  of,  and  an  active 
participant  in,  the  occasion.     The  scene  presented  on  the 
day  of  celebration   was   one   of  great   interest.     People 
flocked  in  from  all  the  towns  around,  and  many  came  from 
a  great  distance,  to  be  witnesses  of  the  ceremonials.     But 
the  red  men  were  not  there — the  forest  had  passed  away, 
and  peace,  happiness,  plenty  and  security  reigned  on  every 


92  KING  Philip's  vrxn. 

hand.  It  was  not  marvelous  that  the  orator,  seeing  and 
feeling  the  change,  and  recalling  the  memory  of  those 
brave  men  who  won  with  blood  the  pleasant  fields  around, 
and  planted  with  noble  toil  the  institutions  enjoyed  by 
their  successors,  should,  in  his  rapt  peroration,  have  ex- 
claimed : 

"  Oh  that  we  could  call  them  back  to  see  the  work  of  their 
hands  !  Oh,  that  oui*poor  strains  of  gratitude  could  penetrate 
their  tombs  !  Oh,  that  we  could  quicken  into  renewed  con- 
sciousness the  brave  and  precious  dust  that  moulders  beneath 
our  feet !  Oh,  that  they  could  rise  up  in  the  midst  of  ns — the 
hopeful,  the  valiant,  the  self-devoted-^and  graciously  accept 
these  humble  offices  of  commemoiation  !  But,  thoush  they 
tasted  not  the  fruit,  they  shall  not  lose  the  praise  of  thteir  sac- 
rifice and  toils.  I  read  in  your  eyes  that  they  shall  not  be  de- 
frauded of  their  renown.  This  mighty  concourse  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  emotions  of  a  grateful  posterity.  Yon  simple 
monument  shall  rise,  a  renewed  memorial  of  their  names. 
On  this  sacred  spot,  where  the  young,  the  brave,  the  patriotic, 
poured  out  their  life-blood  in  defense  of  that  heritage  which 
has  descended  to  us,  we  this  day  solemnly  bring  our  tribute 
of  gratitude.  Ages  shall  pass  away  ;  the  majestic  tree  which 
overshadows  us  shall  wither  and  sink  before  the  blast,  and  we 
who  are  now  gathered  beneath  it  shall  mingle  with  the  hon- 
ored dust  we  eulogize  ;  bat  the  '•  Flower  of  Essex  "  shall 
bloom  in  undying  remembrance  ;  and  with  every  century 
these  rites  of  conimemora'ion  shall  be  repeated,  as  the  lapse 
of  time  shall  continually  develop,  in  richer  abundance,  the 
fruits  of  what  was  done  and  suffered  by  our  fathers." 

The  follovv'ing  is  the  inscription  upon  the  tablet  of  the 
monument  at  Bloody  Brook : 

<•  On  this  ground,  Capt.  THOMAS  LATHE  OP  and  eighty 
men  under  his  command,  including  eighteen  teamsters  from 
Deerfield,  conveying  stores  from  that  town  to  Hadley,  were 
ambushed  by  about  700  Indians,  and  the  captain  and  seventy- 
six  men  slain,  September  18th,  1675,  (old  style.) 

"  The  soldiers  who  fell  were  described  by  a  cotemporary 
historian  as  a  choice  company  of  young  men,  the  very  flower 
of  the  County  of  Essex,  none  of  whom  were  ashamed  to 
speak  with  the  enemy  in  the  gate.'' 

<  And  Sanguinetto  tells  you  where  the  dead 

Made  the  earth  wet,  and  turned  the  unwilling  waters  red.' 


% 


^     "  The  grave  of  the  slain  is  marked  by  a  stone  slab,  21  rods 
South  of  this  monument." 


LIST    OF   THE    SLAIN.  93 

Above  the  inscription  are  engraved  the  following  words : 
^'Erected,  August,  1838."  The  slab  referred  to  in  the  in- 
scription bears  the  simple  memorial:  "  Grave  of  Capt. 
Lathrop  and  men  slain  hy  the  Indians,  1675."  It  is,  per- 
haps, a  little  singular,  that  only  about  sixty  of  the  names 
of  those  slain  have  been  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
State,  and  that  Dr.  Increase  Mather  speaks  of  the  burial 
of  "  about  sixty  persons  in  one  grave."  This,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  fact  that  so  large  a  number  as  ninety  men 
were  slain,  seventy-six  of  whom  were  soldiers,  is  a  remark- 
able coincidence.  It  would  seem  not  improbable  that  the 
teamsters  who  were  residents  of  the  region  were  taken 
home  for  burial,  and  a  portion  of  the  soldiers  transported 
to  adjacent  plantations.  This,  however,  is  conjecture. 
The  names  of  tlni  slain,  as  recorded,  are  as  follow : — 

Capt.  Thomas  Laythrop,  Sergeant  Thomas  Smith,  Sam- 
uel Stevens,  John  Hobs,  Ipswich ;  Daniel  I>utton,  Salem ; 
John  Harriman,  Thomas  Bayley,  Ezekiel  Sawier,  Salem ; 
Jacob  Kilborne,  Thomas  Manning,  Ipswich  ;  Jacob  AYayn- 
writt,  Ipswich  ;  Benjamin  Roper  do.;  John  Bennett,  INIan- 
chester;  Thomas  Menter,  Caleb  Kimball,  Ipswich  ;  Thomas 
Hobs,  Ipswich ;  Robert   Homes,  Edward  Traske,  Salem ; 
Richard  Lambert,  Salem ;  Josiah  Dodge,  Beverly ;  Peter 
"^Voodberry,   Beverly ;    Joseph    Balch,   Beverly ;    Samuel 
"Whitteridge,  Ipswich  ;  William  Dew,  Sergeant  .Samuel  Ste- 
vens, Samuel    Crumpton,  John    Plum,  Thomas  Buckley, 
Salem ;   George  Ropes,  Salem ;  Josepli  King,  Thomas  Al- 
exander,   Francis  Friende,  Abel   Oseph,    John   Litheate, 
Samuel  Hudson,  Adam  Clarke,  Ephraim  Fearah,  Robert 
AVilson,  Salem  ;  Stephen  Wellnian,  Salem  ;  B(>njamin  Far- 
nell,    Solomon   Alley,  Lynn  ;  Jolni  Jlerrik,  Robert   Ilins- 
dall,  Samuel  Ilinsdall,  Barnabas  Hinsdall,  John  HInsdall, 
Joseph  Gilbert,  John  AUin,  Manchester ;  Joshua    Carter, 
]\Ianchester ;  John    Barnard,  James   Tufts,  Salem :  Jona- 
than Plympton,  Philip  Barsham,  Thomas  "Weller,  AVilliam 
Smeade,    Zebediah  -Williams,    Eliakim    Marshall,   James 
IMudge,  George  Cole. 

These  names,  mis-spelt  in  many  instances,  and  clumsily 
arranged,  are  the  only  record  we  have  of  those  who  thus 
laid  down  their  lives  in  the  service  of  the  early  plantations 
of  the  Connecticut  Valley.  Capt.  Lathrop  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  colony,  and  was  sixty-five  yeai'S  old 


94  KING  Philip's  war. 

when  lie  died.  His  wife  was  one  of  tlie  "  eight  persons 
made  widows  "  by  the  massacre,  but  he  left  no  children. 

The  direction  of  military  operations  among  the  Con- 
necticut River  settlements  was  vested  in  the  Commission- 
ers of  the  United  Colonies,  who,  being  at  a  distance  from 
the  scene  of  operations,  indiscreetly  left  little  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  ofhcers  in  command.  This  fact  is  evident 
from  the  letters  of  the  latter  to  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, from  which  it  appears  that  after  the  destruction 
of  Capt.  Lathrop  and  his  men  at  Bloody  Brook,  the  com- 
missioners ordered  that  the  towns  should"  be  left  without 
garrison,  in  order  to  augment  the  field  force.  There  grew 
-  up  at  this  time  some  disaffection  in  the  Connecticut  Gov- 
ernment, in  regai'd  to  certain  matters  connected  with  the 
war,  and  a  consequent  embarrassment  to  the  effective  and 
free  movements  of  the  troops  from  that  colony.  The 
troops,  in  all,  by  the  agreement  of  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  Plymouth,  were  to  number  500.  The  latter 
Government  had  failed  to  send  any  troops,  and  the  entire 
number  was  furnished  by  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut 
alone.  This  was  apparently  the  cause  of  the  disaffection 
of  Connecticut,  and  as  the  whole  number  was  insufficient 
at  best,  that  disaffection  was  the  more  severely  felt.  Ma- 
jor Treat,  who  had  had  the  direction  of  the  Connecticut 
troops  at  Hadley,  and  more  or  less,  by  coui'tesy,  of  the 
Massachusetts  troops,  went  down  the  river  to  Westfield, 
for  what  special  purpose  does  not  appear.  It  is  not  appa- 
rent that  Major  Pynchon,  the  commander  of  the  Hamp- 
shire regiment,  had  had  thus  far  either  much  direction  of,  or 
much  participation  in  the  campaign.  In  fact,  the  commis- 
sioners seem  to  have  exercised  such  a  degree  of  authority, 
that  but  little  was  left  to  the  independent  action  of  the 
commanders.  IMajor  Pynchon,  however,  had  the  control 
of  military  operations  among  the  lower  settlements,  while 
Treat  generally  directed  affairs  above. 

After  the  departure  of  Major  Treat  from  Hadley,  either 
under  the  order  of  the  commissioners,  or  by  the  combined 
decision  of  the  Hadley  commanders  on  the  ground,  and 
Major  Pynchon,  it  was  determined  to  go  out  in  force  to 
make  a  demonstration  against  the  Indians,  then  supposed 
^''to  be  hovering  in  large  numbers  around  the  frontier  j^lanta- 
tions  on  the  North.     The  policy  of  the  Indians,  thus  far, 


BUEXING    OF    SPRIXGFIELD.  95 

was,  apparently,  to  sweep  the  plantations  from  the  North 
downwai'ds.  Northfiekl  and  Deerfield  had  fallen,  and  Hat- 
field, Hadley  and  Northampton  were  the  next  in  course. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Indians,  with  the  cunning  which 
characterized  them,  took  measures  to  surprise  the  settle- 
ment which  least  expected  it.  In  the  meantime,  too,  the 
Springfield  Indians,  who  had  thus  far  been  at  perfect  peace 
with  the  whites,  stimulated  by  the  course  of  events  at  the 
North,  and  anticipating  the  final  triumph  of  the  tribes,  be- 
gan to  manifest  a  treacherous  tendency.  One  or  two 
buildhigs  were  burnt  at  Springfield,  but  the  inhabitants, 
who  had  lived  so  peaceably  with  the  Indians  for  nearly 
forty  years,  could  not  attribute  the  incendiarism  to  its  real 
source.  Still,  suspicion  was  awakened.  The  people  of 
the  town  repaired  and  strengthened  their  fortified  houses 
so  as  to  be  prepared  for  an  emergency,  and  then  questioned 
the  Indians,  of  whom  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  hostages 
ibr  their  good  behavior,  and  these  were  sent  to  Hartford 
for  safe  keeping.  The  Indians  then,  having  laid  their 
plans,  went  secretly  to  Hartford,  and  enticed  away  the 
hostages,  who  had  not  been  guarded  with  sufficient  strict- 
ness. This  was  on  the  night  of  the  4th  of  October,  and  on 
the  same  niglit,  300  of  Pliilip's  Indians  who,  shunning  the 
plantations,  had  made  their  way  through  the  woods  to 
Springfield,  from  the  North,  were  admitted  into  the  fort  at 
Long  Hill.  On  the  morning  of  this  day,  the  Springfield 
soldiers,  to  the  number  of  15,  left  Springfield  for  Hadley, 
to  join  in  the  demonstration  contemplated  at  that  point, 
tlius  leaving  the  town  unprotected  by  any  sufficient  force. 
Living  in  tlie  family  of  a  Mr.  "VVolcott  at  Windsor,  was  an 
Indian  named  Toto,  and  on  the  evening  in  which  these 
hostile  preparations  were  in  progress,  he  appeared  much 
Mgitated.  By  the  passage  of  the  Indians  between  Hartford 
and  Springfield,  at  the  time  the  hostages  were  drawn  away 
from  the  former  town,  he  had  been  made  acquainted  with 
tlie  designs  of  the  Indians,  and  the  possession  of  the  terri- 
ble secret  made  his  emotions  uncontrollable.  He  was 
questioned,  and  discovered  the  fact  that  the  Indians  at 
Springfield,  Avith  some  of  Philip's  forces,  were  about  to 
burn  that  town  and  destroy  its  inhabitants.  The  dispatch 
of  a  messenger  to  the  doomed  town  was  immediately 
effected.  He  arrived  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  and  gave 
the  alarm.     The  tidings  were  carried  from  house  to  house. 


96  KING  Philip's  war. 

Men  and  women  leaped  from  their  beds,  the  children 
were  clothed  with  such  haste  as  circumstances  demanded, 
and  then  all  fled,  with  such  valuables  and  necessaries  as 
they  could  carry,  to  the  fortified  houses.  A  post  was  dis- 
patched to  Major  Pynchon,  at  Hadley,  giving  him  informa- 
tion of  the  plot,  and  requesting  his  immediate  assistance. 

"Within  the  fortified  houses,  three  in  number,  the  terri- 
fied inhabitants  impatiently  awaited  the  light  of  morning. 
The  morning  came,  but  no  Indians,  and  no  apparent  cause 
of  alarm.  The  sun  rose  higher,  but  disclosed  no  foe.  The 
inconvenience  of  their  situation,  and  the  terror  of  sus- 
pense, at  last  induced  Lieut.  Thomas  Cooper,  whose  name 
has  already  become  familiar  in  the  history  of  the  town, 
and  Thomas  Miller,  to  mount  their  horses,  and  proceed  to- 
wards the  Indian  fort.  Both  these  men  were  in  the  de- 
cline of  life,  and  both  were  brave.  Cooper,  in  the  absence 
of  Major  Pyjichon,  was  the  first  in  military  command. 
They  reached  the  woods  which  then  skirted  the  lower  end 
of  Main  street,  when  their  course  was  stopped  by  the  dis- 
charge of  musketry  from  the  ambushed  foe,  and  Miller 
fell  dead.  Cooper,  too,  received  a  mortal  wound,  but  being 
a  strong  man,  he  clung  to  his  horse,  which  wheeled  and 
galloped  homeward,  bearing  his  dying  burden,  until  he 
reached  the  first  fortified  house,  where  his  rider  fell  at  the 
door  and  expired.  Upon  this  confirmation  of  the  worst 
fears  of  the  inhabitants,  the  warriors  of  Philip  crowded 
closely,  and  the  town  was  immediately  swarming  with  the 
murderous  horde.  The  buildings  were  rifled,  and  the 
torches  applied  to  them,  and  safe  in  their  fortifications,  the 
inlialjitants  saw  their  hard-earned  property,  and  their  only 
shelter  from  the  approaching  winter,  consuming  in  fierce 
flames,  and  smoking  in  ruin.  About  thirty  dwelling  houses 
were  burned  down,  and  some  twenty-five  barns,  with  the 
hay  and  grain  which  had  been  laid  up  for  the  Winter's 
stores.  The  corn  mill  and  saw  mill  of  Mr.  Pynchon  were 
also  destroyed.  But  the  Indians  could  produce  but  little 
impression  upon  the  fortified  houses.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  they  managed  to  wound  four  or  five  persons,  and  killed 
one  woman — Pentecost  Matthews — and  during  this  period 
the  terrified  villagers  awaited  the  coming  of  the  troops 
from  the  North.  About  the  middle  of  the  day,  Major 
Treat,  then  at  Westfield,  appeared  with  his  force  on  the 
Western   banky  of  the   river.     He,  too,  with  the   Iladley 


BURNING    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  97 

forces,  had  been  reached  by  a  night  post.  But  the  river 
opposed  liis  further  progress.  The  inhabitants  sent  off 
five  men  to  take  over  a  boat.  Their  depai-ture  was  per- 
ceived, and  four  times  their  number  of  Indians  instantly- 
pursued  them.  They  reached  their  boat  and  pushed  off, 
under  a  hot  fire  from  the  enemy.  One  poor  fellow — David 
Morgan — received  a  shot  through  the  neck.  The  boat 
reached  the  opposite  shore,  and  was  filled  with  soldiers  for 
the  return.  But  the  Indians  stood  in  force  upon  the  East- 
ern bank,  ready  to  receive  them,  and  amused  themselves 
by  firing  at  them  across  the  river.  It  was  found  impossible 
to  cross  in  this  way,  and  with  the  small  number  of  men 
that  must  go  at  a  time,  and  so  all  assistance  was  cut  off 
from  this  source.  A  fcAV  hours  after  this,  Major  Pyuchon 
and  Capt.  Appleton  arrived  from  Hadley,  with  a  force  of 
two  hundred  men,  and  found  the  town  in  ruins,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  houses,  which  were  doubtless  saved 
from  destruction  by  their  arrival.  As  the  troops  came  in, 
the  Indians  retired,  and  then  Major  Treat  and  his  com- 
mand crossed  the  river,  and  the  two  forces  occupied  the 
town  during  the  night,  with  the  exception  of  scouting  par- 
ties sent  off  to  discover  where  the  Indians  lodged,  and 
what  course  they  had  taken — a  mission  in  which  they  were 
unsuccessful.  Subsequently,  an  old  squaw  was  taken  who 
gave  information  that  the  Indians  on  retiring  from  Spring- 
field lodged  that  night  about  six  miles  from  the  place,  that 
the  exact  number  of  Philip's  Indians  present  on  the  occa- 
sion was  270,  and  that  the  whole  number  of  the  enemy, 
including  the  Springfield  Indians,  was  600.  Men  were 
dispatched  to  the  spot  indicated  as  their  cam[).  They 
found  twenty-four  fires  and  some  plunder,  but  the  Indians 
had  gone,  none  knew  v/hither. 

The  inhabitants  were  thus  left  houseless  and  almost  pen- 
niless. There  were  no  mills  to  grind  their  corn,  or  to  saw 
stuffs  for  new  dwellings,  and  in  deep  discouragement,  they 
came  near  abandoning  the  settlement,  and  leaving  their 
estates  as  the  settlers  at  the  North  had  done.  INIajor  Pyu- 
chon was  much  disheartened.  The  accumulations  of  a 
life-time  had  been  swept  away,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  graceless  return  Avhich  the  Indians  had  made  for  all 
his  kindness  had  an  effect  upon  his  mind.  His  were  the 
buildings  destroyed  pi-evious  to  the  general  conflagration. 

9 


98  KING  Philip's  war. 

He  felt,  too,  tlie  weight  of  the  responsibility  that  was  upon 
him,  in  his  j^osition  as  the  leading  man  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Glover,  the  minister,  lost  one  of  the  most  valuable  private 
libraries  that  New  England  then  contained.  Hubbard 
calls  it  a  "  brave  library."  This  he  had  but  a  short  time 
before  removed  from  one  of  the  fortified  houses,  to  which 
he  had  carried  it  for  safety.  But,  "  being  impatient  for 
want  of  his  books,  he  brouglat  them  back,  to  his  great  sor- 
row, fit  foi^  the  bonfire  for  the  proud,  insulting  enemy." 
Perhaps  nothing  will  moi'e  perfectly  exhibit  the  state  of 
feeling  into  which  the  disaster  threw  Major  Pynchon,  than 
extracts  from  letters  written  by  him  at  that  time.  The  fol- 
lowing is  taken  from  his  letter  to  Governor  Leverett,  writ- 
ten from  Springfield  under  date  of  October  8th : 

"  Our  people  are  under  great  discouragement — talk  of  leav- 
ing the  place.  We  need  your  orders  and  directions  about  it. 
If  it  be  deserted,  how  wofully  do  we  yield  to,  and  encourage, 
our  insolent  enemy,  and  how  doth  it  make  way  for  the  giving 
up  of  all  the  towns  above.  If  it  be  held,  it  must  be  by 
strength  and  many  soldiers,  and  how  to  have  provision — I 
mean  bread — for  want  of  a  mill,  is  difficult.  The  soldiers 
here  already  complain  on  that  axcount,  although  we  have 
flesh  enough.  And  this  very  stiait — I  mean  no  meal,  will 
drive  many  of  our  inhabitants  away,  especially  those  that 
have  no  corn,  and  many  of  them  no  houses,  which  fills  and 
throngs  up  every  room  of  those  that  have,  together  with  the 
soldiers  now  (which  yet  we  cannot  be  without,)  increasing 
our  numbers,  so  that  indeed  it  is  very  uncomfortable  living 
here,  and  for  my  own  particular,  it  would  be  far  better  for  me 
to  go  away,  because  here  I  have  not  anything  left, — I  mean 
no  corn,  neither  Indian  nor  English,  and  no  means  to  keep 
one  beast  here  ;  nor  can  I  have  release  in  this  town  because 
so  many  are  destitute.  But  I  resolve  to  attend  what  God 
calls  me  to,  and  to  stick  to  it  as  long  as  I  can,  and  though  I 
have  such  great  loss  of  my  comforts,  yet  to  do  what  I  can  for 
defending  the  place.  I  hope  God  will  make  up  in  himself 
what  is  wanting  in  the  creature,  to  me  and  to  us  all. 

"  This  day  a  post  is  sent  up  from  Hartford  to  call  off  Major 
Treate,  with  a  part  of  his  soldiers,  from  intelligence  they  have 
of  a  party  of  Indians  lying  at  Wethersfield,  on  the  East  side 
of  the  river,  so  that  matters  of  action  here  do  linger  exceed- 
ingly, which  makes  me  wonder  what  the  Lord  intends  with 
his  people.  Strange  providences  diverting  us  in  all  our 
hopeful  designs,  and  the  Lord  giving  opportu-nity  to  the 
venemy  to  do  us  mischief,   and  then  hideing   of  them,  and 


MAJOK  ptnchon's  resignatiox.  99 

answering  all  our  prayers  by  terrible  things  in  righteous- 
ness. 

"  Sir.  I  am  incapable  of  holding  my  command,  being  more 
and  more  unfit,  and  almost  confounded  in  my  understanding. 
The  Lord  direct  you  to  pitch  on  a  meeter  person  than  ever  I 
was.  According  to  liberty  from  the  Council,  I  shall  devolve 
all  upon  Capt.  Appleton,  unless  Major  Treat  shall  return 
again,  when  you  shall  give  your  orders  as  shall  be  most  meet 
to  yourselves. 

"  To  speak  my  thoughts,  all  these  towns  ought  to  be  garri- 
soned, as  I  have  formerly  hinted,  and  had  I  been  left  to  my- 
self, should,  I  think,  have  done  that  which  might  possibly 
have  prevented  this  damage,  but  the  express  order  to  do  as  I 
did,  was  by  the  wise  disposing  hand  of  God,  who  knew  it 
best  for  us,  and  therein  we  must  acquiesce.  And  truly  to  go 
out  after  the  Indians  in  the  swamps  and  thickets,  is  to  hazard 
all  our  men,  unless  we  knew  where  they  keep,  which  is  alto- 
gether unknown  to  us,  and  God  hides  from  us  for  ends  best 
known  to  himself.  We  are  in  great  hazard,  if  we  do  but  go 
out  for  wood,  to  be  shot  down  by  some  skulking  Indians.'' 

The  deep  religious  spirit  with  which  INIr.  Pynchon  re- 
garded his  calamities  is  evidenced  further  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten on  the  20th  of  October,  to  his  son  Joseph,  in  London. 
It  cannot  be  that  the  many  descendants  of  this  noble  man, 
now  in  New  England,  or  the  multitude  in  "Western  Massa- 
chusetts who  are  reaping  the  reward  of  his  toils  and  trials, 
will  regard  with  indifference  a  production  so  fatherly  and 
Christianly,  and  it  is  given  entire. 

"  Springfield,  Oct.  20,  1675. 
^^ Dear  Son  Joseph: — The  sore  contending  of  God  with  us 
for  our  sins,  unthankfulness  for  former  mercies,  and  unfaith- 
fulness under  our  precious  enjoyments,  hath  evidently  dem- 
onstrated that  he  is  very  angry  with  this  country,  God  having 
given  the  heathen  a  large  commission  to  destroy.  And  ex- 
ceeding havoc  have  they  made  in  this  country,  destroying 
two  or  three  small  places  above  Northampton  and  Hadley, 
and  lately  they  have  fallen  upon  Springfield,  and  almost 
ruined  it  by  burning  of  houses.  About  30  or  32  dwelling 
houses  are  burnt  down,  and  some  twenty  five  barns,  full  of 
corn  and  hay.  The  Lord  hath  spared  my  dwelling  house,* 
but  my  barns  and  out-housing  are  all  burned  down,  and  all 
my  corn  and  hay  consumed  ;  and  not  anything  have  I  left  of 
food,  either  for  man  or  beast.     All  my  mills,  both  corn  and 

*Ttie  late  old  brick  "  fort,"  or  the  "  old  Pynchon  House." 


100  KING  Philip's  war. 

saw  mills,  are  burnt  down.  Those  at  home,  in  this  town,  and 
also  those  I  had  in  other  places  ;  and  four  of  those  houses 
and  barns  to  them,  which  were  burnt  in  this  towne,  belongeth 
to  rae  also.  So  that  God  hath  laid  me  low.  My  farmers  are 
also  undone,  and  many  in  this  towne  that  were  in  my  debt, 
utterly  disabled,  so  that  I  am  really  reduced  to  greate  straites. 

"  But  it  is  the  Lord's  good  pleasure  it  should  be  so,  and  He 
is  most  just  and  righteous  ;  yea,  in  very  faithfulness  hath  he 
done  it  for  the  good  of  my  soule.  I  have  not  the  least  cause 
to  murmur  and  repine  at  the  wise  dispose  of  a  gracious  God 
and  loving  Father,  but  desire  to  acquiesce  in  his  good  pleas- 
ure, and  to  lie  at  his  foote  in  holy  submission  to  his  blessed 
will. 

"  This  Providence,  and  the  state  of  this  country  in  reference 
to  this  Indian  war,  afford  matter  of  consideration  in  reference 
to  your  coming  over,  which  I  have  much  desired  and  wrote  to 
you  for ;  but  now  shall  leave  you  at  your  liberty,  not  having 
ground  or  seeing  cause  to  press  you  upon  it,  further  than  you 
shall  yourself  see  reason  for  it.  Though  I  and  your  mother 
should  be  exceeding  glad  to  see  )-ou,  yet,  as  tymes  are,  ques- 
tion whether  it  be  best  to  come  over  yet  (I  mean  now)  ;  and 
how  God  may  dispose  of  us  I  know  not.  We  are  yet  here  at 
Springfield — my  house  garrisoned  with  soldiers,  and  full  of 
troubles  and  hurrys.  The  Lord  help  us  to  remember  our 
peace  and  quietness  and  truly  to  lament  our  abuse  thereof, 
and  heartily  and  really  to  turn  to  himself  by  unfeigned  re- 
pentance. The  Lord  is  in  earnest  with  us,  and  truly  he  ex- 
pects our  being  in  earnest  in  returning  to  himselfe. 

"  Oh,  dear  Son  !  How  sweet  is  an  interest  in  Christ  Jesus 
in  these  distracting  tymes  !  They  are  trying  tymes,  and  it  is 
o-ood,  knowing  in  Avhom  we  have  believed.  Treasure  in 
heaven  is  abiding,  when  the  greatest  earthly  enjoyments  may 
soon  fail  us,  and  come  to  nothing.  Let  us,  therefore,  while 
we  have  them  so  use  them,  as  using  them  sitting  loose  from 
them,  and  being  contented  to  part  with  all  when  God  calls  for 
it.  In  the  improving  of  the  creature,  to  sit  loose  from  it,  is  a 
sweete  and  blessed  frame,  for  I  know  it  is  a  duty  to  look  after, 
and  manage  what  God  hath  given  us,  and  in  that  respect  I 
may  call  on  you  to  doe  your  best,  in  a  way  of  prudence,  to 
sell  your  estate  in  England,  and  in  it  advise  with  Mr.  Wick- 
ens  and  brother  Smith  [Henry  Smith,  JMajor  Pynchon's  broth- 
er-in-law, who  returned  to  England  in  1652]  who  I  know  will 
alford  the  best  help  they  can,  and  doe  as  you  are  able.  I  am 
not  able  to  alford  you  any  helpe,  but  by  my  prayers,  which  I 
am  always  putting  up  for  you;  and  as  God  shall  enable,  I 
shall  be  ready  to  do  my  utmost  for  you  otherwise.  The  Lord 
^'^"n  mercy  be  good  to  you  and  us.     How  he  may  deal  with  us 


ALARM   AT  THE   NORTH.  101 

I  know  not.  Where  his  providence  may  cast  me,  whether  to 
Boston  or  further,  or  whether  I  may  live  to  get  out  of  this 
place,  it  is  only  with  himself,  and  on  that  strong  rod  I  desire 
to  depend  for  salvation,  here  and  hereafter.  I  am  in  straits 
and  hurrys,  and  may  only  add  mine  and  your  mother's  en- 
deared love  and  affection  to  you,  with  hearty  wishes  and 
prayers  for  you.  I  commend  you  to  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  am  your  affectionately  loving  father, 

John  Pynchon 

"(P  S.)  Dear  Son. —  I  would  not  have  you  troubled  at 
these  sad  losses  which  I  have  met  with.  There  is  no  reason 
for  a  child  to  be  troubled  when  his  father  calls  in  that  which 
he  lent  him.  It  was  the  Lord  that  lent  it  to  me,  and  he  that 
gave  it  hath  taken  it  away,  and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  He  hath  done  very  well  for  me,  and  I  acknowledge 
his  goodness,  and  desire  to  trust  in  Him  and  submit  to  Him 
forever.  And  doe  you,  with  me,  acknowledge  and  justify 
Him." 

Admirable  man !  Noble  father !  Christ's  grace-in- 
formed disciple  !  In  thy  distracted  bosom,  crushed  by  dis- 
aster ;  in  thy  heart  brimming  with  love  to  God,  and  tender 
with  sweetest  affections  ;  in  thy  reverent  spirit,  bowed  with 
lowliest  humiliation,  yet  strong  in  holiest  trust;  in  thy 
soul  where  every  Christian  grace  sprang  to  new  life  by 
the  sweet  nourishment  of  tears,  thy  wealth — thy  truest 
wealth — was  left ; — a  better  legacy  to  posterity  than  gold 
or  lands ;  possessions  more  to  be  coveted  than  cro^v^is  and 
empires ! 

The  destruction  of  Springfield  threw  the  towns  above, 
viz  :  Northampton,  Iladley  and  Hatfield,  into  the  most  pro- 
found distress  and  alarm.  The  plantations  North  of  them 
had  been  cut  off,  Springfield  was  in  ashes,  and  they  knew 
that  their  turn  must  come  next.  Major  Treat  had  been 
recalled,  the  very  flower  of  the  colonial  forces  on  the  field 
had  been  cut  off,  !Major  Pynchon,  the  foremost  man  in  the 
settlements,  and  one  in  whose  wisdom  they  had  always 
placed  the  greatest  confidence,  had  resigned  his  command, 
the  Connecticut  troops  that  remained  hardly  knew  how 
they  had  a  right  to  act  in  the  absence  of  their  commander, 
and  all  lacked  confidence  in  the  policy  of  the  Commission- 
ers. Rev.  John  Russell  of  Hadley,  wrote  to  Governor 
Leverett,  representing  the  condition  of  things.  He  wrote 
during  the  absence  of  the  troops  who  had  gone  to  Spring- 
field, when  he  said  the  town  was  alone : — '"  The  men  in 

9* 


^0^2  KING  Philip's  war. 

these  towns,  who  before  trembled  at  the  order  that  none 
shoukl  be  left  in  garrison  when  the  army  went  out,  are  now 
much  more  distressed  at  the  thoughts  of  it  as  looking  at 
themselves,  thereby  exposed  to  inevitable  ruin  at  their  en- 
emy's assault,  which  we  might  expect.  Especially  the 
town  of  Iladley  is  now  likely  to  drink  next,  if  mercy  pre- 
vent not,  of  tlie  same  bitter  cup.  "We  are  but  about  fifty 
families,  and  now  left  solitary."  Mr.  Russell  urged  upon 
the  Governor  the  necessity  of  furnishing  each  town  with  a 
sufficient  garrison,  and  suggested  that  either  Major  Pyn- 
chon  or  Capt.  Appleton,  or  both,  should  be  empowered  to 
direct  the  towns  in  their  system  of  fortifications. 

It  is  proper  here  to  allude,  in  greater  detail,  to  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  Major  Pynchon  resigned  his  com- 
mission, for  they  have  generally  been  misunderstood.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  the  affliction  he  met  with  in  the  de- 
struction of  his  property,  was  the  cause  of  his  resignation. 
Such  is  not  the  fact.  From  a  letter  of  the  Massachusetts 
Council  to  him,  written  Sept.  15th,  1675,  it  appears  that 
he  had  resigned  previous  to  that  date.  One  of  the  causes 
will  appear  in  the  following  words  of  the  Council :  "  You 
are  the  chief  military  officer  in  the  county  where  you  have 
your  habitation,  interest  and  concerns,  and  where  by  Di- 
vine Providence,  a  considerable  part  of  the  stress  of  this 
war  is  at  present ;  you  have  able  and  judicious  persons  un- 
der you,  that  will  assist  you  in  Council  and  action.  Your 
plea  concerning  your  sense  of  the  lashes  of  the  tongues  of 
men  against  you,  and  that  spirit  of  opposing  rulers  which 
much  shows  itself  among  us,  it  is  matter  of  grief  and  dis- 
couragement, but  it  is  no  otherwise  than  Aaron,  David 
and  divers  others  of  the  servants  of  God  have  met  with." 
The  Council  did  not  accept  his  resignation.  Gov.  Lever- 
ett  wrote  him  a  letter  Sept.  24th,  still  declinino-  to  dis- 
charge him.  On  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  Major  Pyn- 
chon wrote  to  the  Council  agam,  entreating  that  he  might 
be  discharged,  giving  as  a  reason  the  great  anxieties  of  his 
Avife  on  his  account,  and  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
those  anxieties  were  the  real  basis  of  his  entire  course  of 
action  in  the  premises.  Another  letter  of  Major  Pynchon 
has  been  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  State,  which, 
bearing  neither  date  nor  signature,  was  evidently  written 
early  after  the  destruction  of  his  property.     It  was  ad- 


DEPAUTUKE    OF   TUE   TROOPS.  103 

dressed  to  the  Council,  and  in  it  he  says :  "  My  sad  state  of 
affairs  at  home  will  necessitate  your  discharging  me,  and 
truly  I  am  so  full  of  trouble  and  overwhelmed  with  it,  that 
I  cannot  act business.  I  beseech  you,  do  not  ex- 
pose me  to  those  temptations  which  will  overwhelm  me  if 
you  do  not  discharge  me.  I  would  not  willingly  sin  against 
God  nor  offend  you,  and  entreat  you  to  ease  me  of  my 
pressures."  It  is  a  singular  fact  that,  "  on  account  of  his 
hnportunity,"  he  was  discharged  the  very  day  Springfield 
was  burnt,  and  that  while  he  was  writing  his  letters  after 
that  date,  begging  for  his  discharge,  he  was  no  longer  in 
office.  The  welcome  bearer  of  the  dispatch  had  not  then 
reached  him. 

Major  Pynchon  was  thus  relieved  of  his  command,  and 
allowed  to  remain  Avith  his  distressed  flock  at  Springfield ; 
and,  after  strengthening  the  garrisons  of  the  place,  Capt. 
Samuel  Appleton,  upon  whom  the  command  Avas  devolved, 
returned  to  Hadley,  with  the  most  of  the  forces,  on  the 
12th  of  October — eight  days  after  the  sad  disaster  at 
Springfield  had  transpired.  On  arriving  at  Hadley,  two 
days  were  spent  in  sending  out  scouts  to  discover  the  lurk- 
ing-places of  the  enemy,  but  the  scouts,  with  the  feai-ful 
memories  of  the  locality  upon  them,  Avere  timid,  and  ac- 
comphshed  nothing.  Perplexed  Avith  his  orders  to  leave 
no  men  in  garrison,  but  to  use  all  for  a  field  army,  embar- 
rassed by  the  absence  of  Major  Treat,  and  the  responsibili- 
ties of  his  new  command,  Cai)t.  Appleton  hardly  kncAV 
Avhich  Avay  to  turn.  lie  finally  concluded  that  he  Avould 
go  forth  in  fUll  force  on  a  hostile  expedition  against  the 
enemy,  and  on  the  14th,  ordered  Capt.  Moseley,  Avho,  Avith 
his  company,  Avas  then  at  Hatfield,  and  Capt.  Seeley, 
stationed  at  Northampton  Avith  a  company  of  Connecticut 
troops,  to  repair  fortlnvith  to  Head  Quarters,  and  report 
themselves  ready  for  service.  Capt.  Moseley  and  his  men 
were  on  the  ground  almost  immediately,  but  Capt.  Seeley, 
after  some  delay,  reported  himself  Avithout  his  company, 
declainng  that  he  held  no  commission,  and  could  not  act. 
Capt.  Ai)pleton  dispatched  a  note  to  Hartford,  and  ex- 
plained hoAv  everything  was  obstructed  by  the  absence  of 
Major  Treat.  The  reply  to  this  missive  Avas  received  on 
the  IGth,  in  AAdiich  the  Hai-tford  Council  referred  to  the  ab- 
sence of  the  Plymouth  troops,  which,  by  agreement,  should 


104  KING   PHILIP'S    WAR. 

be  on  the  ground ;  and  for  reasons  connected  with  this 
state  of  things,  excused  their  inaction. 

After  dispatchuig  his  letter  to  Hartford,  Capt.  Appleton 
drew  forth  his  men,  leaving  a  company  of  60  in  garrison 
under  Capt.  Sill,  intending  to  march  to  Northfield,  but  they 
had  hardly  got  out  of  Hadley  befoi'e  intelligence  reached 
them  that  the  tracks  of  the  enemy  had  been  discovered  in 
great  numbers  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The 
force  immediately  crossed  the  river,  but  the  day  was  past, 
and  they  hardly  succeeded  in  getting  out  of  Hatfield  be- 
fore nightfall.  They  started  for  Deeriield,  and  proceeded 
sevei'al  miles,  when  the  discharge  of  a  gun  was  heard,  and 
the  noise  of  Indians.  This  brought  the  force  to  a  halt,  and 
the  officers  to  consultation.  Capt.  Aj^pleton  was  for  pro- 
ceeding, but  Capt.  Moseley  was  for  returning,  believing 
that,  as  soon  as  they  were  fairly  away,  the  Indians  would 
fall  upon  Hatfield  and  Hadley.  Capt.  Moseley's  opinions 
and  a  threatening  storm  decided  the  question,  and  the  army 
took  the  backward  track.  On  the  17th,  great  numbers  of 
the  enemy  were  reported  at  Deerfield,  and  some  of  them 
much  nearer,  and,  on  the  same  day,  a  communication  was 
received  from  Hartford,  making  it  very  uncertain  when  the 
Connecticut  forces  would  again  be  available.  In  the  even- 
ing of  the  same  day,  the  people  of  Northampton  sent  over 
for  help,  in  addition  to  Capt.  Seeley  and  his  fifty  men,  as 
they  were  much  in  fear  of  being  assaulted.  The  enemy 
had  then  been  discovered  within  a  mile  of  Hatfield,  and, 
at  midnight,  the  Hadley  forces  were  pushed  across  the 
river.  But  they  "  wearied  themselves  with  a  tedious  night 
and  morning's  march,  without  making  any  discovery  of  the 
enemy." 

Nothing  can  represent  more  fully  the  perplexity  under 
which  Capt.  Appleton  labored,  in  consequence  of  the  policy 
and  orders  of  the  Commissioners,  than  his  unsteady  action 
at  this  time.  This  policy  was  directly  at  war  with  the 
common  sense  of  every  man  on  the  field  of  operations. 
"  In  very  truth,"  says  Capt.  Appleton  to  Governor  Lever- 
ett,  writing  on  the  17th,  "  I  am  in  straits  on  every  side. 
To  leave  the  towns  without  any  help,  is  to  leave  them  to 
apparent  ruin.  To  supply  with  any  now  in  the  absence  of 
Connecticut,  is  hardly  reconcilable  with  the  order  of  the 
^.Commissioners. 


ATTACK    ON    HxiXFIELD.  105 

Whether  the  Council  at  Hartford  reconsidered  their  ac- 
tion, does  not  appear,  but  the  fact  is  recorded  that  Major 
Treat  had  arrived  at  Northampton  on  the  19th,  with  a  con- 
siderable force,  for  the  protection  of  that  town.     At  that 
date,  Capt.  Appleton  was  at  Hadley  with  one   company, 
Avhile,  in  consequence  of  the  more  exposed  situation  of  the 
place,  Hatfield  was  garrisoned  by  two  companies,  respect- 
ively under  the  command  of  Captain  Moseley  and  Captain 
Poole.     At  this  date,  too,  when  the  forces  were  well  ar- 
ranged for  resistance,  the  enemy  came,  to  the  number  of 
700  or  800,  and  fell  upon  Hatfield,  being  able  by  their 
overwhelming  numbers  to  make  their  attack  in  every  quar- 
ter.    Previous  to  the  onset,  they  had  cut  off  the  scouts 
that  had  been  sent  out  to  communicate  warning  of  their 
approach,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  attack  was  in  some 
measure  a  surprise.     Poole  and  his  men  entered  into  a 
siiirited  defense  of  one  extremity,  while  the  veteran  Mose- 
ley dealt  death  to  the  enemy  in  the  center.     Capt.  Apple- 
ton,  with  the  Hadley  forces,  was  soon  on  the  ground,  and 
eno'ao-ed  the  foe  at  the  other  extremity.     The  figlit  Avas  a 
desperate  and  spirited  one,  but  numbers  on  the  side  of  the 
Indians  proved  no  match  for  superior  discipline,  arms,  and 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  English.     Tlie  enemy  were  re- 
pulsed at  every  point.     The  engagement  took  place  just  at 
the  close  of  the  day,  and  the  enemy  had  been  entertained 
so  hotly  that  they  retired  in  great  haste  and  confusion,  only 
having  had  time  to  burn  a  few  barns  and  other  out-build- 
ings, and  drive  off  a  number  of  cattle.     Capt.  Ap[)leton's 
sergeant — Freegrace  Norton — was  mortally  wounded  by 
his  side,  "  another  bullet  passing  through  his  own  hair,  by 
that  whisper  telling  him  that  death  was  very  near."     The 
names  of  those  killed  were  Tliomas  Mcekins,  Nathaniel 
Collins,    llichard    Stone,    Samuel    Clarke,   John    Pocock, 
Thomas  Warner,  Abram  Quiddington,  William  Olverton, 
and  John  Petts.     The  loss  of  the  Indians  must  have  been 
considerable,  though  the  fall  of  night  upon  their  retreat, 
and  their  scrupulous  adlierence  to  the  custom  of  carrying 
otf  their  dead,  made  it  impossible  to  ascertain  how  great. 
Some  were  driven  through  Mill  River,  and  in  their  at- 
tempts to  carry  oft'  their  dead,  either  purposely  or  accident- 
ally dropped   their  guns  into  the  river,  and  there  left  tliem, 
with  the  hope,  probably,  of  ultimately  rccliuming  them. 


106  KING  Philip's  war. 

During  all  these  secret  movements  and  spirited  opera- 
tions of  the  Indians,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  Philip  was 
either  never  seen  or  never  recognized.  That  he  was  the 
reigning  genius  of  the  war,  that  he  directed  in  all  the  im- 
portant movements  of  the  Indians,  and  that  the  malicious 
policy  of  the  savages  had  its  source  and  center  in  him, 
there  was  no  doubt ;  but  the  history  of  his  daily  life  during 
this  eventful  period  is,  and  must  forever  be,  unwritten. 
The  dread  of  the  English  and  the  right  arm  of  their  foes, 
no  bullet  reached  him,  and  no  marksman's  eye  detected 
him,  but  his  was  the  controlling  voice  at  the  council  fire, 
his  the  leading  step  in  every  night  and  forest-covered  ex- 
pedition, and  his  the  signal  for  those  terrific  visitations  of 
savage  force  that  devoted  large  bodies  of  the  English  to 
slaughter,  or  laid  in  waste  their  helpless  villages. 

It  was  now  among  the  last  days  of  October — quite  No- 
vember, in  fact,  reckoning  time  by  the  Gregorian  calendar, 
not  then  adopted,  and  an  early  Winter  was  coming  rapidly 
down  upon  the  Valley.  Discouraged  by  the  poor  success 
attending  their  attack  u]>on  Hatfield,  and  furnished  with 
insignificant  supplies,  Philip's  Wampanoags  took  their  way 
through  the  forest  to  the  Narraganset  country,  and,  during 
all  the  Winter,  Philip's  presence  was  never  ascertained  to 
be  among  them.  Some  imagined  that  he  had  gone  West, 
to  engage  allies  in  the  region  of  the  Hudson  river.  One 
writer  reports  him  to  have  been  within  forty  miles  of  Al- 
bany during  the  Winter,  with  400  or  .500  Indians,  and 
him^^lf  so  disabled  by  sickness  that  the  Hadley  chief,  who 
was  present,  took  the  command  of  the  force.  But  his  di- 
recting mind  and  implacable  spirit  were  nevertheless  ap- 
parent. The  river  Indians  mostly  remained  upon  the 
river,  but,  during  the  Winter,  made  no  serious  demonstra- 
tions. Soon  after  the  attack  on  Hatfield,  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Northampton  went  into  the  field  to  secure 
some  of  their  corn,  when,  having  left  their  arms  under 
their  cart,  they  were  surprised  by  the  approach  of  a  party 
of  Indians,  but  made  good  their  escape.  The  alarm  called 
out  Major  Treat,  but  before  he  could  come  up  with  them, 
they  had  succeeded  in  burning  seven  or  eight  buildings 
that  stood  a  little  out  of  the  tovm,  and  in  getting  beyond 
his  reach.  A  few  days  subsequently,  Thomas  Salmon,  Jo- 
^Beph  Baker  and  Joseph  Baker  Jr.,  were  killed  in  the 


AFFAIR   AT    LONGMEAUOTT.  107 

meadow,  and  tlie  Indians  attempted  to  burn  the  mill,  "  but 
it  was  too  well  guarded  by  two  files  of  musketeers  lodged 
there  for  the  purpose,  who  put  them  beside  their  intent." 
Springfield,  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  its  corn 
mill,  was  obliged  to  resort  to  the  neighboring  plantation  of 
Westfield,  to  get  its  corn  ground.  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor,  the 
minister  at  that  i)lace,  says  in  the  records  kept  by  him : 
"  Our  soil  was  moistened  by  the  blood  of  three  Springfield 
men — young  Goodman  Dumbleton  and  two  sons  of  Good- 
man Brooks,  who  came  here  to  look  for  iron  ore  on  land 
bought  of  Mr.  J.  Pyuchon,  who  accompanied  them,  but 
they  fell  in  the  way  by  the  first  assault  of  the  enemy." 
This  occurred  just  after  the  murdei's  at  Northampton,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  Indians  burnt  in  Westfield  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Cornish,  and  John  Sackett's  house  and  barn,  with 
their  contents.  A  Mr.  Granger  was  seriously  wounded  in 
the  same  aifair.  Around  vSpringficld,  the  Indians  Avere 
hovering  in  squads  all  the  Winter,  awaiting  opportunity  to 
cut  off  such  stragglers  as  might  present  themselves.  Dur- 
ing this  period,  the  settlers  at  the  Long  jNIeadow  were  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  attending  meetings  at  their  only 
place  of  worship  in  Springfield,  for  the  Indians  were  skulk- 
ing in  every  quarter.  On  the  last  Sabbath  of  the  follow- 
ing March,  it  being  the  2Gtli  of  the  month,  they  came  to 
the  determination  to  attempt  a  visit  to  their  much  loved 
sanctuary.  They  numbered  eighteen — men,  women  aud 
children — and  had  ])roceeded  as  tar  as  Pecowsic  brook,  ac- 
companied by  a  small  guard,  wlien  they  were  assaulted  by 
a  band  of  eight  savages,  and  John  Keep,  his  wife,  and  their 
infant  child,  were  killed,  and  several  others  wounded.  Mr. 
Keep  was  at  that  time  a  2)rominent  man  in  the  town,  and 
held  the  office  of  selectman.  Accounts  of  this  aifau-  differ 
somewhat  materially.  ]Maj.  Savage,  at  that  time  having 
his  Head  Quartei's  at  ILuUey,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Coun- 
cil two  days  after  the  occurrence,  in  which  he  says  the  In- 
dians "  killed  a  man  and  a  maid,  wounded  two  men,  and 
carried  away  captive  two  women  and  two  children."  He 
then  goes  on  to  say  that  he  co-operated  with  JMajor  Pyn- 
chon  in  giving  them  chase,  and  their  force  of  horse  coming 
up  with  them,  tlie  Indians  immediately  killed  the  two  cliil- 
drcn,  very  badly  wounded  the  women  with  their  hatchets, 
and  escaped  into  the  swamp.     One  of  the  women  at  that 


108  KING  Philip's  war. 

time  lay  senseless  witli  lier  wounds,  and  it  is  probable  that 
she  was  the  wife  of  Mr.  Keep,  and  that  one  of  the  chil- 
dren killed  belonged  to  her.  The  guard  which  accompa- 
nied the  party  were  openly  flouted  as  cowards.  The 
Council  in  a  letter  to  Major  Savage  declared  it  a  great 
shame,  and  "  humbling  to  us,"  while  a  rhymester  of  the 
day  celebrated  their  lack  of  bravery  in  the  following 
couplet:, 

''  Seven  Indians,  and  one  without  a  gun, 
Caused  Capt.  Nixon  and  forty  men  to  run.' 

About  this  time,  a  Springfield  man,  going  across  the 
river  to  look  after  his  corn  and  his  house,  located  there, 
was  shot  down  by  the  Indians,  who  then  burnt  his  house. 
Among  the  last  days  of  Winter,  Westfield  suffered  again. 
Indians  were  discovered  in  the  vicinity,  and  a  scout  was 
sent  out  to  ascertain  their  locality  and  numbers.  Instead 
of  two  or  three  individuals  going  out,  to  fulfill  the  inten- 
tions of  the  scout,  ten  or  twelve  went  out  fully  armed,  and, 
discovering  the  enemy,  fell  upon  them,  and  received  a  fire 
in  return  which  killed  Moses  Cook,  one  of  the  planters, 
and  a  soldier  who  was  probably  stationed  in  garrison  there. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  the  people  of  Springfield, 
notwithstanding  the  deep  distress  into  which  they  were 
thrown  by  the  burning  of  their  town,  still  occupied  their 
settlement.  That  they  did  not  break  up,  and  retire  to  a 
safer  locality,  was  attributable  to  a  positive  order  of  the 
General  Court,  which  very  wisely  interfered  to  prevent  a 
step  so  disastrous  in  itself,  and  in  its  effects.  The  order 
was  a  general  one,  but  was  uttered,  doubtless,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  particular  case  of  vSpringfield.  The  "Winter  of 
1G75-76  was  a  very  mild  one,  and  providentially  no  suf- 
fering was  experienced  from  lack  of  food. '  Though  the 
organized  and  powerful  hostilities  of  the  Indians  were  sus- 
pended, the  inhabitants  of  the  river  towns  felt  that  the 
storm  had  not  yet  passed  away,  and  during  the  lull  which 
the  Winter  afforded,  they  busied  themselves  in  the  con- 
struction of  fortifications,  about  their  plantations  and  houses. 
These  were  necessarily  rude,  and  consisted  of  posts  of 
cleft  wood,  set  in  the  ground,  forming  little  more  than  a 
strong  fence,  and  hardly  a  suflicient  barrier  against  com- 
mon musketry.  Some  of  the  towns  or  villages  were  en- 
*tirely  inclosed  by  these  palisades,  and,  weak  as  they  Avere, 


MOVEMENTS    AT    THE   EAST.  109 

they  afterwards  proved  formidable  to  the  enemy,  for,  though 
easy  to  enter  in  case  of  an  attack,  they  were  hard  to  es- 
cape from  in  the  confusion  of  retreat.  After  the  comple- 
tion of  these  works,  the  troops  at  Hadley  were  called  off 
to  Connecticut  and  the  East,  a  sufficient  number  only  being 
left  to  garrison  the  several  towns. 

In  the  Eastern  part  of  the  colony,  operations  against  the 
Indians  Avere  continued.  Captain  Henchman  was  sent  out 
from  Boston  against  some  Indian  lodges  at  Mendon,  and 
other  places  in  the  vicinity,  but,  besides  recovering  a  cap- 
tive, burning  some  corn,  and  proving  the  shame  of  cow- 
ardice upon  his  company,  he  accomplished  nothing,  while 
he  lost  two  of  his  men.  It  had  been  ascertained  that  a 
number  of  the  Narragansets  were  present  at  the  operations 
on  the  Connecticut  River,  during  the  previous  autumn,  and 
the  professions  of  friendsliip  received  from  the  sachem 
were  known  to  be  treacherous.  Accordingly,  the  Commis- 
sioners of  tlie  United  Colonies  determined  upon  attacking 
them  in  their  strong-hold,  which  occupied  a  swamp  in  the 
present  toAvn  of  South  Kingston,  R.  I.  It  was  resolved  to 
raise  a  force  of  one  thousand  men.  of  whidi  Massacliusetts 
was  to  furnish  527,  Connecticut  o  15,  and  Plymouth  158, — 
the  Massachusetts  troops  to  be  commanded  by  Major  Sam- 
uel Appleton,  the  Connecticut  troops  by  Major  Treat,  and 
tlie  Plymouth  troops  by  Governor  Winslow,  the  latter  be- 
ing the  commander-in-chief.  Caj)tain  IMoseley  was  among 
the  Massachusetts  Captains,  and  Captain  Seeley,  formerly 
stationed  at  Northampton,  commanded  a  Connecticut  com- 
pany. On  the  way  to  the  enemy's  country,  Capt.  Moseley 
surprised  and  captured  thirty-six  of  the  enemy,  and  other 
companies  succeeded  in  killing  and  capturing  several,  and 
in  burning  150  cabins.  Moseley's  life  Avas  particularly 
sought  for  by  the  desperate  savages  met  upon  the  way,  but 
he  escaped,  and  was  placed  forward  in  leading  the  way  to 
the  fort.  The  army  was  exposed  to  great  hardships,  from 
the  snow  and  cold,  and  from  the  destruction  by  fire  of 
buildings  they  had  intended  to  make  their  head  quarters. 
On  the  19th,  the  fort  was  reached,  and  attacked,  and  after 
a  bloody  struggle,  captured.  Tiie  slaughter  of  Indian 
warriors  was  terrible,  not  less  than  700  being  slain,  and 
300  mortally  wounded.  The  wigwams,  to  the  number  of 
several  hundred,  Avere  fired,  and  in  them,  and  among  the 

10 


110  KING  rniLIP'S   WAR. 

flames,  miserably  perished  hundreds  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, Avhile  the  ■wounded  warriors  were  seen  broiling  and 
roasting  in  the  fires.  The  whole  number  of  Indians  in  the 
fort  at  the  commencement  of  the  attack  was  about  four 
thousand,  and  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  escape 
from  the  bullet  and  the  fire,  fled  into  the  adjacent  cedar 
swamp,  and  passed  the  night  as  they  could,  and  a  terrible 
night  it  must  have  been.  Nearly  two  hundred  troops  were 
killed  and  wounded,  and  many  of  the  latter,  who  had  not 
received  Avounds  necessarily  mortal,  died  in  consequence 
of  an  immediate  march  of  sixteen  miles  to  Pettyquamscot, 
in  a  snow-storm.  The  struggle  Avas  particularly  fatal  to 
the  captains,  who  necessarily  led  their  men,  and  received 
the  first  fatal  fire  from  the  enemy.  Among  the  eight  cap- 
tains killed,  or  mortally  wounded,  was  Capt.  Seeley  of 
Connecticut. 

The  forces  were  not  entirely  drawn  oif •  from  the  Narra- 
ganset  country,  but  remained,  and  succeeded  in  cutting  olF 
many  stragglers,  and  in  destroying  the  stores  of  the  ene- 
my. In  the  meantime,  the  principal  part  of  the  Narragan- 
sets  had  fled,  and  joined  themselves  to  the  Nipmucks,  the 
Connecticut  River  Indians,  and  the  other  allies  of  Philij:) 
about  Deerfield  and  Northfield.  Still  there  were  large 
numbers  of  Indians  at  the  East,  and  on  the  10th  of  Feb- 
ruary they  fell  upon  Lancaster,  and  killed  and  captured  42 
people,  out  of  the  fifty  that  the  town  contained.  In  the 
latter  part  of  February,  Mendon  was  burnt,  and  twenty 
inhabitants  killed.  Subsequently,  several  buildings  were 
burned  in  Weymouth,  and  soon  afterwai'ds  Groton,  Marl- 
borough and  Warwick  (near  Providence)  were  destroyed. 
About  this  time,  Capt.  Pierce  of  Seituate,  with  his  force  of 
fifty  men,  after  slaying  one  hundred  of  the  enemy,  was  cut 
down  with  the  loss  of  neai^ly  every  man.  A  short  time 
after  this,  seventy  houses  and  barns  were  burnt  at  Reho- 
botli,  and  thirty  houses  at  Providence.  There  was  a  mas- 
sacre also  of  eleven  persons  at  Plymouth.  On  the  18th 
of  April,  Sudbury  Avas  partly  burned,  and  a  relief  force 
from  Concord  was  ambushed  and  slain.  Captains  Wads- 
worth  and  Brocklebank,  with  a  considerable  force,  were  at 
this  time  on  the  march  for  the  protection  of  Marlborough, 
but  turning  from  their  route  to  look  after  the  Indians  about 
/"•■'Sudbury,  lell  into  an  ambuscade,  and  nearly  their  whole 


MOVEMENTS    AT    THE    EAST,  111 

force  was  massacred.  Several  towns  in  tlie  Plyinoutli  col- 
ony then  suffered  more  or  less  considerable  ravages  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  27th  of  March,  a  body  composed  of  vol- 
Tmteers  from  Connecticut,  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
friendly  Indians,  penetrated  the  Nari'aganset  country,  un- 
der Captains  Dennison  and  Avery.  At  this  time,  Conan- 
chet,  the  sachem  of  the  tribe,  who,  after  the  destruction  of 
his  fort,  had  fled  to  Northfield,  returned  to  secure  some 
seed-corn  with  wliich  he  proposed  to  plant  the  meadows  on 
the  Connecticut  that  had  been  forsaken  by  the  whites. 
His  party  were  fallen  in  with  by  the  Connecticut  volun- 
teers, and  himself  captured.  After  rejecting  the  offer  of 
his  life,  if  he  would  make  peace  with  the  English,  he  was 
])ut  to  death,  and  died  as  wortliily  as  his  father,  the  impla- 
cable Miantonomo,  could  have  wished.  This  Connecticut 
force  did  very  important  service  to  the  frontier  towns  of 
Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  during  their  stay  in  the  coun- 
try, fairly  driving  the  Indians  out  of  the  region.  They 
captured  in  all  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  Indians,  took 
fifty  muskets,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  of  corn, 
and,  during  all  these  operations,  lost  hardly  a  man.  It  was 
the  best  managed  body  of  troops  that  had  thus  far  engaged 
in  the  war.  The  dispersion  of  the  Indians  in  that  quarter 
became,  of  course,  the  cause  of  their  concentration  to  a 
considerable  extent  upon  tlie  Connecticut,  and  to  this  re- 
gion the  scene  of  war  returns. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

The    Campaign  of  1676 — King  Philip's  War   con- 
tinued   AND    CONCLUDED. 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1  67G,  Major  Thomas  Savage, 
with  several  new  companies  of  Massachusetts  troops,  and 
Major  Treat  of  Connecticut,  with  a  force  from  that  colony, 
joined  at  Brookfield,  and  after  a  few  unimportant  skirm- 
ishes with  the  enemy,  proceeded  to  Hadley,  where  the 
presence  of  the  former  has  already  been  incidentally  al- 
luded to.  Their  troops  were  distributed  as  follows :  In 
Hadley,  one  Connecticut  company,  and  two  Massachusetts 
companies,  respectively  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Whipple,  and  Capt.  Gilman,  all  being  under  Major  Sav- 
age ;  at  Northampton,  two  Connecticut  companies,  with 
Capt.  William  Turner's  company  of  Massachusetts  troops, 
under  Major  Treat ;  and  at  Hatfield,  the  indefatigable  and 
gallant  Moseley,  with  his  company  and  a  company  of  Con- 
necticut troops.  Soon  after  taking  up  their  quarters,  evi- 
dences were  not  lacking  to  show  that  active  service  was  at 
hand.  In  the  morning  twilight  of  the  14tli  of  March,  a 
large  body  of  Indians  made  a  furious  attack  upon  North- 

■  ampton.  The  palisades  that  had  been  erected  during  the 
Winter,  offered  but  feeble  resistance  to  them,  and  were 
broken  through  in  three  places.  But  after  they  had  suc- 
ceeded in  firing  ten  buildings,  killing  Robert  Bartlett, 
Thomas  Ilolton,  two  otlier  men,  and  two  Avomen,  and 
wounding  several  in  addition,  they  were  repulsed  by  the 
spirited  operations  of  Major  Treat  and  his  troops,  and  fled 
in  confusion  into  the  woods.  In  a  letter  to  the  Council, 
written  March  28th,  by  Rev.  John  Russell  of  Hadley,  the 
Indians  are  said  to  have  "  burnt  five  houses  and  five  barns 
— one  within  the  fortification  " — and  to  have  slain  "  five 
persons  and  wounded  five."  Tlie  same  authority  states 
that  about  a  dozen  Indians  were  found  slain.  Dissatisfied 
with  this  adventure,  they  immediately  went  to  Hatfield,  but 
were  prevented  from  attacking  it  by  the  opportune  arrival 

^*of  a  re-inforcement  of  troops  from  Hadley.     Not  willing 


UNWELCOME    ORDERS.  113 

to  give  up  the  day  thus,  they  returned  to  Northampton,  but 
the  difficidty  they  had  previously  experienced,  in  tlieir  re- 
treat through  the  openings  they  had  made  in  the  j^alisades, 
appealed  too  strongly  to  their  caution,  and  they  withdrew. 
Soon  after  this  they  appeared  at  Westfield,  but,  beyond 
killing  one  man  and  taking  a  quantity  of  corn,  they  effect- 
ed no  damage. 

Either  from  an  abstract  consideration  of  policy,  or  under 
the  suggestion  of  the  attacks  made  upon  the  Longmeadow 
cavalcade,  upon  Northampton,  and  other  out-dwellers  and 
out-posts,  the  Council  of  Massachusetts  transmitted  to  Ma- 
jor Savage  a  letter  of  instructions,  which  created  one  of 
those  storms  of  local  feeling  which  have  not  been  uncom- 
mon in  more  recent  periods,  and  which  then  threatened 
very  serious  disturbances.  This  letter  was  dated  March 
20th,  and  the  following  is  the  portion  of  it,  in  point : 

"That  those  our  towns  on  Connecticut  River,  do  immedi- 
ately consult  and  determine  the  putting  themselves  into  such 
a  posture  as  may  best  accommodate  their  security  and  pro- 
vision, which  we  judge  mu?t  be  by  their  gathering  together 
in  such  places  and  numbers  that  they  may  be  able  to  defend 
themselves,  and  some  considerable  part  of  each  company  be 
improved  in  planting,  &c,,  and,  in  case  this  cannot  be  in  each 
town,  then  the  lesser  towns  must  gather  to  the  greater.  To 
remain  in  such  a  scattered  state,  is  to  expose  lives  and  estates 
to  the  merciless  cruelty  of  Itie  enemy,  and  is  no  less  than 
tempting  divine  providence ;  and  to  quit  our  plantations,  one 
after  another,  refusing  to  comply  to  the  present  humbling 
hand  of  the  Lord  against  us,  is  to  be  our  own  executioners^ 
and  we  fear  will  be.  *  *  *  Some  that  know  those  places 
best,  do  apprehend  that  Springfield  and  Hadley  are  the  fittest 
places  for  their  fortifying  and  planting." 

At  the  same  time,  the  Secretary  of  the  Cotmcil  trans- 
mitted a  letter  to  IMajor  Pynchon,  on  the  same  subject,  in 
which  he  says :  "  tliere  is  no  way  that  we  can  see,  but  to 
come  all  together,  into  some  convenient  place  in  the  town, 
and  take  in  so  large  a  fort  that  the  proprietors  may  live  in 
distinct  houses  or  shelters ;  and  Westfield  must  join  with 
you,  and  totally  remove  to  you,  for  it  is  inqiossible  to  hold 
l)oth  towns,  the  enemy  being  so  many  in  those  parts,  and 
our  army  must  remove  from  thence."  The  Secretary  then 
goes  on  to  state  that  the  most  of  the  frontiers  are  drawing 
off,  and  that  the  present  work  is  the  securing  of  the  priuci- 

10* 


114  KING  Philip's  "VVAR. 

pal  towns  on  the  sea  coast.  The  drift  of  the  letter  was 
that  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  scattered  settlements  on 
the  Connecticut  was  altogether  too  much,  and  it  closed 
with  the  following  threat :  "  if  your  people  be  averse  from 
our  advice,  we  must  be  necessitated  to  clraw  off  our  forces 
from  thence,  for  we  cannot  spare  them,  nor  supply  them 
with  ammunition." 

These  9rders,  or  this  "  advice,"  became  immediately  the 
cause  of  the  most  intense  dissatisfaction.     Rev.  Solomon 
Stoddard,  the  successor  in  1G72,  of  Mr.  Mather,  at  North- 
ampton, wrote   a   letter   to   the   Council,  on  the   28th  of 
March,  signed  by  himself,  John  Strong,  Wm.  Clarke,  Da- 
vid Wilton,  John  Lyman  and  John   King,  in   which  he 
says  :  "  The  Lord  has  wonderfully  appeared  of  late  for  our 
preservation,  and  we  fear  it  Avould  be   displeasing  unto 
Him  if  we  should  give  up  into  the  hands  of  our  enemies, 
by  running  away,  that  which  the  Lord  has  so  eminently 
delivered  out  of  their  hands  when  they  did  so  violently  as- 
sault us."     Ml".  Stoddard  then  enlarged  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  keeping  up  tlie  place  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  army,  and  made  the  very  practical  proposition  to  re- 
ceive into  the  Northampton  garrison  fifty  soldiers,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  Avlio   had  been  there  all  Winter,  with  the 
promise,  on  the  part  of  the  town,  "•  to  diet  them  freely,  and 
pay  their  wages."     The  letter  closes  with  the  following  al- 
lusion to  Springfield :  '■  "Wliereas  some  have  informed  the 
Council  that   Springfield  is   one  of  the   most  convenient 
towns  for  others  to  repair  to,  your  honors  are  much  misled 
therein,  for  the  bulk  of  the  town  is  burnt  ab-eady,  whereby 
they  are  incapable  to  entertain  others,  and  their  land  lies 
remote — most  of  it  on  the  other  side  of  the  great  river,  so 
that  they  are  incapable,  we  fear,  either  to  maintain  them- 
selves."    Under  the   same   date,   Mr.   RusseU  of  Hadley 
wrote  to  the   Council,  upon  the  same  subject.     He  says : 
"  there  appears  something  working  towards  a  frustration 
and  disappointment  of  that  good  end  aimed  at,  viz :  an 
inclination  manifested  in  divers,   especially  at  Westfield, 
(which  town  I  guess  at  as  not  like  to  hold  together)  in  case 
they  be  necessitated  to  pluck  up,  to  remove  out  of  the  col- 
ony to  Windsor  or  Hartford,  or  some  other  towns  in  that 
jurisdiction,  whereby  it  may  come  to  pass  that  a  town,  and 
^perhaps  others  in  the  same  manner,  may  be  broken."     ISlx. 


EXCITEMENT   IN   TTESTFIELD.  115 

Russell  suggested,  in  view  of  this  state  of  things,  an  act, 
or  order,  forbidding  individuals  to  leave  their  plantations, 
to  remove  into  another  jurisdiction,  without  a  special 
license. 

It  would  appear  from  Mr.  Russell's  letter,  that  the  state 
of  feeling  that  prevailed  at  Westfield  was  known  among 
the  other  towns  on  the  river,  before  it  Avas  communicated 
to  the  Council  by  the  town  itself;  and  from  the  subsequent 
proceedings  of  the  town,  it  is  not  improbable  that  they 
were  meant  to  be,  and  that  the  strongest  reports  of  the  dis- 
satisfaction of  the  people  were  sought  to  be  disseminated, 
that  they  might  have  an  effect  upon  the  decisions  of  the 
Council  in  regard  to  them.  On  the  2d  of  April,  Isaac 
Phelps,  David  vVshley,  and  Josiah  Dewey,  in  behalf  of  the 
town  of  Westlield,  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  Council. 
The  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Taylor,  the  minister,  whose 
style  of  literary  labor  seems  to  have  been  wonderfully  dif- 
fuse. It  appears  from  the  letter  that  a  town  meeting  had 
been  held,  at  which  it  was  decided  that  they  could  them- 
selves accommodate  between  twenty  and  thirty  families,  if 
so  many  would  come  and  dwell  among  them.  But  the 
project  of  removing  to  Springfield  was  altogether  an  offen- 
sive one,  "  insomucli  that  there  is  not  a  man  among  us  hav- 
ing the  least  inclination  to  remove  that  way."  Mr.  Taylor 
then,  or,  ratlier,  the  letter  which  he  wrote,  goes  on  to  state 
the  grounds  for  entertaining  a  different  opinion  of  Spring- 
field, as  a  place  of  safety,  from  that  stated  by  the  Council, 
in  the  following  curious  words : 

"  1st.  Its  situation — lying  on  both  sides  of  the  great  river 
Connecticut,  whose  P^ast  side  is  void  of  liabitations,  being  but 
very  few  left,  and  those  a  great  distance  asunder ;  those  on 
the  West  side  being  scattered  about  a  mile  up  and  down, 
some  of  which  are  hid  with  brambles;  and  as  for  its  tillage 
ground,  most  is  a  great  distance  from  the  town,  and  not  clear 
from  brush  in  some  places  of  it  and  to  it,  insomuch  as  an  in- 
different person  cannot  but  judge  (as  we  suppose)  that  the 
danger  is  double,  in  managing  field  employments,  to  what 
ours  is. 

"2d.  Its  preparation — It  is  a  place  (with  grief  of  heart  be  it 
spoken)  most  of  the  East  side  in  ashes — unbuilt  and  unforti- 
fied, unless  some  few  houses. 

"  3d.  Its  providential  dispensation — It  hath  been  sorely  under 
the  blasting  hand  of  God,  so  that  it  hath  but  in  a  lower  de- 


116  KENG  Philip's  war. 

gree  than  ordinary  answered  the  labor  of  the  husbandman, 
and  sometime  his  labor  upon  it  is  wholly  cast  away. 

'■'Now  these  thoughts  are  very  discouraging  unto  all 
thoughts  of  our  removal  thither,  for  to  remove  from  habitations 
to  none,  from  fortifications  to  none,  from  a  compact  and  plain 
place  to  a  scattered,  from  a  place  of  less  danger  in  the  field 
to  more,  from  a  place  under  the  ordinary  blessing  upon  our 
labors  to  one  usually  blasted,  seems  to  us  such  a  strange  thing 
that  we  find  not  a  man  among  us  inclined  thereto." 

The  letter  incidentally  refers  to  a  note  that  had  been  ad- 
dressed to  the  Hartford  Council,  requesting  a  re-inforce- 
ment  of  their  garrison,  and  the  refusal  of  the  request ;  and 
then  goes  on  to  state  that  they  bad  proposed  to  fortify 
themselves  by  contracting  their  line  of  defenses,  and,  while 
asking  for  thirty  more  soldiers  for  their  garrison,  intimates 
that  if  the  inhabitants  cannot  have  a  safe  convoy  to  some 
place  doiomvards,  or  the  thirty  soldiers  asked  for,  they  pre- 
fer to  abide  by  themselves  and  their  town,  rather  than  to 
go  to  Springfield.  "  It  grieves  us,"  continues  the  letter, 
"  that  we  should  object  so  much  against  Springfield,  for  the 
Worshipful  Major  Pynchon's  sake,  but  we  judge  there  is  a 
better  way  fqr  his  safety  than  this,  and  although  we  -would 
do  much  for  his  sake,  yet  we  cannot  advantage  on  this 
ground  into  such  great  hazard  as  appears."  Finally,  the 
letter  does  away  with  all  idea  of  removal  in  the  following 
concluding  sentence :  "  Furthermore,  we  are  altogether  in- 
capacitated for  any  removal,  by  reason  of  the  awful  hand 
of  God  upon  us,  in  personal  visitations,  for  there  came  a 
soldier  sick  of  bloody  flux,  and,  dying  amongst  us,  in  Capt. 
Cook's  family,  hath  infested  the  family  therewith,  insomuch 
that  he  hath  lost  a  son  by  it,  his  wife  lies  at  the  point  of 
death,  his  youngest  son  is  very  weak  of  it,  and  he  himself 
is  almost  brought  to  his  bed  by  it,  and  there  is  another 
family  in  the  house  hath  it." 

Three  days  after  the  dispatch  of  this  communication, 
another  one  w^as  sent  to  the  Hartford  Council,  which 
proved  that  the  inhabitants  were  either  in  a  highly  excited, 
and  even  exasperated  condition  of  mind,  or  that  they  meant 
to  accompUsh  their  evident  desire  to  remain  on  their  planta- 
tion, and  secure  a  garx'ison  to  help  them,  by  intrigue  and 
finesse.  The  letter  is  written  by  the  same  hand  as  the 
other,  and  alludes  in  the  first  place  to  the  order  for  them 
to^  remove,  their  objections  to  removmg  to  Springfield,  and 


LETTER   TO    THE   HARTFORD    COUNCIL.  117 

the  measures  they  had  taken  to  fortify  themselves.     The 
letter  then  proceeds : 

"  If  we  must  be  gone  from  hence,  many  of  us  have  estates 
and  friends  calhng  of  us  elsewhere,  and,  thereupon,  most  of 
us  incline,  in  case  we  remove,  to  come  downwards.  But  yet 
the  hand  of  God  hath  shut  us  up.  so  that  we  apprehend  that 
we  are  under  the  call  of  God  to  abide  here  at  present,  by 
reason  of  the  sore  hand  of  God  upon  us,  disenabling  Capt. 
Cook's  familv,  and  others,  from  a  remove,  who  are  low,  and 
Captain's  wife  at  the  point  of  death,  under  the  bloody  flux. 
Wherefore,  the  ground  of  these  lines  is,  in  part,  to  intimate 
unto  you  that  if  there  should  be  any  convoy  allowed  at  the 
present,  by  your  honored  selves,  to  any  one,  for  the  bringing 
off  their  estate,  the  opportunity  being  so  desirable  to  us  all, 
if  our  town  were  not  under  the  circumstances  by  the  hand  of 
God  upon  the  persons  of  some  amongst  us,  whereby  it  would 
be  their  death  to  remove,  (yet,  we  see  that  it  being  such  a 
desirable  opportunity,)  that  we  fear  we  should  lay  our  hands 
upon  -  -  -  -  leaving  our  sick  to  look  to  themselves,  and 
liable  to  the  rage  of  merciless  enemies. 

This  we  thought  good  to  leave  with  you,  that  you  might 
not,  against  their  wills,  e.vpose  us  to  such  a  temptation  as  such 
an  opportunity  might  be.  This,  and  not  any  respect  of  re- 
suming the  estate  of  any  one  with  us,  is  the  ground  of  this 
intimation  ;  but  the  pround  also  of  our  lines,  is,  to  desire  this 
favor — that  you  would  refresh  us  in  this  sad  state  that  we  are 
in  by  letting  us  understand  whether  we  may  have  any  hopes 
of  such  a  favor,  as  may  be  a  safety  for  us,  in  case  the  Lord 
should  put  us  in  a  personal  state  to  remove,  by  removing  his 
afiiictin?  hand,  and  whether  or  no  you  would  advise  us  to  ad- 
venturelo  cast  any  seed  into  the  land,  if  God  doth  detain  us 
at  the  present  where  we  are.  You  know  (we  judge)  how  our 
fields  lie.  We  request  not  anything  at  your  hands  to  lay  you 
under  any  temptation,  and  therefore  we  have  ingeniously  inti- 
mated what  the  thoughts  of  the  Bay  gentlemen  are  concern- 
ing us.  But  our  danger  is  such  as  we  cannot  settle  upon 
an'ything,  and  if  we  are  like  to  have  no  relief  from  yourselves, 
it  being  knoivn,  may  be  an  occasion  to  force  us  into  the  fields. 
The  Lord  shine  forth,  and  show  us  our  duty,  and  bring  us  to 
a  willing  kissing  of  the  rod.  We  shall  not  add,  only  desiring 
the  Almighty  to  be  our  shield." 

This  letter,  whose  precise  drift  and  meaning  it  is  some- 
what difficult  to  arrive  at,  was  answered  April  7th,  by  a 
note  from  the  Hartford  Council,  scarcely  less  ambiguous, 
ancl  in  which  they  say :  "  as  circumstanced,  were  we  capa- 
ble to  anything  in  way  of  supply  for  your  continuance 


118  KING  Philip's  war. 

there,  we  should  do  it ;  neither  have  we,  nor  will  we,  do 
anything  irregularly,  to  draw  you  from  attendance  of  what 
from  your  own  authority  is  presented,  if  it  be  found  for 
their  welfare  and  advantage ;  or  to  draw  off  any  part  to 
the  hazard  and  discouragement  of  the  rest,  and  shall  for- 
bear giving  any  such  opportunity."  This  utterance  of 
declarations  showing  themselves  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
all  corruj)tion  was  doubtless  intended  for  "  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Bay,"  while  the  whole  was  qualified  to  harmonize 
with  the  tone  of  Westfield  in  the  words — "  We  cannot  but 
say  that  when  God  shall  open  the  door  with  safety,  both 
for  shelter  to  you  and  security  to  us,  in  reference  to  the 
disease,  we  shall  account  it  our  duty,  and  accordingly  be 
ready  to  lend  our  assistance  in  your  transport,  and  give 
such  entertainment  as  we  are  capable.  In  the  meantime, 
your  patience  a  little  longer  will  be  advisable.  If  you 
should  venture  while  there  to  sow,  it  is  somewhat  possible 
you  may  find  opportunity  of  reaping.  It  is  doing  what  we 
can,  and  leading  the  event  with  God." 

The  explanation  of  both  the  Westfield  letter  and  the  re- 
ply of  the  Hartford  Council  would  appear  to  be,  that  the 
Westfield  people  did  not  intend  to  remove  at  all,  and  that 
the  Connecticut  Government  did  not  wish  to  have  them. 
At  the  same  time,  the  inhabitants  of  the  disaffected  town 
wished  to  have  "  the  gentlemen  of  the  Bay,"  think  there 
was  danger  of  their  removal  to  Connecticut,  in  case  they 
were  not  humored  and  protected  in  their  determination  to 
remain  where  they  were,  while  their  Connecticut  friends, 
taking  care  to  disclaim  all  idea  of  any  irregular  proceed- 
ings, apparently  com2:)lied  with  their  wishes,  both  to  gain 
time,  and  assist  them  in  achieving  their  ends.  There  was 
a  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  the  Connecticut  Council 
not  wishing  the  Westfield  people  to  desert  their  town,  for 
the  more  the  war  could  be  confined  to  the  upper  towns  on 
the  river,  and  the  greater  the  number  of  towns  in  that 
quarter,  the  less  danger  there  would  be  to  the  towns  in 
Connecticut.  They  could  not  but  see  that  if  the  towns 
above  them  should  be  deserted,  and  thus  become  the  plant- 
ing grounds  of  the  Indians,  a  power  would  be  nursed  that 
would  shortly  endanger  themselves.  So,  their  promise  to 
bring  off"  the  Westfield  people,  under  certain  circumstances, 
yf^a  intended  only  as  a  placebo  to  them,  and  a  gentle  irri- 


INTRIGUES.  119 

tant  to  the  Massachusetts  Council.  This  is  very  evident 
from  a  letter  written  by  the  Connecticut  Council  to  the 
Council  of  Massachusetts  on  the  27th  of  April.  This  let- 
ter expresses  disapproval  of  the  order  in  regard  to  the  re- 
moval of  certain  towns  in  Hampshire  County,  and  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  enemy  will  destroy  the  deserted  places  and 
plant  them,  and  thus,  being  provided  with  rich  accommo- 
dations, will  continually  annoy  the  larger  towns  that  re- 
main. They  plead  that  thus  one  of  the  best  granaries  of 
the  Massachusetts  colony  would  be  lost,  and  suggest  as  a 
better  course  of  policy  the  taking  of  men  from  ''  leaner 
places,"  and  planting  them  in  the  fertile  towns  upon  the 
Connecticut,  thus  enabling  the  towns  to  defend  themselves. 
By  whatever  motive  the  policy  of  Connecticut  was  gov- 
erned, it  was,  without  doubt,  the  best,  and  the  Westfield 
people  were  right  in  their  determination  not  to  remove, 
though  the  extreme  local  feeling  incidentally  developed, 
and  the  mode  resorted  to  for  compassing  their  ends,  in 
their  attempt  to  engage  the  complicity  of  the  Hartford 
Council,  form  a  curious  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  times. 
The  disaffected  towns  carried  their  ])oint.  In  an  order 
of  the  Council  of  April  1st,  which  must  have  been  issued 
directly  upon  the  receipt  of  the  letters  of  Mr.  Stoddard  of 
Northampton  and  Mr.  Russell  of  Hadley,  Major  Savage 
was  commanded  to  return  home,  and  '*  to  leave  Soldiers  to 
assist  those  towns,  on  those  terms,  [probably  the  terms  of- 
fered by  Northampton — to  board  them  and  pay  their  wages,] 
not  exceeding  liSO  men,  choosing  such  as  arc  the  fittest  for 
that  service."  At  this  date,  Major  Treat  and  a  portion,  at 
least,  of  his  forces,  had  gone  to  Connecticut,  and  IMajor 
Savage  was  ordered,  in  case  they  should  return,  to  march, 
if  he  should  deem  it  best,  against  the  Indians  at  Deerlield. 
Previous  to  the  depai'ture  of  Major  Savage,  several  inhab- 
itants of  Hadley  wont  down  the  river  to  Hoccanum,  ac- 
companied by  a  small  guard,  to  work  in  the  meadows. 
Carelessly  separating  themselves  fi'om  the  guard,  and  some 
of  them  even  ascending  INIt.  Holyoke,  to  obtain  a  view  of 
the  surrounding  country,  they  were  fallen  upon  by  the  In- 
dians, and  three  of  them  killed,  one  of  them  a  prominent 
citizen — Dea.  Goodman.  Thomas  Reed,  a  soldier,  was 
also  taken  prisoner.  On  the  27th  of  April,  two  citizens  of 
Springfield  having  occasion  to  go  to  Skipmuck,  (now  Chic- 


120  KING  Philip's  wae. 

opee  Falls,  in  the  town  of  Chicopee,)  saw  some  Indians, 
and,  themselves  unseen,  hastened  back  to  the  town.  Capt. 
Samuel  Holyoke,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  Command 
of  the  militaiy  company  of  the  town,  to  succeed  his  father, 
Elizur  Holyoke,  who  died  in  the  February  previous,  took 
a  number  of  men  with  him,  and  started  in  pursuit.  The 
Indians,  only  four  in  number,  were  found  seated  on  the 
river  bank,  and  were  entirely  unsuspicious  of  danger. 
They  were  fired  upon,  and  all  at  first  fell,  but  then  jumped 
up,  and  returned  the  fire  without  effect.  The  Indians  then 
took  to  the  river,  and  were  fired  upon  again.  Two  died  in 
the  river,  and  two  escaped  to  the  opposite  bank,  where  one 
fell,  and  where  the  fourth  was  overtaken,  captured,  and 
brought  into  Springfield,  and  there  submitted  to  a  close  in- 
quisition. He  talked  freely,  and  declared  that  the  Indians 
had  three  forts  South  of  Northfield,  that  then-  number  was 
3,000,  with  1,000  fighting  men,  the  rest  being  women  and 
children,  that  there  were  no  foreign  Indians  with  them, 
there  being  only  the  river  Indians,  Narragansets,  Nip- 
mucks,  Quaboags,  and  such  others  as  were  well  known  to 
be  engaged  in  the  war,  that  they  were  bare  of  clothing  and 
provisions,  but  were  furnished  with  ammunition  by  the 
Dutch,  and  that  these  Indians  were  so  much  inclined  to 
peace  that,  were  the  English  to  propose  it,  they  would  even 
bring  in  the  head  of  Phihp.  He  further  stated  that  many 
of  them  were  lurking  about  the  towns  for  the  purposes  of 
mischief  The  statement  of  the  Indian  that  there  were  no 
fbreign  Indians  with  them,  was  drawn  out,  doubtless,  by 
questions  based  on  a  suspicion  that  the  INIohawks  had  been 
induced  to  join  them,  through  the  machinations  of  Philip. 
Suspicions  were  also  afloat  that  the  intriguing  chief  had 
taken  measures  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  Canada 
Indians.  In  regard  to  this  matter,  the  Indian  doubtless 
told  the  truth. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  Thomas  Reed,  the  soldier  who  was 
taken  prisoner  near  Hoccanum,  in  the  April  previous, 
came  into  Hadley,  having  escaped  from  the  Indians,  and 
reported  that  the  enemy  were  planting  at  Deerfield,  and 
had  then  been  engaged  in  the  business  for  several  days ; 
that  they  dwelt  at  the  Falls,  (between  the  present  towns 
of  Gill  and  Montague,)  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and 
t^at,  though   their   number  was  considerable,  they  were 


PHILIP    ON   THE    GROUND.  121 

mostly  old  men  and  women.  They  were,  however,  secure 
and  scornful,  boasting  of  the  great  things  they  had  done 
against  the  English,  and  would  do  in  the  future.  Two 
days  before  the  arrival  of  Reed  at  Hadley,  they  had  vis- 
ited Hatfield,  and  driven  off  many  horses  and  cattle. 
These,  he  saw  at  Deerfield,  grazing  in  the  meadow,  the 
fences  being  put  up  to  keep  them  in.  Two  lads — Stebbins 
and  Gilbert — the  latter  a  step-son  of  Samuel  Marshfield  of 
Sjiringfield — had  before  this  escaped  from  captivity,  and 
had  given  full  information  of  the  position  of  the  Indians  at 
the  Falls.  The  Indians  were  short  of  provisions,  and  had 
gathered  here  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  their  fisheries, 
for  which  there  was  no  better  place  on  the  Connecticut, 
while  the  stream  itself  had,  at  that  day,  probably,  no  supe- 
rior in  the  world  in  the  abundance  of  its  finny  stores. 
Hoyt,  who  wrote  in  1824,  says  that  many  people  then  liv- 
ing could  remember  when  upwards  of  5,000  shad  had  been 
taken  in  one  day  by  dipping  nets,  at  Burnam's  rock,  on  the 
falls.  This  was,  of  course,  previous  to  the  erection  of  the 
dam  now  standing  there. 

At  this  time,  Philip  was  known  to  be  among  his  forces 
in  Northern  Massachusetts,  supposed  to  be  scattered  in 
considerable  parties  from  "Wachuset  Mountain,  in  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Princeton,  to  the  Connecticut  River.  The  In- 
dians at  the  Falls  were  aware  of  the  comparative  weak- 
ness of  the  English  forces  on  the  Connecticut,  and  were  in 
no  fear  of  an  attack.  Under  these  circumstances,  Capt. 
Turner,  who,  on  Maj.  Savage's  dejiarture,  had  been  left  in 
command,  determined  to  attack  them.  Accordingly,  he  as- 
sembled at  Hatfield  180  men,  drawn  chiefly  from  that 
town,  Springfield,  Northampton  and  Iladley,  and,  with 
Capt.  Samuel  Holyoke  of  Springfield  as  his  second  in  com- 
mand, started  on  the  17th  of  May  for  the  Falls.  Tlie  ex- 
pedition was  undertaken  on  the  evening  of  that  day. 
Their  course  lay  up  the  West  side  of  the  river,  across 
Bloody  Brook,  and  the  forsaken  plantation  of  Deerfield, 
over  Deerfield  River  at  the  village  now  known  as  Cheap- 
side,  and  on  to  the  West  bank  of  Fall  River,  near  the  pres- 
ent factory  village  in  Greenfield.  This  ride  of  twenty 
miles  was  entirely  completed  in  the  night.  In  passing 
Deerfield  River,  they  disturbed  a  lodge  of  Indians,  and 
came  near  being  discovered,  but  the  Indians  finally  con- 

11 


122  KING  Philip's  war. 

eluded  that  it  was  a  company  of  moose,  and  not  horses, 
that  were  wading  the  river,  and  returned  to  theu*  slumbers. 
The  Indians  at  the  Falls  were  enjoying  their  morning  nap, 
having  the  previous  night  regaled  themselves  npon  the 
milk  and  flesh  of  cows  which  they  had  stolen  from  the 
English  settlements.  Not  a  scout  was  out,  and  all  minor 
sounds  were  tmheard  in  the  ceaseless  roar  of  the  waters  of 
the  Falls:  Here,  on  the  bank  of  Fall  River,  the  soldiers 
tied  their  horses,  and  just  as  the  day  began  to  dawn,  the 
body  resumed  its  progress  on  foot.  Rusliing  boldly  and 
rapidly  forward,  through  the  intervening  woods,  they 
reached  the  back  of  the  camp,  situated  on  high  ground, 
upon  the  river's  bank.  The  word  was  given,  and  the  ter- 
rific roar  of  musketry  that  followed  drowned  for  a  moment 
the  roar  of  the  waters.  The  bullets  riddled  the  wigwams, 
and,  pouring  forth  from  every  hut,  the  savages  rushed  out, 
in  the  vv'ildest  alarm.  Their  cry  of  "  Mohawks !"  "  Mo- 
hawks !"  showed  how  little  they  dreamed  of  an  attack  from 
the  English,  and  how  slight  ground  there  was  to  suspect 
that  the  Mohawks  were  their  allies.  In  their  confusion 
axid  alarm,  their  only  resort  was  the  river.  Shot  down  on 
every  hand,  they  rushed  to  their  canoes.  Some,  in  the 
haste  of  the  moment,  threw  themselves  into  their  frail 
boats,  and  pushed  oif  without  their  paddles.  These,  of 
course,  went  over  the  cataract,  and  were  drowned.  Others 
Avere  shot  during  their  passage  across  the  river,  and  their 
canoes,  one  after  another,  disappeared  beneath  the  tumbling 
waters.  Others  met  death  in  their  cabins,  while  others, 
still,  took  shelter  under  the  rocks  upon  the  river's  bank, 
Avhere  they  were  sought  out,  and  put  to  death  by  the  sword. 
Capt.  Holyoke,  himself,  killed  five  with  his  sword.  Every 
soldier  was  busy  with  the  terrible  work  of  death,  and  the 
\vork  was  very  brief.  At  its  close,  one  hundred  Indians 
lay  dead  upon  the  ground,  "  and  an  hundred  and  forty  wei-e 
seen  to  pass  down  the  cataract,  but  one  of  whom  escaped 
drowning."  Only  one  of  the  soldiers  was  killed,  while  it 
was  subsequently  acknowledged  by  the  Indians  that  they 
lost,  in  killed  and  drowned,  300  men,  some  of  whom  were 
their  principal  sachems. 

Unfortunately  for  Capt.  Turner,  he  was  very  feeble  in 

Mealth,  and  but  poorly  able  to  sustain  the  excitement  and 

^^tigue  of  such  service,  but,  knowing  his  dangerous  vicin- 


TnE   RETREAT.  123 

age  to  more  powerful  and  better  prepared  bodies  of  sav- 
ages, lie  ordered  the  wigwams  to  be  destroyed,  and  then 
commenced  his  march  for  his  horses.  In  the  meantime, 
another  lod2;e  of  Indians  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  had 
become  aware  of  the  comparative  weakness  of  his  force, 
and  commenced  to  cross  in  their  canoes,  for  an  attack  upon 
him.  A  small  force  of  volunteers  against  the  daring  sav- 
ages was  driven  back,  and  the  little  army  arrived  at  the 
place  where  they  had  left  their  horses,  just  in  time  to  res- 
cue them  from  the  hands  of  a  body  of  Indians  that  had 
approached  from  below.  Mounting  their  horses,  they  im- 
mediately commenced  the  return  march,  which,  according 
to  every  indication,  was  to  be  a  difficult  one.  As  the  sun 
came  up,  the  day  grew  hot  and  sultry  in  the  exti*eme,  add- 
ing stin  further  to  the  indisposition  of  Capt.  Turner,  for 
whom  it  soon  became  difficult  to  manage  his  horse.  The 
main  body  was  led  by  Capt.  Turner,  while  Holyoke,  with 
a  small  detachment,  protected  the  rear.  About  a  mile  be- 
low the  Falls,  on  -what  is  known  as  Smead's  Island,  there 
was  quite  a  large  lodge  of  Indians.  These  being  joined 
by  those  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  came  over,  and  re- 
peatedly attacked  the  foi'ce  under  Holyoke,  and  were  re- 
peatedly driven  back.  At  length  Capt.  Ilolyoke's  horse 
was  shot  from  under  him,  when  several  Indians  rushed  up 
to  dispatch  him,  but  drawing  his  pistol,  he  shot  the  fore- 
most, and  then,  ]jy  the  aid  of  his  men,  got  clear  of  them. 
And  now  commenced  the  misfortunes  of  the  little  army. 
Capt.  Turner's  weakness  increased,  and  the  troops  per- 
ceived that  he  must  soon  be  unable  to  guide  tlicir  move- 
ments. At  this  unfortunate  moment,  an  Indian  captive 
informed  the  troops  that  Philip  was  approaching,  with  a 
tliousand  men,  and  an  apparent  confirmation  of  his  state- 
ment was  seen  in  sudden  attacks  from  various  quarters, 
A  panic  descended  upon  the  troops,  and  the  main  body 
without  an  efficient  leader,  divided  into  separate  squads, 
under  different  commanders.  The  route  fi'om  Fall  River 
to  Green  River  was  flanked  on  the  left  by  a  morass,  whicli 
formed  a  most  desirable  cover  to  the  enemy.  During  its 
passage,  one  party  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  another 
taken  prisoners,  and  reserved  for  the  horrible  fate  of  burn- 
ing. At  length,  the  main  body  reached  Green  River,  and 
here  Capt.  Turiier  received  a  fatal  shot  from  the  enemy, 


124  KING  Philip's  war. 

and  his  body  was  afterwards  found  by  the  English  where 
it  fell,  in  Greenfield  meadow,  near  the  mouth  of  Green 
River.  The  command  now  devolved  upon  Capt.  Holyoke, 
who  had,  thus  far,  been  the  life  and  the  protecting  geniug 
of  the  expedition.  lie  conducted  the  retreat,  hard  pressed 
by  the  numerous  enemy,  warding  off  or  escaping  from 
warm  attacks  made  at  almost  every  step  of  his  progress, 
until,  worn  down  by  the  heat  and  the  temble  excitements 
of  the  day,  the  shattered  troop  entered  Hatfield,  diminished 
by  the  number  of  thirty-eight  men. 

The  panic  that  assailed  the  troops  in  the  first  stage  of 
the  retreat  gave  rise  to  one  or  two  incidents  of  individual 
suffering   so   extraordinary   as   to  be  worthy  of  mention. 
Jonathan  Wells  of  Hatfield,  received  a  shot  which  frac- 
tured his  thigh.     Just  able  to  keep  his  horse,  he  attached 
himself  to  two  of  the  flying  parties  in  turn,  but  at  last  they 
left  him  behind,  and  he  fell  into  the  company  of  one  Jones, 
also  wounded.     Both  became  bewildered  in  the  woods,  and 
finally  separated.     At  length,  Wells  struck  Green  River, 
and  followed  it  up,  until  he  arrived  in  the  Northerly  part 
of  the  present  town  of  Greenfield,  at  the  place  known  as 
the  Country  Farms,  where  he  fell  from  his  horse,  exhausted. 
After  a  swoon  of  entire  unconsciousness,  he  commenced  a 
journey  up  the  stream,  in  a  direction   opposite  from  his 
home,  dragging  his  broken  limb,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
gun,  which  he  used  for  a  crutch ;  and,  as  night  approached, 
he  jiaused  and  struck  a  fire,  which  accidentally  caught  the 
leaves  around,  and  spread  in  all  directions.     Fearful  that 
he  should  thus  attract  the  Indians,  but  overcome  by  fatigue, 
he  liad  just  strength  sufficient  to  bind  up  his  limb  with  a 
haudkercliief,  when   he   lay   down,  and  fell   into  a  sound 
sleep.     In  that  sleep,  he  had  a  dream,  which  admonished 
him  that  he  had  been  traveling  in  tlie  wrong  direction  ;  and 
when  he  awoke  he  followed  its  indications.     He  went  down 
Green   River,  forded   Deerfield   River,  and,  while  lying 
down  to  rest,  saw  an  Indian  approaching  him  in  a  canoe. 
He  leveled  his  gun  at  him,  then  perfectly  useless,  and  the 
Indian  lea])ed  into  the  water  to  escape  his  harmless  aim, 
and  soon  disappeared.     Knowing  that  he  should  be  re- 
ported to  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  he  retired  to  a  swamp, 
and  hid  himself.     The  savages  swarmed  all  around  him, 
^-^ut  did  not  find  him.     From  this  point,  he  slowly  pro- 


KEMARKABLE    1XCIDENT3.  125 

gressed,  sometimes  giving  up  in  despair,  sometimes  over- 
come with  hungei-,  and  all  the  time  in  pain,  until  he  ar- 
rived at  Hatfield,  where  he  was  received  with  every  dem- 
onstration of  joy  and  gratitude,  and  where,  after  a  few 
months  of  confinement,  he  found  himself  able  to  resume 
his  employments,  and  continue  them  through  a  long  and 
useful  life. 

Rev.  Hope  Atherton,  also  of  Hatfield,  and  a  member  of 
the  expedition,  met  with  a  most  remarkable  incident.  He 
was  lost  in  the  woods,  and  becoming  convinced  that  he 
could  never  find  his  way  home,  endeavored  by  signs  to  de- 
liver himself  to  a  party  of  Indians,  but  they,  in  some  way, 
were  aware  of  the  nature  of  his  profession,  and  overcome 
by  their  superstitious  fears,  would  not  touch  him.  At  last, 
he  found  the  Connecticut  River,  and,  guided  by  it,  suc- 
ceeded, after  long  days  of  hunger  and  suffering,  in  arriv- 
ing at  his  home. 

The  "  Falls  Fight "  has  ever  been  a  famous  one  in  the 
history  of  the  Indiai^wars.  A  terrible  slaughter  was  in- 
flicted upon  the  Indians,  and  the  retreat,  though  abundantly 
disastrous  to  the  soldiers,  was  conducted,  after  the  first  fatal 
panic,  with  consummate  skill  and  bravery.  As  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  importance  of  the  services  rendered, 
the  Massachusetts  General  Court,  in  1736,  granted  to  the 
survivors  of  the  day  and  the  descendants  of  those  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  fight — in  all  99  persons — the  whole  of  the 
present  town  of  Bernardston — first  called  Fallto^vn,  in 
commemoration  of  the  services  for  which  it  was  bestowed. 
Capt.  Turner  was  a  brave  man,  and  belonged  in  Boston, 
where  he  left  a  wife,  who  was  subsequently  provided  for, 
to  a  certain  extent,  at  least,  by  the  Government.  His 
naiiie  is  now,  and  will  doubtless  forever  be  associated  with 
the  Falls  that  formed  the  scene  of  the  terrific  butchery 
which  has  been  described.  But  Capt.  Holyoke  was  the 
real  hero  of  the  day,  and  very  sadly  and  fearfully  did  he 
have  to  pay  for  the  name  he  won.  The  intense  heat  of  the 
day,  and  the  excessive  exertions  to  which  he  was  sub- 
jected, induced  a  disease  from  which  he  never  recovered. 
He  died  in  the  following  Autumn,  at  the  early  age  of  twen- 
ty-eight years,  and  his  dust  reposed  in  the  ancient  grave- 
yard in  Springfield,  until  a  few  vears  since,  when  the  spade 

11*    '  • 


126  KIXG   nilLIPS    ArAR. 

of  improvement  disturbed  it  to  make  a  passage  for  the 
iron  horse. 

The  slaughter  of  the  Indians  at  the  Falls,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  18th  of  May,  involving  as  it  did  the  loss  of  so 
many  able  warriors  and  important  sachems,  was  a  blow  se- 
riously felt  by  Philip,  for  it  broke  up  the  fisheries  on  which 
he  had  largely  depended  for  supplies,  and  it  has  already 
been  seen  that  the  scheme  of  Conanchet,  for  getting  a  sup- 
ply of  seed-corn,  had  failed.     But  the  effect  on  his  mind 
was  only  to  excite  to  greater  intensity  his  desire  for  re- 
venge.    So,  on  the  30th  of  May,  from  six  to  seven  hun- 
dred Indians  invaded  Hatfield,  their  first  work  being  to  set 
on  fire  twelve  buildings  without  the  fortification.     At  this 
time,  almost  every  man  belonging  to  the  plantation  was  at 
work  in  the  meadoAV,  and,  while  the  palisaded  dwellings 
were  attacked  at  every  point,  and  bravely  defended  by  the 
few  who  remained,  and  while  a  large  number  of  the  sav- 
ages were  busy  in  killing  cattle,  or  driving  them  off,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians  entered  the  meadow,  to  engage 
the  planters.     The  flames  of  the  burning  buildings  wei'e 
seen  at  Hadley,  and  twenty-five  young  men  left  that  town 
immediately  to  render  assistance  to  their  neighbors,  and 
arrived  in  the  meadow  just  in  season  to  save  the  planters 
from  entire  destruction.     Rushing  forward,  the  little  body 
came  boldly  upon  the  savage  host,  and  killed  five  or  six  of 
them  at  the  first  discharge.     They  then  charged  upon  them, 
drove  them  back  to  the  town,  and  inflicted  terrible  slaugh- 
ter upon  them,  without  themselves  losing  a  man,  until  they 
arrived  near  the  town,  where  five  of  their  number  fell 
dead.     Twenty-five  Indians  were  killed,  being  one  to  each 
man  who  went  over  from  Hadley.     The  Indians  were  then 
driven  out  of  the  village,  preceded  by  a  large  body  who 
had  succeeded  in  getting  away  the  cattle.     A  letter  Avritten 
by  a  Connecticut  officer  at  Northampton,  to  the  Hartford 
Council,  on  the  day  in  which  these  events  transpired,  states 
that  besides  the  five  killed  of  the  Hadley  company  three 
were  wounded.     Of  the  five  killed  two  were  Connecticut 
men,   viz :  J.  Smith  and   Richard   Hall,  while   two   other 
Connecticut   men — John    Stow   and    Roger    Albis — were 
wounded  in  the  foot.     The  three  others  killed  were  two 
Massachusetts  soldiers  belonging  to  the  Hadley  garrison, 
and  John  Smith,  a  citizen  of  Hadley.     According  to  the 


ATTACK    OX   IIADLET.  127 

same  authority,  the  Indians,  aftei'  retiring  from  Hatfielcl,  or 
a  portion  of  them,  ambushed  the  way  between  Northamp- 
ton and  Hatfield,  anticipating  the  approach  of  the  North- 
ampton troops.  But  this  had  been  guarded  against.  The 
Northampton  troops,  as  soon  as  they  became  aware  of  the 
attack  upon  Hatfield,  crossed  over  to  Hadley,  but  wei-e  un- 
able to  get  over  to  Hatfield,  in  consequence  of  the  Indians 
lying  so  thick  around  the  landing  place.  At  what  particu- 
lar period  pf  the  affray  their  attempt  to  land  occurred  is 
not  very  apparent,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  after  the  fight, 
and  the  retirement  of  the  Indians  from  the  town.  The 
explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  Indians  who  lay  in  am- 
bush for  them  had  become  aware  of  their  movements,  and, 
following  up  the  river  bank,  menaced  them  from  the  Hat- 
field shore,  while  the  larger  body  of  the  savages  had  i-e- 
tired  Northward. 

Finding  so  powerful  and  so  mischievous  a  force  of  In- 
dians upon  the  Connecticut,  the  Governments  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  saw  the  necessity  of  changing 
their  course  of  policy,  and  of  returning  to  the  river  towns 
the  force  that  had  been  withdrawn.  INlajor  Talcot  of  Con- 
necticut was  dispatched,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  Eng- 
lish troops,  and  two  Inindred  IMohegan  and  Pe([uot  Indians, 
with  the  intention  of  joining  a  body  of  Massachusetts  forces 
under  Capt.  Henchman,  at  Brookfield.  On  his  way  thither, 
he  killed  and  captured  a  considerable  number  of  Indians, 
and  destroyed  their  corn  and  calnns,  but  Capt.  Henchman 
not  arriving  in  time  to  meet  him  at  Brookfield,  he  pressed 
on,  and  arrived  at  Northampton  about  the  8tli  of  June, 
having  suffered  severely  on  the  route  from  lack  of  pro- 
visions,— so  severely,  in  fact,  that  the  march  was  memora- 
ble as  the  "  hungry  march."  At  this  time,  the  force  at 
Hadley  was  iindor  the  command  of  Capt.  Swain,  and  this 
was  the  next  point  to  receive  the  enemy.  Endeavoring  to 
profit  by  the  mode  and  time  of  attack  adopted  by  Capt. 
Turner  at  the  Falls,  about  seven  hundred  Indians  came 
upon  Hadley,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  June. 
The  attack  was  made  with  a  desperate  determination  to 
succeed.  On  the  preceding  night,  they  laid  an  ambuscade 
at  the  Southern  extremity  of  the  town,  calculating  to  sweep 
the  place  from  the  North,  and  by  driving  the  inhabitants 
Southward,  to  force  them  into  the  snare  there  set  for  them. 


123  KING  PHILIP'3    -WAR. 

The  enemy  were  warmly  received  at  the  palisades.  At 
one  point  on  the  North,  the  palisades  were  pierced,  and 
the  Indians  succeeded  in  gaining  possession  of  a  house,  but 
were,  at  last,  forced  out  of  it,  and  beaten  back,  with  loss. 
At  this  moment  of  extreme  confusion  and  alarm,  the 
course  of  events  was  under  the  keen  survey  of  a  pair  of 
eyes  that  were  strangers  to  all  but  one  or  two  families  in 
the  town.  They  were  eyes  practiced  in  military  affairs, 
and  belonged  to  a  man  who  held  the  stake  of  life  in  the 
issue  of  the  conflict.  Unable  longer  to  remain  an  idle 
spectator  of  the  struggle,  he  resolved  to  issue  forth.  Sud- 
denly he  stood  in  Mie  midst  of  the  affrighted  villagers — a 
man  marked  in  his  dress,  noble  in  his  carriage,  and  ven- 
erable in  appearance.  Self  appointed,  he,  in  a  measure, 
assumed  the  command,  arranged  and  ordered  the  English 
forces  in  the  best  military  manner,  encouraged  here,  com- 
manded there,  rallied  the  men  everywhere,  filled  them  with 
hope  and  firmness  on  every  hand,  and,  at  last,  succeeded 
in  repelling  the  overwhelming  numbers  that  swarmed  on 
all  sides.  Tlie  discharge  of  a  piece  of  ordnance  put  them 
to  flight,  and  Major  Talcot  going  over  from  Northampton 
with  his  forces,  joined  the  victorious  villagers  and  soldiers 
of  Hadley  in  chasing  the  Indians  into  the  woods.  This 
feat  ■  was  accomplished  with  the  loss  of  only  two  or  three 
men,  on  the  part  of  the  English.  But  the  mysterious 
stranger,  who  had  been  partly  if  not  mainly  instrumental 
in  effecting  this  thorough  rout,  had  retired  from  sight,  as 
suddenly  as  he  had  made  his  advent.  Whom  he  was,  none 
knew.  That  such  a  man  could  live  upon  a  plantation,  and 
not  be  known,  was  not  deemed  possible,  and  it  is  not  strange 
that,  in  the  superstitious  spirit  of  the  times,  he  should  have 
been  regarded  by  the  people  as  "  an  angel  sent  of  God 
upon  that  special  occasion  for  their  deliverance ;"  and  it  is 
recorded  that  for  some  time  after,  the  people  said  and  be- 
lieved that  they  had  been  saved  by  an  angel.  They  little 
imagined  then,  what  they  afterwards  ascertained,  that  their 
guardian  angel  was  Goffe,  the  "  Eegicide,"  and  that  Whal- 
ley,  his  father-in-law  and  companion  in  exile — at  that  time 
superannuated — then  resided  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Russell, 
the  minister,  and  had,  with  Goffe,  been  there  for  nearly 
twelve  years. 


GOFFE    AXD    "VTHALLET.  129 

Condemned  with  twenty-eight  other  judges,  for  passing 
sentence  of  death  upon  Charles  I,  of  England,  these  two 
men  escaped  from  their  country  in  16G0.  Both  had  been 
officers  of  high  rank  in  Cromwell's  army.  Measures  were 
taken  in  England  for  their  arrest,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  secrete  themselves.  For  three  or  four  years,  they  lived 
in  and  about  New  Haven,  but  the  place  of  their  seclusion 
having  become  in  some  degree  notorious,  they  went  to 
Iladley  in  1664,  where  Mr.  Russell  received,  secreted,  and 
j)rovide(l  for  them.  Here,  unknown  to  the  people  of  Had- 
ley,  undiscovered  by  the  soldiers  billeted  upon  the  plant- 
ers, and  absolutely  unseen  by  any  but  JNIr.  Russell's  family, 
Peter  Tilton,  and  a  Mr.  Smith,  they  lived  for  fifteen  or 
sixteen  years.  Mr.  Tilton,  a  man  of  character,  a  magis- 
trate, and  frequently  a  member  of  tlie  General  Court  from 
Hadley,  was  the  medium  of  communication  between  the 
judges  and  their  friends,  and  through  him,  contributions 
were  made  for  their  support.  In  this  retirement,  Whalley 
died,  and  his  body  was  interred  in  a  tomli,  without  the  cel- 
lar Avail  of  Mr.  Russell's  house,  and  there  liis  bones  have 
fiince  been  found.  This  was  before  1679,  and  it  Avas  prob- 
ably not  long  after  his  decease  that  Gotfe,  who  had  thus 
far  remained  Avith  him,  l)ound  to  him  alike  by  the  ties  of 
his  relationship  and  a  noble  sympathy,  left  Iladley.  and  the 
remainder  of  his  career  is  unknown.  During  the  resi- 
dence of  these  two  men  at  Hadley,  Gen.  Dixwell,  another 
of  the  judges,  joined  them,  and  resided  ther*;  for  some 
time,  but  soon  removed  to  New  Haven,  married,  raised  a 
family  of  children,  bore  the  assumed  name  of  Davids,  and 
died  in  1689,  at  the  advanced  age  of  81.  His  grave-stone 
still  stands  in  the  City  of  Elms,  and  is  often  visited  by  the 
curious. 

The  power  of  Philip  had  for  some  time  been  on  the 
wane.  His  attacks  upon  the  settlers  on  the  Connecticut 
had  ceased  to  be  formidable.  The  Indians  did  not  fight 
with  spirit,  and  came  to  distrust  themselves.  Already, 
every  hope  of  assistance  from  other  tribes  had  vanished. 
The  Mohawks,  Avhom  Philip  luul  endeavored  to  gain  over 
to  his  cause  by  negotiation,  had  become  his  implacable  en- 
emies, through  a  l)hK)dy  stratagem  Avhieh  he  had  executed 
with  the  hope  of  exciting  their  hatred  against  the  English. 
SomcAvhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the   Connecticut  river,  a 


130  KING  Philip's  war. 

party  of  Mohawks  were  encountered  by  a  number  of  Phil- 
ip's Indians,  and  put  to  death.  Philip  then  caused  it  to  be 
reported  that  they 'had  been  murdered  by  the  English,  but 
it  so  happened  that  one  of  the  victims  was  not  completely 
dispatched.  Bearing  the  real  facts  to  his  tribe,  they  were 
much  incensed,  and  proceeding  over  the  mountains  into 
Massachusetts,  and  falling  upon  a  tribe  in  Philip's  interest, 
killed  about  fifty  of  them,  and  broke  up  their  lodge.  This 
was  previous  to  the  Falls  Fight,  and  it  was  with  the  mem- 
ory of  this  visitation  upon  them,  that  the  Indians  doubted 
not  that  they  were  assailed  by  the  Mohawks,  when  Capt. 
Turner  came  upon  them.  With  no  hope  from  the  "West, 
worsted  in  every  conflict,  driven  from  their  fisheries,  at 
odds  among  themselves,  straitened  for  provisions,  and 
aware  of  the  arrival  of  a  large  opposing  force  at  North- 
ampton, they  only  retired  from  their  attack  on  Hadley  to 
retreat  to  more  distant  localities.  Soon  after  the  aflFair  at 
Hadley,  Capt.  Henchman  arrived  with  his  party  of  Massa- 
chusetts ti-oops,  and  in  company  with  those  under  Talcot, 
went  Northward,  to  break  up  the  haunts  of  the  Indians 
above,  and  destroy  their  stores.  Both  sides  of  the  river 
Avere  swept  in  the  upward  march,  as  far  as  Turner's  Falls, 
but  not  an  Indian  was  to  be  seen.  The  river  was  followed 
further  North,  but  with  no  success.  The  whole  field  was 
forsaken.  The  fish,  and  such  food  as  they  had  stored  in 
cellars,  were  destroyed.  But  sad  scenes  were  witnessed 
on  the  track  of  the  retreating  expedition  of  Turner.  His 
body  was  found  upon  the  spot  already  described  as  the  lo- 
cality of  his  death,  while  the  stakes  to  which  the  unfortu- 
nate captives  had  been  tied,  and  burnt  to  death,  wei"e  still 
standing,  as  dark  in  their  associations  as  in  their  stark  and 
charred  appearance. 

The  enemy  having  retired  from  the  Connecticut  River, 
the  presence  of  the  large  bodies  of  troops  under  Talcot 
and  Henchman  was  no  longer  necessary,  and,  accordingly, 
Talcot  left  for  the  Narraganset  country,  inflicting  severe 
damage  upon  the  Indians  upon  his  route,  while  Henchman 
was  not  less  efficient  as  he  swept  the  forests  on  his  return. 
At  this  time,  broken  and  dispirited,  large  bodies  of  Indians 
were  returning  to  the  Narraganset  country  and  its  vicinity, 
where  they  were  hunted  down  by  parties  of  English  who 
/»Bad  become  so  well  acquainted  witli  the  ground,  and  so  ac- 


FUGITIVES    CUT    OFF-  131 

customed  to  the  warfare,  tbat  they  killed  and  captured 
tliem  by  scores,  with  hardly  the  loss  of  a  man.  But 
Phihp,  though  pressed  on  all  sides,  and  forsaken  by  his 
Northern  allies,  maintained  his  haughty  and  implacable 
spirit,  and  so  far  as  possible  persevered  in  his  hostilities. 
Many  of  his  allies,  who  found  themselves  nearly  destroyed, 
laid  upon  him  ihe  blame  of  their  fate,  and  sought  safety  in 
flight.  Major  Talcot,  having  returned  to  Connecticut  from 
the  Narraganset  country,  took  with  him  additional  force, 
and  stationed  his  troops  in  Westfield,  for  the  purpose  of 
cutting  off  such  fugitives  as  might  pass  that  way ;  and,  as 
the  evil  fortune  of  the  poor  savages  would  have  it,  two 
hundred  of  them,  bound  for  the  Hudson,  passed  peaceably 
by  the  town,  and  he  discovered  their  trail.  Three  days 
after  this,  he  came  up  Avith  them,  in  the  present  town  of 
Stockbridge,  in  Berkshire  County,  encamped  on  the  banks 
of  the  Housatonic  River.  He  arrived  in  the  night,  and 
made  his  preparations  to  attack  them  both  in  front  and  in 
rear,  A  single  Indian  who  had  gone  out  to  take  fish  de- 
tected their  movements,  gave  the  alarm,  and  was  immedi- 
ately shot.  The  attack,  thus  precipitated,  was  made  before 
all  the  preparations  were  completed,  and,  upon  the  first  fire 
upon  the  camp,  all  that  could  fly,  retreated  to  tlie  woods, 
and  escaped.  Twenty-five  of  the  number  were  left  dead 
upon  the  ground,  and  twenty  were  captured.  Among  the 
captives  was  the  treacherous  sachem  of  Quaboag.  Hub- 
bard says  that  "  many  of  the  rest  were  badly  wounded,  as 
appeared  by  many  of  the  bushes  being  much  besmeared 
with  blood,  as  was  observed  by  those  who  followed  them 
further."  It  was  subsequently  ascertained  that  they  lost 
sixty  in  all,  killed  and  captured.  Talcot  lost  but  one  man, 
and  he  a  Mohegan  Indian.  This  act  showed  the  Indians 
in  this  quarter  that,  however  much  they  might  refrain  from 
hostilities,  they  had  nothing  to  hope  for  in  the  returning 
clemency  of  the  colonial  authorities,  and  all  retired.  The 
Connecticut  River  Indians  fled  either  West  to  the  Hudson, 
or  North  to  Canada. 

Philip,  still  indomitable,  struggled  still,  and  the  P1}tu- 
outh  colony  was  largely  the  scene  of  his  operations,  but 
his  men  were  hewn  down  on  every  hand.  Sometimes  he 
escaped  death  or  capture  as  if  by  magic,  or  miracle.  His 
«hief  counsellors  and  captains  were  killed,  but  ho  evaded 


132  KING  Philip's  war. 

both  death  and  capture.  Then  his  wife  and  children  were 
seized  or  killed,  and  still  he  eluded  the  grasp  of  his  perse- 
vering enemy.  At  last,  the  treachery  of  one  of  his  own 
men  became  the  cause  of  his  fall.  A  company  under  Cap- 
tain Church  of  Plymouth,  a  commander  whose  marvellous 
bravery  and  singular  success  in  the  war  marked  him  more 
than  any  other  man  as  its  hero,  surrounded  a  swamp  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mount  Hope,  to^which  Philip  with  about  two 
hundred  of  his  men  had  retired.  Only  sixty  of  these  es- 
caped. One  hundred  and  thirty  were  killed  and  captured, 
and  among  the  former  was  Philip.  He  was  shot  by  an  In- 
dian, and  fell  with  his  face  in  the  mud.  His  head  was 
severed  from  his  body,  and  his  body  left  to  the  wild  beasts. 
Thus,  on  the  12th  of  August,  closed  the  life  of  "  King 
Philip." 

No  man  with  a  decent  respect  for  bravery,  indomitable 
purpose,  and  true  military  genius,  can  reflect  upon  the  fall 
of  this  poor  savage,  there  at  his  old  home,  his  nation  in 
ruins,  his  wife  and  children  torn  from  him,  and  all  his  am- 
bitious schemes  overthrown,  without  a  sigh  of  genuine 
commiseration.  He  needed  but  a  whiter  skin  and  a  better 
success  to  have  made  him  a  hero  whose  name  should  lin- 
ger on  men's  lips,  and  whose  praise  should  be  celebrated 


m  song. 


''  Even  that  he  lived  is  for  his  conqueror's  tongue  ; 
By  foes  alone  his  death-song  must  be  sung; 
No  chronicles  but  theirs  shall  tell 

His  mournful  doom  to  future  times  ; 
May  these  upon  his  virtues  dwell, 
And  in  his  fate  forget  his  crimes.'' 


'tj"- 


The  subsequent  capture  of  Annawon,  Philip's  chief  cap- 
tain, by  the  renowned  Capt.  Church,  brought  to  a  close  the 
bloodiest  war  New  England  ever  kncAv.  About  six  hun- 
dred whites  had  been  killed,  and  probably  a  much  larger 
number  of  buildings,  chiefly  dwelling  houses,  had  been 
burned.  Trumbull  concludes  that  about  one-eleventh  of 
the  militia,  and  of  all  the  buildings  in  the  United  Colonies, 
were  swept  away.  There  was  hardly  a  family  but  mourned 
the  loss  of  a  member,  or  a  relative.  The  Indians  were 
very  much  more  seriously  despoiled.  Their  loss  in  men, 
women  and  children  was  counted  by  thousands,  while  their 
strongholds  Avere  leveled,  and  their  lodges  and  stores  de- 


PEACE   ON    THE    CONNECTICUT.  133 

stroyed.  But  what  will  really  conquer  a  civilized  man, 
will  not  conquer  an  Indian.  To  be  reduced  to  the  life  of 
an  Indian  in  his  best  estate — and  his  worst  differs  little 
from  it — would  be  to  conquer  a  civilized  foe.  The  Indians 
had  nothing  but  their  lives  to  lose,  and  these  were  held  at 
a  value  proportionate  to  the  low  enjoyments  and  inferior 
aims  of  their  possessors.  Warlike  operations  continued  on 
the  sea  coast  still  further  East,  until  the  Spring  of  1678, 
when  a  peace  was  concluded.  In  the  meantime,  the  Con- 
necticut River  settlers,  relieved  of  the  presence  of  their 
enemies,  resumed  their  employments,  and  returned  to  their 
plantations. 

12 


CHAPTER   VII 

New  Indian  Difficulties  and  Their  Close. 

The  planters  of  Deerfield  returned  to  their  town,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  though  no  order  for  its  re-settlement  was 
passed  until  the  May  session  of  the  General  Court,  1682. 
But  their  danger  and  their  trials  were  not  yet  past.  The 
straggling  parties  of  Eastern  Indians  that  crossed  the  Val- 
ley in  their  emigration  to  the  West  kept  them  in  constant 
fear,  while  predatory  squads  returned  from  their  new 
homes  at  the  North  to  visit  vengeance  upon  the  holders  of 
their  old  possessions.  It  became  evident,  at  last,  that  the 
suspicions,  long  previously  ai'oused,  that  the  French  in 
Canada  were  aiding  the  Indians  in  their  movements,  were 
correct.  Under  this  state  of  things,  so  insecure  were  the 
settlers,  that  "  they  went  about  their  ordinary  business  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  and  to  their  solemn  assemblies  as 
when  one  goeth  to  the  battle."  No  very  serious  demon- 
stration was  made,  hoAvever,  until  the  Autumn  of  1677, 
when,  it  being  the  I'Jth  day  of  Sej^tember,  a  party  of  about 
fifty  Indians  from  Canada,  who  had  descended  the  Con- 
necticut to  Hatfield,  fell  upon  that  town,  shot  down  three 
men  outside  of  the  fortifications,  and  breaking  through,  in- 
flicted terrible  slaughter  upon  men,  women  and  children, 
and  captured  and  took  away  a  large  number.  The  attack 
occurred  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  while  the 
principal  part  of  the  men  were  at  Avork  in  the  meadoAvs. 
The  names  of  those  killed  were  Sergeant  Isaac  Graves, 
John  Atchison,  John  Cooper,  the  A\'ife  and  child  of  Philip 
Russell,  the  AAdfe  and  child  of  John  Coleman,  the  Avife  of 
Samuel  Kellogg,  the  wife  and  child  of  Samuel  Belding  and 
a  child  of  John  Wells — in  all,  eleven.  Seventeen  Avere 
carried  away  captives,  Avhose  names  follow :  tAA'o  children 
of  John  Coleman,  "■  GoodAvife  "  Waite  and  three  children, 
(not  to  mention  one  a  short  time  subsequently  boi-n  in 
Canada,)  Mrs.  Foote  and  tAvo  children,  (one  of  the  latter 
was  subsequently  killed  by  the  Indians,)  Mrs.  Jennings 
,*nd  two  children,  (one  of  the  latter  AA'as  put  to  death  in 


CAPTIVES  TAKEN  TO  CANADA.         135 

Canada,)  Obadiah  Dickinson  and  one  child,  a  child  of  Sam- 
uel Kellogg,  a  child  of  Wm.  Bartholomew,  and  a  child  of 
John  AUis.  The  departing  savages  left  six  or  seven  others 
wounded  as  they  retired  Northward. 

At  this  time,  the  people  of  Deei-field  were  preparing  for 
Winter  by  re-building  their  houses.  The  Indians,  with 
their  captives,  proceeded  as  far  as  Deerfield  before  night, 
and  halted  in  the  woods  East  of  the  town.  At  about  sun- 
set, they  entered  the  place,  and  John  Root,  one  of  four 
men  who  undertook  to  escape  into  a  sAvamp,  Avas  taken  and 
put  to  death.  They  then  captured  Serjeant  John  Plymp- 
ton,  Quentin  Stockwell  and  Benoni  Stebbins,  and  joining 
them  with  the  company  of  Hatfield  captives,  pushed  on 
about  three  miles,  and  halted  for  the  night.  Ci'ossing  the 
Connecticut  twice  during  the  next  day's  march,  they  spent 
the  second  night  at  Northfield,  West  meadow.  Pursuing 
the  march  Northward,  they  re-crossed  the  river,  thus  be- 
traying apprehensions  of  pursuit,  but  that  not  appearing, 
they  halted  at  about  thirty  miles  above  Northfield,  built  a 
shelter  for  themselves,  and  remained  some  time,  to  await 
the  coming  of  a  body  of  women  and  children,  for  whom  a 
detachment  was  sent  to  Wachuset  Mountain.  Benoni 
Stebbins  was  detailed  from  the  captives  to  accompany  this 
expedition,  and,  during  its  progress,  managed  to  escape. 
About  eiglity  women  and  children  arrived  at  last,  and, 
after  a  halt  to  allow  them  rest,  the  whole  party  pushed 
Northward.  After  a  cold  and  weary  pilgrimage,  the  pris- 
oners themselves  being  subjected  to  frequent  indignities 
and  great  hardships,  all  arrived  at  Sorel,  a  small  French 
garrison  in  Canada,  Serjeant  Plymptou  of  Deerfield,  how- 
ever, having  been  burnt  at  the  stake  near  Chamblee,  and 
his  fellow  captive,  Dickinson  of  Hatfield,  having  been 
obliged  to  lead  him  to  his  terrible  death. 

TJie  distress  of  those  in  Deerfield  and  Hatfield,  thus  be- 
reft of  neighl)ors,  companions  and  children,  Avas  naturally 
intense.  At  last,  by  some  means,  they  ascertained  the  des- 
tination of  the  captives,  and  Benjamin  Waite  and  Stephen 
•Jennings,  A\'hose  Avives  Avere  among  them,  conceived  the 
idea  of  reclaiming  them.  Accordingly,  provided  with  a 
commission  from  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  they 
started,  among  the  last  days  of  October,  on  their  tedious 
and  hazardous  expedition.     They  Avcnt  to  Albany,  and 


136  FURTHER  INDIAN  TROUBLES. 

after  escaping  from  troubles  wliicli  the  jealousy  of  the 
Dutch  brought  upon  them,  placed  themselves  under  an  In- 
dian guide.  They  proceeded  with  great  ditHculty,  up  the 
Hudson,  through  Lake  George,  and  down  Lake  Champlain, 
until,  late  in  December,  they  arrived  at  Chamblee,  a  small 
French  settlement.  They  found  that  Mrs.  Jennings  and 
four  other  captives  had  been  pawned  to  the  French  for 
liquor,  at  Sorel,  while  the  remainder  of  the  captives  were 
among  the  Indians  not  far  distant.  Unable  to  secure  all 
the  captives  without  the  assistance  of  the  French  authori- 
ties, they  then  pushed  on  for  Quebec,  and  succeeded,  at 
last,  in  getting  the  captives  that  survived,  together,  by  the 
payment  to  the  Indians  of  £200.  The  progress  homeward 
was  not  undertaken  until  Spring,  and  was  necessarily  slow, 
but  on  the  22d  of  May,  Quentin  Stockwell  wrote  a  letter 
from  Albany,  announcing  to  his  wife  his  return  to  that 
point,  and  the  safety  of  all  the  captives  save  Plympton, 
Philip  Russell's  child,  and  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Foote.  On 
the  23d,  he  wrote  again,  urging  liis  friends  to  come  on  and 
meet  the  party,  and  to  "  stay  not  for  Sabbath  or  shoeing  of 
horses."  The  summons  was  promptly  answered,  but  the 
captives  had  progressed  as  far  as  Westfield  when  they 
w^ere  met.  The  passage  home  was  little  else  than  a  tri- 
umphal procession.  Every  plantation  shared  in  the  joy, 
and  an  enthusiastic  pai'ticipant  in  the  general  rejoicing,  in 
writing  to  the  Governor  a  statement  of  their  return,  ac- 
knowledged the  insanity  of  pleasure  which  possessed  him. 
It  was  but  a  few  days  after  the  attacks  upon  Hatfield 
and  Deerfield,  just  related,  that  a  party  of  Indians  attacked 
the  mill  at  lladley,  but  it  was  bravely  defended,  and  they 
withdrew.  From  these  repeated  attacks,  the  settlers  at 
Deerfield  became  discouraged,  and  again  forsook  their 
plantation,  but  their  troubles  for  the  time  Avere  over.  In 
the  latter  part  of  1G77,  the  Indians  indicated  their  readi- 
ness to  make  peace,  and  a  Commission  convened  at  North- 
ampton for  the  purpose  of  treating  with  them.  Major 
Treat  of  Connecticut,  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  forty 
men,  went  up  to  join  in  the  treaty.  The  Indians  were 
promised  protection  and  the  enjoyment,  unmolested,  of 
such  lands  as  they  should  re-occupy,  provided  they  would 
become,  and  remain,  subject  to  the  English  Government, 
.■"find  deliver  up  their  English  captives.     The  conference 


FAILURE    OF    THE    CONFEKENCE.  137 

amounted  to  but  little  besides  the  delivery  of  a  few  cap- 
tives. The  Indians  could  not  humiliate  themselves,  upon 
the  scene  of  their  old  homes  and  hunting  grounds,  to  the 
sway  of  their  conquerors,  and  so  departed. 

12* 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Peace  —  The    Coukts  —  King   William's    War  — 
Witchcraft  —  General  IMatters  of  Interest. 

Thus  left  at  peace,  the  settlements  on  the  Connecticut 
revived,  confidence  returned,  Springfield  and  Deerfield, 
and  the  other  towns  which  had  suffered  from  the  torch  of 
the  Indians  were  re-built,  and  again  the  planters  looked 
forward,  in  the  anticipation  of  prosperous  times.  During 
the  progress  of  the  war,  nothing  had  advanced,  but  every- 
thing had  retrograded.  A  large  amount  of  property  had 
been  destroyed,  field  employments  had  been  so  difficult  and 
dangerous  of  pursuit  that  only  the  absolute  necessaries  of 
life  had  been  obtained,  large  numbers  of  cattle  had  been 
killed  or  driven  from  the  plantations  by  the  Indians,  the 
most  able  of  the  business  men  had  been  crippled  in  their 
operations  by  severe  losses,  and,  saddest  of  all,  the  stay 
and  support  of  no  inconsiderable  number  of  families  had 
been  cut  off  in  the  persons  of  those  who  fell  the  victims  of 
the  war.  The  years  that  followed  were  busy  years — years 
of  planting  and  building — yeai's  unaccompanied  by  extra- 
ordinary incidents.  The  waste  places  again  smiled  with 
cheerful  dwellings,  and  the  seasons  came  and  passed  peace- 
fully. The  people  attended  faithfully,  as  w^as  their  custom, 
upon  the  ordinances  of  God,  schooled  their  children,  bought, 
sold,  and  got  gain  ;  and  seed-time  and  harvest.  Summer  and 
Winter,  swept  by  in  their  annual  succession,  bearing  peace 
and  comfort  to  the  hearts,  and  plenty  to  the  stores,  of  the 
dwellers  upon  the  Connecticut. 

Beyond  the  regular  holding  of  the  Courts  of  Hampshire 
County,  no  events  appear  to  have  transpired  that  come  nat- 
urally into  a  general  history  of  the  region.  The  first 
formal  admission  of  attorneys  to  practice  in  the  Courts  of 
the  County,  occurred  at  the  session  of  September,  1686, 
when  John  King  of  Northampton,  and  Samuel  Marshfield 
and  Jonathan  Burt,  Senior,  of  Springfield,  were  "  allowed  of 
this  Court  to  be  attorney's  for  this  County's  Courts,  and 
viook  the  oath  of  attorneys  for  the  faithful  performance  of 


THE    COUNTS.  139 

their  office."  One  of  the  regulations  of  the  period  is  no- 
ticeable, in  contrast  with  the  rule  which  now  obtains,  in 
regard  to  the  taxation  of  the  costs  of  litigation.  The 
Courts  then  obliged  a  party  convicted  of  being  grossly  in 
the  fault,  in  any^case,  to  pay  all  the  costs  of  the  suit,  com- 
prising the  fees  of  his  opponent's  counsel,  as  well  as  his 
own.  Now,  a  man  may  recover  a  just  claim,  but  his 
debtor,  through  a  spirit  of  private  revenge,  may  be,  and 
often  is,  able  to  make  him  pay,  in  costs,  double  or  quadru- 
ple the  sum  implicated  in  the  suit.  This  fact  is  so  appa- 
rent that  in  many  cases  it  operates  as  a  denial  of  right. 
The  new  colony  charter  of  1691  produced  a  change  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Court,  and  somewliat  in  the  nature  of 
the  proceedings.  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  were  substi- 
tuted for  County  Courts,  and  a  Superior  Court  established 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  which  had, 
thus  far  in  the  history  of  the  colony,  fulfilled  that  oflice. 
At  first,  no  time  was  designated  for  the  regular  holding  of 
the  Superior  Court  in  Hampshire  County,  but,  in  1699,  it 
was  ordered  to  be  hoklen  once  a  year  at  Springfield.  It 
was  as  late  as  1771,  when  an  additional  term  of  that  Court 
was  ordered  to  be  holden  annually  at  Northampton.  Lib- 
erty was  given  to  plaintiffs,  if  they  should  choose  so  to  do, 
to  institute  all  suits,  in  which  the  demand  exceeded  £10, 
originally  in  the  Superior  Court.  John  Huggins  and 
Christopher  J.  Lawton  were  attorneys  belonging  to  Spring- 
field wlao  had  a  large  practice  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  at  this  period.  Huggins  probably  had  the  most  ex- 
tensive practice  of  any  living  in  his  day. 

The  year  1688  was  signalized  by  the  abdication  of 
James,  King  of  England ;  and  the  accession  to  the  throne 
of  William  and  Mary  early  in  the  following  year,  was  an 
event  which,  though  distant  in  locality,  was  destined 
to  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  Connecticut  River 
towns.  The  change  in  the  home  Government  was  soon 
followed  by  a  war  with  France  which  brought  into  hostility 
the  French  and  English  settlements  in  America.  The 
French  in  Canada  had  never  borne  good  will  towards  the 
EngUsh  colonies,  and  needed  but  the  slightest  pretext  to 
give  an  open  and  bloody  demonstration  of  their  dislike. 
In  February,  1690,  Count  Frontenac,  at  the  head  of  the 
French  provincial  Government,  detached  three  parties  of 


140  KING  William's  war. 

French  and  Indians  from  Canada,  one  of  which,  in  the 
course  of  its  movements,  destroyed  Schenectady,  in  New 
York,  murdered  sixty  men,  women  and  chiklren,  took 
twenty-seven  prisoners,  and  drove  forth  the  remainder 
naked  into  a  terrible  snow-storm,  twenty-five  of  whom  lost 
their  limbs  by  the  frost.  The  second  party  fell  upon  Sal- 
mon Falls,  killed  thirty  persons,  took  fifty-four  prisoners, 
and  burnt  and  plundered  the  village.  Casco  Fort  was  also 
taken  by  two  of  the  parties,  in  conjunction.  These  opera- 
tions, with  others  of  less  note,  could  not  fail  to  excite  alarm. 
A  special  assembly  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut  was  con- 
vened, before  which  letters  from  Massachusetts  w^ere 
placed,  expressing  the  ui'gent  desire  that  Connecticut 
would  send  soldiers  up  the  river  to  guard  the  towns,  par- 
ticularly the  Northern  ones  of  Hampshire  County,  and  re- 
questing that  there  might  be  a  meeting  of  the  Commission- 
ers of  the  colonies,  to  consult  upon  measures  for  the  com- 
mon defense.  The  neighboring  colonies  were  also  applied 
to,  and  the  result  was  the  first  Congress  of  the  American 
Colonies,  on  the  first  of  May,  1690,  at  New  York.  The 
measures  devised  by  this  Congress,  and  more  particularly 
.  those  entered  into  by  New  England,  miscarried.  The  pro- 
ject was  conceived,  of  reducing  Canada  to  subjection.  A 
force  of  eight  small  vessels  sailed  from  Boston  for  Port 
Royal,  captured  the  place  without  opposition,  and  then 
went  up  tbe  St.  Lawrence  to  Quebec,  but  the  place  was  too 
strong,  and  the  ill-starred  fleet  becoming  separated  by  a 
gale,  returned  to  Boston,  losing  several  vessels  in  the  ex- 
pedition. A  land  expedition  of  1,000  Connecticut  and 
New  York  ti-oops  was  even  less  successful,  having  made 
its  way  but  a  little  beyond  Albany,  Avhen,  from  a  combina- 
tion of  untoward  circumstances,  it  was  thought  expedient 
to  return.  Though  these  expeditions  failed,  the  war  spirit 
was  up,  and  measures  were  taken  to  protect  the  frontiers 
from  the  incursions  of  the  French,  and  the  Indians  in  their 
interest,  imminent  now  more  than  before. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  wonder  that  the  blow  intended, 
though  not  dealt,  against  the  integrity  of  the  French 
Provinces  in  Canada,  should  have  provoked  the  Avrath  of 
Count  Frontenac.  New  England  expected  it,  and  was  not 
disappointed,  for  he  immediately  let  slip  his  ranging  war- 
dqgs  in  every  direction.     The  first  demonstration  made  in 


MURDERS    AT   BROOKFIELD.  141 

"Western  Massachusetts  was  at  Brookfield.  Among  the 
last  days  of  July,  or  the  first  of  August,  1692,  a  party  of 
Frontenac's  Indians  came  upon  the  town.  Entering  the 
house  of  Joseph  Wolcott,  while  all  the  family  were  absent, 
(Mrs.  Wolcott  with  her  children  having  gone  to  the  field 
with  her  husband,  fearing  to  remain  alone,)  they  rifled  it 
of  its  valuables.  Returning  at  noon,  Wolcott  found  his 
gun  stolen,  and  saw  at  once  that  Indians  had  been  there. 
He  sent  his  wife  and  children  out  to  secrete  themselves  in 
the  bushes,  except  a  little  boy  which  he  kept  with  him. 
Looking  out  of  the  window  he  saw  an  Indian  approaching. 
Taking  his  boy  under  his  arm,  and  an  axe  in  his  hand,  he 
went  out,  and  set  his  dog  upon  the  Indian,  who  was  so 
worried  by  him  that  he  had  to  discharge  his  gun  at  him. 
As  soon  as  the  gun  was  discharged,  Wolcott  gave  him 
chase,  the  Indian  loading  his  gun  as  he  ran.  Wolcott 
heard  the  ball  roll  down  tlie  barrel,  when  he  turned,  caught 
up  his  child,  and  escaped  to  a  fort.  His  wife  screamed, 
and  thus  betrayed  her  hiding  place,  and  she  and  her  chil- 
dren were  coldly  murdered.  A  party  of  savages  at  the 
same  time  entered  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Mason,  killed  him 
and  two  children,  and  captured  his  wife  and  an  infant. 
They  also  captured  Thomas  and  Daniel  Lawrence. 
Thomas,  they  soon  atterwards  murdered.  John  Lawrence, 
the  brother  of  these  men,  immediately  mounted  a  horse, 
and  rode  to  Springfield  for  help.  Capt.  Colton,  then  the 
commander  of  the  Springfield  company,  promptly  an- 
swered the  call,  and  made  a  rapid  march  to  Brookfield, 
and  then  started  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  On  the  way, 
they  came  upon  Mrs.  Mason's  child,  who  had  been  mur- 
dered and  thrown  into  the  bushes.  Coming  upon  the  en- 
campment of  the  Indians,  at  break  of  day,  they  approached 
so  carefully  that  they  were  able  to  put  their  guns  through 
the  brush  which  the  Indians  had  disposed  around  them, 
and  to  fire  upon  them  sleeping.  Fourteen  were  killed  at 
the  first  fire,  and  the  rest  precipitately  fled,  leaving  blank- 
ets, arms  and  ammunition  behind  them,  as  well  as  the  two 
prisonei's,  Daniel  Lawrence  and  Mrs.  Mason,  who  were 
conducted  back  in  safety. 

No  other  important  demonstrations  were  made  in  this 
region  until  the  6th  of  June,  1693,  when  the  Indians  en- 
tered Deerfield,  then  the  Northern  settlement,  Northfield 


142  KING  William's  wak. 

still  remaining  unsettled,  and  breaking  into  the  houses  of  a 
Mr.  Wells  and  a  Mr.  Broughton,  killed  and  wounded  eight 
persons.  In  the  following  October,  Martin  Smith  of  that 
town  was  captured  and  taken  to  Canada.  In  the  year 
1694,  a  French  and  Indian  force  under  McCastreen,  made 
an  attack  upon  the  fort  at  Deerfield,  but  beyond  killing 
Daniel  Severance,  a  lad,  in  the  meadows,  and  wounding 
John  Beamont  and  Richard  Lyman  in  the  garrison,  were 
able  to  do  no  damage.  On  the  18th  of  Auijust.  1695, 
while  a  party  of  settlers  were  traveling  from  Hatfield  to 
Deerfield,  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  party  of  Indians,  in 
the  South  part  of  Deerfield  meadow,  and  Joseph  Barnard 
received  a  mortal  wound.  In  the  Autumn  of  1696,  two 
residents  of  Deerfield,  named  Gillet  and  Smead,  were  sur- 
prised by  Indians  while  out  hunting,  who  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing Gillet,  and  then,  entering  Deerfield  village,  they 
killed  the  wife  and  three  cliildren  of  Daniel  Belding,  and 
took  him  and  two  other  children  prisoners.  While  devoted 
Deerfield  was  thus  suffering  under  its  annual  decimation, 
the  operations  of  Count  Frontenac  were  directed  much 
more  fatally  against  other  points  of  settlement,  West  and 
East,  and  were  thus  continued,  year  after  year.  The 
peace  proclaimed  between  England  and  France,  while  it 
checked  the  hostilities  of  the  French,  had  no  effect  upon 
their  Indians,  or  those  stragglers  in  New  England  who  had 
been  in  their  employ.  In  the  Summer  of  1698,  a  party 
of  Indians  attacked  a  man  and  a  number  of  boys  in  Hat- 
field meadow,  killing  the  man  and  one  boy,  and  taking  two 
boys  prisoners.  Taking  the  prisoners  into  their  canoes, 
they  paddled  up  the  river.  They  wei-e  intercepted,  when 
they  had  proceeded  about  twenty  miles,  by  a  pursuing 
force,  and  both  lads  were  rescued,  though  at  the  expense 
of  the  life  of  Nathaniel  Pomeroy — one  of  their  deliverers. 
During  a  portion  of  these  troublesome  years,  Connecticut 
kept  a  company  of  troops  at  Deerfield,  and  her  gallant  and 
liberal  policy  during  this  time,  and,  in  fact,  during  the 
whole  of  Philip's  War,  is  a  matter  to  be  gratefully  remem- 
bered by  every  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  and  particularly 
by  those  of  them  who  dwell  upon  the  Connecticut. 

It  is  a  notable  fact,  and  one  not  at  all  difficult  of  ex- 
planation on  philosophical  principles,  that  during  the  con- 
t^luance  of  Philip's  War,  nothing  was  heard  of  witchcraft. 


WITCIICKAFT.  143 

Something  else  occupied  the  public  mind.     After  the  ex- 
citement of  the  war  had  entirely  died  awaj,  witchcraft  re- 
vived, and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  occurred 
in  Hadley.     Hutchinson  and  Cotton  Mather  both  notice  it, 
the  latter  somewhat  in  detail,  and  from  their  accounts  the 
following  narrative  is  derived.     Hutchinson,  by  the  way, 
prefaces  his  statement  by  saying  that  in  1683,  "the  de- 
mons removed  to  Connecticut  River  again,  where  one  Des- 
borough's  house  was  molested  by  an  invisible  hand,  and  a 
fire  kindled,  nobody  knew  how,  which  burnt  up  a  great 
part  of  his  estate."     In  what  town  on  Connecticut  River 
this  singular  event  occurred  is  not  stated,  though  Matlier 
speaks  of  Nicholas  Dcsborough  of  Hartford  as  being  the 
object  of  sundry  mysteriously  projected  missiles,  such  as 
stones,  cobs  of  Indian  corn,  &c.,  and  he  is  probably  the 
man  alluded  to  by  Hutchinson.     The  subject  of  "  the  de- 
mons "  in  Hadley,  was  "  a  judge  of  the  Court,  a  military 
officer,  and  a  representative  of  the  tOA\'n  of  Hadley."     Mr. 
Philip  Smith,  the  bewitched  man,  is  innocently  alluded  to 
as  "  an  hypochondriac  person,"  and  Mather  adds  to  his  re- 
commendations to  llie  public  respect,  by  stating  that  he 
was  the  "  son  of  eminently  virtuous  parents,  and  a  deacon 
of  the  church  in  Hadley."     He  was  also  "  a  man,  for  devo- 
tion, sanctity,  gravity  and  all  that  was  honest,  exceedingly 
exemplary."     There  seems  to  have  been  nothing  lacking 
in  the  chain  of  evidence  to  prove  that  he  was  in  every  re- 
spect a  good  citizen,  a  devout  Christian,  and  a  proper  man. 
It  appears  that  Mr.  Smith  was  the  almoner  of  the  charities 
of  the  town,  and  that  a  wretched  old  woman,  who  thouglit 
she  had  cause  to  bo  dissatisfied  with  his  dispensations,  took 
it  into  her  head  to  bewitch  liim.     At  the  commencement 
of  the  Winter,   he  began  to  decline  in  health,  and  was 
troubled  with  ischiatic  pains — a  very  common  time  of  year 
for  such  pains  to  possess  a  man,  even  when  not  bewitched. 
Yet  his  mind  was  imclouded,  and  his  religious  experiences 
were  such  that  "  the  standers-by  could  see  in  him  one  rip- 
ening apace  for  another  world,  and  filled  with  grace  and  joy 
to  an  high  degree."     In  this  state  of  mind  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  utter  his  suspicions  against  the  old  woman  who  had 
threatened  him.     He  became,  at  last,  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  he  was  sufiering  from  the  enchantments 
practiced  by  his  feminine  adversary.     Under  a  premoni-i 


144  WITCHCEAFT. 

tion  that  he  should  lose  his  reason,  he  exclaimed  to  his 
brother — "  be  sure  to  have  a  care  of  me,  for  you  shall  see 
strange  things.  There  shall  be  a  wonder  in  Hadley !  I 
shall  not  be  dead,  when  'tis  thought  I  am !"  This  charge 
was  often  repeated,  and  when,  at  last,  the  delirium  came, 
he  cried  out  in  various  languages.  He  was  tormented  with 
pins  sticking  into  various  parts  of  his  body,  one  of  which 
his  attendants  found.  The  case  was,  of  course,  well  known 
to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and  excited  much  sym- 
pathy for  the  victim,  and  a  corresponding  degree  of  indig- 
nation toward  his  tormentor.  Accordingly,  some  of  the 
young  men  of  the  place  visited  the  old  woman's  habitation, 
"  dragged  her  out  of  the  house,  hung  her  up  until  she  was 
near  dead,  let  her  down,  rolled  her  sometime  in  the  snow, 
and  at  last  buried  her  in  it ;"  but  she  Avas  not  to  be  rid  of 
in  that  manner,  and  managed  to  make  her  way  out,  and  get 
into  her  house  again.  But  it  was  noticed  that  when  these 
operations  were  in  progress,  Mr.  Smith  slept,  and  at  this 
time,  and  at  other  similar  proceedings  against  the  old  wo- 
man, he  got  the  only  quiet  rest  that  he  enjoyed  during  his 
illness.  The  house  where  he  lay  sick  was,  at  times,  per- 
vaded by  a  very  strong  smell  of  musk,  which,  on  one  occa- 
sion, was  so  strong  that  an  apple,  roasting  by  the  fire,  be- 
came impregnated  with  the  odor  to  such  a  degree,  that  they 
were  obliged  to  throw  it  away.  Little  pots  in  his  room, 
containing  medicines,  were  unaccountably  emptied,  and 
scratchings  were  heard  about  the  bed  when  his  hands  and 
feet  were  still.  Fire  was  seen  upon  the  bed,  which,  when 
the  by-standers  began  to  remark  upon  it,  would  vanish 
away.  Divers  people  felt  something  as  large  as  a  cat  mov- 
ing in  the  bed,  but  could  never  grasp  it,  and  some,  leaning 
upon  the  head  of  the  bed,  would  have  their  heads  knocked 
by  the  shaking,  when  the  sick  man  lay  entirely  still.  A 
strong  man  could  not  stir  the  poor  victim,  to  give  him  an 
easier  position.  He  was  like  his  bulk  in  lead.  At  last 
]VIr.  Smith  died,  and  a  jury  sat  upon  him  to  determine  the 
cause  of  his  melancholy  end.  They  "  found  a  swelling  on 
one  breast,  his  privities  wounded  or  burned,  his  back  full 
of  bruises,  and  several  holes  that  seemed  made  with  awls." 
Though  he  was  pronounced  dead,  his  prophecy  made  a 
show,  at  least,  of  holding  good.  He  died  on  Saturday 
morning,  but  his  lower  jaw  did  not  fall,  his  countenance 


PARISHES    XSO    MINISTERS.  145 

was  life-like,  and  when  he  was  removed  to  his  coffin,  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  he  was  found  to  be  still  warm,  though 
he  had  lain  in  a  room  of  the  temperature  of  a  New  Eng- 
land Winter  of  the  olden  time. 

During  the  time  he  awaited  burial,  mysterious  noises 
were  heard  in  the  room.  Chairs  and  stools  clattered, 
though  no  one  touched  them.  But  on  Monday  m6rning, 
his  face  had  changed  to  black  and  blue,  and  gave  issue  to 
a  sanguineous  fluid  that  ran  down  upon  his  hair.  So  Mr. 
Smith  was  buried,  while  the  old  woman  who  had  the  credit 
of  being  his  mediate  murderess,  was  allowed  to  live — a 
most  wise  and  sane  disposition  of  her.  This  case,  and  the 
one  already  recorded  as  having  occurred  in  Springfield, 
some  forty  years  previously,  are  the  only  instances  of  the 
delusion  that  occun'ed  within  the  limits  of  old  Hampshire 
County.  In  neither  instance  were  the  supposed  guilty 
parties  put  to  death,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
Hadley  witch  was  subjected  to  trial. 

During  the  continuance  of  King  William's  War,  as  that 
was  called  which  prevailed  between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish colonies,  Springfield  was  less  exposed  to  the  incursions 
of  the  Indians  than  her  Northern  neighbors,  and  found 
time  and  opportunity  to  extend  her  population  and  enlarge 
her  operations,  aided  at  first  as  she  was,  by  the  peace  that 
followed  the  death  of  Philip.  As  early  even  as  1673,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Western  shore  of  the  Connecticut,  in 
Springfield,  had  become  so  considerable  tliat  they  petitioned 
that  a  boat  might  be  built  to  ferry  them  over  the  river  on 
the  Sabbath,  to  enable  them  to  attend  public  worship  more 
conveniently.  They  were,  doubtless,  badly  accommodated 
in  this  respect,  even  at  a  later  date,  for  in  1683,  Reice  and 
John  Bedortha,  and  Joseph  Bedortha's  wife,  were  drowned 
by  the  upsetting  of  the  boat,  while  making  the  passage. 
In  May,  1695,  thirty-two  families  were  residents  of  that 
side  of  the  river,  comprising  a  population  of  more  than 
two  hundred,  and  at  this  time~tliey  api)lied  to  the  General 
Court  for  the  privilege  of  settling  a  minister.  Their  dis- 
tance from  the  house  of  worship  in  Springfield,  and  the 
dangers  attending  the  crossing  of  the  river,  formed  the  ba- 
sis of  their  petition,  but  they  met  the  opposition  of  tlie 
town,  and  the  General  Court  appointed  a  Committee  to  in- 
vestigate the  matter,  and  report  at  a  subsequent  session. 

13 


146  PARISHES    AND    MUS'ISTERS. 

The  report  was  favorable  to  the  petitioners,  and  the  No- 
vember Court  of  1696  "ordered,  that  the  said  petitioners 
be  permitted  and  allowed  to  invite,  procure  and  settle  a 
learned  and  orthodox  minister,  on  the  West  side  of  Con- 
necticut River,  to  dispense  the  Word  of  God  unto  those 
that  dwell  there,  and  that  they  be  a  distinct  and  separate 
precinct  for  that  purpose."     Thus  was  established  the  sec- 
ond parish  of  Springfield.     Subsequent  action  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court  required  the  people  on  the  East  side  of  the 
river  to  pay  them  £50  towards  building  their  meeting 
house.     This  order  seems  to  have  met  with  a  reluctant  ex- 
ecution, for,  as  late  as  1711,  a  portion  of  the  sum  was  still 
due,  and  a  committee  of  the  new  parish  was  appointed  to 
demand  the  sum,  and,  if  necessary,  to  institute  a  suit  at 
law  for  it.     A  church  was  formed  in  June,  1698,  and  Rev. 
John  Woodbridge  was  settled  as  the  first  pastor.     The  first 
meeting  house  was  built  in  1702.     Mr.  Woodbridge  con- 
tinued his  ministry  for  twenty  years,  and  died  at  the  age 
of  forty.     The  best  description  that  can  be  given  of  him, 
and  a  noble  epitaph  it  is,  may  be  drawn  from  the  diary  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Williams  of  Longmeadow,  recorded  June   10, 
1718,  the  day  of  his  death:  "I  look  upon  this  as  a  very 
great  frown  upon  us  all  in  this  town,  and  in  this  part  of  the 
country ;  lor  Mr.  Woodbridge  was  a  man  of  great  learn- 
ing, of  pleasant  conversation,  of  a  very  tender  spirit,  very 
apt  to  communicate,  one  that  had  an  excellent  gift  in  giv- 
ing advice  and  counsel,  and  so  must  be  very  much  missed 
by  us." 

Springfield  built  a  new  meeting  house  in  1674,  and  on 
the  28th  of  March,  1692,  as  has  already  been  stated,  Mr. 
Glover,  the  minister,  died.  After  three  unavailing  at- 
tempts to  secure  the  settlement  of  Mr.  John  Haines  in  liis 
place,  a  call  to  settle  was  extended  to  Mr.  Daniel  Brewer, 
which  he  accepted,  and  he  became  their  minister,  by  ap- 
propriate ceremonials,  on  the  16th  of  May,  1694,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  his  office  for  nearly 
forty  years.  While  these  events  were  transpinng,  the 
Long  Meadow  was  receiving  an  augmented  population,  and 
preparing  to  follow  the  example  of  its  neighbor  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  On  the  incorporation  of  the  Sec- 
ond Parish,  the  General  Court  ordered  that  there  should 
be  a  division  of  the  laud  that  had  been  set  apart  for  the 


PARISHES    X'Sn    lillXISTEKS.  147 

nse  of  the  ministry,  but  no  settlement  of  the  matter  seems 
to  have  been  arrived  at,  until  several  yeai*s  afterwards, 
when  the  division  was  effected  through  the  agency  of  the 
two  ministers,  themselves.  Springfield  had  within  its 
boundaries  a  large  amount  of  land,  unappropriated  and 
undivided,  which  was  denominated  the  "outward  com- 
mons." This  land  was  located  in  the  present  towns  of  Wil- 
braham,  Ludlow,  and  West  Springfield.  It  was  concluded 
to  divide  this  body  of  land  into  five  parts,  three  on  the 
East  side  of  the  river,  and  two  on  the  West,  and,  by  cut- 
ting up  these  tracts,  to  give  to  each  inhabitant  his  share. 
In  1699,  the  lots  were  drawn,  but  the  land  was  not  all  sur- 
veyed, until  more  than  forty  years  afterwards.  In  each 
of  the  five  divisions,  lots  were  appropriated  for  schools  and 
for  the  ministry.  Many  disadvantages  attend(;d  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  outward  commons  were  allotted.  The 
land  was  laid  out  into  s'uch  long  and  narrow  strips  as  to  be 
of  comparatively  little  value  to  the  farmer.  Settlements 
were  not  begun  at  Wilbraham  until  1731,  a  delay  princi- 
pally attributable  to  this  fact.  In  1713,  Longmeadow,  con- 
taining but  little  less  than  forty  families,  was  incorporated 
as  the  Third  Parish  of  Springfield,  and  in  1716,  Rev.  Ste- 
phen Williams  was  ordained,  as  the  first  minister.  He 
was  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Williams  of  Deerfield,  and 
preached  in  Longmeadow  05  years.  Interesting  events  in 
his  early  history  remain  to  be  narrated. 

The  settlement  of  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard  in  Northamp- 
ton, in  1672,  has  already  been  briefiy  noticed.  He  was 
probably  the  most  remarkable  clergyman,  in  the  points  of 
talent  and  influence,  that  had  thus  far  been  settled  in  the 
Valley,  and  was  regarded  with  a  reverence  that,  possessing 
thoroughly  the  hearts  of  his  people,  extended  throughout 
the  colony,  and  even  to  the  very  hearts  of  the  savages. 
His  life  is  declared  to  have  been  spared  on  the  occasion 
of  his  falling  into  an  Indian  ambuscade,  by  the  exclama- 
tion that  he  was  "  the  Englishman's  God,"  made  by  one 
of  the  party  of  savages.  He  was  noted  particularly  for 
the  liberality,  not  to  say  laxity,  of  his  views  in  matters  of 
religion,  maintaining  that  the  Lord's  table  should  be  ac- 
cessible to  all  ])ersons  «ot  immoral  in  their  lives,  opi^osi- 
tion  to  which  doctrine  in  after  years,  cost  liis  grandson  and 
worthy  successor  in  the  ministry,  Jonathan  Edwards,  the 
fiacrifice  of  his  ofSce.     Mr.  Stoddard  died  in  1729. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Queen   Anne's  War. 

The  Indian  difficulties,  which,  at  the  declaration  of 
peace  between  England  and  France  in  1697,  it  was  hoped 
were  past,  were  to  be  resumed  upon  the  Connecticut,  ac- 
companied, in  some  instances,  with  more  severe  hardships 
than  had  hitherto  been  experienced.  King  William  died 
in  1702,  and  Queen  Anne  reigned  in  his  stead,  and  follow- 
ing closely  upon  the  latter  event,  came  another  war  be- 
tAveen  the  two  countries.  This  event,  as  in  the  reign  of 
William  and  Mary,  renewed  the  hostilities  between  the 
French  and  English  colonies  in  Amei'ica,  and  our  history 
now  opens  upon  some  of  the  most  remarkable  scenes  and 
adventures  afforded  by  the  whole  series  of  trials  that  as- 
sailed Western  Massachusetts  at  almost  every  step  of  its 
early  progress. 

At  an  early  date  of  the  renewed  hostilities,  the  unfortu- 
nate settlement  at  Deerfield  was  apprised  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  French  to  destroy  it.  Measures  were 
taken  to  strengthen  the  fortifications,  and  to  prepare,  so  far 
as  possible,  for  the  dreaded  event.  Small  parties  of  In- 
dians, who  could  not  await  the  grand  demonstration,  haunt- 
ed  the  region  of  the  doomed  town,  and  lay  in  wait  to  cut 
off  such  stragglers  as  might  present*  themselves.  On  the 
8tli  of  October,  1703,  Zebediah  Williams  and  John  Nims 
Avere  captured  in  the  meadow,  at  a  small  distance  from  the 
village,  and  taken  to  Canada,  where  the  former  died. 
Nims  subsequently  escaped  and  returned.  No  serious 
demonstrations  were  made  from  this  time  until  the  niglit 
of  the  29th  of  February,  when  Major  Hertel  de  Rouville, 
with  upM-ards  of  340  French  and  Indians,  arrived  at  a  pine 
blufi'  overlooking  Deerfield  meadow,  about  two  miles  Nortlj 
of  the  village — a  locality  now  known  as  Petty's  Plain. 
Here  he  halted,  to  await  the  appropriate  hour  for  an  at- 
tack, and  it  was  not  until  nearly  morning  that,  leaving 
their  packs  upon  the  spot,  his  men  started  forward  for  their 
%^ork  of  destruction,      Rouville  took  great  pains  not  to 


JiTTACK    OX    DEEIIFIEUS.  14d 

alarm  the  sentinels  in  his  approach,  but  the  precaution  was 
unnecessary,  as  the  watch  were  unfaithful,  and  had  retired 
to  rest.  Arrivinc^  at  the  fortifications,  he  found  the  snow 
drifted  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  palisades,  and  his  entire 
party  entered  the  place  undiscovered,  while  the  whole  pop- 
ulation were  in  a  profound  sleep.  Quietly  distributing 
themselves  in  parties,  they  broke  in  the  doors  of  the 
bouses,  dragged  out  the  astonished  inhabitants,  killed  such 
as  resisted,  and  took  prisoners  the  majority  of  the  remain- 
der, only  a  few  escaping  from  their  hands  into  the  woods. 
The  house  of  Rev.  John  Williams  was  assaulted  at  the 
commencement  of  the  attack.  Awakened  from  sleep,  Mr, 
Williams  leaped  from  his  bed,  and,  running  to  the  door, 
found  the  enemy  entering.  Calling  to  two  soldiers  who 
lodged  in  the  house,  he  sprang  back  to  his  bed-room,  seized 
a  pistol,  cocked  it,  and  presented  it  at  the  breast  of  an  In- 
dian who  had  followed  him.  It  missed  fire,  and  it  was 
well,  for  the  room  was  thronged  in  an  instant,  and  he  was 
seized,  bound  without  being  allowed  the  privilege  of  dress- 
ing, and  kept  standing  in  the  cold  for  an  hour.  In  this  dis- 
tressing condition,  the  savages  amused  tliemselves  with 
taunting  him,  swinging  their  hatchets  over  liim,  and  threat- 
cnino-  him.  Two  of  his  children  and  a  negro  woman  were 
then  taken  to  the  door  and  butchered.  Mrs.  Williams, 
who  had  been  confined  in  child-birth  but  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore, was  allowed  to  dress,  and  herself  and  five  children 
were  taken  as  captives.  John  Sheldon's  house,  which  the 
enemy  found  it  hard  to  enter,  was  pierced  by  hatchets  at 
the  door ;  and  a  musket  thrust  through  the  opening,  and 
discharged,  killed  INIrs.  Sheldon,  who  was  dressing  in  an 
adjoining  room.  The  house  was  carried,  and  preserved 
from  destruction  to  accommodate  the  captives  that  were 
taken,  and  brought  in  from  the  other  jiarts  of  the  village. 
But  the  savage  force  did  not  gain  their  captives  entirely 
without  struggle  and  cost.  The  fort  was  carried,  at  the 
cost  of  eleven  men.  One  house  was  defended  by  seven 
men,  for  whom  the  women  within  cast  bullets  while  the 
fin-ht  was  in  progress.  Singling  out  their  victims,  these 
brave  fellows  sent  forth  their  impromptu  bullets  from  every 
window  and  loop-hole,  and  neither  threat  nor  stratagem 
could  bring  them  to  a  surrender ;  and,  leaving  the  house, 
the  enemy  paid  it  no  attention  further  than  to  keep  out  of 

13* 


150  QUEEN   ANNE'3   WAR. 

the  way  of  it.  Another  house  was  defended  with  equal 
bi'avery  and  equal  success.  One  after  another,  the  captive 
families  and  individuals  were  brought  into  the  depot,  until, 
when  the  sun  was  about  an  hour  high,  the  work  was  com- 
pleted. The  buildings  had  been  plundered,  and  setting 
fire  to  such  of  them  as  could  be  approached,  Rouville  set 
out  on  his  return  to  Canada  with  his  captives.  But  one 
more  touching  scene,  and  that  the  slaughtered  company  of 
young  men  at  Bloody  Brook,  has  ever  been  witnessed  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley,  than  that  exhibited  by  this  com- 
pany of  captives,  as  they  turned  out  that  morning,  shiver- 
ing with  fear  and  cold,  on  their  ten-ible  pilgrimage  over 
the  snows  of  mid-winter  to  Canada.  Tliere  were  the  pas- 
tor and  his  tender  family  ;  the  strong  man,  his  heart  bleed- 
ing with  sympathy,  and  his  own  trials  forgotten  in  the  dis- 
tress of  his  bosom  companion  and  his  little  ones  ;  the  young 
man  and  the  maiden,  the  old  man  and  the  infant.  In  all, 
one  hundred  and  eight  persons  were  taken,  and  mai-ched 
forth,  guarded  by  their  captors,  u}X)n  the  shining  crust  of 
snow  that  then  covered  the  ground.  Passing  the  meadow, 
they  arrived  at  the  point  on  Petty's  Plain  where  Rouville 
had  left  his  packs  and  snow-shoes,  and  here  the  company 
halted.  Here  the  prisoners  were  deprived  of  their  shoes, 
and  furnished  with  moccasins,  to  enable  them  to  travel 
more  easily,  and  all  the  preparations  made  for  the  long 
march  through  the  Northern  wilderness. 

During  the  attack  on  Rev.  Mr.  "Williams'  house,  one  of 
the  lodgers,  Capt.  Stoddard,  leaped  from  the  window  of  his 
room,  and,  seizing  a  cloak  in  his  exit,  made  his  escape. 
Tearing  up  his  cloak,  and  binding  the  pieces  upon  his  feet, 
he  ran  to  Hatfield,  and  arrived  there  almost  exhausted. 
Capt.  John  Sheldon's  son  escaped  in  the  same  manner,  and 
reached  Hatfield.  A  number  of  individuals  in  that  town 
started  immediately,  probably  upon  horses,  for  Deerfield. 
On  their  arrival  there,  they  found  a  number  of  those  who 
had  managed  to  escape  from  the  clutches  of  the  enemy, 
together  with  those  left  behind  in  the  village,  and  joining 
them,  bi'avely  pushed  on  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  force. 
They  overtook  tliem  while  halting  and  making  the  prepara- 
tion to  march,  already  described.  A  sharp  skirmish  en- 
sued, but  becoming  nearly  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  they 
\«ere  obliged  to  retreat  with  the  loss  of  nine  of  their  noble 


THE    KILLED    AND    CAPTIVE.  151 

little  number.  This  statement  is  circumstantially  given  by 
Hoyt,  but  Rev.  Mr.  Williams,  in  his  "  Redeemed  Captive," 
(a  work  from  which  most  of  these  facts  are  drawn,)  states 
that  a  company  of  the  enemy  remained  in  the  town,  but 
were  beaten  out  and  pursued  by  the  English,  until  the 
main  force  came  to  their  rescue.  The  slaughter  inflicted 
in  the  taking  of  the  town  w^as  a  terrible  one.  No  less  than 
thirty-eight  were  killed,  making  the  whole  number,  includ- 
ing those  slain  in  the  skirmish  on  the  meadow,  forty-seven.* 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  upwards  of  forty.  In  a  list  of 
the  captivesf  drawn  up  by  Stephen  Williams,  the  pastor's 

*The  following  are  I  he  names  of  those  slain  at  the  taking  of  the 
town:  David  Alexander,  Thomas  Carter,  John  Catlin,  Jonathan 
Catlin,  Sarah  Field,  Jonathan  Hawks  Jr.  and  his  wife,  Thankful 
Hawks.  John  Hawks,  Martha  Hawks,  Samuel  Hinsdale,  Joseph  In- 
gersol,  Jonathan  Kellogg,  Philip  Mattoon's  wife  and  child,  Parthe- 
na,  (a  negro,)  Henry  Nims,  Mary  Nims,  Mehitable  Nims,  Sarah 
Price,  Mary  Root,  Thomas  Sheklen,  Mercy  Shelden.  Samuel 
Smead's  wife  and  two  children,  Elizabeth  Smead,  Martin  Smith, 
Serg.  Benoni  Stebbins,  Andrew  Stevens,  Mary  Wells,  John  Wil- 
liams Jr.,  Jerusha  Williams. — Those  slain  in  the  skirmish  that  took 
place  in  the  meadow  were  Samuel  Albs,  Serg.  Boltwood,  Robert 
Boltwood,  Joseph  Catlin,  Samuel  Foot,  David  Hoit  Jr.,  Jonathan  In- 
gram, Serg.  Benjamin  Waiie,  Nathaniel  Warner. 

fThe  following  is  the  list,  those  marked  with  an  asterisk  indicat- 
ing those  who  were  killed  before  getting  far  from  the  town  : — Mary 
Alexander,  Mary  Alexander  Jr.,  Joseph  Alexander,  (ran  away  the 
first  night.)  Sarah  Allen,  Mary  Allis,  Thomas  Baker,  Simon  Beau- 
mont, Hepzibah  Belding,*  John  Bridgman,  (ran  away  in  the  mead- 
ow,) Nathaniel  Brooks,  Mary  Brooks,*  Mary  Brooks  Jr.,  William 
Brooks,  Abigail  Brown,  Benjamin  Burt,  Hannah  Carter,*  Hannah 
Carter  Jr.,*  Mercy  Carter,  Samuel  Carter,  John  Carter,  Ebenezer 
Carter,  Marah  Carter,*  John  Catlin,  Ruth  Catlin,  Elizabeth  Corse,* 
Elizabeth  Corse  Jr.,  Daniel  Crowfoot,  Abigail  Denio,  Sarah  Dickin- 
son, Joseph  Eastman,  Mary  Field,  John  Field,  Mary  Field  Jr.,  IMary 
Frary,*  Thomas  French,  Mary  French,*  IMary  French  Jr  ,  Thomas 
French  Jr.,  Freedom  French,  Martha  French,  Abigail  French,  Mary 
Harris,  Samuel  Hastings,  Elizabeth  Hawks,  Mehuman  Hinsdale, 
Mary  Hinsdale,  Jacob  Hicks,  (died  at  Coos,)  Deacon  David  Hoii, 
(died  at  Coos,)  Abigail  Hoit,  Jonathan  Hoit,  Sarah  Hoit,  Ebenezer 
Hoit,  Abigail  Hoit  Jr.,  Elizabeth  Hull,  Thomas  Hurst,  Ebenezer 
Hurst,  Benoni  Hurst,*  Sarah  Hurst,  Sarah  Hurst  Jr.,  Elizabeth 
Hurst,  Hannah  Hurst,  Martin  Kellogg,  Martin  Kellogg  Jr.,  Joseph 
Kellogg,  Joanna  Kellogg,  Rebecca  Kelloge:,  John  Marsh,  Sarah 
Mattoon,  Philip  Mattoon,  Frank,*  a  negro,  Mehitable  Nims,  Ebene- 
zer Nims,  Abigail  Nims,  Joseph  Petty,  Sarah  Petty,  Joshua  Pome- 
roy,  Esther  Pbmeroy,*  Samuel  Price,  Jemima  Richards,  Josiah 


152  QUEEN   ANNe's    WAR. 

son,  and  subsequently  the  minister  at  Longmeadow,  it  ap- 
pears that  fourteen  of  them  were  slain  in  the  meadows 
after  they  left  town.  These  were  not  all  slain  near  the 
Tillage,  but  probably  during  the  first  day's  marcli,  which 
was  not  more  than  four  miles.  The  victims  consisted  of 
infants,  and  wounded  and  infirm  persons.  Two  of  the  cap- 
tives succeeded  in  escaping,  and  Mr.  Williams  was  ordered 
to  inform  the  others  that  if  any  more  escapes  should  take 
place,  death  by  fire  would  be  visited  upon  those  who  re- 
mained. 

The  first  night's  lodgings  were  provided  for  as  comforta- 
bly as  circumstances  would  pennit,  and  all  the  able  bodied 
among  the  prisoners  were  made  to  sleep  in  bonds.  On  the 
second  day's  march,  Mr.  William.s  was  permitted  to  speak 
with  his  poor  wife,  and  to  assist  her  on  her  journey.  "  On 
the  way,"  says  Mr.  Williams,  in  his  book,  "  Ave  discoursed 
of  the  happiness  of  those  who  had  a  right  to  an  house  not 
made  Avith  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens ;  and  God  for  a 
father  and  friend ;  as  also  it  was  our  reasonable  duty  qui- 
etly to  submit  to  the  will  of  God,  and  to  say,  '  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done.' "  Thus  imparting  to  one  another  their 
heroic  courage  and  Christian  strength  and  consolation,  they 
pursued  their  painful  way.  At  last,  the  poor  woman  an- 
nounced the  gradual  faihire  of  her  strength,  and  during 
the  short  time  it  was  allowed  her  to  remain  with  her  hus- 
band expressed  good  wishes  and  prayers  for  him  and  her 
children.  The  narrative  proceeds  :  "  She  never  spake  any 
discontented  word  as  to  what  had  befallen  us,  but,  with 
suitable  expressions,  justified  God  in  what  had  happened. 
We  soon  made  a  halt,  in  which  time  my  chief  surviving 
master  came  up,  upon  which  I  was  put  upon  marching  with 
the  foremost,  and  so  made  my  last  farewell  of  my  dear 
wife,  the  desire  of  my  eyes,  and  companion  in  many  mer- 
cies and  afflictions.     Upon  our  separation  from  each  other. 


Rising,  Hannah  Shelden,  Ebenezer  Shelden,  Remembrance  Sheldon, 
Mary  Shelden,  John  Stebbins,  Dorothy  Stebbins,  John  Stebbins  Jr., 
Samuel  Stebbins,  Ebenezer  Siebbins,  Joseph  Stebbins,  Thankful 
Stebbins,  Elizabeth  Stevens,  Ebenezer  Warner,  Waitslill  Warner 
Jr.  *  Sarah  Warner,  Rev.  John  Williams,  Mrs.  Eunice  Williams,* 
Samuel  Williams,  Eunice  Williams  Jr.,  Esther  Williams,  Waiham 
Williams,  John  Weston,  Judah  Wright.  Also  three  Frenchmen 
v*o  had  lived  in  Deerfield  some  time,  and  who  came  from  Canada. 


SUFFERIICGS    OF   MRS.    WILLIAMS.  153 

we  asked  for  each  other  grace  sufficient  for  what  God 
should  call  us  to."  Mrs.  Williams  remained  a  short  time 
where  he  left  her,  and  occupied  the  leisure  in  reading  her 
Bible.  Her  husband  went  on,  and  soon  had  to  ford  a  small 
and  rapid  stream,  and  climb  a  high  mountain  on  its  other 
side.  Reaching  the  top,  and  very  much  exhausted,  he  was 
unburdened  of  his  pack,  and  then  his  heart  went  down  the 
steep  after  his  wife.  He  entreated  his  master  to  let  him 
go  down  and  help  her,  but  his  desire  was  refused.  As  the 
prisoners,  one  after  another,  came  up,  he  inquired  for 
her,  and  the  news  of  her  death  was  told  to  him.  In  wad- 
ing the  river,  she  was  thrown  down  by  the  water,  and  en- 
tirely submerged,  but  succeeded  in  reaching  the  bank  and 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where  her  master  became  dis- 
couraged with  the  idea  of  her  maintaining  the  march,  and 
burying  his  tomahawk  in  her  head,  left  her  dead.  ]Mrs. 
"Williams  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Eleazer  Mather,  the 
first  minister  of  Northampton — an  educated,  refined  and 
noble  woman,  and  the  story  of  her  suiferings  is  a  most 
touching  one.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  tliat  her  body  was 
found,  and  brought  l:)ack  to  Deerfield,  wliere,  in  long  years 
after,  her  husband  was  laid  by  her  side.  There  sleeps  the 
dust  of  the  pair,  and  stones  still  standing  inform  the 
stranger  of,  the  interesting  spot. 

Others  were  killed  upon  the  journey,  as  convenience  re- 
quired. One  poor  woman,  with  child,  and  near  the  time 
of  travail,  was  dispatclied  on  the  fourth  day.  Arriving 
about  thirty  miles  North  of  Deerfield,  probably  in  the 
Northern  part  of  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  those  of  the  Indians 
who  had  no  captives  became  discontented,  f)r  som(>  others 
of  the  number  had  five  or  six.  Accordingly  a  halt  was 
made,  and  a  more  equal  distribution  effected,  and  then 
sledges  were  constructed  for  the  better  conveyance  of  chil- 
dren, and  those  who  were  woimded.  Stephen  AVilliams, 
the  pastor's  son,  was  at  that  time  eleven  years  old,  but  lie 
kept  a  journal  which  has  recently  been  published,  and 
which  states  in  an  artless  way:  "They  traveled  (we 
thought)  as  it*  they  meant  to  kill  us  all,  for  they  traveled 
thirty-five  or  forty  miles  a  day.  *  *  *  Their  manner 
was,  if  any  loitered,  to  kill  them.  My  feet  were  very  sore, 
so  that  I  thought  tliey  would  kill  me  also."  "When  the 
first  Sabbath  ai'rived,  Mr.  Williams  was  allowed  to  preach. 


154  QUEEN   ANNE's    WAR. 

His  text  was  taken  from  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah — 
the  verse  in  which  occurs  the  passage — "  my  virgins  and 
my  young  men  are  gone  into  captivity."  And  thus  they 
progressed,  the  life  of  the  captives  dependent,  in  every 
case,  upon  then-  ability  to  keep  up  with  the  party.  Here 
an  innocent  child  would  be  knocked  upon  the  head  and  left 
in  the  snow,  and  there  some  poor  woman,  prostrated  by  a 
miscarriage,  dropped  by  the  way,  and  died  by  the  merciful 
tomahawk,  unmercifully  dealt.  An'iving  at  Wliite  River, 
Rouville  divided  his  forces,  and  the  parties  took  separate 
routes  to  Canada.  The  party  to  which  Mr.  "Williams  was 
attached  went  up  White  River,  and  j^roceeded,  with  vai'i- 
ous  adventures,  to  Sorel  in  Canada,  at  which  point  some 
of  the  captives  had  preceded  him.  The  party  with  which 
the  most  of  Mr.  Williams'  children  proceeded,  kept  on,  up 
the  Connecticut,  and  barely  escaped  death  from  famine,  a 
fate  which  visited  two  of  the  captives. 

Thus,  those  who  survived  had  all  arrived  in  Canada,  and 
all  were  treated  by  the  French  with  great  humanity,  and 
Mr.  Williams  with  marked  courtesy.  He  proceeded  to 
Chamblee,  from  thence  to  St.  Francis,  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence, afterwards  to  Quebec,  and  at  last  to  Montreal,  where 
Governor  Vaudreuil  treated  him  with  much  kindness,  and 
redeemed  him  from  savage  hands.  Mr.  Williams'  religious 
experiences  in  Canada  were  characteristic  of  the  times. 
He  was  there  thrown  among  Romanists,  a  sect  against 
which  he  entertained  the  most  profound  dislike — profound 
to  an  inflammatory  conscientiousness,  not  to  say  bigotry. 
His  Indian  master  was  determined  he  should  go  to  church, 
but  he  would  not,  and  was  once  dragged  there,  where  he 
"  saw  a  great  confusion  instead  of  any  Gospel  order." 
The  Jesuits  assailed  him  on  every  hand,  and  gave  him  but 
little  peace.  His  master,  at  one  time,  tried  to  make  him 
kiss  a  crucifix,  under  the  threat  that  he  would  dash  out  his 
brains  with  a  hatchet  if  he  should  refuse,  but  he  did  refuse, 
and  had  the  good  fortune  to  save  his  head  as  well  as  his 
conscience.  Some  of  Mr.  Williams'  children  were  re- 
deemed, and  placed  where  he  could  see  them,  and  all  of 
them  were  promised  him  by  the  Jesuits,  accompanied  with 
a  pension  for  his  own  and  their  support,  if  he  would  em- 
brace the  Romish  faith,  but  the  offensive  offer  met  with  a 
^■^ost  xmgracious  recej^tion.     In  short,  the  Deerfield  cap- 


EUNICE    WILLIAMS.  *  155 

tives  proved  to  be  rather  intractable  fellows.  One  of  the 
Jesuits  told  the  Governor  that  "  he  never  saw  such  persons 
as  were  taken  from  Deerfield,"  and  added — "  the  Macquas 
will  not  suffer  any  of  their  prisoners  to  abide  in  their  wig- 
wams whilst  they  themselves  are  at  mass,  but  carry  them 
with  them  to  the  church,  and  they  cannot  be  prevailed 
with  to  fall  down  on  tlieir  knees ;  but  no  sooner  are  they 
return(;d  to  their  wigwams  but  they  fall,  down  on  their 
knees  to  prayer." 

One  of  Mr.  "Williams'  daughters,  Eunice,  only  seven 
years  old  at  the  time  she  was  carried  to  Canada,  he  had 
the  privilege  of  once  visiting.  He  talked  with  her  about 
an  hour,  and  ascertained  that  she  had  not  forgotten  her  cat- 
echism. The  little  girl  was  very  desirous  to  be  set  at  lib- 
erty, and  bemoaned  her  hard  lot.  She  was  told  to  pray  to 
God  every  day,  and  she  replied  that  she  did,  as  she  Avas 
able,  and  God  helped  her.  '•  But,"  said  she,  "  they  force 
me  to  say  some  prayers  in  Latin,  but  I  don't  understand 
one  word  of  them."  All  jiossible  efforts  were  afterwards 
made  by  the  Governor  and  his  lady  to  effect  her  redemp- 
tion, but  without  avail.  The  plastic  little  creature  not 
long  afterwards  forgot,  not  only  her  catechism  but  her  lan- 
guage, adopted  the  Indian  habits  of  life,  and  became  in 
fact  and  feeling  a  savage.  And  there  among  them  was  she 
left  at  last,  and  on  arriving  at  Avomanhood,  she  married  an 
Indian  by  whom  she  had  a  family  of  children.  A  few 
years  after  the  war,  she  and  her  husband,  witli  other  In- 
dians, visited  Deerfield.  She  was  dressed  in  Indian  cos- 
tume, and  all  the  inducements  held  out  to  her  to  remain  at 
her  old  home  were  unavailing.  She  visited  Longmeadow 
twice  subsequently,  with  her  tawny  companion,  to  see  her 
brother,  and  old  fellow  captive,  who,  since  his  return,  had 
grown  up,  and  become  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Longmeadow.  The  General  Court  granted  them  a  piece 
of  land  on  condition  that  they  would  remain  in  New  Eng- 
land, but  she  refused,  on  the  Jiround  that  it  Avould  endanger 
her  soul.  She  livcMl  and  died  in  savage  life,  thougli  nomi- 
nally a  convert  to  Romanism,  and  out  of  her  singular  fate 
has  grown  another  romance,  which  has  been  the  marvel  of 
later  times.  From  her  descended  Rev.  Eleazer  AYilliams, 
late  missionary  to  the  Indians  at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin, 
the  pretended  Dauphin  of  France.     In  170G,  Mr.  Wil- 


156  QUEEN   ANNE'S   WAK. 

liams  and  his  remaining  cliildren,  with  other  captives,  rais- 
ing the  number  to  fifty-seven,  embarked  on  board  a  ship 
sent  to  Quebec  by  Governor  Dudley,  and  sailed  for  Bos- 
ton. Of  those  Avho  were  carried  to  Canada,  twenty-eight 
permanently  remained,  and  these  principally  intermarried 
with  the  French,  became  attached  to  the  country,  and 
nearly  all  became  Romanists.  Their  names  and  descend- 
ents  still  live  in  Canada,  and  many  now  living  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  would  feel  astonished  in  being  brought  face 
to  face  with  kindred  blood,  that  now  rattles  bad  French  in 
Canada,  or  sputters  Indian  in  the  North  and  Northwest. 
It  has  already  been  said  that  Mr.  Williams  was  laid  by  the 
side  of  his  wife  at  last;  and  Deerfield,  after  his  return, 
was  his  home  until  he  died.  A  Committee  from  his  peo- 
ple met  him  on  his  landing  at  Boston,  and  invited  him  to 
return  to  the  charge,  from  which  he  had,  nearly  three 
years  before,  been  torn.  And  Mr.  Williams  had  the  cour- 
age to  do  it,  notwithstanding  the  war  continued  with  una- 
bated bitterness.  In  1707,  the  town  voted  to  build  him  a 
house,  "  as  big  as  Ensign  Sheldon's,  and  a  back  room  as 
big  as  may  be  thought  convenient."  "  Ensign  Sheldon's 
house,"  by  the  way,  has  been  seen  by  nearly  every  one 
who  has  traveled  through  the  Connecticut  Valley.  It  was 
the  "  old  Indian  house  in  Deerfield,"  as  it  has  been  popu- 
larly called,  and  stood  at  the  Northern  end  of  Deerfield 
Common,  exhibiting  to  its  latest  day  the  marks  of  the  tom- 
ahawk upon  its  door  in  the  attack  of  1704,  and  the  perfo- 
rations made  by  the  balls  inside.  The  house  was  torn 
down  recently,  but  the  door  is  preserved,  and  should 
ever  be  preserved  as  a  valuable  memento  of  the  dangers 
and  trials  of  early  times.  Mr.  Williams  took  a  new  wife 
into  his  new  house,  had  several  children  by  her,  and  died 
in  172'J. 

The  inhabitants  of  Deerfield  had  abandoned  their  settle- 
ment twice,  but,  notwithstanding  the  hard  fare  they  had 
experienced,  and  the  dangers  to  which  they  must  necessa- 
rily be  still  exposed,  they  determined  not  to  leave  it  again. 
It  was  not  long  after  the  departure  of  the  captives  in  1704, 
that  two  individuals— John  Allen  and  his  wife — were 
killed  about  two  miles  South  of  Deerfield,  at  a  place  called 
"  the  Bars."  This  was  on  the  10th  of  the  following  May, 
•'.nd  as  the  Indians  killed  Allen  upon  the  spot,  and  took  his 


INDIAN   MURDERS.  157 

wife  a  mile  or  two  away  before  dispatching  her,  they  prob- 
ably calculated  to  carry  her  also  to  Cauada.  A  few  days 
afterwards,  one  Kindness,  a  fi'iendly  Indian,  was  killed  at 
Hatfield  mill,  but  the  enemy  had  no  time  to  scalp  lam. 
About  the  same  time,  Thomas  Russell  was  killed  North  of 
Deertield.  He  was  attached  to  the  garrison  at  Deerfield, 
and  was  sent  into  the  woods  as  a  scout,  liut  wandered  from 
his  companions,  and  was  cut  off.  He  belonged  in  Hatheld. 
John  Hawks,  while  on  the  way  from  Deerfield  to  Hatfield, 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  and  was  killed.  The  Indians  in 
small  and  unimportant  parties  at  this  time  seem  to  have 
hunsr  around  all  the  settlements  on  the  river.  Dr.  Cross- 
man,  while  riding  in  the  night  between  Hadley  and  Spring- 
field, was  fired  upon  and  wounded  in  the  arm.  A  scout  on 
the  way  between  Nortiiarapton  and  Westfield  were  attacked 
by  Indians,  one  of  them  killed  and  two  taken  captive. 
These  Indians  fell  in  with  anotlier  scout  which  killed  three 
of  their  number,  and  released  the  two  prisoners.  Scouts 
at  this  time  were  kept  out  in  every  direction.  Lieut.  Ca- 
leb Lyman,  with  the  insignificant  force  of  five  friendly  In- 
dians, marched  to  Coos,  on  the  Connecticut  at  the  North, 
where  abode  a  remnant  of  the  force  that  invaded  Deerfield 
in  the  preceding  February,  and  coming  to  a  cabin  contain- 
ing ten  Indians,  fired  upon,  and  killed  seven  at  the  first 
shot.  The  other  three  were  wounded,  but  escaped.  Lieut. 
Lyman  returned  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  In  1705,  no 
movements  worthy  of  note  occurred.  In  July.  17()G,  Sam- 
uel Cliapin  and  his  brother,  of  Springfield,  went  uj)  to 
their  farm  in  the  North  part  of  the  town,  and  on  discover- 
ino-  si^^ns  of  Indians,  fied  back  toward  their  homes,  followed 
by  the  foe  that  had  calculated  on  entrappmg  them.  One 
shot  was  discharged,  hitting  vSamuel  Chopin  in  the  side,  but 
not  inflicting  a  fatal  wound.  About  this  time,  Mary  IMc- 
Intosh  was  killed  at  IJrookfield,  while  milking  the  cows. 
Robert  Grainger  and  fJohn  Clary  Avere  shot  in  the  same 
town,  and  Thomas  Battis  of  that  town,  while  riding  post  to 
Hadley,  Avas  killed  somewhere  upon  the  present  territory 
of  Belchertown.  John  Woolcott,  a  boy,  was  taken  at 
Brookfield,  and  carried  to  Canada,  where  he  remained 
among  the  Indians  so  long  as  to  lose  his  native  language. 
In  17 08,  a  body  of  infanti-y  and  cavalry,  commanded  by 
Col.  Whiting,  were  sent  up  from  Connecticut,  to  guard  the 

14 


158  QUEEN   ANNE'S    AVAR. 

frontier  towns  upon  the  North,  and  n  scout  from  his  force 
returning  from  White  River,  lost  one  of  its  number,  named 
Barber,  and  Martin  Kellogg  Jr.  was  taken  prisoner.  Dur- 
ing this  year,  Samuel  and  Joseph  Parsons  of  Northamp- 
ton, sons  of  Capt.  John  Parsons,  were  killed  by  the  Indians 
while  in  the  woods.  On  the  26th  of  July,  that  year,  seven 
or  eight  Indians  attacked  the  house  of  Lieut.  Wright  at 
Skipmuck,  in  Springfield,  and  killed  "  old  Mr.  Wright," 
and  Aaron  Parsons  and  Barijah  Hubbard — a  couple  of 
soldiers — knocked  two  children  on  the  head,  one  of  whom 
died,  and  took  Henry  Wright's  wife  captive,  and  pi'obably 
killed  her  afterwards.  Lieut.  Wright  and  a  daughter  es- 
caped. 

In  1707,  another  expedition  was  fitted  out  from  Massa- 
chusetts against  Port  Royal,  N.  S.  Two  regiments  under 
the  command  of  Col.  March  embarked  at  Nantasket,  in 
twenty-three  vessels,  and  proceeded  under  the  convoy  of 
two  war-ships,  but  the  whole  affair  miscarried.  Thirty 
lives  Avere  lost,  and  the  expense  to  the  colony  was  £22,000. 
This  expedition  was  followed,  in  the  succeeding  year,  by 
the  fittuig  out  of  a  large  expedition  of  French  and  Indians 
in  Canada  to  go  against  the  frontier  settlements  of  New 
England.  This  expedition  fell  upon  other  quarfei-s  than 
the  Connecticut,  and  had  tlie  effect  to  bring  out  another 
English  ex2)edition  in  the  following  year  against  the 
French  pi'ovinces.  This  expedition  was  an  extensive  af- 
fair, and  contemplated  nothing  less  than  the  complete  re- 
duction of  the  French  in  North  America.  Five  regiments 
of  troops  were  to  be  sent  from  England.  To  these  were 
to  be  added  twelve  hundred  troops,  to  be  raised  in  Massa- 
chusetts, New  Hampshire  and  Rliode  Island,  and  the  com- 
bined force  was  to  go  against  Quebec.  Fifteen  hundi-ed 
troops,  to  be  raised  in  the  other  colonies,  were  to  proceed 
by  the  way  of  the  lakes,  and  attack  Montreal.  Complica- 
tions with  allied  powers  arose  at  the  very  moment  of  em- 
barking tlie  English  troops  for  the  Quebec  expedition,  and 
they  were  sent  in  another  direction.  Thus,  this  part  of 
the  enterprise  failed.  The  force  bound  for  Montreal  as- 
sembled at  Albany,  and  made  progress  on  their  journey, 
but  a  terrible  sickness  breaking  out  among  the  troops,  and 
the  commander  becoming  aware  of  tiie  failure  of  the  other 
^^ying  of  the  enterprise,  returned  to  Albany,  and  disbanded 


CAPTURE    OF   PORT   ROYAL.  159 

bis  army.  While  these  movements,  which  looked  formida- 
ble, at  least,  were  in  progress,  the  French  still  kept  out 
their  parties  of  savages  upon  the  New  England  frontiers. 
On  the  11th  of  April,  1709,  while  Mehuman  Hinsdale  was 
returning  with  his  team  from  Northampton,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  by  two  Indians,  who  took  him  to  Chamblee  in 
eleven  days  and  a  half.  This  was  Mr.  Hinsdale's  second 
experience,  he  having  made  one  of  the  Deerfield  company 
of  captives.  He  suffered  much  from  imprisonment,  being 
obliged  to  run  the  gantlet,  &c.  At  last,  he  was  taken  from 
the  Indians,  sent  to  France,  and,  after  an  absence  of  three 
years  and  a  half,  found  his  way  back  to  his  family.  Mr. 
Hinsdale  was  the  first  male  child  born  in  Deerfield,  a  fact 
which  his  grave  stone,  now  standing  in  that  town,  duly 
commemorates.  In  May,  John  Wells  and  John  Burt,  (be- 
longing to  a  scouting  i)arty  of  ten  which  had  penetrated  to 
Lake  Champlain,  and  killed  and  wounded  more  than  they 
numbered  themselves.)  were  killed  in  a  skirmish  on  Onion 
River,  in  Vermont.  In  June,  another  attack  was  arranged 
by  the  enemy,  to  be  made  upon  Deerfield.  One  of  the 
Rouvilles,  (a  brother  of  the  leader  of  the  previous  expe- 
dition against  the  town,)  appeared  at  the  head  of  180 
French  and  Indians,  but  this  time  the  Deerfield  people 
were  not  asleep,  and  were  so  well  jn-epared  against  an  en- 
emy, that  llouville  withdrew.  Wliih;  his  force  lay  m  the 
vicinity,  Joseph  Clesson  and  John  Arms  were  captured, 
and  Lieut.  Taylor  and  Isaac  Mattoon  killed.  In  1710, 
about  the  middle  of  July,  six  men  of  lirookfield,  while 
making  hay  in  the  meadows,  were  surprised  by  a  party  of 
Indians,  and  all  of  them  killed.  Their  names  were  Eben- 
ezer  Ilayward,  John  White,  Ste])hen  and  Benjamin  Jen- 
nings, John  Grosvenor  and  Joseph  Kellogg. 

In  1710,  an  English  fieet,  with  a  regiment  of  marines, 
and  four  regiments  of  provincial  troops,  proceeded  against, 
and  captured  Port  Royal,  and  not  long  after  this  event, 
Col.  Nicholson,  who  commanded  the  land  expedition  on  the 
previous  year,  went  to  England  to  interest  the  Government 
in  another  expedition  against  Canaila,  and  efiected  his  ob- 
ject. On  the  30th  of  July,  1711,  a  large  fleet  left  Boston 
with  a  force  of  7,000  regulars  and  ])rovinci;ils ;  but  eight 
or  nine  of  their  transports  wei"e  lost,  with  about  1,000  men, 
by  being  wrecked,  and  the  expedition  returned  without 


160  QUEEN   ANNe's    WAR. 

effecting  anything.  This  was  the  fourth  expedition  made 
against  Canada.  In  the  aggregate,  they  had  involved  an 
immense  cost,  and  had  never  accomplished  anything  ex- 
cept the  more  complete  exasperation  of  the  French.  At 
the  same  time  that  the  last  fleet  sailed  from  Boston,  Col. 
Nicholson  started  from  Albany,  with  a  force  nearly  as 
large,  but  receiving  news  of  the  failure  of  the  armament, 
he  again  returned,  and  disbanded  his  troops.  During  this 
year,  no  hostilities  of  importance  were  exhibited  on  the 
Connecticut.  In  1713,  the  long  war  in  Europe  ended,  and 
hostilities  soon  ceased  between  the  belligerent  colonies. 
The  next  year  Col.  Stoddard  of  Northampton  went  to 
Canada  to  make  arrangements  for  an  exchange  of  prison- 
ers, and  now  the  distressed  and  long  suffering  settlers  upon 
the  Connecticut  breathed  freely  again. 


.^ 


CHAPTER    X. 

New  Settlements  on  the  Connecticut — First 
Settlements  on  the  Housatonic. 

During  "  Queen  Anne's  War,"  the  settlers  had  again 
suffered  a  period  of  retrogradation.  Not  an  advance  had 
been  made  in  any  quarter,  save,  perhaps,  in  Springfield 
and  its  immediate  region.  As  soon  as  tlie  war  was  over, 
however,  the  owners  of  Northfield  moved  for  a  re-settle- 
ment, and  made  an  application  to  tlie  General  Court  for 
liberty  to  return.  The  Court,  February  22d,  1714,  ac- 
cordingly passed  an  order,  reviving  the  grant  made  in 
1672,  and  appointed  Samuel  Partridge,  John  Pynchon, 
(son  of  ilaj.  John  Pynchon.)  Samuel  Porter,  John  Stod- 
dard and  Henry  Dwiglit,  a  committee  to  examine  all  claims 
of  individuals  to  lands  in  the  plantation,  and  to  enter  their 
names,  witli  such  others  as  should  join  them  in  re-estab- 
lishing the  plantation,  preference  to  be  given  in  all  cases  to 
the  descendents  of  the  original  grantees.  The  town  lots 
were  ordered  to  be  small,  so  that  they  might  be  the  more 
easily  defensible,  and  2o(>  acres  to  be  reserved  for  the  dis- 
position of  the  Government.  The  conditions  of  the  grant 
were  that  forty  families  be  settled  within  three  years,  and 
that  an  orthodox  minister  be  procured  and  encouraged  to 
settle  with  them.  On  tlie  14th  of  April,  sixteen  persons 
appeared  before  the  Committee,  proved  their  claims,  and 
entered  into  articles  of  agreement.  Among  these  articles 
was  one  fixing  the  site  of  the  village  in  its  original  loca- 
tion. The  Committee  who  had  the  general  ordering  of  af- 
fairs at  first,  two  days  after  this  appointed  Deacon  Ebene- 
zer  Wright  to  be  the  town  clerk,  and  Capt.  Benjamin 
Wright,  Lieut.  Jolm  Lyman,  Dea.  Ebenezer  Wright,  Ju- 
dah  Hutchinson  and  Sergeant  Thomas  Taylor,  to  be  meas- 
urers of  land,  pro  tempore.  On  the  11th  of  July,  peace 
was  concluded  with  the  Eastern  Indians,  and  the  old  pro- 
prietors of  Northfield  flocked  back,  rebuilt  their  houses, 
and,  with  other  settlers,  established  ui)on  a  permanent  foot- 
ing the  town  of  Northfield.     They  built  a  church,  and,  in 

14* 


162  SETTLEMENT    OF  THE   WILDERNESS. 

1718,  when  the  town  contained  about  thirty  families,  they 
settled  for  their  minister  Rev.  Benjamin  Doolittle  of  Wal- 
lingford,  Ct. 

In  1701,  John  Pynchon,  Capt.  Thomas  Colton,  James 
"Warriner,  David  Morgan  and  Joseph  Stebbins  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Court  to  lay  out  the  town  subse- 
quently called  Brimfield,  and  to  have  for  five  years  the 
ordering  of  the  prudential  atfairs  of  the  place.  The  trac4 
was  originally  eight  miles  square,  and  comprised  the  pres- 
ent towns  of  Brimfield,  Monson,  Wales  and  Holland.  The 
Indian  disturbances  that  followed,  for  many  years,  interfered 
with  the  settlement  of  the  plantation  to  any  extent.  It 
had  been  growing  in  population  until  1731,  when,  after 
considerable  discussion  in  the  General  Court,  the  grants 
made  by  the  original  Committee  were  confirmed.  The  or- 
dination of  Rev.  Richard  Treat,  the  fii'st  minister,  took 
place  in  1725. 

About  this  time,  settlements  began  to  multiply  in  every 
direction.  Easthampton,  then  composing  a  part  of  the 
town  of  Northampton,  was  settled  as  early,  in  fact,  as  1700. 
Southampton,  in  the  same  township,  followed  in  1732. 
South  Hadley,  the  second  precinct  of  Hadley,  was  settled 
as  early  as  1721.  In  1732,  Belchertown  was  settled.  A 
Scotch  Presbyterian  church  was  formed  in  Palmer  about 
1730,  a  few  years  after  the  place  had  been  settled  by  a 
company  of  emigrants  from  the  North  of  Ireland.  Sun- 
derland, a  townsliip  granted  to  inhabitants  of  Hadley  in 
1673,  was  incorporated  in  1714.  Thus,  leaving  for  a  while 
the  active  movements  in  progress  in  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley, our  history  returns  to  notice  appropriately  a  marked 
event  becoming  buried  in  the  retiring  years,  and  then 
passes  on  to  new  scenes  and  a  wider  field. 

In  1703  died  Maj.  John  Pynchon.  His  name  has  oc- 
curred more  frequently  in  these  pages  than  any  other.  It 
is  because  it  was  used  during  his  life  in  connection  with 
every  important  enterprise  on  the  Connecticut  River.  He 
was  on  every  commission  and  committee.  The  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  occupied  in  pubhc  service.  He  came 
to  Springfield  when  but  ten  years  old.  He  lived  in  it 
nearly  one-third  of  the  time  that  has  transpired  since  its 
settlement.  He  was  a  magistrate  in  the  local  Courts  nearly 
^  (jtiite  all  the  time  from  the  age  of  twenty-six  to  the  time 


DEATH   OF   ilAJ.   PYNCKON.  163 

of  his  death,  which  took  place  when  he  had  arrived  at  the 
good  old  age  of  76.  He  was,  for  a  considerable  period, 
the  chief  in  military  command  in  the  county,  was  repeat- 
edly chosen  an  assistant  of  the  colony,  was  of  the  Council 
of  New  England  in  the  time  of  Sir  Edmund  Andross,  (a 
place  which  he  held  from  a  desire  to  serve  the  people,  and 
not  from  sympathy  with  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the 
day,)  and  a  Councillor  under  the  new  colonial  charter. 
All  the  trusts  reposed  in  him,  and  all  the  offices  conferred 
upon  him,  he  discharged  with  remarkable  ability,  entire 
faithfulness,  and  with  wide  acceptation.  He  was  loved, 
honored  and  revered  in  all  the  complicated  relations  of  a 
long,  laborious  and  useful  life,  and  when  he  was  gathered 
home,  like  a  shock  fully  ripe,  he  was  missed  not  by  Spring- 
field alone,  nor  alone  by  Hampshire  County,  but  by  New 
England,  in  all  parts  of  which  his  name  was  familiar. 

On  the  30th  day  of  January,  1722,  one  hundi-ed  and 
seventy-six  inhabitants  of  Hampshire  County  petitioned 
the  General  Court  for  two  townsliips  of  land  situated  on 
the  Housatonic  River,  at  the  South  Western  corner  of  the 
Massachusetts  patent.  The  petition  was  granted,  and  the 
townships  ordered  to  contain  seven  miles  square,  each. 
John  Stoddard  of  Northampton,  Henry  Dwight  of  do., 
Luke  Hitchcock  of  Sin-ingfield,  Jolm  Ashley  of  Westfield, 
Samuel  Porter  of  Iladley,  and  El)enezer  Pomeroy  of 
Northampton,  were  appointed  a  committee  for  dividing  the 
tract,  granting  lots,  admitting  settlers,  &c.  The  committee 
were  instructed  to  i-oserve  lands  for  the  first  minister,  for 
the  subsequent  maintenance  of  tlie  ordinances  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  for  the  support  of  schools  ;  and  to  demand  of  each 
man  to  whom  they  should  make  a  grant,  thirty  sliillings  for 
every  hundred  acres,  to  be  expended  in  extinguisliing  the 
Indian  claims,  paying  expenses  for  laying  out  the  lands, 
and  in  building  meeting  houses  in  the  townships.  Tliis 
committee  met  in  the  following  March,  at  Si)ringfield.  and 
fifty-five  settlers  received  grants,  complying  with  the  con- 
ditions attached  to  them.  Measures  were  taken  to  pur- 
chase the  land  contained  in  the  grants,  of  the  Indians,  and, 
on  the  25th  of  April,  1724,  a  deed  was  executed  by  tliem, 
conveying  a  tract  bounded  on  the  South  by  the  divisional 
line  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  AVest  by  tlie 
colony  of  New  Yoi'k,  Eastward  to  a  line  four  miles  from 


164  SETTLEMENT    OP    THE    'WILDERNESS. 

the  Housatonic  River,  "  and  in  a  general  way  so  to  ex- 
tend ;"  and  Nortli  "  to  the  great  mountain."  The  Indians 
made  certain  reservations  of  planting  and  other  land,  and 
received  in  consideration  the  sum  of  £460  in  money,  three 
barrels  of  cider  and  thirty  quarts  of  rum.  Saying  nothing 
of  the  liquor,  this  would  seem  to  be  the  largest  sum  ever 
paid  in  Western  Massachusetts  for  the  extmguishment  of 
an  Indian  title. 

The  deed  thus  given  embraced  the  present  towns  of 
Sheffield,  Egremont,  Mount  Washington,  Gi-eat  Barring- 
ton,  Alford,  a  considerable  part  of  Lee,  and  the  larger  part 
of  Stockbridge  and  West  Stockbndge.  These  two  town- 
ships were  known  before  their  later  division  into  towns,  as 
the  "  upper  and  lower  Housatonic  townships."  On  the  In- 
dian reservation,  not  more  than  four  or  tive  families  re- 
sided, and  these  remained  only  temporarily,  removing  sub- 
sequently to  Stockbridge,  as  will  be  hereafter  more  partic- 
ularly noticed.  In  1725,  John  Ashley  and  Ebenezer 
Pomeroy,  members  of  the  committee,  divided  the  lower 
township  into  lots  for  settlers,  and,  very  soon  afterwards, 
settlers  came  in  and  planted  themselves  upon  the  river 
bank,  in  the  present  town  of  Sheffield.  The  settlei's  were 
mostly  from  Westfield,  but  were  not  long  allowed  to  re- 
main undisturbed  in  their  possessions.  At  that  time,  the 
division  line  between  New  York  and  Massachusetts  Avas  an 
uncertain  aflFair,  and  as  the  colonial  authorities  of  New 
York  saw  Massachusetts  parceling  out  lands  that  they  sup- 
posed belonged  to  themselves,  they  made  a  grant  of  the 
same  lands  to  certain  Dutchmen  of  their  own.  It  would 
seerft,  too,  that  Massachusetts  was  so  uncertain  in  regard  to 
the  matter  that  the  Governor  forbade  any  further  settle- 
ment, as  Avell  as  the  commencement  of  legal  process  against 
the  New  Yorkers  who  had  molested  those  already  settled. 
These  troubles  were  not  of  long  duration,  and  were  soon 
obviated.  The  original  settlers  numbered  about  sixty. 
The  first  settler  was  Obadiah  Noble  of  Westfield,  who 
spent  one  Winter  there  entirely  alone,  or,  with  no  other 
companions  than  the  Indians.  Returning  to  Westfield  in 
the  Spring,  he  started  in  June  to  resume  his  residence, upon 
the  liousatonic,  taking  with  him  his  daughter,  only  sixteen 
j^ears  of  age.  She  went  on  horseback,  taking  her  bed 
/*  upon  the  horse  with  her,  and  lodged  one  night  in  the  wil- 


FIRST  SETTLES  IN  BERKSHIRE.         165 

dcrness,  while  making  the  passage.  And  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  settlement  of  Berkshire  County,  and  occur- 
red but  a  few  years  more  than  a  century  ago  !  The  settle- 
ment had  progressed  so  far  in  1733,  that  it  was  incorporated 
as  a  town  by  the  name  of  Sheffield,  the  name  probably 
being  taken  from  Sheffield  in  England.  The  first  town 
meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Obadiah  Noble,  on  the 
16th  of  January,  in  that  year,  and  Hezekiah  Noble  was 
chosen  town  clerk,  and  John  Smith,  Philip  Callendar  and 
Daniel  Kellogg,  selectmen.  At  the  same  meeting  it  was 
voted  to  erect  a  meeting  house,  forty-five  by  thirty-five  feet 
in  dimensions.  A  minister  was  immediately  and  con- 
stantly employed  thereafter,  and  in  1735,  the  meeting  house 
was  erected,  a  church  organized,  and  Mr.  Jonathan  Hub- 
bard of  Sunderland  ordained  as  its  first  minister.  He  con- 
tinued to  preach  to  the  people  for  29  years,  when  he  was 
dismissed. 

Though  the  Indian  settlement  in  lower  Housatonic  was 
very  small,  it  did  not  comprise  all  the  natives  within  the 
territory  granted.     The  tribe,  however,  was  very  much  re- 
duced in  numbers,  and  Konkapot,  the  chief,  of  whom  the 
land  was  bought,  with  eight  or  ten  families,  lived  in  that 
part  of  the  territory  of  upper  Housatonic  now  covered  by 
Stockbridge.     Tlie  minority  lived  on  the   reservation   in 
the   lower  township   already  alluded  to,  called  by  them 
Skatehook.      Among  these  families,   in   the  Autumn   of 
1734,  Mr.  John  Sergeant,  then  a  candidate  for  the  minis- 
try, and  Timothy  Woodl)ridge,  a  school-master,  commenced 
the  work  of  a  Christian  mission.     The  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Indian  affairs  encouraged  them,  and  they  com- 
menced their  labor.     But  tlie  division  of  the  settlements, 
being  about  ten  miles  apart,  interfered  with  its  efficient 
progress,  and  to  obviate  the  inconvenience,  the  Indians 
came  to  an  agreement  to  dwell  together  during  the  Winter 
season,  at  a  point  half  way  between  the  settlements.     Here 
a  house  was  erected  for  a  church  and  a  school,  and  around 
it  the  Indians  built  their  huts.     Their  separation  in  the 
Spring,  to  pursue  their  planting,  broke  all  up  again,  and  as 
it  was  supposed  that  other  families  of  the  tribe,  living  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  the  patent,  would  be  attracted  by  the 
school,  it  was  found  advisable  to  devise  some  plan  for  their 
dwelling  permanently  together.     The  General  Court  be- 


166  SETTLEMENT    OF   THE   WILDERNESS. 

coming  aware  of  the  condition  of  things,  made  a  grant  to 
the  Indians,  in  1735,  of  a  township  six  miles  square,  to  lie 
upon  the  Housatonic  River  at  the  North  of  Monument 
Mountain,  provided  the  proprietors  of  upper  Housatonic 
would  release  their  claims  to  such  of  the  land  granted  as 
had  regularly  come  into  their  possession,  and  as  would  ne- 
cessarily be  embraced  within  the  lines  of  the  new  town- 
ship. To  compass  this  latter  end,  a  committee,  consisting 
of  John  Stoddard,  Ebenezer  Pomeroy  and  Thomas  Inger- 
soll,  was  appointed,  to  settle  such  preliminaries  and  diffi- 
culties as  presented  themselves.  They  were  directed  to 
confer  with  the  Indians,  and,  if  they  should  consent,  to  sell 
their  reservation  in  lower  Housatonic,  and  apply  the  pro- 
ceeds, so  far  as  they  Avould  go,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
disturbed  proprietors  of  the  upper  township,  and  to  indem- 
nify the  settlers  entirely  by  making  over  to  them  other  un- 
granted  lands  in  the  province.  If  these  matters  could  be 
arranged,  they  were  to  proceed  and  lay  out  the  plantation. 
Two  or  three  Dutchmen,  who  had  settled  above  the  mount- 
ain, made  some  difficulty,  but  it  was  at  last  arranged,  and 
the  township  laid  out  for  the  Indians,  one-sixtieth  part  be- 
ing reserved  for  the  missionary,  another  sixtieth  for  the 
school-master,  and  another  tract  sufficient  for  the  accom- 
modation of  four  English  families.  The  town  was  laid  out 
in  an  exact  square,  comprising  23,040  acres,  of  which 
9,240  acres  were  taken  from  the  upper  Housatonic  town- 
ship. The  survey  included  the  present  towns  of  Stock- 
bridge  and  West  Stockb ridge.  In  May,  1736,  the  Indians 
removed  to  their  new  home.  Other  families  followed,  so 
that,  in  June,  the  population  numbered  ninety  individuals. 
In  the  following  August,  some  of  the  Indians  accompanied 
Mr.  Sergeant  i:o  Boston,  on  a  visit  to  Gov.  Belcher,  ex- 
pressed their  thanks  to  him  for  what  had  been  done  for 
them,  gave  up  their  claim  to  a  strip  of  land  two  miles 
wide,  extending  from  Westfield  to  the  Housatonic  town- 
ships, and  asked  the  assistance  of  the  Government  in  build- 
ing a  meeting  house  and  school  house.  In  1737,  their 
prayer  was  granted,  and  two  years  subsequently  their  town 
was  incorporated  by  the  name  of  Stockbridge,  and  the 
public  houses  alluded  to  were  completed  during  the  same 
year.  In  1829,  the  frame  of  the  meeting  house  was  still 
,.  .standing,  and  was  in  use  as  a  barn.     Here  the  Indians 


THE   STOCKBRIDGE    MISSION.  167" 

were  increased  by  accessions  to  their  numbers  from  with- 
out, until  they  reached  and  probably  surpassed  the  number 
of  400  souls.  At  the  close  of  1785,  they  had  all  removed 
to  New  Stockbridge,  a  town  gi-anted  to  them  by  the  Onei- 
das  in  New  York,  and  subsequently  they  moved  still  fur- 
ther West — to  Green  Bay,  on  the  Southern  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan.     ' 

The  mission  among  the  Stockbridge  Indians  was  attend- 
ed with  good  and  useful  results.  It  secured  the  friendship 
of  the  Indians  in  the  subsequent  French  wars,  and  not 
only  in  these,  but,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  were  they 
active  in  their  sympathy  with  the  settlers  and  the  colonies, 
sometimes  acting  as  spies,  sometimes  as  guides  and  inter- 
preters, and  sometimes  as  regular  members  of  the  Colonial 
Militia.  The  scliool  established  by  Mr.  Woodbridge  was 
continued  by  him,  and  by  his  successor,  John  Sergeant,  Jr., 
until  the  Indians  left  for  New  Stockbridge,  and  through  its 
instrumentality,  all  the  Indian  children  of  the  settlement 
had  the  privilege  of  acquiring,  and  probably  did  acquire,  a 
common  education.  Beyond  and  above  this  school,  Mr. 
Sergeant  projected  another,  which  attracted  not  only  the 
favorable  notice  of  the  Indian  Commissioners  at  Boston, 
but  of  prominent  men  abroad.  The  })lan  of  Mr.  Sergeant 
was,  "  that  a  tract  of  land  of  about  two  hundred  acres 
should  be  set  aside  for  the  use  of  tiie  school,  and  a  house 
erected  upon  it ;  that  a  number  of  children  and  youth  be- 
tween the  ages  of  ten  and  twenty  should  be  received,  and 
placed  under  the  care  of  two  masters,  one  of  whom  should 
take  the  oversight  of  them  in  their  houi's  of  labor,  and  the 
other  in  their  hours  of  study,  and  that  their  time  should  be 
so  divided  between  the  hours  of  labor  and  study,  as  to 
make  one  the  diversion  of  the  other ;  that  the  fruits  of 
their  labors  should  go  towards  their  maintenance,  &c." 
Abroad,  this  project  secured  the  warm  approval  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  Avho  headed  a  subscription  for  it  with 
twenty  guineas.  Mr.  Isaac  HoUis  made  an  individual  pro- 
vision for  the  instruction  of  24  Indian  boys.  This  project 
'was  the  favorite  child  of  Mr.  Sergeant,  and  he  labored  for 
it  with  spirit  and  assiduity.  Troubles  connected  with  the 
French  War,  commenced  in  1744,  delayed  the  establish- 
ment of  the  school  until  1749,  when  a  house  was  built,  and 
Rev.  Gideon  Ilawley,  afterwards  missionary  at  Marshpee, 


168  SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   WILDERNESS. 

became  the  teacher ;  and  when  he  retired,  it  was  instructed 
for  a  time  by  Rev.  Cotton  Mather  Smith.  But  the  school, 
owing  to  the  disturbances  occasioned  by  the  last  French 
War,  never  accomplished  the  sanguine  hopes  of  its  pro- 
jector and  patrons.  Still,  by  its  aid,  and  by  the  steady  op- 
eration of  the  common  school,  a  number  of  the  Indians 
received  a  really  respectable  education,  were  fitted  for  all 
the  ordinary  transactions  of  business,  and  uniformly  sus- 
tained a  portion  of  the  town  offices. 

From  first  to  last,  of  the  continuance  of  the  mission, 
about  one  hundred  Indians  became  professors  of  Christian- 
ity. At  first,  ignorant  of  their  language,  Mr.  Sergeant  in- 
structed them  by  the  aid  of  an  interpreter,  but  this  was 
working  at  a  disadvantage,  and  three  years  after  his  settle- 
ment among  them,  he  began  to  speak  to  them  of  religion 
in  their  own  language.  At  about  this  time,  the  settlement 
had  an  accession  to  its  number  of  the  four  English  settlers 
for  whom  provision  had  been  made  in  the  laying  out  of  the 
town.  Three  of  them — Col.  Ephraim  Williams,  Josiah 
Jones  and  Ephraim  Brown — came  from  the  Eastern  or 
central  portion  of  the  Colony,  while  Joseph  Woodbridge, 
the  brother  of  the  school-mastei*,  went  from  Springfield,  on 
the  West  side  of  the  river.  This  accession,  while  it  bene- 
fited the  mission  and  the  missionaries  in  many  ways,  in- 
creased very  materially  the  labors  of  Mr.  Sergeant,  who 
then  became  obliged  to  preach  in  both  languages.  And, 
indeed,  his  life  was  one  of  great  and  varied  labor.  He 
translated  the  more  important  portions  of  the  Bible  into 
the  Indian  language,  carried  on  an  extensive  correspond- 
ence with  the  friends  and  patrons  of  the  mission,  and 
maintained  intimate  personal  relations  with  his  flock.  This- 
arduous  work  he  carried  on  until  1749,  when  he  died,  at 
the  comparatively  early  age  of  39.  The  effect  of  his  la- 
bors upon  his  savage  pastorate  was  marked  and  happy,  in 
all  the  features  of  the  civilization  that  sprang  up  beneath 
his  assiduous  hand.  Following  him  as  the  pastor  of  this 
interesting  church  came  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  of  North- 
ampton. Here  this  learned  and  remarkable  man  attended 
most  acceptably  to  the  duties  of  the  mfnistry,  and  found 
time  to  complete  his  great  work,  '  The  Inquiry  concerning 
.the  freedom  of  the  Will,'  to  compose  his  treatise  on  Origi- 
nal Sin,  and  to  carry  forward  and  complete  other  works 


THE    STOCKBRIDGE    MISSION.  169 

that  subsequently  appeared.  In  1758,  he  accepted  the 
Presidency  of  Princeton  College,  but  he  died  soon  after 
assuming  the  duties  of  his  new  station.  President  Ed- 
wards won  a  name  as  a  metaphysician  and  theologian,  sec- 
ond to  none  in  America,  of  which  his  works,  read  with 
increasing  interest,  for  their  vigor,  wonderful  clearness, 
and  marvellous  exhibitions  of  familiarity  with  the  opera- 
tions of  the  human  heart,  are  the  abiding  monument. 
Rev.  Dr.  vStephen  West  succeeded  Pres.  Edwards  in  Stock- 
bridge,  in  1759,  but  in  1775,  the  white  inhabitants  of  the 
town  having  increased  very  much  meanwhile,  he  relin- 
quished his  charge  of  the  Indians  to  Mr.  Sergeant,  the  son 
of  the  original  missionary  already  alluded  to  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Mr.  Woodbridge  in  the  school,  and  preached  only 
to  the  English.  Mr.  Sergeant  maintained  the  relation  of 
pastor  to  the  Indians  while  they  remained  in  Stockbridge, 
and  subsequently  removed  to  their  new  home,  where  he 
continued  until  his  death  in  1824.  It  is  a  singular  fact  in 
the  history  of  Dr.  "West  that,  by  reading  the  writings  of 
his  predecessor,  and  by  conversations  with  his  friend.  Rev. 
Samuel  Hopkins  of  Great  Barrington,  he  became  con- 
vinced of  his  lack  of  Christianity,  gave  up  his  Christian 
hope,  and  became  the  subject  of  a  new,  and  as  he  trusted, 
genuine  religious  experience,  after  he  had  been  for  some 
time  instructing  his  Stockbridge  flock  in  the  things  of  re- 
ligion. 

In  1735,  the  communication  between  the  Connecticut 
River  settlements  and  the  lower  Housatonic  township  be- 
came so  considerable,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  cut  a 
road  from  Westfield  to  the  new  settlement  at  the  "West. 
This  road  divided  the  gift  of  land  subsequently  made  by 
the  Stockbridge  Indians  to  the  Government,  and  on  the 
15th  of  January,  in  the  year  above  mentioned,  the  General 
Court  ordered  that  four  toAvnships  should  be  laid  out  upon 
the  road  between  Westfield  and  Shefrield,  contiguous  in 
position,  and  either  joining  Sheffield,  or  the  towiishij> 
granted  in  1732  to  proprietors  of  common  and  undivided 
lands  in  Suffield,  Ct.,  as  an  equivalent  for  lands  taken  from 
them  in  establishing  the  dividing  line  between  INlassachu- 
setts  and  Connecticut, — a  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
town  of  Blandford.  These  towns  were  to  be  "  six  miles 
square,  to  contain  each  sixty-three  home-lots,  laid  out  in 

15 


170  SETTLK.MENT    OF    THE    WILDERNESS. 

compact  and  defensible  form,  one  of  which  was  to  be  for 
the  first  settled  minister,  one  for  the  second  settled  minis- 
ter, one  for  schools,  and  one  for  each  grantee,  which  shall 
draw  equal  shares  in  all  future  divisions."  It  was  further 
provided  that  the  grantees  should  be  such  petitioners  as 
had  not  been  grantees  and  settlers  for  the  seven  years  pre- 
ceding, and  as  should  give  security  in  £40  each  for  the 
performance  of  the  usual  conditions.  Ebenezer  Burrill 
and  Edmund  Quincy,  of  the  upper  House,  and  John  Ash- 
ley, Capt.  Stephen  SkitFe  and  John  Fisher  of  the  Assem- 
bly, were  appointed  a  Committee  to  open  these  townships ; 
and  lay  out  and  grant  the  lands.  The  townships  were 
numbered  1,  2,  3  and  4,  No.  1  being  the  town  of  Tyring- 
ham ;  2,  New  Marlborough ;  3,  Sandisfield ;  and  4,  Becket. 
Thus  was  completed  a  string  of  contiguous  townships  from 
the  Connecticut  to  the  Western  boundary  of  the  patent. 

The  Indian  title  to  the  lauds  contained  in  the  new  tOAvn- 
ships  was  extinguished,  the  purchase  also  embracing  lands 
known  afterwards  as  the  North  and  South  Eleven  Thou- 
sand acres,  and  the  Tyringham  Equivalent,  or  lands  grant- 
ed to  proprietors  of  Tyringham  for  certain  losses  sustained 
by  the  interference  of  private  grants,  and  the  encroach- 
ment made  by  the  survey  of  the  upper  Housatonic  town- 
ship. This  increase  of  territory  induced  the  General 
Court  to  increase  the  proprietors  in  each  township  to  67, 
and  between  the  four  toAvnships  the  North  Eleven  Thou- 
sand acres,  called  Bethlehem,  and  the  South  Eleven  Thou- 
sand acres,  called  Southfield,  were  divided.  Bethlehem 
and  Loudon,  (the  name  given  to  the  Tyringham  equiva- 
lent,) now  constitute  the  town  of  Otis,  while  Southfield  is 
embraced  within  the  present  bounds  of  Sandisfield. 

Tyringham  and  New  Marlboro  received  their  first  set- 
tlers in  1739.  A  saw-mill  Avas  erected  by  a  few  individu- 
als in  Becket  in  1740,  but  from  fear  of  the  Indians  tho 
settlement  was  abandoned,  and  not  until  1755,  was  a  per- 
manent settlement  made.  Sandisfield  received  its  first 
English  population  in  1750.  The  present  town  of  Great 
Bari'ington,  formed  of  portions  of  both  the  upper  and 
lower  Housatonic  townships,  was  settled  as  eai'ly  as  1730, 
and  in  1740,  was  established  as  the  second  parish  of  Slief- 
field.  Egremont,  on  the  boundary  line  between  Massa- 
,-g{ius«tt*  aod  New  York,  ;iiud  composed  ©f  tcri'itory  tak«u 


RECORI>    OF    XEW    SETTLEMENTS.  171 

fx'Oin  the  lower  Housatonic  township,  the  original  Lidian 
reservation  in  that  township  extending  through  the  town, 
was  settled  about  1730,  though  it  is  supposed  to  have  been 
settled  at  an  earlier  period  by  individuals  from  New  York, 
who  considered  themselves  within  the  boundaries  of  that 
colony.  There  were  probably  some  inhabitants  in  the 
town  of  Alford,  taken  subsequently  from  the  Housatonic 
township,  to  a  large  extent,  as  early  as  1740. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  these  Western  townships,  shows 
how  the  strength  and  population  of  the  colonies  had  in- 
creased from  the  days  when  the  settlements  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  were  in  their  infancy.  A  difficult  I'oad 
was  cut  frofti  the  new  settlements  to  the  more  populous 
towns  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  almost  at  once.  Prelim- 
inaries were  arranged  with  rapidity,  settlers  were  abun- 
dant, private  means  were  not  wanting,  and  the  long  century 
of  struggle  tj,irough  which  the  towns  upon  the  Connecticut 
passed  was  contracted  upon  the  Housatonic,  to  a  brief  and 
comparatively  unimportant  space  of  time.  In  1731,  the 
inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Hampshire  County  bordering 
its  Eastern  boundary,  with  those  on  the  territory  adjoining, 
had  become  so  considerable  in  numbers,  that  they  were  set 
off  into  a  distinct  county  by  the  name  of  Worcester.  In 
the  Autumn  of  1735,  the  first  settlement  was  made  at 
Blandford.  Settlements  were  commenced  in  the  present 
towns  of  Colerain  and  Charlemont  not  far  from  this  time, 
and  all  was  progressing  pi'osperously,  when  another  period 
of  disturbance  and  war  broke  in  upon  the  peaceful  and 
prosperous  labors  of  the  inhabitants 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Resumption  of  French  and  Indian  Hostilities. 

In  1744,  war  was  declared  between  England  and  France, 
and  again,  as  on  every  previous  occasion,  the  American 
Colonies  of  the  two  Governments  were  thrown  into  imme- 
diate hostility.  Though  a  number  of  Indians  had  returned 
to  the  region  of  the  Connecticut,  and  had  not  only  lived  at 
peace  with  the  inhabitants,  but  pi-ofessed  for  them  the  firm- 
est friendship,  the  first  scent  of  war  set  them  wild,  and 
transformed  them  into  the  most  pitiless  of  enemies.  Leav- 
ing their  lodges,  they  all  started  for  Canada,  even  dis- 
charging their  guns  upon  the  houses  of  the  frontier  settlers, 
as  they  retired  into  the  Northern  wilderness,  to  place 
themselves  at  the  service  of  the  French.  The  Massachu- 
setts General  Court,  in  consequence  of  the  onset  of  war, 
ordered  the  establishment  of  a  line  of  forts,  to  protect  the 
North  Western  frontiers  of  the  colony,  or,  rather,  to  inter- 
cept the  descent  upon  the  settlements  of  such  of  the  ene- 
my as  might  choose  that  passage,  while  Fort  Dummer, 
built  some  twenty  years  earlier,  in  the  present  town  of 
Vernon,  Vt.,  was  relied  upon  to  guard  the  more  favorite 
route  down  the  Connecticut.  Accordingly,  a  fort  was  es- 
tablished at  Hoosac,  now  Adams,  and  called  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts ;  another  in  the  present  town  of  Heath,  called 
Fort  Shirley ;  and  another  in  Rowe,  called  Fort  Pelham. 
These  forts  were,  of  course,  built  at  the  expense  of  the 
colony,  while  the  Government  made  grants  as  a  return  for 
the  erection  of  minor  works  at  the  more  exposed  points  of 
settlement.  Tliere  was  a  small  fort  at  Blandford,  as  well 
for  the  protection  of  the  settlers,  as  a  road-station  for  the 
safety  and  accommodation  of  the  travel  between  the  Con- 
necticut and  the  Hudson  rivers.  For  the  new  forts,  and 
for  the  replenishment  of  the  forces  in  the  old,  five  hundred 
men  were  raised,  two-fifths  of  the  number  being  designed 
for  the  Western  part  of  the  colony,  and  powder  in  large 
quantities  was  sent  out  to  the  frontier  towns  to  be  sold  at 
^i-st  cost.  # 


RENEWAL    OF    INDIAN    TUOUBLES.  173 

At  this  time,  Col.  John  Stoddard,*of  Northampton,  a 
man  of  mark,  decision,  and  larise  influence,  was  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Hampsliire  regiment,  and  to  him  was  in- 
trusted the  defense  of  the  Western  frontiers.  The  "West- 
ern forts  were  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  Capt. 
Ephraim  Williams,  who  had  his  head  quarters  at  Fort 
Massachusetts,  and  who  managed  affairs  with  great  indus- 
try and  efficiency.  Scouts,  assisted  by  companies  of 
trained  dogs,  were  kept  constantly  passing  fi-om  fort  to 
fort,  to  detect  any  trail  of  Indians,  and  to  see  that  no  body 
of  the  enemy  passed  their  line  of  survey  without  their 
knowledge.  Scouts  were  induced  to  enter  into  this  ar- 
duous work  by  a  bounty  of  £30  offered  by  the  province 
for  every  Indian  scalp.  But  no  Indians  made  their  ap- 
pearance during  the  year  1744,  and  though  they  made 
some  not  very  important  demonstrations  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  forts,  in  1745,  the  vigilance  of  the  scouts  during  the 
entire  year  Avas  rewarded  with  no  discovery  of,  or  collision 
with,  the  enemy.  In  the  following  year,  numerous  petty 
visitations  of  savage  cruelty  were  made  upon  the  frontier 
settlements  of  New  Hampshire.  An  attack  was  made, 
upon  a  fortified  house  in  Bernardston,  but  the  Indiana 
were  repulsed  by  three  men,  who  killed  two  of  the  enemy. 
John  Burke,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town,  a  man 
who,  subsequently,  won  a  high  reputation  in  the  field,  was 
one  of  the  defenders  of  the  house,  and  received  a  slight 
wound.  This  attack  was  followed  up  Avith  small  demon- 
strations, in  various  quarters,  though  they  were  chiefly 
made  upon  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  Hampshire. 
The  Indians,  on  retiring  from  Bernardston,  passed  through 
the  territory  of  Colerain,  and  Mathew  Clark,  his  wife  and 
daughter,  Avith  a  guard  of  tAvo  soldiers,  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade prepared  by  them,  and  Mr.  Clark  was  killed ;  but  the 
soldiers  returned  the  fire,  and  succeeding  in  killing  one  of 
the  enemy,  so  far  checked  them  that  they  managed  to  get 
into  an  adjacent  fort  Avith  their  charge.  John  Hawks 
and  John  Mills  Avere  Avounded  near  Fort  Massachusetts,  on 
the  same  day,  but  succeeded  in  getting  Avithin  the  Avails 
Avithout  losing  their  lives.  In  fact,  the  attack  A\'as  made 
by  only  two  Indians,  and  llaAvks  continuing  the  fight  after 
Mills  had  retreated,  might  have  taken  both  the  enemy 
prisoners,  as  they  asked  for  quarter,  but  he  did  not  uuder- 

15* 


174  WAR   WITH   FRANCE. 

stand  tlieir  language.  In  July,  Benjamin  Wright  received 
a  mortal  wound  at  Northfield,  and  a  man  named  Bliss  was 
killed  at  Greenfield.  During  the  same  month,  Elisha 
Nims  and  Gershom  Hawks,  belonging  to  a  reconnoitering 
party  sent  out  from  Fort  Massachusetts,  were  wounded 
badly,  and  Benjamin  Tenter  taken  captive. 

No  attacks  ot"  importance  took  place,  from  this  time  un- 
til the  20th  of  August,  when  an  army  of  French  and  In- 
dians, under  Gen.  De  Vaudreuil,  their  numbers  variously 
stated  at  800  (Hoyt)  and  900  (Rev.  John  Taylor,  in  his 
appendix  to  Williams'  "  Redeemed  Captive,")  appeared 
before  Fort  Massachusetts.  A  more  unfortunate  time  for 
the  garrison  could  not  have  been  chosen,  as  its  ammunition 
was  nearly  exhausted,  and  there  were  but  22  able  men  in 
the  fort.  The  French  General  made  propositions  to  Serg. 
John  Hawks,  then  in  command  of  the  fort,  to  surrender, 
but  he  declined,  thinking,  perhaps,  that  succor  might  reach 
him  during  the  time  which  he  might  be  able  to  delay  his 
surrender.  The  attack  was  accordingly  commenced,  and 
the  brave  little  garrison  defended  the  fort  against  forty 
times  their  number,  for  twenty-eight  hours.  During  all  this 
time,  the  enemy  were  kept  at  a  respectful  distance,  and 
some  of  them  were  shot,  at  the  long  reach  of  sixty  rods, 
when  they  supposed  themselves  entirely  beyond  the  arm 
of  danger.  At  the  end  of  this  long  and  most  gallant  de- 
fense, the  ammunition  of  the  garrison  became  exhausted, 
and  no  choice  but  surrender  was  left,  and  even  then  the 
commander  of  the  garrison  made  his  terms.  One  of  the 
conditions  was  that  none  of  the  prisoners,  numbering  33 
men,  women  and  children,  should  be  delivered  to  the  In- 
dians. Vaudreuil  made  the  pledge,  and  the  very  next  day, 
under  the  pretense  that  the  Indians  were  mutinous  in  con- 
sequence of  withholding  prisoners  from  them,  one  half  of 
the  number  Avere  delivered  over  to  them,  and  one  of  the 
number  was  immediately  killed,  in  consequence  of  being 
too  sick  to  travel.  The  garrison  lost  but  one  man  in  the 
attack,  while  the  enemy  lost,  in  killed  and  mortally  wounded, 
forty-five.  The  captives  were  treated  as  humanely  as  cir- 
cumstances would  alloAv,  and  all  but  the  murdered  man  ar- 
rived in  Canada.  Twelve  of  them,  however,  were  taken 
sick  and  died  there,  but  the  remainder,  with  other  prison- 
^•ers,  arrived  at  Boston  on  the  16tli  of  August,  1747,  nearly 


J 


THE   "UARS   FIGHT."  175 

a  year  after  their  capture,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  were 
redeemed.  This  affair,  one  of  the  most  gaUant  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  frontier  wars,  has  invested  tlie  locaHty 
of  old  Fort  Massachusetts  with  patriotic  associations,  such 
as  attach  to  few  of  the  points  made  interesting  by  having 
been  the  scene  of  border  struggles,  and  is  regarded  and 
spoken  of  with  affectionate  pride  by  those  living  in  its  vi- 
cinity. That  Serg.  Hawks  would  never  have  surrendered 
if  his  ammunition  had  not  failed  him,  is  very  certain,  and, 
as  it  was,  the  victory  won  by  Vaudreuil  was  no  subject  of 
boasting. 

About  fifty  of  Vaudreuil's  Indians  separated  from  the 
main  body,  after  the  surrender  of  Fort  Massachusetts,  for 
another  visit  to  the  old  scene  of  their  depredations,  at 
Deerfield.  They  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  on 
Sunday,  the  24th  of  August,  and  reconnoitered  the  mead- 
ows to  find  a  feasible  point  for  securing  captives,  as  the 
people  should  go  to  work  on  Monday.  A  quantity  of  hay 
in  the  South  Meadow  led  them  to  suppose  that  men  would 
be  there  to  gather  it.  This  was  at  a  point  known  as  "  The 
Bars,"  and  concealing  themselves  in  the  brush  and  under- 
wood that  covered  the  bordering  hills,  they  awjiited  their 
prey.  Near  the  gi'ound  were  two  houses,  occupied  re- 
spectively by  families  of  the  name  of  Amsden  and  Allen. 
The  laborers  of  these  families,  accompanied  by  several 
children,  and  numbering  some  ten  or  twelve  in  all,  went 
out  in  the  morning  to  labor  in  the  meadow,  the  men,  ac- 
cording to  tlieir  custom,  taking  their  arms.  They  com- 
menced their  labor  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  In- 
dians. At  this  moment,  Eleazer  Hawks  of  Deerfield,  who 
was  hunting  partridges  in  the  woods  very  near  the  Indians, 
caught  sight  of  a  bird,  and  discharged  his  piece.  The  In- 
dians supposing  themselves  to  be  discovered,  turned  upon 
him,  killed  and  scalped  him,  and  then  sprang  forward  to 
attack  the  workmen.  At  the  discharge  of  musketry,  the 
workmen,  with  the  children,  fled  towards  a  mill,  not  far  dis- 
tant, under  fierce  pursuit.  Simeon  Amsden,  a  lad,  was 
killed  and  scalped,  and  then  Samuel  Allen,  John  Sadler 
and  Adonijah  Gillet  made  a  brave  stand  aguinst  their  sav- 
age pursuers.  Allen  fought  desperately  for  liis  own  life 
and  the  lives  of  his  three  children.  At  the  last,  he  was 
obliged  to  fight  with  the  breech  of  his  nnisket,  and  thus 


176  WAR   WITH   FRANCE. 

Struggling,  he  fell  by  a  shot.     The  shirt  which  he  wore 
that  day,  torn  by  the  tomahawk  and  bullet,  is  still  pre- 
served by  his  descendants,  as  a  memento  of  his  bravery. 
Gillet  also  fell,  but  Sadler  escaped  across  the  river  under 
a  continued  fire  from  the  enemy.     Leaving  the  spot,  the 
Indians  pushed  after  those  who,  in  the  delay,  had  managed 
to  escape  towards  Deerfield.     Oliver  Amsden  was  over- 
taken, and  after  a  noble  struggle,  fell.     Eunice  Allen,  one 
of  the  children  of  Samuel  Allen,  was  knocked  down,  but 
escaped  scalping,  and  though  left  for  dead,  she  afterwards 
recovered,  and  lived  to  be  very  old,  always   retaining  a 
vivid   memory  of  the   event.     Samuel,  her  brother,  was 
captured,  while  Caleb  escaped  by  dodging  througli  a  field 
of  corn.     Alarmed  by  the  firing,  a  small  company  under 
Lieut.  Clesson  started  from  Deerfield  for  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion, but  only  had  occasion  to  engage  in  a  fl'uitless  pursuit 
of  the    retiring    enemy.      Another    party    pushed    on    to 
Charlemont,  to  intercept  the  mai'ch  of  the  Indians,  but  the 
latter  had  marched  too  rapidly,  and  succeeded  in  escaping 
with  young  Allen.     This  boy  remained  in  captivity  a  year 
and  nine  months,  when  he  was   redeemed  by  Col.  John 
Hawks,  the  gallant  defender  of  Fort  Massachusetts.     Col. 
Hawks  was  the  boy's  uncle,  and  though  the  young  captive 
was  miserably  dressed  and  fed,  and  covered  with  vermin, 
he  had  become  so  much  attached  to  the  Indian  life,  that  he 
was  very  reluctant  to  see  his  uncle  ;  and  when  he  came  into 
his  presence,  he  refused  to  speak  the  English  language, 
pretending  to  have  forgotten  it.     He  was  only  made  to 
leave  the  Indians  by  force,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  he 
maintained  his  admiration  of  the  savage  life,  and  his  recol- 
lections of  its  transcendant  pleasures. 

These  latter  demonstrations  closed  up  the  operations  of 
the  French  for  the  year,  for  they  had  something  more  im- 
portant to  think  of.  Shirley,  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
had  revived  the  old  and  often  defeated  project  of  invading 
Canada,  and  conquering  all  the  French  provinces  in  Amer- 
ica, and  made  the  representation  of  his  plan  to  the  Brit- 
ish Government.  His  plan  was  approved,  and  the  cole 
nies,  as  far  South  as  Virginia,  were  called  upon  to  furnish 
their  quota  of  men  for  the  expedition,  to  be  joined  by  a 
large  naval  and  land  force  from  England.  But  this  latter 
l^ce  did  not  arrive,  and  while  some  independent  opera- 


INDIANS    STILL    ACTIVE.  177 

tions  were  progressing  at  the  West,  news  was  received  of 
the  arrival  at  Nova  Scotia  of  a  very  large  fleet  from 
France — the  most  powerful  that  had  ever  visited  the  shores 
of  America.  This  immense  force  was  under  the  command 
of  the  Duke  d'  Anville,  whose  orders  were  to  destroy  Bos- 
ton, range  along  the  coast  of  America,  and  effect  otlier 
specified  objects.  The  arrival  of  this  fleet  threw  the  coun- 
try into  the  utmost  consternation,  and  concentrated  the 
attention  of  the  colonies  upon  the  single  subject  of  self  de- 
fense. A  few  weeks  of  intense  activity  and  preparation 
followed,  when  news  came  that,  by  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable series  of  disasters  recorded  in  history,  the  fleet 
and  force  were  broken  in  pieces,  and  their  objects  aban- 
doned. The  fleet  tliat  appeared  so  formidable,  returned 
shattered,  and  singly,  to  France. 

Following  an  unsuccessful  attack  on  the  fort  at  Charles- 
town,  New  Hampshii'e,  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  17i7, 
by  a  large  body  of  French  and  Indians  under  M.  Debe- 
line,  in  which  Capt.  Stevens,  with  30  men,  defended  the 
work  with  a  gallantry  only  equaled  by  that  of  the  garri- 
son in  Fort  Massachusetts  the  previous  year,  that  com- 
miinder's  forces  distributed  themselves  at  various  points 
upon  the  frontiers,  and  did  such  damage  as  opportunity  al- 
lowed. On  the  15th  of  April,  Asahel  Burt  and  Xuthuuiel 
Dickinson  of  Northfield,  were  killed  and  scalped  a  sliort 
distance  from  the  town,  and  the  Indians  in  retiring  burnt 
the  deserted  settlements  in  "Winchester  and  Lower  Ashue- 
lot,  N.  II.  During  this  year,  the  Massachusetts  Govei-n- 
ment  decided  to  rebuild  Fort  jNIassachusetts,  and  sent  a 
force  to  the  spot  to  effect  that  purpose.  On  the  2oth  of 
May,  while  this  work  was  in  progress,  and  while  several 
hundred  people  were  present,  the  Indians  had  assembled 
in  the  woods  near  it  for,  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the 
pi'ogress  of  the  enterprise.  At  this  time,  one  hundred 
men  were  on  the  march  from  All)any,  whither  they  had 
been  to  procure  stores  and  amnuniitiun.  The  vanguard 
of  this  force,  in  approaching  the  fort,  came  upon  the  In- 
dians, and  commenced  an  attack.  A  few  issued  from  the 
fort  to  their  assistance,  and  alter  a  brief  and  tame  skirmish 
the  Indians  retired,  probably  because  they  were  aware  that 
lai'ger  forces  were  in  the  vicinity.  The  charge  of  coward- 
ice has  been  made  against  those  who  remained  in  the  Ibrt, 


178  WAR    WITH   FRANCE. 

as  well  as  the  individual  in  command  of  the  convoy  of  the 
baggage-wagons.  In  the  following  July,  Eliakim  Sheldon 
of  Bernardston,  and  John  Mills  of  Colerain,  were  killed 
by  Indians.  On  the  26th  of  August,  Elijah  Clark  was 
killed  at  Southampton,  while  at  work  in  his  barn.  On  the 
first  of  October,  Peter  Bnrvee  was  taken  near  Fort  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  went  into  his  second  captivity  from  the 
same  spot,  having  been  one  of  the  number  under  Hawks, 
at  the  surrender  to  Vaudreuil.  About  this  time  John 
Smead  was  killed  and  scalped  while  on  his  way  from 
Northfield  to  Sunderland,  near  the  mouth  of  Miller's  River, 
and  "a  party  of  colonial  troops  from  the  Northfield  garri- 
son, while  on  a  scouting  expedition,  wounded  Pierre  Ram- 
bout,  a  French  officer,  who  surrendered  himself,  and  hav- 
ing been  cured,  was  sent  to  Boston,  from  whence  he  was 
taken  to  Canada  the  next  year,  in  charge  of  Col.  Hawks, 
the  hero  of  Fort  Massachusetts,  who  exchanged  him  for 
young  Allen  of  Deerfield,  the  particulars  of  whose  deliv- 
erance have  already  been  stated. 

The  policy  of  Connecticut,  in  protecting  itself  by  assist- 
ing the  settlers  upon  the  river  above  them,  was  imitated  by 
Massachusetts,  in  the  assistance  afforded  to  the  settlers 
upon  the  Connecticut,  within  the  province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  1748,  Massachusetts  took  measures  to  man  the 
fort  at  Charlestown,  with  an  efficient  force  under  the  gal- 
lant Captain  Stevens.  The  principal  movements  of  the 
enemy  this  year  had  connection  with  this  point,  and  but 
little  of  interest  occurred  upon  the  Connecticut.  In  May, 
Southampton  was  visited  again  by  Indians,  and  Noah  Pix- 
ley  murdered.  At  this  time  Col,  Stoddard  of  Northamp- 
ton was  at  Boston,  in  attendance  at  the  General  Court, 
where  he  died.  Hampshii-e  County  lost  in  him  an  efficient 
officer,  and  a  most  reliable  and  useful  man.  He  had  ful- 
filled many  offices  of  public  trust,  and  his  loss  Avas  deeply 
felt.  Col.  Israel  Williams  of  Hatfield  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him  in  the  command  of  the  "Western  forces  of  the 
colony.  About  this  time  a  skirmish  took  place  in  Marl- 
borough, Vt.,  which  has  so  many  associations  with  persons 
and  localities  coming  within  the  range  of  this  history,  as 
to  claim  a  notice.  A  detachment  of  42  soldiers,  under 
Captain  Humphrey  Hobbs  of  Springfield  and  Lieut.  Alex- 
'  ander  of  Northfield,  left  the  fort  at  Charlestown  for  Fort 


TIIK    "UOBBS    IIGHT."  179. 

Shirley  in  Heath.  Hobbs  had  halted  in  a  low  piece  of 
ground,  to  allow  his  men  opportunity  to  eat,  leaving  in  the 
rear  a  small  guard.  Previously,  one  Sackett,  a  halt-blood- 
ed Indian  chief,  supposed  to  be  the  descendant  of  a  captive 
taken  at  AVestficld,  had  discovered  the  passage  of  the  j^arty, 
and,  with  about  300  Indians,  followed  the  trail,  and  com- 
ing upon  the  euard,  drove  them  in.  Hobbs  did  not  know 
the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but  instantly  commanded  every 
man  to  take  his  tree,  and  fight.  Confident  in  the  power 
^of  his  numbers,  Sackett  rushed  in,  and  his  men  received  a 
murderous  fire,  which  killed  a  number,  and  immediately 
put  the  remainder  upon  their  caution  and  their  best  be- 
havior; and  there  the  two  parties  fought  for  four  hours. 
Hobbs  and  Sackett  were  old  acquaintances,  and  the  latter 
frequently  called  upon  the  foi'mer  to  surrender,  and  threat- 
ened, in  case  of  a  refusal,  to  close  in  and  finish  the  work 
with  the  tomahaAvk.  Hobbs  always  returned  a  defiant  an- 
SAver,  and  bade  him  put  his  thi-eats  into  execution.  The 
determination  of  Hobbs  was  too  much,  and  Sackett  re- 
treated, taking  witli  him  his  dead  and  wounded — a  large 
number.  His  force  Avas  at  least  six  times  that  of  Hobbs, 
AV'hile  the  latter  lost  but  tliree  men,  and  oidy  three  more 
Avere  Avounded. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  Aaron  Belding  was  killed  in  North- 
field  Street,  and  on  the  2d  of  August  a  body  of  tAvo  hun- 
dred Indians  made  a  demonstration  of  their  presence  at 
Fort  Massachusetts,  at  that  time  garrisoned  by  100  men 
under  Capt.,  afterAvards  Col.,  Ephraim  AYilliams.  A  scout 
of  tour  men,  at  some  distance  from  the  fort,  Avere  fired 
upon,  Avhen  Captain  AVillianis  sallied  Avith  thirty  men,  and 
driving  the  enemy  a  little  distance,  fell  into  an  ambuscade 
of  fifty  Indians,  Avho  attempted  to  intercept  his  retreat  to 
the  fort,  but  his  movements  Avere  too  rajtid  for  the  enemy, 
and  he  regained  the  fort  Avith  the  loss  of  one  man,  named 
Abbot.  The  enemy,  to  tlie  number  of  300,  then  appeared, 
and  opened  a  spirited  lire  upon  the  fort,  Avhich  Avas  re- 
turned with  such  success  that  at  the  end  of  tAvo  hours  they 
despaired  of  effecting  anything,  and  Avithdrew,  taking  with 
them  their  dead  and  Avounded.  The  treaty  of  peace  be- 
tween England  and  France,  signed  at  Aix  la  Chapelle  on 
the  7th  of  October,  though  it  did  not  produce  an  immedi- 
ate effect  upon  tlie  movements  of  the  Indians,  dated  the 


180  RETURN   OF   PEACE. 

cessation  of  hostilities  in  "Western  Massachusetts  for  the 
time  and  occasion,  and  again  settlements  were  established 
on  every  side,  and  a  few  years  of  peace  gave  old  Hamp- 
shire another  step  in  her  slowly  graduated  progress. 


I 


.^ 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Revolt  of  the  Connecticut  Towns — The  Crown 
Pines — The  Hampshire  Bar. 

Incidental  and  very  brief  mention  has  been  made  of 
the  result  of  the  line  established  in  1713,  between  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts,  thvowinirr,  as  it  did,  several 
towns  previously  supposed  to  be  within  the  Massachusetts 
patent,  and  actually  under  the  Massachusetts  jurisdiction, 
into  the  territory  of  its  vSouthern  neighbor.  When  this 
line  was  established,  it  was  agreed  between  the  two  colo- 
nies that,  although  the  towns  of  Woodstock,  Somers,  Suf- 
field  and  Entield  came  within  Connecticut,  those  towns 
should  remain  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts ; 
and,  as  an  equivalent  for  this,  the  latter  colony  granted  to 
Connecticut  certain  lands.  These  lands  were  contained 
mostly  in  the  present  towns  of  Belchertown,  Ware  and 
Pelham,  and  they  were  sold  by  Connecticut,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds appropriated  by  that  colony  for  the  benefit  of  Yale 
College.  From  the  date  of  this  arrangement  imtil  1750, 
the  people  in  these  Massachusetts  towns  in  Connecticut 
had  remained  contentedly  under  the  Massachusetts  Gov- 
ernment, but  the  series  of  wars  which  have  been  narrated 
had  borne  so  unequally  upon  the  res[)ective  colonies  that 
the  peace  of  Aix  la  Cliapelle  found  Massachusetts  bur- 
dened with  taxes,  and  a  large  debt,  while  Connecticut  stood 
comparatively  easy  in  these  respects.  The  towns  alluded 
to,  being  embraced  in  lines  of  colonial  boundary  where  the 
taxes  were  comparatively  light,  and  seeing  themselves  lia- 
ble to  bear  an  increase  in  consequence  of  the  debt  remain- 
ing upon  their  parent  State,  conceived  the  project  of  re- 
volting from  their  Government,  and  attaching  themselves 
to  Connecticut.  They  refused  to  pay  the  taxes  assessed 
upon  them,  and  the  Massachusetts  Government  acting  with 
but  little  spirit  in  the  matter,  the  Connecticut  Legislature 
resolved  to  receive  the  towns  into  that  jurisdiction.  The 
Massachusetts  Government  did  not  acknowledge  this  trans- 
fer, and  made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  compel  the  inhab- 

1G 


182  CIVIL    AFFAIRS. 

itants  to  submission.  For  twenty  years  following  the  re- 
volt, tlie  towns  were  regularly  assessed  in  Massachusetts, 
though  the  taxes  were  not  levied.  There  was  something 
extremely  trickish  about  this  operation  of  Connecticut,  and 
something  having  very  much  the  look  of  imbecility  and 
cowardice  in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  treated  by  Massa- 
chusetts. Connecticut  had  received  from  Massachusetts 
an  equivalent  in  land  for  these  towns.  She  had  sold  this 
land,  every  acre  of  it,  and  appropriated  the  money  to  her 
own  uses.  Yet,  in  less  than  forty  years,  she  encouraged 
the  towns  in  question  to  revolt,  received  them  under  her 
wing,  and  justified  herself  in  the  theft,  without  ofiermg 
any  equivalent.  Many  a  Government  has  made  war  on  a 
slighter  pretext  than  this  matter  furnished  to  Massachu- 
setts, but,  judging  from  the  action  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
premises,  she  either  did  not  consider  the  towns  worth  fight- 
ing for,  or  was  willing  to  sacrifice  them  in  order  to  escape 
an  unpleasant  controversy. 

To  make  operative  a  provision  of  the  colonial  charter 
of  1691,  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  passed  a  law  in 
1743,  forbidding  the  cutting  of  all  pine  trees  on  ungranted 
land,  of  the  diameter  of  24  inches  at  the  distance  of  12 
feet  above  the  ground.  These  were  reserved  by  the  Brit- 
ish Government,  as  masts  for  the  Navy.  A  Surveyor 
General  of  the  woods  of  America  was  appointed  by  the 
British  Government,  at  a  high  salary,  to  look  after  these 
trees,  who  operated  through  his  deputies  at  various  points. 
The  law  was  a  very  unpopular  one,  and  very  generally 
disregarded.  Massachusetts  was  not,  to  any  large  extent, 
a  pine-growing  region,  but  the  Sui'veyor  General  had  his 
local  ofRcers  to  look  after  the  pine  trees  upon  the  Connecti- 
cut. Many  logs  were  seized  at  Springfield,  and  ])oints 
above,  that  had  been  floated  down  fi'om  New  Hampshire, 
and  though  the  transgressoi's  of  the  law  implicated  in  these 
seizures  were  taken  to  Boston,  and  tried  by  a  kind  of  na- 
val court,  nothing  effectual  or  material  seems  to  have  been 
accomplished.  The  contempt  in  which  the  law  was  held, 
in  the  Connecticut  River  towns,  is  made  abundantly  evi- 
dent by  a  piteously  complaining  letter,  written  from  North- 
ampton by  Eleazer  Burt  and  Elijah  Lyman,  as  late  as  the 
Spring  of  17fi4,  to  Governor  Bernard.  They  allude  to 
,-  iheir  appointment  by  Benning  Wentworth,  the  Surveyor 


I 
I 


« 


Tlin    nAMPSIIIRE    CAR.  183 

appointed  by  the  crown,  to  seize  and  mark  such  trees  as 
should  come  within  the  specified  provisions,  witli  the  figure 
of  the  broad  arrow,  and  secure  tliem  in  some  safe  place ; 
and  then  they  state  that,  though  they  began  their  work 
they  found  it  very  hard  to  hire  hands,  "  almost  every  one 
being  against  it."  They  proceed :  "  Yet  we  marked  for 
his  majesty's  use  363  trees  and  logs  in  Northampton,  but 
they  were  all  taken  away  from  us  but  thirty-seven,  some 
in  the  night,  and  some  in  the  day-time,  in  open  defiance  of 
law,  and  no  officer  appeared  in  our  behalf.  We  are  threat- 
ened, if  we  pursue  our  orders,  of  being  beat,  knocked  down 
and  killed.  We  applied  to  Samuel  Mather  Esq.,  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  for  his  assistance,  but  he  utterly  refused  to 
aid  us.  He  utterly  refused  to  read  your  proclamation  of 
July  9th,  1763,  though  he  said  he  had  not  seen  it.  He 
said  the  Governor  did  not  understand  the  affair ;  if  he  had, 
he  would  not  have  put  out  such  a  proclamation.  We  then 
applied  to  Israel  Williams  Esq.,  [appointed  commander  of 
the  Hampshire  regiment  of  militia  in  1748,]  for  assistance. 
He  read  the  proclamation,  and  said  he  did  not  see  as  he 
was  obliged  to  give  us  a  warrant  to  press  men  for  our  as- 
sistance." This  letter  shows  how  entirely  otfensive  the 
law  was  to  the  people  upon  the  Connecticut,  and  with  how 
little  efficiency  it  was  enforced. 

For  many  years  after  the  establishment  of  Courts  in 
Hampshire  County,  the  bar  was  not  distinguished  by  high 
intelligence,  or  exact  and  extensive  legal  knowledge.  It 
was  not  until  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  18th  century  that  an  improvement  be- 
gan to  be  witnessed,  which  advanced  until  the  Hampshire 
bar  was  one  of  the  most  respectable,  not  to  say  brilliant,  in 
the  colony.  According  to  the  admirable  address  delivered 
before  the  Hampshire  bar  in  1826,  by  Hon.  George  Bliss, 
this  improvement  was  attributable  mainly  to  three  men, 
viz :  Phinehas  Lyman  of  Suffield,  John  Worthington  of 
Springfield,  and  Joseph  Ilawley  of  Northampton.  Mr. 
Lyman  commenced  practice  in  Suffield  in  1743,  became  a 
distinguished  advocate,  and  acquired  an  extensive  practice. 
Worthington  and  Ilawley  were  both  liis  pupils,  and,  on  the 
admission  of  the  former  to  the  bar,  he  immediately  took  a 
high  stand,  and  Lyman,  doubtless,  saw  in  the  promise  of 
the  young  man,  something  that  might  rival  and  overshadoAV 


184  CIVIL    AFFAIRS. 

himself.  Whetlier  this  fact  had  any  effect  upon  Mr.  Ly- 
man's mind,  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  say,  but  he  be- 
came the  prime  mover  of  the  revolt  of  the  town  of  his 
residence  and  its  affiliated  neighbors  to  Connecticut.  No 
apparent  motive  existed  for  this  action,  and  it  has  been  at- 
tributed, whether  justly  or  otherwise,  to  jealousies  which 
cautioned  him  to  forsake  a  field  that  was  soon  to  be  dis- 
puted with  him,  and  seek  a  new  one.  It  would  seem  not 
altogether  improbable  that  a  man  who  could  engage  in  the 
work  of  cheating  a  colony  out  of  its  fairly  purchased  ter- 
ritory, might  have  an  unmanly  motive  at  the  basis  of  his 
action.  At  the  time  Worthiugton  and  Hawley  came  to  the 
bar,  the  practice  was  characterized  with  that  illiberality, 
and  that  arbitrary  folly  which,  based  on  nice  technicalities, 
crushes  riglit  beneath  the  heel  of  a  word,  and  strangles 
equity  in  the  embrace  of  form.  But  this  state  of  things 
broke  gradually  down  under  the  influence  of  these  larger 
and  more  liberal  minds.  While  these  men  were  in  active 
life,  a  number  of  rules  of  practice  were  established,  one 
of  which  produced  a  much  needed  uniformity,  in  requiring 
all  students  to  read  law  three  years  before  they  could  re- 
ceive a  recommendation  for  admission  to  the  bar.  Worth- 
ington  and  Hawley  became  so  eminent,  that  they  were  em- 
ployed in  all  tlie  important  trials.  Worthington  occupied 
an  important  military  position  as  well  as  legal.  After  the 
military  division  of  the  county,  into  two  regiments,  he  was 
chosen  the  commander  of  the  Southern  regiment,  and  was 
ever  afterwards  known  as  Colonel  Woi'thington.  He  was 
a  man  of  liberal  attainments,  and,  as  an  advocate,  nervous, 
brilliant  and  effective,  possessing  withal  a  good  degree  of 
that  "  popular  talent "  which  gave  him  influence  and  fame. 
Hawley  was  a  grave,  solemn,  conscientious  and  noble  man, 
— a  man  whose  opinions  always  carried  great  weight,  for 
his  integrity  and  soundness  were  proverbial.  So  profound 
was  his  conscientiousness,  that  it  is  said  that  he  would  not 
engage  in  a  case  in  which  he  believed  his  client's  cause 
was  not  on  the  side  of  justice.  After  he  had  engaged,  he 
sometimes  would  drop  his  case,  if  it  became  apparent  to 
him  that  he  was  on  the  wrong  side.  This  was  carrying 
things  to  extremes,  and  becoming  judge  and  jury  as  well 
as  attorney,  but  it  illustrates  the  character  of  the  man — his 
,.btrength  as  well  as  his  weakness.     He  was  deeply  versed 


THE   HAMPSHIRE    BAR.  185 

in  the  old  legal  authors,  and  attached  to  the  ancient  forma 
of  English  practice,  Avhile  Worthington,  less  profound  and 
more  facile  and  liberal,  was  better  versed  in  more  modern 
authors,  and  those  intermediate  modifications  of  commercial 
and  mercantile  law  which  had  given  to  the  latter  their 
freer  spirit  and  more  extended  survey.  Worthington  was 
a  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  accustomed  to  the  usages  of  po- 
lite society ;  Hawley  was  a  Puritan  in  the  staid  style  of 
his  deportment,  as  well  as  in  the  religious  complexion  of 
his  mind  and  life.  Both  were  honorable,  both  upright, 
both  powerful,  and  both  industrious.  Hawley  died  at  the 
age  of  64,  and  Worthington  lived  to  be  upwards  of  80. 
During  the  early  part  of  their  professional  lives,  their  co- 
temporaries  in  legal  practice  were  Oliver  Partridge  of  Hat- 
field, Charles  Phelps  of  Hadley,  Josiah  Dwight  of  AYest- 
field,  John  Ashley  of  Lower  Housatonic,  and  Cornelius 
Jones  of  Springfield,  the  latter  a  brilliant  pettifogger,  who 
commenced  his  career  in  Springfield  as  a  tailor,  and  doubt- 
less slid  naturally  from  suits  in  linsey,  to  suits  at  law. 

16* 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Concluding  French  and  Indian  War. 

The  peace  procured  by  the  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle 
was  but  temporary,  and  appears  to  have  been  intended  as 
an  opportunity  for  maturing  fui-ther  plans  for  prosecuting 
the  war.  The  French  were  striving  to  repair  the  disad- 
vantages they  labored  under  in  being  excluded  from  the 
Atlantic  coast,  by  extending  their  possessions  from  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  on  tlie  North,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  on  the  South,  through  the  intermediate 
lakes  and  rivers.  The  first  collisions  occun-ed  on  the 
Ohio,  where  the  Ohio  Company,  under  an  English  charter, 
were  making  their  surveys,  and  the  French  erecting  their 
forts.  Actual  hostilities  being  thus  precipitated,  orders 
came  from  England  to  dislodge  the  French  from  their  posts 
on  the  Ohio,  with  a  recommendation  for  the  several  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America  to  form  some  plan  of  union  for 
defense.  In  accordance  with  this  recommendation,  a  con- 
vention was  held  at  Albany,  on  the  14th  of  June,  1754, 
consisting  of  delegates  from  Massachusetts,  New  Hump- 
shire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land, with  the  Governor  and  Council  of  New  York ;  and 
a  plan  of  union  was  proposed  and  adopted,  Connecticut 
only  dissenting.  But  the  plan  was  rejected  by  the  several 
Colonial  Assemblies,  as  well  as  by  the  King's  Council,  and 
thus  the  colonies  entered  into  the  chances  of  the  war,  di- 
vided as  before,  in  fact  and  force. 

Previous  to  the  commencement  of  these  difficulties,  set- 
tlements had  been  somewhat  extended  in  the  Western  part 
of  old  Hampshire.  In  1752,  Solomon  Deming  removed  to 
Pontoosuc, — the  present  town  of  Pittsfield, — from  Weth- 
ersfield,  Ct.,  and  built  his  house  in  the  Eastern  part  of  the 
town.  In  the  following  year,  a  company  of  men,  of  whom 
Mr.  Deming  was  one,  were  incorporated  as  the  proprietors 
of  the  new  township,  and  a  small  settlement  was  made. 
The  townships  of  East  and  West  Hoosac,  containing  the 
,jjresent  towns  of  Adams  and  Williamstown,  were  surveyed 


TROUBLE   IN   THE   WESTERN   TOTVNS.  187 

by  a  committee  appomted  by  the  General  Court.  "West 
Iloosac  received  a  small  settlement  in  1751.  Lenox  re- 
ceived its  first  settler,  Mr.  Jonathan  Hinsdale,  in  1750. 
Lanesborough,  called  at  first  Richfield,  and  afterwards  New 
Framingham,  was  granted  to  inhabitants  of  Framingham 
in  1741,  and  settled  in  1754.  The  settlement  of  these 
towns  increased  the  facilities  for  mischief,  which  the  In- 
dians in  the  interest  of  the  French  had  always  availed 
tliemselves  of  so  largely,  in  time  of  war.  The  first  dem- 
onstration that  apprised  the  people  of  Western  Massachu- 
setts that  the  Indians  were  again  upon  them  was  made  at 
Dutch  Hoosac,  about  ten  miles  West  of  Fort  Massachu- 
setts, and  now  embraced  within  New  York.  Here  they 
killed  Samuel  Bowen,  and  burnt  seven  dwelling  houses, 
foui'teen  barns  and  a  large  quantity  of  wheat.  This  and  a 
similarly  destructive  descent  upon  St.  Coick,  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  were  effected  by  the  descendants  of  the  Indians 
who  left  the  Connecticut  River  some  seventy-five  years 
previously,  at  the  close  of  Philip's  War,  known  as  the 
Schaghticokes.  A  small  party  of  these  Indians,  soon  after 
these  occurrences,  went  down  to  Stockbi'idge,  where  two 
of  them  attacked  the  family  of  Joshua  Chamberlain,  on 
Sunday,  while  the  people  of  the  place  were  mostly  in  the 
church.  The  hired  man  of  JNIr.  Chamberlain — one  Owen 
— defended  the  house  with  much  bravery,  and  while  JNIr. 
Chamberlain  and  his  wife  escaped,  paid  the  forfeit  of  his 
life  for  his  off*orts  in  their  behalf.  He  Avas  scalped,  and  the 
Indians  then  killed  and  scali)ed  a  child,  and  captured  an- 
other Avhich  they  killed  on  discovering  that  they  were  pur- 
sued. At  the  time  of  this  occurrence,  the  people  of  Pitts- 
field  and  Lenox  were  flying  to  Stockbridge  for  safety, 
having  been  either  violently  driven  from  their  plantations, 
or  become  aware  of  the  ai)proach  of  a  large  force.  Dur- 
ing this  flight,  a  man  named  vStephens,  of  Lenox,  was  shot 
from  his  horse,  while  a  young  woman  of  the  name  of 
Piercey,  riding  behind  him,  escaped.  The  affair  at  Stock- 
bridge  brought  the  resident  Indians  somewhat  into  suspi- 
cion, but,  doubtless,  with  entire  injustice.  IVfany  of  the 
new  settlers  in  the  Western  to\vns  were  emigrants  from 
Connecticut,  and,  by  settling  where  they  did,  established 
out-posts  for  Connecticut,  breaking  the  path  of  the  Indians 
from  the  North,  as  the  Massachusetts  settlements  on  the 


188  THE    LAST   FRENCH   WAR. 

Connecticut  had  done  in  former  years.  Immediately  after 
the  events  just  recorded  had  transpired,  that  province  sent 
troops  to  the  more  exposed  towns  in  the  region,  a  company 
of  them  being  posted  at  Pontoosuc. 

These  hostilities,  which  began  with  so  serious  a  promise 
of  evil  in  the  Western  part  of  the  colony,  received  the  im- 
mediate attention  of  the  Government.  Col.  Israel  Wil- 
liams of  Hatfield,  then  commanding  the  Noi-thern  regi- 
ment of  Hampshire  County,  communicated  to  the  Gov- 
ernor a  plan  for  defense,  based  on  his  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  territory,  and  on  his  own  sound  military  ideas, 
which,  on  being  presented  to  the  General  Court,  was 
adopted  with  hardly  the  exception  of  a  particular.  He 
proposed  the  abandonment  of  Forts  Shirley  and  Pelham, 
and  the  erection  of  a  line  of  small  fortifications,  extending 
through  the  valley  of  the  Deerfield  River.  Besides  these 
new  works,  he  proposed  the  strengthening  of  Forts  Massa- 
chusetts and  Dummer,  and  the  old  works  at  Northfield, 
Bernardston,  Colerain,  Greenfield  and  Deerfield.  Small 
works  he  also  recommended  to  be  erected  in  Stockbridge, 
Pontoosuc  and  Blandford,  and  at  other  minor  points.  Col. 
Williams  recommended  that  the  fort  at  Chai-lestown  should 
be  abandoned,  but  the  General  Court  did  not  approve  of 
this.  Upon  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  a  force  was  raised, 
to  be  placed  at  different  points  upon  the  Western  frontier, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  commander.  Forts  Dummer  and 
Massachusetts  were  furnished  with  artillery.  Capt.  Eph- 
raim  Williams,  who  had,  in  the  preceding  war,  so  ably 
managed  the  cordon  of  forts  then  established,  was  appoint- 
ed to  the  same  duty  in  connection  with  the  new  establish- 
ment, with  the  rank  of  Major.  In  the  following  year, 
however,  he  was  relieved  of  this  command,  and  appointed 
by  Governor  Shirley  to  the  command  of  a  regiment  raised 
in  Hampshire  County  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  ef- 
fect the  renewed  project  of  wresting  from  the  French  their 
colonial  possessions  in  America.  Capt.  Isaac  Wyman  was 
appointed  to  his  place,  with  his  head  quarters  at  Fort  Mas- 
sachusetts. This  Hampshire  regiment  composed  a  portion 
of  the  army  of  nearly  five  thousand  New  England  and 
New  York  troops  raised  to  go  against  Crown  Point. 

The  Expedition  against  Crown  Point,  as  well  as  those 
,.'tlevised  at  the  same  time  against  Niagara  and  Fort  Du 


THE    SCOUTS.  189 

Quesne,  were  very  popular  with  the  colony,  and  the  fron- 
tier towns,  especially,  took  courage  and  hope.  But  the 
formidable  preparations  in  progress  against  the  French  did 
not  lead  them  to  relax  their  hostilities,  and  from  the  fre- 
quent and  almost  uniform  failures  of  similar  operations  in 
former  times,  it  was  not  strange  that  they  had  begun  to 
look  upon  such  affairs  as  being  not  particularly  formidable. 
In  June  of  this  year  (1755)  a  par4:y  of  Indians  attacked  a 
number  of  men  at  work  in  the  fields  near  Rice's  fort,  in 
Charlemont,  (one  of  the  new  works,)  and  killed  Capt.  Rice 
and  Phineas  Arms,  and  captured  and  conveyed  to  Canada 
Asa  Rice  and  Titus  King,  the  latter  a  native  of  Northamp- 
ton, who,  after  being  sent  to  France,  returned  home  by  the 
way  of  England.  Determined  to  give  greater  strength 
and  efficiency  to  the  forces  in  the  frontier  towns,  the  Gov- 
ernment increased  the  force  in  the  garrisons,  required  the 
inhabitants  to  go  armed,  even  to  their  houses  of  public 
worship,  and  established  the  policy,  followed  in  the  pre- 
vious war,  of  traversing  the  path  along  the  entire  cordon 
of  fortifications,  by  scouts  who  were  incited  to  the  utmost 
vigilance  by  the  offer  of  bounties  for  Indian  scalps,  which 
were  to  be  equally  divided  among  the  soldiers,  without  re- 
gard to  rank.  A  hardier  body  of  men  than  composed 
these  scouting  parties  probably  never  existed  in  New  Eng- 
land. Lodging  in  the  open  air,  exposed  to  every  inclem- 
ent breeze  and  storm,  they  were  obliged  to  carry,  besides 
their  arms,  a  thirty  days  store  of  provisions,  and  to  keep 
every  sense  on  the  alert  for  the  detection  of  danger,  and 
,the  opportunity  to  gather  from  the  Indian  head  the  valua- 
ble prize  which  grew  there.  The  history  of  the  watchful 
nights,  the  daring  feats,  the  tedious  marches  and  the  almost 
unexampled  toils  of  these  men,  may  not  be  written,  but 
the  imagination  may  conceive  something  of  the  almost  fe- 
rocious hardihood  which  characterized  and  sustained  them. 
The  Indians,  with  their  accustomed  sagacity,  took  pains  to 
shun  the  ground  thus  made  so  dangerous  to  them,  and  com- 
mitted their  depredations  above  this  formidable  line  of  op- 
erations. The  frontier  towns  of  New  Hampshire  suffered 
extremely.  At  New  Ilopkinton,  Keene,  Walpole,  Hins- 
dale and  Charlestown,  in  that  province,  the  enemy  ap- 
peared, and  did  various  damage.  One  of  their  more  seri- 
ous demonstrations  occurred  just  North  of  the  Massachu- 


190  THE   LAST    FRENCH   WAR. 

setts  line,  at  Bridgman's  fort,  in  Vernon,  a  short  distance 
below  Fort  Dummer.  A  number  of  Indians,  having  pre- 
viously  cut  off  a  party  at  work  in  the  meadow,  killing  Ca- 
leb Howe  and  taking  his  two  sons  prisoners,  proceeded  to 
the  fort  at  night,  knocked  at  the  door,  in  a  manner  that 
they  had  learned  to  imitate  from  the  residents,  by  watch- 
ing them,  and  were  unsuspectingly  admitted  by  the  women 
who  had  heard  the  firing,  and  were  impatiently  awaiting 
the  return  of  their  protectors.  The  Indians  thus  admitted 
made  Mrs.  Jemima  Howe,  Mrs.  Submit  Grout  and  Mrs. 
Eunice  Garfield,  with  their  eleven  children,  their  pi-ison- 
ers.  They  were  all  taken  to  Canada,  and  their  subsequent 
vicissitudes  were  not  among  the  least  interesting  and  ro- 
mantic of-  which  the  early  border  wars  were  so  jirolific. 
The  people  of  New  Hampshire  were  obliged  to  call  upon 
Massachusetts  for  more  assistance,  their  own  province 
granting  none,  and  they  received  it. 

The  expedition  to  Crown  Point  was  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Johnson,  and  it  is  proper  to  follow  the  Hampshire 
regiment  in  its  connection  with  this  enterprise.  The 
army  having  advanced  as  far  as  the  Southern  extremity 
of  Lake  George,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  awaited  the 
arrival,  or  construction,  of  batteaux,  to  give  them  a  pass- 
age to  Crown  Point.  In  the  meantime,  Bax'on  Dieskau, 
with  a  large  force  of  French  regulars,  Canadians  and  In- 
dians, becoming  aware  of  Johnson's  movements,  advanced 
with  the  intention  of  attacking  Fort  Edward,  a  work  erect- 
ed by  the  English,  and  garrisoned  by  Col.  Blanchard's 
regiment  of  New  Hampshire  troops.  Arriving  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  fort,  his  Canadian  and  Indian  force  was  found 
to  be  afraid  of  Blanchard's  artillery,  and  to  be  in  favor  of 
proceeding  to  Lake  George,  and  attacking  the  main  army. 
The  arrival  of  the  French  force  near  Fort  Edward  was 
ascertained  by  Johnson,  and,  without  any  idea  that  they 
had  changed  their  purpose  in  order  to  march  against  him- 
self, he  dispatched  one  thousand  men,  with  200  Mohawks, 
under  Col.  Ephraim  Williams,  to  intercept  the  path  of  the 
force,  as  it  should  retire  from  Fort  Edward,  without  regard 
to  what  might  have  been  their  success  there.  This  was  on 
the  8th  of  September,  and,  at  this  moment,  Dieskau  was 
within  a  few  miles  of  Johnson's  camp,  and  had  discovered 
the  advance  of  the  body  under  Col.  Williams.     The  path 


I 


DEATH    OF    COL.    WILLIAMSI,  191 

of  the  latter  lay  through  a  ravine  peculiarly  favorable  to 
an  ambuscade,  and  the  French  commander  seized  the  op- 
portunity, and  laid  his  plans  and  made  his  arrangements 
admirably.  Into  this  ambuscade,  at  the  distance  of  only 
three  and  a  half  miles  from  Johnson's  camp,  the  force  un- 
der Williams,  led  by  the  Mohawks,  marched,  and  although 
by  the  imprudence  of  some  of  Dieskau's  Indians  the  attack 
was  precipitated,  the  English  and  Mohawks  received  a  ter- 
rific fire,  and  under  the-  worst  possible  disadvantages  for 
defense.  In  the  endeavor  to  reach  a  more  elevated  posi- 
tion for  his  troops.  Col.  Williams  was  killed  by  a  shot 
through  the  head.  His  fall  produced  alarm  and  confusion, 
and  the  whole  body  broke  into  a  disorderly  retreat,  pur- 
sued and  cut  down  by  the  closely  following  foe.  The  lat- 
ter 2)art  of  the  retreat  was  covered  by  a  small  force  sent 
out  from  Johnson's  camp.  Dieskau  was  now  determined 
to  follow  up  the  impression  thus  made,  by  an  attack  on 
Johnson's  camp,  which  had  been  rudely  fortified  by  a 
breastwork  of  logs.  Johnson's  force  was  the  heaviest,  but 
Dieskau's  confidence  in  his  regular  troops  overcame  his 
caution,  and  he  pressed  on,  and  commenced  the  attack. 
The  exaggerated  accounts  brought  to  the  camp,  of  the 
power  and  ferocity  of  the  French  force,  intimidated  the 
colonial  troops,  but  they  soon  entered  into  the  fight  with 
the  most  gallant  and  determined  spirit,  remaining  fu'mly  at 
their  posts,  and  inflicting  terrible  carnage  upon  the  enemy 
at  every  point  of  attack,  until  the  latter  turned  in  retreat, 
when  Johnson's  troops  leaped  over  their  breastworks,  and 
pursued  them.  The  fight  lasted  four  hours,  and  in  the 
pursuit.  Baron  Dieskau  was  wounded,  and  taken  prisoner. 
The  loss  in  both  engagements,  on  the  English  side,  was 
21 G  killed  and  9G  wounded.  The  Hampshire  I'egiment 
suffered  the  most  severely  of  all.  Forty-six  of  the  regi- 
ment were  killed,  and  twenty-four  wounded.  The  ofticers 
killed  besides  Col.  Williams,  were  INIajor  Noah  Ashley, 
Captains  Moses  Porter,  Jonathan  Ingersol  and  Elisha 
Hawley,  Lieutenants  Daniel  Pomeroy,  Simon  Cobb  and 
Nathaniel  Burt,  and  Ensigns  John  Stratton  and  Reuben 
Wait.  Lieut.  Burt  was  an  inhabitant  of  Longmeadow, 
and  a  deacon  of  the  church  there.  The  news  of  this  vic- 
tory, wliile  it  spread  a  general  joy  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, was   accompanied  with  deep   personal  sorrow   and 


192  THE   LAST   FRENCH   WAR. 

mourning,  to  the  hearts  of  the  dwellers  upon  the  Connecti- 
cut, for  it  had  been  more  costly  to  them  in  blood  than  to 
any  other  section.  Neai'ly  one-fourth  of  all  the  killed  and 
wounded  belonged  to  the  Hampshire  regiment.  The  stand- 
ing of  Col.  Wilhams  in  the  army  is  indicated  by  the  im- 
portant command  intrusted  to  him  at  the  time  he  fell.  He 
stood  high,  in  his  character  for  bravery,  humanity  and  in- 
telligence, and  was  but  forty-two  years  old  when  he  died. 
His  name  would  have  been  safe  in  the  hands  of  his  coun- 
try, but  he  has  associated  it  with  a  higher  cause  than  war 
— the  crowning  glory  of  peace.  Before  he  left  Albany,  in 
the  campaign  that  proved  fatal  to  him,  he  made  his  will,  in 
which,  after  assigning  to  several  of  his  relatives  and  friends 
appropriate  bequests,  he  directed  "  that  the  remainder  of 
his  land  should  be  sold,  at  the  discretion  of  his  executors, 
within  five  years  after  an  established  peace ;  and  that  the 
interest  of  moneys  arising  from  the  sale,  and  also  the  in- 
terest of  his  notes  and  bonds,  should  be  applied  to  the 
support  of  a  free  school  in  a  township  West  of  Fort  Mas- 
sachusetts, [the  locality  of  his  old  command,]  forever; 
provided  said  township  fall  within  Massachusetts,  upon 
running  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  New  York, 
and  provided  the  said  township,  when  incorporated,  shall 
be  called  Williamstown."  On  this  basis  arose  Williams 
College,  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  useful  literary  insti- 
tutions of  New  England.  Thus  giving  his  life  for  his 
country's  defense,  and  thus  leaving  his  treasure  for  her 
good  and  glory,  the  laurels  won  by  Col.  Wilhams  in  war 
grow  brighter  in  the  recollection  of  his  beneficence,  while 
his  beneficence  appears  with  unwonted  beauty  beneath  the 
hero's  crown.  Li  1790,  the  fluid  meantime  having  been 
augmented  by  State  aid,  and  a  donation  of  the  people  of 
Williamstown,  a  brick  building  was  put  up,  the  free  School 
was  opened  in  1791,  and  two  years  afterwards,  the  institu- 
tion was  erected  into  a  College.  But  the  spot  where  the 
hero  and  the  benefactor  fell  has  remained  unhonored  by  a 
monumental  designation  until  the  present  year.  In  the 
Autumn  of  1853,  however,  a  movement  was  made  by  the 
Alumni  of  the  institution  to  purchase  the  rock  which  is 
believed  to  mark  the  place  of  his  death,  and  an  acre  of 
ground  around  it,  on  which  to  erect  a  monument.  A  debt 
■K)  justly  owed,  and  so  long  unpaid,  has  thus  been  nobly 


I 


THE    CAMPAIGN   OF   175G.  193 

acknowledged.  Within  a  year  or  two,  Dr.  Stephen  W. 
Williams  of  Deei-field  has  presented  to  the  College  the 
watch  worn  by  Col.  AYilliams  at  the  date  of  his  fall,  with 
the  dress  sword  that  belonged  to  him  at  the  time. 

The  expedition  to  Fort  Du  Quesne,  under  Gen.  Brad- 
dock,  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  French  and  Indians,  and 
was  totally  defeated,  while  that  under  Shirley,  against  the 
French  ppst  at  Niagara,  though  unaccompanied  by  disas- 
ter, was  equally  unproductive.  This  closed  the  operations 
of  17.55,  and  the  next  year  opened  in  IVIay  by  a  formal  de- 
claration of  war  on  tlie  part  of  England ;  and  France  fol- 
lowed in  Juno  with  the  same  declaration.  Great  Britain 
made  extraordinaiy  preparations  for  prosecuting  her  pur- 
pose of  conquering  the  French  colonies,  and,  in  the  mean- 
time, the  Indians  returned  to  carry  on  tlioir  depredations 
upon  the  New  Enghuid  frontiers,  commencing  as  usual  in 
New  Hampshire.  In  June,  1756,  five  men  were  attacked 
in  the  Northerly  part  of  Greenfield,  while  at  their  labor  in 
the  fields.  These  men  had  deposited  their  arms,  from 
which  the  enemy  cut  them  off,  and  all  endeavored  to  es- 
cape, but  only  two — Benjamin  Graves  and  .John  Hastings 
— succeeded.  Slmbael  Atherton  was  shot  and  scalped,  and 
Daniel  Graves  and  Natlianiel  Brooks  were  captured. 
Graves,  being  old  and  unal)le  to  travel,  was  killed  bctbre 
proceeding  far.  and  Brooks  never  returned,  his  fate  re- 
maining in  imcertainty.  Zebediah  Stebbins  and  Reuben 
Wright  of  Northfield  were  attacked  on  the  20th  of  June. 
The  latter  was  wounded,  but  both  being  on  horseback,  ef- 
fected their  esca|)e.  Three  days  previously,  Benjamin 
King  and  William  Meach  were  ambuscaded  and  killed 
near  Fort  Massachusetts.  On  the  2Gth,  thirteen  men,  on 
their  way  from  the  Western  army  under  Winslow,  were 
surprised  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  eight  killed,  and  the 
remainder  captured.  This  occurred  al)out  thirteen  miles 
from  Fort  Massachusetts.  Capt.  Elisha  Chapin,  the  com- 
mander at  Fort  Massachusetts  in  175-1,  Sergeant  Chidestre 
and  his  son  James  were  killed  at  West  Hoosac,  (Williams- 
town,)  on  the  11th  of  July. 

The  general  operations  of  1757  were  disastrous,  and 
filled  the  colonies  with  despondency  and  alarm,  and  the  en- 
ergetic Montcalm,  who  had  been  successful  in  capturing 
the  English  posts  at  Lake  George,  was  expected  to  con- 
17 


194  THE  LAST   FRENCH   WAR. 

tinue  his  operations  by  extending  lais  efforts  Eastwai'd. 
Pownal,  then  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  ordered  all  the 
cavalry  of  the  province,  with  a  large  body  of  militia,  to 
Springfield,  under  the  Lieut.  General  of  the  province,  Sir 
William  Pepperell.  This  latter  was  a  new  officer,  created 
for  the  occasion.  Orders  had  previously  been  given  for 
the  establishment  of  a  magazine  of  provisions  and  military 
stores  at  the  same  point.  A  train  of  artillery  was  also  or- 
dered to  be  provided,  and  a  regiment  of  artillery  raised. 
Sir  William  Pepperell  was  ordered,  in  case  of  the  advance 
of  :the  enemy,  to  have  the  wheels  struck  off  all  the  wagons 
West  of  the  Connecticut,  to  drive  in  the  cattle  and  horses, 
and  make  a  stand  upon  the  East  side.  The  similar  order 
given  eighty  years  before,  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  West 
side  to  repair  to  the  East,  will  show  how  comparatively 
slow  andj)ainful  had  been  the  progress  of  settlement  dur- 
ing tliis  long  and  disturbed  period.  The  garrisons  at  Fort 
Massachusetts  and  West  Hoosac  were  strengthened,  and 
preparations  made  in  eveiy  quarter  for  defense,  against  a 
fOe  which  never  came.  When  it  was  found  that  Montcalm 
was  content  with  the  advantages  he  had  gained,  and  had 
retired  to  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  the  troops  were 
recalled,  and  the  usual  garrisons  reduced  to  their  ordinary 
force.  From  this  time,  until  the  surrender  of  the  Cana- 
dian province  to  Great  Britain  in  17  GO,  no  events  of  spe- 
cial interest  occurred  in  the  Western  part  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts colony,  except  the  closing  acts  of  Indian  hostility, 
that  took  place  on  the  20th  and  21st  of  March,  1758,  The 
first  day,  John  Morrison  and  John  Henry  of  Colerain  were 
fix-ed  upon  and  wounded,  and  Morrison's  barn  was  burnt 
and  his  cattle  killed.  The  next,  Joseph  McCown  and  his 
wife  were  captured,  and  the  latter  being  unable  to  travel, 
was  killed. 

This  closed  the  long  and  terrible  tragedy  of  the  Indian, 
and  French  and  Indian,  wars.  From  the  first  settlement 
at  Springfield,  until  the  conquest  of  Canada  in  1760,  a  se- 
ries of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  years  had  passed 
away,  and  by  far  the  larger  part  of  this  time  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  territory  embraced  in  old  Hampshire  had 
been  exposed  to  the  dangers,  the  fears,  the  toils  and  trials 
ol"  Indian  wars,  or  border  depredations.  Children  had 
I'Been  born,  had  gro\vii  up  to  manhood,  and  descended  to  old 


jl 


PEACE   AT   LAST.  193 

age,  knowing  little  or  nothing  of  peace  and  tranquillity. 
Hundx'eds  had  been  killed,  and  large  numbers  carried  into 
captivity.  ]\Ien,  women  and  children  had  been  butchered 
by  scores.  There  is  hardly  a  square  acre,  certainly  not  a 
square  mile,  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  that  has  not  been 
tracked  by  the  flyhig  feet  of  feai',  resounded  with  the 
groan  of  the  dying,  drunk  the  blood  of  the  dead,  or  served 
as  the  scene  of'  toils  made  doubly  toilsome  by  an  appre- 
hension of  danger  that  never  slept.  It  was  among  such 
scenes  and  such  trials  as  these  that  the  settlements  of 
"Western  Massachusetts  were  planted.  It  was  by  these 
scenes  and  trials  that  their  sinews  were  knit  to  that  degree 
of  strength  that,  when  the  incubus  of  war  and  fear  was 
lifted,  they  sprang  to  those  enterprises  of  peace,  which  in 
less  than  one  century,  have  transformed  the  Valley  and 
the  Berkshire  hills  into  a  garden  of  beauty,  a  home  of 
luxury  and  refinement,  an  abode  of  plenty,  and  a  seat  of 
free  education  and  free  religion.  The  joy  of  victory  that 
spread  everywhere  over  the  colonies  was  great,  but  the  joy 
of  peace  was  greater.  The  relief  felt  on  every  hand  can 
hardly  be  imagined  now.  The  long  clogged  wheels  of  en- 
terprise moved  again,  and  settlements  that  had  been  for- 
saken were  reclaimed,  while  new  ones  were  commenced. 
The  ax  resounded  in  the  forests,  and  smiling  harvests  re- 
turned once  more  to  be  gathered  rejoicingly  beneath  the 
reign  of  peace. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Division    of   Hampshire    County  —  Land  Sales  — 
Negro  Slavery  —  Ecclesiastical  Excite- 
ment —  Districts. 

At  the  session  of  the  General  Court  in  May,  1761,  the 
Western  part  of  the  old  County  of  Hampshire  was  set  off, 
and  incorporated  as  a  distinct  County,  with  the  name  of 
Berkshire.  At  this  time,  it  contained  only  the  incorpora- 
ted towns  of  Sheffield,  Stockbridge,  New  Marlboro'  and 
Egremont,  and  plantations  in  the  present  towns  of  Pitts- 
field,  Lanesborough,  Williamstown,  Tyringham,  Sandisfield 
and  Becket.  On  three  sides,  the  County  was  bounded  by 
the  adjoining  provinces  of  New  Hampshire  on  the  North, 
(now  Vermont,)  Connecticut  on  the  South,  and  New  York 
on  the  West,  at  that  time  an  uncertain  limit.  The  line 
separating  it  from  its  parent  County  was  run  as  follows : — 
"  Beginning  at  the  Western  line  of  Granville,  v/here  it 
touches  the  Connecticut  line,  to  run  Northerly  as  far  as 
said  West  line  of  Granville  runs,  then  Easterly  to  the 
Southwest  corner  of  Blandford,  and  to  run  by  the  West 
line  of  the  same  town  to  the  Northwestern  corner  thereof: 
from  thence  Northerly,  in  a  direct  line  to  the  Southeast 
corner  of  No.  4,  (Becket,)  and  so  running  by  the  Easterly 
line  of  No.  4  to  the  Northeast  corner  thereof;  and  thence 
in  a  direct  course  to  the  Southwest  corner  of  Charlemont, 
and  so  Northerly  in  the  West  line  of  the  same  town  till  it 
comes  to  the  North  bound  of  the  province."  After  a  long 
dispute,  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  New  York 
Avas  settled  in  1787.  The  Eastern  line  of  Berkshire 
County  has  been  subjected  to  several  modifications.  Near- 
ly all  of  Middlefield,  in  the  present  County  of  Hampshire, 
was  taken  from  Berkshire.  Windsor,  in  Berkshire,  has 
received  an  addition  from  Hampshire ;  and  Hawley,  in 
Franklin  County,  has  been  enlarged  from  Berkshire. 
Monroe,  in  Franklin  County,  Avas  entirely  embraced  with- 
in the  original  l)oundary  of  Berkshire.  The  present  area 
<tf  the  County  is  about  950  square  miles. 


BEBKSHIRE   COUNTY   COURTS.  197 

At  the  time  of  the  foi-mation  of  the  County,  it  was  en- 
acted that  an  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  a 
Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  should  be  held 
at  the  North  parish  in  Sheffield,  which,  on  the  30th  of  June 
following,  (17G1,)  was  incorporated  as  a  town  with  the 
name  of  Great  Barrington,  and  at  Pontoosuc,  now  Pitts- 
field.  The  Supreme  Courts  for  the  new  County  were  held 
in  Hampshire  until  1783,  when,  by  order  of  the  General 
Court,  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  was  estabhshed  in  Berk- 
shire. The  County  buildings  were  erected  in  Great  Bar- 
rington, but  the  settlement  of  the  Northern  part  of  the 
County  soon  destroyed  its  centrality,  and  the  Courts  were 
ordered,  in  1784,  to  be  holden  in  Lenox ;  but  measures 
taken  in  opposition  to  the  removal  delayed  the  event  until 
1786.  Strong  efforts  were  made  in  1784  to  have  the 
Courts  held  alternately  in  Great  Barrington  and  Lanes- 
borough,  and,  in  1785,  still  more  powerful  efforts  were 
made  to  have  them  held  alternately  at  Stockbridgc  and 
Pittsfield,  which  would  be  nearly  equivalent  to  keeping 
them  where  they  were  first  established.  But  both  efforts 
miscarried,  and  the  Jail  and  Court  House  were  erected  at 
Lenox,  between  the  years  1790  and  1792.  And  there, 
notwithstanding  numerous  efforts  to  change  the  County 
seat,  since  made,  from  time  to  time,  they  still  remain. 

As  the  finances  of  the  colony  were  embarrassed,  and 
money  became  accumulated  in  indi\'idual  hands,  private 
enterprise  found  more  extended  fields  of  operation,  and 
land  speculations  came  to  mingle  in  the  schemes  of  those 
who  had  the  means  to  engage  in  them.  The  peace  Avhich 
followed  the  events  of  1700  gave  opportunity  lor  these  op- 
erations, and  the  General  Court  ordered  ten  townsliips  in 
the  AVestern  part  of  the  colony,  on  the  2d  of  June,  17G2, 
to  be  sold  at  Boston,  by  auction,  to  the  highest  bidder. 
They  were  sold  by  their  numbers,  in  order,  as  follows : 

No.  1.  East  Iloosac,  now  Adams,  to  Nathan  Jones,  for 
£3,200.  * 

No.  2.  A  tract  embracing  the  present  towns  of  Peru 
and  Hinsdale,  to  Elisha  Jones,  for  £1,400. 

No.  3.  The  present  town  of  Worthington,  to  Aaron 
Willard,  for  £1,860. 

No.  4.     The  present  town  of  Windsor,  called  Gageboro', 
at  first,  to  Noah  Nash,  for  £1,430. 
17* 


198  GENERAL   AFFAIRS   OP  INTEREST. 

No.  5.  The  present  town  of  Cummington,  to  John 
Cummhigs,  for  £1,800. 

No.  6.  The  present  town  of  Savoy,  to  Abel  Lawrence, 
for  £1,350. 

No.  7.  The  present  town  of  Hawley,  to  Moses  Par- 
sons, for  £875. 

No.  8.  The  present  towns  of  Lenox  and  Richmond,  to 
Josiah  Dean,  for  £2,550. 

No.  9.  The  present  town  of  Chester,  at  first  called 
Murrayfield,  to  William  "Williams,  for  £1,500. 

No.  10.  The  present  town  of  Rowe,  to  Cornelius  Jones, 
for  £380. 

These  sales  amounted  to  the  grand  total  of  £16,405. 
Although  this  sum  appears  very  insignificant,  as  an  equiv- 
alent for  such  immense  tracts  of  land,  it  Avas  more  than 
they  were  worth  at  the  time,  for  such  was  the  loose  man- 
ner practiced  by  the  General  Court,  in  making  grants,  that 
the  best  lands,  in  neai'ly  all  these  townships,  were  pre-oc- 
cupied  by  private  claimants.  Li  consequence  of  this,  and, 
in  some  cases  owing  to  other  cavises,  sevei-al  of  the  pur- 
chasers petitioned  the  General  Court  for  a  remission  of 
a  part  of  the  purchase  money. 

It  has  incidentally  appeared  that  at  an  early  date  in  the 
history  of  the  Western  portion  of  the  colony,  negroes  were 
numbered  among  the  inhabitants.  Tliese  were  all  Slaves, 
and  were  held  as  such  by  the  first  and  best  men  in  the  set- 
tlements— by  the  ancestors  of  those,  too,  who  now  deem 
slave-holding  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  char- 
acter. The  earliest  record  of  the  presence  of  negroes,  in 
the  Connecticut  River  settlements,  is  found  in  the  register 
of  marriages,  solemnized  by  Maj.  John  Pynchon,  in  these 
words  :  "  Dec.  1st,  1687,  Roco  and  Sue,  my  negroes,  joined 
in  marriage."  "  My  negroes  "  were  slaves,  but  their  slav- 
ery was  mild  in  form  and  fact,  and  the  institution  did  not 
thrive  as  in  later  times,  in  more  Southern  localities.  They 
were  probably  owned  by  those  only  who  were  able  to  keep 
servants,  and  had  use  for  menials.  The  majority  of  the 
population  were  working  men  and  women,  who  did  tlieir 
own  service.  Rev.  John  Williams  of  Deerfield  had  two 
negroes,  at  least,  as  appears  in  the  work  in  which  he  re- 
lates the  story  of  his  captivity.  His  negro  woman  was 
yiled  at  the  time  the  Ladians  attacked  his  house  in  1704, 


ECCLESIASTICAL    QUARREL.  199 

and  the  night  after  this  event,  as  he  says,  "  some  of  the  en- 
emy who  brought  drink  with  them  from  the  town,  fell  to 
drinking,  and,  in  their  drunken  fit,  they  killed  my  negro 
man."  Rev.  Roger  Newton,  D.  D.,  who  became  the  sec- 
ond minister  of  Greenfield  in  17G1,  was  the  owner  of 
slaves,  one  of  whom  was  called  "  Old  Tenor."  She  was  a 
very  good  old  woman,  and  on  the  occasion  of  her  death, 
Dr.  Newton  preached  a  funeral  sermon,  in  which  he  be- 
stowed upon  her  the  negative  praise  of  being  "  no  pilferer." 
Col.  Moore  of  the  same  town  had  a  negro  named  Jack  who 
became  violently  enamoured  with  the  charms  of  Old  Ten- 
or's daughter  Phillis,  but  whose  course  of  love  found  but  a 
rough  and  tortuous  channel.  "  Pliillis  afterwards  married 
Caesar  Finnemur,  the  son  of  Romus  and  Rose,  and  had 
thirteen  children."  The  mention  of  these  names  will  show 
that  slaves  were  by  no  means  an  unusual  form  of  property, 
in  former  times.  There  were  probably  a  few  slaves  on 
every  plantation,  where  the  wealth  of  individual  settlers 
would  permit,  and  negroes  were  held  in  bondage  in  the 
Connecticut  Valley  during  nearly  or  quite  an  entire  cen- 
tury of  its  history. 

Notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  war  from  without,  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  18th  century,  and  the  large  drafts 
made  on  physical  force  to  overcome  it,  the  spiritual  leaders 
of  the  flocks  scattered  along  the  Valley  found  abundant 
time  for  high  ecclesiastical  feuds.  The  most  remarkable 
instance  of  this  kind  occurred  in  Springfield  in  1736. 
Rev.  Robert  Breck  was  invited  to  take  the  place  made  va- 
cant in  1734,  by  the  death  of  Rev.  Mr.  Brewer.  A  coun- 
cil of  neighboring  ministers,  according  to  the  custom  of 
that  day  and  this,  Avas  called  together,  to  examine  the  can- 
didate, and  decide  upon  his  eligibility  to  the  pastoral  ofiice, 
with  special  reference  to  his  settlement  in  Springfield.  Mr. 
Breck's  reputation  had  preceded  him,  and  under  the  im- 
pression that  he  was  not  soundly  orthodox,  a  portion  of  the 
people  themselves  had  already  taken  side  against  him. 
The  majority  admired  and  loved  him.  It  appears  that  the 
council  came  together  prejudiced  against  him,  and  their 
examination  coniirmed  them  in  their  opinion  of  his  hereti- 
cal notions.  They  refused  to  ordain  him,  and  the  people 
were  denied  the  ministrations  of  the  man  of  their  choice. 
The  excitement  caused  by  this  action  -was  intense,  both  in 


200  GENERAL   AFFAIRS    OP   INTEREST. 

the  town  and  the  county.  Mr.  Breck,  meanwhile,  con- 
ducted himself  with  the  utmost  moderation  and  prudence, 
and  was  the  least  excited  of  all  concerned.  The  people 
felt  that  he  and  they  had  been  wronged,  and  sent  to  the 
Eastern  part  of  the  colony  for  another  council,  though  only 
four  of  the  seven  who  actually  appear  to  have  come  to- 
gether, came  from  that  quarter.  The  remaining  three 
were  clergymen  of  the  county. 

The  calling  of  the  second  council  created  the  greatest 
excitement.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  ecclesiastical  convulsion. 
Mr.  Breck  was  a  young  man  only  twenty-two  years  old, 
his  sentiments  had  been  denounced  by  many  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  county  as  heretical,  and  the  danger  of  having 
their  decision  over-ruled,  and  of  having  him  forced  upon 
their  society,  wrought  upon  them  a  very  high  degree  of 
exasperation.  Co-oi^erating  with  Mr.  Breck's  enemies - 
among  the  people  of  the  town,  they  determined  that  he 
should  not  be  ordained,  if  a  forcible  interference  could  pre- 
vent. They  accordingly  applied  to  a  magistrate  for  a  war- 
rant for  his  arrest,  and  the  warrant  Avas  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  sheriff.  The  charge  on  which  the  Avarrant  was  is- 
sued was  that  of  heresy,  contained  in  words  uttered  by  Mr. 
Breck  in  a  sermon  preached  at  New  London,  Ct.,  and  those 
words  were  the  following:  "What  will  become  of  the 
heathen  who  never  heard  of  the  Gospel,  I  do  not  pretend 
to  say,  but  I  cannot  but  indulge  a  hope  that  God  in  his 
boundless  benevolence  will  find  out  a  way  whereby  those 
heathen  who  act  up  to  the  light  they  have,  may  be  saved." 
The  heresy  of  this  charitable  wish  was  doubtless  found  in 
Mr.  Breck's  admission  of  the  possibility  of  salvation  to 
any  man  Avitliout  a  knowledge  of  Christ.  The  ordaining 
council  consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen  :  Rev.  Messrs. 
"William  Cooper,  William  Welsteed  and  Samuel  Mather 
of  Boston,  William  Cook  of  Sudbury,  Isaac  Chauncey  of 
Hadley,  Ebenezer  Devotion  of  Suffield,  and  William  Rand 
of  Sunderland.  After  they  had  assembled,  the  sheriff, 
Avith  his  posse,  marched  to  the  house  where  they  were  in 
session,  surrounded  it  A\'ith  his  force,  and  then,  with  a 
draAvn  SAvord  in  his  hand,  entered  the  room  Avhere  the 
Council  were  examining  the  candidate.  There,  in  his 
majesty's  name,  he  arrested  Mr.  Breck,  and  ordered  him  to 
prepare  himself  immediately  for  a  journey  to  Ncav  London. 


SETTLEMENT    OF    MR.   BRECK.    •  201 

Mr.  Breck  was  young,  perplexed  and  distressed,  and  not 
being  acquainted  with  the  law,  sent  for  legal  counsel,  and 
was  advised  to  offer  bail.  This  he  did,  but  the  sheriflf  re- 
fused to  allow  it,  on  the  ground  that  the  offense  charged 
against  him  was  high  treason,  not  only  against  tlie  King 
of  England,  but  against  the  King  of  Heaven.  Mr.  Breck's 
counsel  told  the  sheriff  that  the  King  of  Heaven  would 
unquestionably  take  care  of  his  own  traitors,  and,  as  he 
had  nothing  to  do  but  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  land,  if 
he  persisted  in  refusing  bail,  he  would  do  it  at  his  peril. 
Thus  menaced,  the  sheriff  receded,  and  Mr.  Bi-eck  was  ad- 
mitted to  bail,  and  subsequently  appeared  at  New  London, 
and  had  his  trial.  His  examination,  at  Springfield,  by  the 
council,  was  satisfactory,  but  in  consequence  of  the  ex- 
treme excitement  that  prevailed,  his  ordination  was  defer- 
red. Ml".  Breck  was  ordained  on  tlie  2Gth  of  January, 
1736.  His  trial  amounted  to  nothing,  save  his  acquittal 
of  the  charges  brought  against  him.  A  great  war  of 
words  grew  out  of  the  affair.  Two  pamphlets  Avere  issued 
by  the  association  which  rejected  him,  and  one  was  written 
and  issued  by  the  ordaining  council.  Both  bodies  wrote 
in  justification  of  the  course  they  had  respectively  pursued. 

The  ordination  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  William 
Cooper  of  Boston.  In  this  sermon,  the  preacher  directly 
addressed  Mr.  Breck  in  the  following  words :  "  If  you 
should  meet  with  injuries  and  hard  dealing,  (real  or  appre- 
hended,) have  a  strict  guard"  upon  your  own  temper  and 
conduct.  If  deeper  thrusts  sliould  be  still  given  to  your 
reputation,  and  any  methods  talien  to  have  those  things 
which  the  charity  that  the  Gospel  teaches  would  have  cov- 
ered and  buried,  exposed  to  thousands  that  would  not  else 
have  heard  of  them,  and  transmitted  to  those  that  shall 
come  after  us ;  if,  I  say,  such  methods  should  be  taken 
against  you,  labor  for  a  forgiving  spirit ;  and  don't  go  about 
to  wound  the  reputation  of  othei's,  farther  than  self  defense 
may  make  it  necessary.  "We  bless  God  for  that  prudence, 
patience  and  meekness,  which  he  has  enabled  you  to  exer- 
cise under  your  uncommon  trials.  I  think  myself  particu- 
larly bound  to  testify  on  this  occasion  tliat,  in^all  this  time, 
I  never  heard  one  hard  word  drop  from  you,  respecting 
any  person,  of  any  oi'der.  I  have  seen  your  tears,  admired 
your  silence,  and  hope  God  has  heard  your  prayers.     May 


202  GENERAL   AFFAIRS   OP  INTEREST. 

the  fruit  of  all  be  to  humble  you,  to  prove  you,  and  to  do 
you  good  in  your  latter  end ;  to  purify  and  refine  you,  to 
be  a  vessel  unto  honor,  more  meet  for  the  Master's  service, 
and  a  greater  blessing  to  this  church  and  people !"  Never 
was  advice  more  conscientiously  followed,  or  prayer  more 
fully  answered.  Under  Mr.  Breck's  beautiful  life  and  no- 
ble spirit,  opposition  against  him  began  to  give  way,  and 
by  degrees,  his  people  all  became  his  warm  friends,  as  well 
as  his  fellow  pastors  in  the  neighborhood,  who,  in  a  few 
years,  received  him  into  their  fellowship.  Mr.  Cooper's 
sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  ordination  was  printed  and 
is  still  extant.  It  was  accompanied  in  its  issue  by  Mr. 
Breck's  confession  of  faith,  which  was  publicly  delivered 
by  him  at  his  ordination.  This  document,  though  much 
too  nice  in  its  details  for  a  general  creed,  is  a  model  of  fine 
English,  and  one  of  the  most  clear  and  intelligent  state- 
ments of  Christian  doctrine,  as  held  by  Orthodoxy,  ever 
written.  Mr.  Breck  died  in  the  49th  year  of  his  ministry, 
April  23d,  1784,  at  the  age  of  70. 

At  a  date  prior  to  1753,  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
received  instructions  from  the  home  Government  which,  in 
a  strong  light,  exhibited  the  growing  jealousy  of  the  Crown 
of  the  popular  element  in  the  Government  of  the  colony. 
The  increase  of  the  number  of  towns  in  the  colony,  by  in- 
creasing in  the  same  ratio  the  representation  in  the  Legis- 
lature, was  seen  to  present  formidable  encroachments  upon 
the  authority  of  the  parent  power.  To  put  a  stop  to  tliis, 
the  Governor  was  instructed  to  consent  to  no  act  for  estab- 
lishing a  new  town  in  the  province,  unless,  by  a  special 
clause,  it  should  place  a  restraint  upon  the  power  of  send- 
ing representatives.  After  this,  for  many  years,  new  towns 
were,  consequently,  incorporated  as  districts,  possessing  all 
the  powers  of  towns,  except  the  power  of  sending  repre- 
sentatives to  the  General  Court.  They  had  the  privilege 
of  joining  with  other  towns  in  this  function.  Wilbrahara 
is  recorded  to  have  been  incorporated  as  a  district  in  1763, 
and  Granville,  in  1754.  Monson  was  incorporated  as  a 
district  in  1760,  Southwick  in  1770,  Egremont  in  1760, 
Lenox  in  1707,  New  Ashford  in  1781,  Greenfield,  Monta- 
gue and  New  Salem  in  1753,  Shelburne  in  1768,  Orange 
in  1783,  and  Leyden  in  1784.  On  the  23d  of  March, 
^786,  it  was  enacted  that  all  districts  incorporated  before 


mCORPORATION   OP   DISTKICTS. 


203 


January  Ist,  1777,  should  be  towns,  or,  in  otlier  words, 
those  towns  which,  by  being  incorporated  as  districts,  had 
not  possessed  the  privilege  of  individual  representation, 
should  have  that  privilege  thereafter.  Many  individuals 
have  looked  in  vain  for  the  special  act  incorporating  sev- 
eral towns.  K  those  towns  were  districts  before  1777,  this 
act  is  the  only  one  which  affected  their  incorporation,  and 
it  applied  to  a  large  number. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  Asiericak  Revolution. 

The  attempt  described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  to  limit 
the  popular  voice  in  the  government  of  the  province,  was 
among  the  first  of  a  series  of  acts  which  produced  those 
subsequent  convulsions  that  became  necessary  to  confinn 
the  possession  of  the  good  which  had  been  so  nobly  won 
during  the  period  of  colonial  adolescence,  and  which  re- 
sulted in  independence  to  the  State  and  a  federal  Republic 
to  the  country.  From  1764  to  1775,  the  efforts  of  the 
British  Parliament  were  directed,  in  a  multitude  of  offen- 
sive and  arbitrary  ways,  to  the  end  of  depriving  the  prov- 
ince of  its  liberties  and  privileges,  and  of  making  it  con- 
tribute to  the  revenues  of  the  British  Crown.  The  stamp 
act  was  passed  in  1775,  and  though,  owing  to  the  opposi- 
tion it  met  with  in  Massachusetts,  principally,  it  was  re- 
pealed on  the  following  year.  Parliament  took  the  occasion 
to  declare  "  that  they  had  a  right  to  tax  the  colonies,  and 
to  legislate  for  them  in  all  cases  whatever."  This  declara- 
tion, carrying  with  it  a  most  daring  and  arbitrary  assump- 
tion of  power,  increased  the  discontent  which  the  repeal  of 
the  offensive  and  unproductive  act  was  intended  to  allay. 
It  was  a  direct  overthrow  of  the  powers  granted  by  the 
provincial  charter,  and  always  exercised  without  serious 
question.  Thus  alarmed,  the  people  of  the  province  wei-e 
on  the  alert,  and,  while  professing  loyalty  to  the  crown, 
determined  to  question,  step  by  step,  every  encroachment 
upon  their  liberties,  and  pleaded  for  their  justification  that 
fundamental  principle  in  the  British  Constitution,  "  that  the 
subject  could  not  be  taxed  without  the  consent  of  his  re])- 
resentative."  Among  the  early  active  participants  in  the 
controversy  that  commenced  and  progressed  between  the 
representatives  of  the  Crown  and  the  champions  of  colo- 
nial right,  was  Joseph  Hawley  of  Northampton,  whose 
name  will  descend  to  posterity  in  most  honorable  compan- 
^.ionship  with  those  of  James  Otis,  Samuel  Adams,  Jolm 
Adams,  Josiah  Quincy  and  Samuel  Dexter.     Col.  John 


OPENING   EVENTS.  205 

Worthington  of  Springfield,  who  divided  witli  Hawley  the 
higher  legal  honors  of  old  Hampshire  County,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  fii'st  Committee  appointed  by  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives to  consider  what  should  be  done  with  reference 
to  the  oppressive  acts  of  Parliament.  This  Committee 
reported  the  project  of  a  Congress  made  up  of  committees 
from  the  popular  branch  of  each  of  the  colonial  legisla- 
tures, to  be  held  at  New  York,  in  October,  1765.  The 
report  was  adopted,  and  a  committee  of  three  appointed, 
two  of  whom — Col.  Worthington  and  Oliver  Partridge — 
(the  latter  of  Hatfield)  were  from  Hampshire  County. 
Col.  Worthington  declined  the  appointment,  and  T.  Rug- 
gles,  (unfortunately  for  the  province,  for  he  behaved  dishon- 
orably in  the  matter,)  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  The 
determination  on  the  part  of  the  new  British  Cabinet,  or- 
ganized in  July,  17G7,  to  carry  out  to  the  extent  the  outra- 
geous doctrine  projiounded  on  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act, 
that  Parliament  had  a  riglit  to  bind  the  colonies,  in  all 
cases  whatever,  induced  a  spirit  of  deep  anxiety  and  con- 
cern throughout  the  colony.  Following  the  recommenda- 
tions of  a  most  respectable  popular  meeting  in  Boston, 
many  families  throughout  the  jn-ovince,  by  an  example  of 
noble  self  denial,  abandoned  the  use  of  foreign  luxuries, 
and  supplied  their  necessities  with  articles  of  home  growth 
and  manufacture.  The  events  which  followed — the  arbi- 
trary measures  of  Governor  Bernard,  the  arrival  of  mili- 
tary force,  the  misrepresentation  of  the  colonists  abroad, 
the  refusal  to  hear  their  petitions,  the  popular  combinations 
against  importing  British  goods,  the  struggle  between  pa- 
triotism and  Governmental  policy  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, the  ever  memorable  and  ever  glorious  protests  against 
oppression  by  the  General  Assembly  of  tlie  colony,  the 
collisions  of  the  soldiery  Avitli  the  people  of  Boston,  the 
firm  and  pei'sistent  opposition  to  the  usurpations  of  char- 
tered rights,  the  traitorous  conduct  of  Gov.  Hutchinson  in 
his  capacity  as  the  tool  of  the  British  muiistry,  the  destruc- 
tion of  tea  in  Boston  Harbor,  the  holding  of  County  meet- 
ings and  conventions,  the  institution  of  Committees  of  safe- 
ty and  correspondence — all  these  events,  in  which  civil 
liberty  and  National  glory  were  taking  root,  prepared  the 
way  for  that  first  demonstration  which  sealed  in  blood,  oa 
18 


206  THE   REVOLUTION. 

the  soil  of  Massachusetta,  the  doom  of  British  rule  in  the 
American  Colonies. 

The  people  of  the  Western  counties  of  the  colony  were 
no  whit  behind  their  Eastern  brothers  in  patriotic  impul- 
ses, or  in  their  attachment  to  liberty,  and  the  determination 
to  defend  their  rights.  Committees  of  safety  and  corres- 
pondence were  established  in  nearly  every  town.  The 
records  of  nearly  every  town  then  in  existence  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  tell  of  the  public  meetings  there  held  to 
consult  upon  the  public  safety,  and  to  devise  measures  of 
co-operation  with  their  brethren  in  the  East,  and  in  the 
other  colonies.  From  the  close  of  the  concluding  French 
War  until  the  revolution,  the  subjects  connected  with  the 
encroaclunents  of  arbitrary  power  led  the  public  mind — 
not,  however,  to  the  neglect  of  business  and  the  reparation 
of  the  injuries  that  had  been  experienced  through  so  long 
a  period  of  disturbance,  for  settlements  progressed  in  every 
direction. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1774,  a  Congress,  as  it  was  then 
called,  of  deputies  from  all  the  towns  in  Berkshire  County, 
was  held  at  Stockbridge,  and  took  a  noble  and  decisive 
stand,  with  respect  to  the  evils  that  threatened  the  prov- 
ince. The  towns  represented  were,  Sheffield,  Great  Bar- 
rington,  Egremont,  Stockbridge,  Lenox,  West  Stockbridge, 
Alford,  Richmond,  Pittsfield,  Lanesborough,  Hancock, 
(then  Jericho)  Williamstown,  Adams,  (then  East  Hoosac) 
Sandisfield,  Peru,  (then  Partridgefield)  Washington,  (then 
Harlwood)  Becket,  New  Marlborough  and  Tyringham. 
The  proceedings  of  this  convention  were  dignified  and 
firm,  and  were  participated  in  by  the  first  and  best  men  of 
the  county.  Among  the  first  votes  of  the  Congress  was 
one  recommending  to  the  several  towns  of  the  county  that 
the  14th  of  July  should  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer,  "  to  implore  the  Divine  assistance  that  he 
would  interpose,  and  in  mercy  avert  those  evils  with  which 
we  ai"e  threatened."  Among  other  impoi'tant  votes  was 
one  that  the  several  members  of  a  Committee  "  be  desu-ed 
to  recommend  to  the  charity  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sev- 
eral towns  in  the  County,  the  distressed  circumstances  of 
the  poor  of  the  towns  of  Charlestown  and  Boston,  and  that 
the  same  be  remitted  to  them  in  fat  cattle  in  the  fall."  A 
^  committee,  consistmg  of  Timothy  Edwards,   Dr.  William 


NON-CONSUMPTION   AGREEMENT.  207 

Whiting,  Dr.  Lemuel  Barnard,  Dr.  Erastus  Sergeant,  and 
Dea.  James  Eason,  was  appointed  to  take  into  considera- 
tion, and  report  the  draught  of  an  agreement,  to  be  recom- 
mended to  the  towns  in  the  county,  for  the  non-consumption 
of  British  manufactures.  This  committee  reported  a  series 
of  resolves  Avhich  were  ordered  to  be  transmitted  to  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence  in  Boston.     They  follow : 

'•  Whereas,  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  have,  of  late, 
untlertaken  to  give  and  grant  away  our  money  without  our 
knowledge  or  consent ;  and  in  order  to  compel  us  to  a  servile 
submission  to  the  above  measures  liave  proceeded  to  block 
up  the  harbor  of  Boston ;  also,  have,  or  are  about  to  vacate 
the  charter,  and  repeal  certain  laws  of  this  province,  heretofore 
enacted  by  the  General  Court,  and  confirmed  to  us  by  the 
King  and  his  predecessors — therefore,  as  a  means  to  obtain  a 
speedy  redress  of  the  above  grievances,  we  do  solemnly,  and 
in  good  faith,  covenant  and  engage  with  each  other : 

"1st.  That  we  will  not  import,  purchase,  or  consume,  or 
suffer  any  person  for,  by,  or  under  us,  to  import,  purchase,  or 
consume,  in  any  manner  whatever,  any  goods,  wares  or  man- 
ufactures which  shall  arrive  in  America  from  Great  Britain, 
from  and  after  the  first  day  of  October  next,  or  such  other 
time  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  American  Congress  ;  nor 
any  goods  which  shall  be  ordered  from  thence  from  and  after 
this  day,  until  our  charter  and  Constitutional  rights  shall  be 
restored;  or  until  it  shall  be  determined  by  the  major  part  of 
our  brethren,  in  this  and  the  neighboring  colonies,  that  a  non- 
importation or  non-consumption  agreement  will  not  have  a 
tendency  to  effect  the  desired  end,  and  until  it  shall  be  appa- 
rent that  a  non-importation  or  non-consumption  agreement 
will  not  be  entered  into  by  the  majority  of  this  and  the  neigh- 
boring colonies,  except  such  articles  as  the  said  General  Con- 
gress of  North   America  shall  advise  to  import  and  consume. 

"  2dly.  We  do  further  covenant  and  agree  that  we  will  ob- 
serve the  most  strict  obedience  to  all  constitutional  laws  and 
authority  ;  and  will,  at  all  times,  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost 
for  the  discouragement  of  all  licentiousness,  and  suppressing 
all  disorderly  mobs  and  riots. 

"  3dly.  We  will  exert  ourselves,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  in  pro- 
moting peace,  love  and  unanimity  among  each  other  ;  and  for 
that  end,  we  engage  to  avoid  all  unnecessary  lawsuits  what- 
ever. 

"  4thly.  As  a  strict  and  proper  adherence  to  the  non-impor- 
tation arid  non-consumption  agreement  will,  if  not  seasonably 
provided  against,  involve  us  in  many  difficulties  and  incon- 
veniences, we  do  promise  and  agree  that  we  will  take  the 


208  THE   EETOLUTIOJS'. 

most  prudent  care  for  the  raising  of  sheep,  and  for  the  mann- 
facturing  of  all  such  clothes  as  shall  be  most  useful  and  nec- 
essary ;  and,  also,  for  the  raising  of  flax  and  the  manufactur- 
ing of  linen  ;  further,  that  we  will,  by  every  prudent  method, 
endeavor  to  guard  against  all  those  inconveniences  which 
might  otherwise  arise  from  the  foregoing' agreement. 

"Sthly.  That  if  any  person  shall  refuse  to  sign  this,  or  a 
similar  covenant,  or  after  having  signed  it,  shall  not  adhere  to 
the  real  intent  and  meaning  thereof,  he  or  they  shall  be  treat- 
ed by  us  with  all  the  neglect  they  shall  justly  deserve — par- 
ticularly by  omitting  all  commercial  dealings  with  thera. 

"6thly.  That  if  this,  or  a  similar  covenant,  shall,  after  the 
first  day  of  August  next,  be  oti'ered  to  any  trader  or  shop- 
keeper of  this  county,  and  he  or  ihey  shall  refuse  to  sign  the 
same,  for  the  space  of  4S  hours,  we  will  from  thenceforth  pur- 
chase no  article  of  British  manufacture,  or  East  India  goods 
from  him  or  them  until  such  time  as  he  or  they  shall  sign  this 
or  a  similar  covenant." 

The  delegfites  to  this  convention  were  chosen,  pursuant 
to  advice  in  circular  letters  from  Boston,  the  head  quarters 
of  the  popular  movement,  and  it  was  in  accordance  with 
these  letters  that  committees  of  safety  and  correspondence 
were  chosen  in  every  town.  Pittsfield  was  one  of  the  first 
towns,  if  not  the  first  town  in  the  colony,  that  offered  oppo- 
sition to  the  King's  courts.  At  its  meeting  held  on  the  loth 
of  August,  1774,  Timothy  Childs  and  Capt.  John  Strong 
were  chosen  a  Committee  to  petition  the  Inferior  Court  of 
Con:imon  Picas  for  the  County  of  Berkshii-e,  "  not  to  trans- 
act any  business  that  term,"  and  they  did  it  in  a  very  pe- 
rem[)tory  manner.  Their  petition  was  nothing  less  than 
an  open  declaration  of  resistance.  They  alluded  to  two  par- 
ticular acts  of  Parliament  superseding  the  Charter  of  the 
Province,  and  then  declared  that  they  viewed  it  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  w^ell  being  of  the  Province  that 
the  people  of  it  utterly  refuse  the  least  suhmission  to  the 
said  acts,  and  on  no  consideration  to  yield  obedience  to  them, 
or  directly  or  indirectly  to  countenance  their  taking  place  of 
those  acts  among  us,  hut  resist  them  to  the  last  extremity." 
After  stating  the  case  somewhat  more  at  length,  they  gave 
their  reasons  in  detail  for  opposing  the  holding  of  Courts 
until  the  unconstitutional  acts  alluded  to,  should  be  repealed. 
They  were  as  follow  : 

^     "1.     If  they  (the  courts)  are  now  held  in  the  ancient  form, 


REBELLION    IX    PITTSPIELD.  209 

this  \vill  be  in  direct  violation  of  those  laws  (the  new  ones) 
and  in  defiance  of  them. 

"  2.  Whatever  business  shall  be  transacted  in  the  ancient 
form,  now  those  laws  are  in  force,  will  be  illegal,  and  liable 
afterwards  to  be  wholly  set  aside. 

"  3.  The  Honorable  Judges  will  e.\pose  themselves  by  not 
submitting  to  the  new  acts  by  transacting  business  in  the  old 
form,  or  agreeable  to  our  charter,  to  an  immediate  loss  of  their 
Commissions. 

"4.  It  will  be  much  greater  contempt  of  those  laws,  to 
transact  business  in  the  ancient  form,  or  agreeable  to  our 
charter,  than  to  do  none  at  all. 

"5.  This  course  of  procedure  will  tend  to  bring  matters  to 
a  more  unhappy  crisis,  which  we  would  choose  by  all  means 
to  avoid,  than  to  neglect  to  do  any  business." 

These  reasons,  it  will  be  seen,  are  given  principally  to 
show  why  the  Courts  could  not  be  held  in  their  ancient 
form.  A  list  of  reasons  why  no  Court  should  be  held 
were  subjoined.  They  were,  in  effect,  that  there  was  no 
doubt  that  the  offensive  acts  had  passed  the  Royal  assent, 
that  they  had  arrived  in  Boston,  that  they  probably  were 
then  published  by  the  Governor,  and  that  the  town  "  ought 
to  bear  the  most  early  testimony  against  those  acts,  and  set 
a  good  example  for  the  rest  of  the  Province  to  copy  after." 
The  acts  to  which  the  town  alluded,  it  may  be  stated,  con- 
ferred upon  the  Royal  Governor  the  power  of  appointing 
and  removing  all  judges  of  the  Inferior  Courts  of  the  Com° 
mon  Pleas,  as  well  as  other  important  legal  officers,  and 
expressly  forbade  the  holding  of  town  meetings  without 
leave  obtained  of  the  Governor,  and  the  transaction  of  any 
business  in  those  meetings  except  such  as  the  Governor 
should  mention  in  his  Avrittcn  permission.  It  will  there- 
fore appear  that  the  Pittstield  town  meeting,  accordinir  to 
the  declaration  of  its  voice,  was  held  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  laws  which  it  took  such  particular  j)ains  to  inform 
the  Court  had  arrived  in  Boston.  They  persisted  in  trans- 
acting business  after  the  "  ancient  forms,"  and  closed  their 
bold  demonstration  in  these  words :  "  The  honorable  Court 
has  good  grounds  to  neglect  to  do  business  in  the  law,  and 
the  people  just  occasion  to  petition  for  it,  and  insist  upon 
It,  ivithout  admitting  a  refusal" 

The  County  Congress  held  in  Stockbridgc  in  July  was 

preceded  or  followed  by  similar  conventions,  promul'iatin«' 

18*  *       " 


210  THE   REVOLUTION. 

similar  declarations,  in  all  the  counties  of  the  State.  A 
Congress  of  Committees  from  every  town  and  district  in 
Hampshire  County,  except  Charlemont  and  Southwick, 
was  held  at  Northampton  on  the  22d  and  23d  of  Septem- 
ber, "  to  consult  upon  measures  to  be  taken  in  this  time  of 
general  distress  in  the  province,  occasioned  by  the  late  at- 
tacks of  the  British  Parliament  upon  the  constitution  of 
said  province,"  &c.  Timothy  Danielson  of  Brimfield  was 
Chairman  of  the  Convention,  and  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  of 
Northampton,  Clerk.  After  a  long  and  animated  debate, 
a  Committee  of  nine  reported  a  series  of  resolutions  simi- 
lar to  those  adopted  by  other  County  Congresses,  and  they 
were  passed  with  great  unanimity.  In  substance,  the  res- 
olutions were,  that  the  County  did  not  intend  to  withdraw 
from  allegiance  to  the  King ;  that  the  charter  of  the  prov- 
ince ought  to  be  kept  inviolate,  and  that  the  inhabitants 
had  not  violated  it ;  that  the  subversive  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament,  being  before  the  Continental  Congress,  (it  had 
assembled  at  Philadelphia  during  the  first  part  of  the 
month,)  they  Avould  not  act  with  regard  to  them ;  that  the 
acts  of  Gov.  Gage  were  destructive  of  their  rights,  and 
that  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  was  the  constitutional  Gov- 
ernor, and  whether  his  acts  ought  to  be  of  any  validity, 
especially  his  writs  f&r  convening  the  General  Court  at 
Salem ;  and  that  a  provincial  Congi-ess  was  necessary  to 
be  holden  at  Concord  on  the  2d  of  October  following,  to 
which  the  different  towns  of  the  County  were  recommend- 
ed to  send  delegates.  The  resolutions  further  recommended 
to  constables,  collectors,  &c.,  "  to  pay  no  money  to  H.  Gray, 
treasurer,  but  to  deposit  the  same  in  town  treasuries;" 
urged  all  to  refrain  from  engaging  in  riots  and  spoliations 
of  personal  property ;  declared  that  town  meetings  ought 
to  be  called  in  accordance  with  ancient  usage,  and  exhorted 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  County  to  be  diligent  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  militaiy  art,  under  the  direction  of 
such  persons  as  they  might  choose,  and  to  furnish  them- 
selves with  arms  and  ammunition. 

Thus,  while  the  people  adhered  to  the  rights  conveyed 

in  their  charter,  and  professed  loyalty  to  their  sovereign, 

they  foresaw  that  the  effect  of  their  action  would  be  to 

Ijring  them  into  direct  collision  with  the  power  whose  acts 

<'they  condemned ;  and  they   unhesitatingly  prepared  them- 


A   LESSON    OP   PROVIDENCE.  211 

selves  for  the  worst  that  could  happen.  To  the  man  -whoso 
kindly  faith  permits  him  to  trace  by  the  side  of  the  foot- 
prints of  History,  the  parallel  path  of  the  angel  of  God's 
providence,  the  events  of  this  period  will  explain  and  jus- 
tify that  mysterious  series  of  afflictions,  which  formed  so 
large  a  part  of  the  marked  events  in  the  early  life  of  the 
colony.  He  will  see  a  young  people  strugglmg  through  a 
long  series  of  wars  with  savage  tribes,  and  hardly  more 
civilized  Canadian  colonists,  until  the  thoughts  of  danger 
and  death  are  as  familiar  as  the  thoughts  of  God ;  until 
every  man  knows  the  use  of  his  gun  as  well  as  he  does  the 
most  common  implement  of  husbandry,  and  until  peace, 
without  those  rights  which  can  only  make  it  truly  valua- 
ble, shall  be  regarded  as  worthless.  He  will  see  that  this 
long  tutelage  was  necessary  as  a  preparation  for  those  high 
duties  which  were  destined  to  cut  the  colony  loose  from  for- 
eign dependency,  and  to  erect  a  free  State  in  which  the 
great  problems  of  free  religion,  free  education,  and  self 
government,  were  to  be  wrought  out  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind. He  will  see  that  the  people  were  armed  by  the  In- 
dian wars,  taught  the  use  of  arms  by  them,  inured  to 
hardship  by  them,  made  prudent  and  resolute  by  them,  and 
taught  to  estimate  properly  the  value  of  their  rights  and 
soil  by  them ;  and  he  will  also  see,  in  the  few  years  that 
followed  the  close  of  the  F'rench  wars,  and  preceded  the 
Revolution,  a  period  of  rest  for  the  gathering  of  resources, 
for  calm  discussion  of  great  questions,  and  the  perfection 
of  that  association  of  purpose  and  power  that  was  neces- 
sary in  carrying  to  a  successful  issue  the  noblest  and  most 
momentous  struggle  that  the  history  of  the  world  aifords. 
He  will  see  that  not  oidy  the  soil  upon  which  we  live,  but 
the  liberty  which  we  enjoy,  is  the  purchase  of  those  early 
conflicts,  and  that  the  "  war  of  the  revolution"  commenced 
long  before  the  soil  of  Lexington  drank  revolutionary 
blood.  He  will  find,  too,  that  the  immense  influence  which 
the  clergy  had  exerted,  from  the  first  planting  of  the  colo- 
ny, in  all  civil  affairs,  found  its  use  in  eftecting  the  grand 
result,  for  they  were,  as  a  body,  the  earliest  and  best  de- 
fenders of  the  principles  for  which  their  people  fought,  and 
accomplished  more  than  their  part  in  the  resulting  achieve- 
ment of  independence. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  notice  even  the 


212  THE   REVOLUTION. 

leading  events  of  tte  revolutionary  struggle.  None  of 
them  occurred  in  this  locality,  and  it  only  remains  to  re- 
count something  of  those  trials  which  the  people  expe- 
rienced in  common  with  all  others.  Regiments  of  minute 
men  were  formed  and  trained  in  the  art  of  Avar,  and  when 
they  caught  the  echo  of  the  guns  of  Lexington,  marched 
immediately  to  Boston,  and  foi'med  a  portion  of  that  large 
body  of  troops  which  blocked  up  the  British  forces  in  the 
peninsula  of  the  town,  after  they  had  made  their  way  back 
from  Concord  and  Lexington.  Side  by  side  with  the  votes 
which  are  abundant  on  the  town  records  of  this  period,  ap- 
propriating money  for  the  payment  of  soldiers,  are  votes 
for  the  establishment  of  committees  to  procure  sustenance 
for  the  "  industrious  poor"  of  Boston,  whose  labors  were 
suspended  by  the  military  occupation  of  the  town.  As  an 
instance  of  the  liberality  with  which  the  towns  appropria- 
ted money  for  the  support  of  soldiers  and  minute  men,  it 
may  be  stated  that  Springfield,  in  town  meeting  Nov.  14th, 
1775,  granted  for  the  payment  of  the  minute  men,  for  ex- 
ercising expenses,  &c.,  with  another  account  connected 
therewith,  the  sum  of  £52,  14s.  6d.  At  a  town  meeting  in 
the  following  year,  grants  were  made  which  wiU  illustrate 
the  course  pursued  in  the  procurement  of  arms  for  the  sol- 
diers sent  out :  "  To  Ariel  Collins,  for  43  cartouch-boxes, 
£1.  Is.  6d. ;  to  Thomas  Bates,  for  a  gun  and  bayonet,  £2. 
10s. ;  to  Luke  Bliss,  for  a  gun  and  bayonet,  £2.  8s. ;  to 
Capt.  Thomas  Stebbins,  for  the  use  of  a  gun,  6s. ;  to  Tim- 
othy Bliss,  for  a  large  homespun  blanket,  15s.;  to  John 
Burt,  for  a  blanket,  9s. ;  to  Oliver  Burt,  for  a  gun  delivered 
Sylvanus  Hale,  £2 ;  to  John  Warner,  for  exercising  as  a 
minute  man,  9s. ;  to  Seth  Storer  Cobourn,  for  a  horse  to 
assist  the  minute  men  when  they  marched  from  this  town 
to  Head  Quarters  near  Boston,  in  April,  1775,  13s. ;  to 
George  Cotton,  Jr.,  for  a  blanket  and  knapsack  delivered 
Benoni  'Barrister,  13s.  6d."  Eight  pounds  were  also 
granted  to  procure  drums  for  the  several  companies  raised 
in  the  town,  and  the  selectmen  were  instructed  to  procure, 
in  addition  to  the  stock  already  possessed  by  the  town,  150 
pounds  of  gunpowder,  2,000  flints,  and  400  pounds  of  lead. 
The  appropriation  above  mentioned,  for  the  owner  of  the 
horse  that  was  used  in  getting  the  minute  men  on  their 
^'^aj  to  Boston  in  April,  gives  an  intimation  of  the  move- 


THE   LEXINGTON  ALARM.  213 

ment  which  followed  the  announcement  that  blood  had 
been  shed  at  Lexington,  and  no  better  illustration  of  the 
spirit  which  animated  this  region  of  country  at  the  time, 
can  be  given,  than  the  spirited  account  of  the  eifect  of  the 
event  in  Greenfield,  as  related  by  Mx^.  Willard,  in  his  his- 
tory of  that  town : 

"  Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  towns  re- 
ceived circulars  by  express,  or  otherwise,  and  the  people  of 
this  town  assembled  inslan(er,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on 
which  the  intelligence  was  received.  It  is  related  of  one  in- 
dividual, Mr.  Elijah  JNIitchell,  that  being  in  the  village  at  the 
time,  he  went  home  on  foot,  a  mile  or  more  West,  and  returned 
with  his  equipments,  ready  to  march,  in  fifteen  minutes  from 
the  time  he  started.  The  suddenness  of  the  gathering  reminds 
us  of  Scott's  beautiful  description  of  the  gathering  of  a  Scot- 
tish clan,  summoned  in  the  hour  of  danger,  by  the  rapid  pas- 
sage over  hill  and  uale  of  the  cross  of  fire,  sending  far  around 
its  beacon  light.  There  were  two  military  companies,  one  of 
which,  under  Capt.  Agrippa  Wells,  met  in  the  villaixe,  and  the 
other  at  the  North  meeting  house,  under  Capt.  Ebenezer 
Wells.  A  great  number  assembled  at  the  meeting  house. 
With  few  exceptions,  this  assembled  throng,  the  bowed  with 
age,  and  the  stripling  with  scarce  the  down  upon  his  cheek, 
were  ardent  in  the  patriot  cause;  the  ardor  .spread  from  lieart 
to  heart,  as  the  story  was  told  that  American  blood  had  been 
shed  by  the  British  soldiery. 

"It  was  immediately  proposed  that  Thomas  Loveland,  the 
drummer,  should  take  a  station  on  the  horse-block,  under  an 
elm  at  the  South  side  of  the  common,  and  beat  the  long  roll 
for  volunteers.  It  was  accordingly  done,  and  sounded  far  and 
wide  among  the  woods  and  (ields.  The  ofiicers  of  the  com- 
pany— Capt.  E.  Wells,  Lt.  Allen,  and  Ensign  J.  Severance — 
were  there,  but  stood  aloof,  dissuading  from  the  adventure,  as 
savoring  of  treason  and  rebellion  against  the  Government. 
They  had  not  made  up  their  minds  to  join  the  patriot  cause. 
But  the  long  roll  of  Thomas  Loveland  had  done  its  work. 
There  was  an  overwhelming  majority  for  the  contest.  The 
cautious  advice  of  their  respected  and  beloveii  officers,  hith- 
erto listened  to  with  respect,  and  obediently  followed,  was 
now  no  more  regarded  than  the  passing  breeze.  Upon  the 
first  beating  of  the  long  roll,  fiist  and  foremost  stood  out  that 
hardy,  industrious  and  bold  yeoman,  Benjamin  Hastings,  a 
William  Wallace  in  intrepidity  and  determined  bravery.  Who 
so  daring  as  to  come  next  and  risk  the  halter  ?  It  were  ditii- 
cult  to  say ;  the  whole  mass  was  in  motion  on  that  bleak  and 
barren  old  common,  Trap  Plain.     The  assembled  townsmen 


214  THE   KEVOLUTION. 

volunteered  almost  to  a  man.     The  long  roll  of  Tom  Loveland 
was  electric  and  contagious." 

The  company  thus  formed  was  on  the  marcli  the  next 
morning  for  the  East  under  Capt.  Timothy  Cliilds.  This 
is  one  of  those  stirrino-  and  interestiuff  scenes  of  which  the 
revolutionary  war  was  so  prolific,  and  the  following  is  an- 
other, the  description  being  taken  from  the  Barre  Gazette  : 

"  When  the  intelligence  reached  New  Salem,  the  people 
were  hastily  assembled  on  the  village  green  by  the  notes  of 
alarm.  Every  man  came  with  his  gun,  and  other  hasty  pre- 
parations for  a  short  march.  The  militia  of  the  town  were 
then  divided  into  two  companies,  one  of  which  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  G.  This  company  was  paraded,  before 
much  consultation  had  been  had  upon  the  proper  steps  to  be 
taken  in   the  emergency,   and  while  determination  was  ex- 

f)ressed  on  almost  every  countenance,  the  men  stood  silently 
eaning  on  their  muskets,  awaiting  the  movement  of  the  spirit 
in  the  officers.  The  Captain  was  supposed  to  be  tinciurcd 
with  toryism,  and  his  present  indecision  and  backwardness 
were  ample  proof,  if  not  of  his  attachment  to  royalty,  at  least 
of  his  unfitness  to  lead  a  patriot  band.  Some  murmurs  began 
to  be  heard,  when  the  first  Lieutenant,  William  Stacy,  took  off 
his  hat.  and  addressed  them.  He  was  a  man  of  stout  heart, 
but  of  few  words.  Pulling  his  commission  from  his  pocket, 
he  said  :  '  Fellow  soldiers,  I  don't  know  exactly  how  it  is  with 
the  rest  of  you,  but  for  one,  I  will  no  longer  serve  a  King  that 
murders  my  own  counfrymen' ;  and  tearing  the  paper  in  a 
hundred  pieces,  he  trod  it  under  his  foot.  Sober  as  were  the 
people  by  nature,  they  could  not  restrain  a  loud,  wild  hurra, 
as  he  stepped  forward,  and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks.  G. 
still  faltered,  and  made  a  feeble  endeavor  to  restore  order ; 
but  they  heeded  it  as  little  as  the  wind.  The  company  was 
summarily  disbanded,  and  a  re-organization  begun  on  the 
spot.  The  gallant  Stacy  was  unanimously  chosen  Captain, 
and  with  a  prouder  commission  than  was  ever  borne  on  parch- 
ment, he  led  a  small  but  efficient  band  to  Cambridge.  He 
continued  in  service  during  the  war,  reaching  before  its  close, 
the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel,  under  the  command  of  Put- 


William  Leavitt,  one  of  the  earliest  emigrants  from  this 
region  to  the  Western  Reserve,  Ohio,  was  at  the  time  of 
tlie  Lexington  alarm,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  residing  in  Suffield, 
Ct.  A  meeting  of  the  militia  was  held  in  that  town,  and 
volunteers  called  for.     He  with  others  took   his  knapsack 


EEQUrSITIONS   FOR  MEN  AND   MEANS.  215 

upon  his  back,  and  his  gun  in  his  hand,  and  ran  every  step 
of  the  way  to  Springfield  on  foot,  to  join  the  patriot  forces. 

But  this  early  tax,  voluntarily  rendered,  upon  the  forces 
of  the  region,  -was  far  from  being  the  last  or  most  serious. 
Requisition  ibllowed  requisition  in  the  troublous  years  that 
succeeded,  drawing  as  well  upon  industrial  resources  as 
industrious  men.  On  the  25th  of  June,  1776,  the  General 
Court  ordered  5,000  men  to  be  raised.  Those  going  from 
six  counties  were  destined  for  Canada ;  from  four  counties, 
for  New  York,  where  Gen.  Washington  had  established  his 
head  quarters.  The  troops  ordered  to  be  raised  in  Hamp- 
shire County  were  to  march  to  Canada,  and  were  offered 
each  £7  bounty.  The  proportion  to  be  raised  in  the 
County  waa  754.  Of  these,  44  were  assigned  to  Spring- 
field, 17  to  Brimfield,  24  to  Wilbraham,  to  Northampton 
47,  Southampton  17,  Hadley  13,  South  Hadley  12,  Am- 
herst 27,  Granby  9,  Hatfield  16,  Conwav  13,  Sunderland 
9,  Chesterfield  10,  West  Springfield  48,'Whately  9,  Wil- 
liamsburg 9,  Wcstfield  31,  Decrfield  18,  and  the  other 
towns  in  proportion  to  their  population,  though  the  estimate 
was  a  rough  one,  as  the  above  assignments  will  show.  The 
Hampshire  troops  furnished  exactly  a  battalion.  This  or- 
der was  followed  on  the  10th  of  July,  just  after  the  decla- 
ration of  independence,  by  an  order  for  the  enlistment  of 
every  25th  man  in  the  State,  to  re-inforce  the  Northern 
army. 

Shut  out  from  the  advantages  of  commerce  by  the  wai*, 
and  exceedingly  limited  in  manufactures,  the  means  resort- 
ed to  for  obtaining  supplies  for  the  army — clothes,  blankets 
and  food — were  characteristic  of  the  tunes.  Orders  were 
passed  for  the  raising  within  the  State  of  a  specified  num- 
ber of  blankets,  shoes  and  stockings,  &c.  These  Avere  not 
obtainable  in  any  one  place,  as  they  Avould  be  now.  They 
were  only  to  be  produced  and  found  in  families.  When  an 
order  to  raise  these  articles  was  issued,  eacli  town  had  its 
share  in  the  work  assigned  to  it,  and  receivers,  or  commit- 
tees, were  appointed  to  look  up  and  account  for  the  goods. 
These  articles  were  paid  for,  in  the  paper  money  of  the 
day.  The  mode  was,  for  the  committee  to  go  to  a  house, 
make  up  their  minds  upon  the  question  whether  the  house 
was  good  for  one,  two,  or  three  blankets,  and  then  inform 
the  houseliolder  that  he  must  produce  the  articles,  and  fake 


216  THE  HE  VOLUTION. 

his  pay  for  them.  In  many  instances,  blankets  were  taken 
directly  fi'om  beds  in  use,  and  were  often  given  up  with  a 
cheerfulness  that  showed  how  hearty  was  the  sympathy 
felt  in  the  cause  which  called  for  the  sacrifice.  On  the 
4th  of  January,  1776,  an  order  was  passed  for  the  raising 
of  4,000  blankets,  the  proportion  of  Hampshire  County 
being  300,  divided  as  follows:  Springfield  12,  Wilbraham 
6,  Northampton  7,  Hadley  10,  Southampton  6,  Amherst  8,. 
Granby  7,  Hatfield  11,  Whately  7,  Westfield  32,  Deei-field 
10,  Greenfield  10,  Sunderland  10,  Belchertown  7,  &c.  On 
the  11th  of  December,  an  order  was  passed  "that  one- 
fourth  of  the  Berkshire  militia,  and  one-eighth  of  the 
Hampshire  mihtia,  ordered  by  a  late  act  to  enforce  the 
army  near  New  York,  be  forthwith  marched  to  Albany,  to 
be  under  Gen.  Schuyler's  order."  On  the  23d  of  April, 
1777,  two  battalions,  of  750  men  each,  were  ordered  from 
Hampshire  County  to  Ticonderoga,  to  be  there  two  months. 
On  the  5  th  of  February,  of  that  year,  a  Convention  of 
the  Committees  of  Safety,  in  the  several  towns  of  Hamp- 
shire County  was  held  at  Northampton.  Robert  Breck,  a 
Northampton  trader,  (son  of  the  Springfield  minister  of 
the  same  name,)  was  chosen  Clerk,  and  Nathaniel  Dwight, 
President.  Delegates  Avere  present  from  Monson,  Brim- 
field,  Ludlow,  South  Hadley,  Granby,  Hadley,  Amherst, 
Belchertown,  Pelham,  Greenwich,  AVare,  Shutesbury,  Sun- 
derland, Warwick,  Bernardston,  Colerain,  Shelburne, 
Springfield,  Hatfield,  Whately,  Williamsburg,  Chesterfield, 
Southwick,  Charlemont,  Decrfield,  South  Brimfield,  (now 
Wales,)  Conway,  Ashfield,  Murrayfield,  (now  Chester.) 
Norwich,  Soutliampton,  Westfield,  Northampton,  Bland- 
ford,  Leverett,  West  Springfield,  Granville  and  Palmer. 
The  Convention  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into 
consideration  the  suffering  condition  of  the  Northern  Ar- 
myV  and  it  proceeded  at  once  to  advise  the  Committee  of 
Supplies  to  forward  such  supplies  as  were  necessary  for 
the  comfort  of  the  army,  "  not  doubting  that  the  General 
Court  will  approve  thereof."  A  petition  then  came  before 
the  Convention  from  Jonathan  Mosely,  who  prayed  that 
his  son,  then  confined  in  jail  for  refusing  to  go  into  the 
army,  might  be  liberated.  The  spirit  and  the  necessities 
of  the  times  are  indicated  in  the  fact  that  the  petition  was 
■  dismissed.     The  next  action  Avas  the  approval  of  the  order 


COUNTY   CONVENTION.  217 

of  the  General  Court  for  setting  up  Courts  of  the  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace  for  the  County,  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  incongruous,  but  characteristic  vote,  recom- 
mending to  all  innholders  the  importance  of  refusing  to 
entertain  persons  traveling  unnecessarily  on  the  Sabbath. 
Then  followed  the  recommendation  of  a  plan  for  securing 
uniformity  of  prices  throughout  the  County.  A  Commit- 
tee, appointed  for  the  purpose,  reported  the  following  peti 
tion  to  the  General  Court,  and  it  waa  adopted : 

"  The  petiiien  of  the  Convention  of  the  Ccmmittees  of  Safety . 
Humbly  sheweth  that  it  is  the  humble  opinion  of  this  Conven- 
tion that  it  is  highly  necessary  for  the  public  safety  of  the  United 
States  in  general,  and  this  State  in  particular,  that  your  hon- 
ors take  under  consideration  the  conduct  of  inimical  persons, 
inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Hampshire,  which  are  daily  in- 
creasing, and  has  been  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Con- 
vention. A  few  particulars  we  humbly  beg  leave  to  lay 
before  your  honors : 

"  1st.  Ever  since  our  army  retreated  from  New  York,  and 
the  inhumane  ravage  of  the  British  troops  in  the  Jersies,  our 
inimical  brethren  have  appeared  with  an  insulting  air,  and 
have  exerted  themselves  to  intimidate  weSk  minds  by  threat- 
ening speeches,  saying  that  the  day  was  over  with  us. 

"  2d.  Their  reflections  on  the  General  Court,  openly  declar- 
ing that  our  Honorable  Court  of  this  State  had  made  acts  that 
were  unjust,  respecting  the  last  raised  recruits,  declaring  that 
the  Committees  or  Selectmen  dare  as  well  be  damned  as  to 
draught  them  for  the  array,  and  that,  if  they  were  draughted, 
they  would  rather  fight  against  our  own  men  than  against  our 
enemies. 

•'  3d.  Their  using  their  utmost  endeavors  to  destroy  the  cur- 
rency of  our  paper  money,  counterfeiting  the  same,  strength- 
ening the  hands  of  our  enemies,  discouraging  our  friends, 
paying  no  regard  to  the  Committees  of  Safety,  frequently 
meeting,  and  holding  a  correspondence  from  town  to  town, 
endeavoring  to  prevent  the  raising  a  new  levy  of  men,  which 
is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  our  safety  in  this  critical  day  ; 
and  we  cannot  put  any  other  construction  upon  the  conduct 
of  those  that  appear  inimical  to  us,  but  that  they  are  plotting 
our  ruin." 

The  petition  closes  with  a  request  that  these  matters  be 

taken  into  consideration,  and  such  remedies  devised  as  may 

seem   proper.     On  the    20th  of  April,  1778,  2,000   men 

were  ordered  to  be  raised  to  fill  up  the  fifteen  contmental 

10 


218  THB   REVOLUTION. 

battalions,  which  the  State  had  been  required  to  furnish^ 
of  which  Hampshire  was  ordered  to  furnish  242.  Spring- 
field and  Northampton  furnished  13  each.  The  fine  for 
refusinof  to  sro  was  £20.  The  term  of  service  was  nine 
months,  and  each  man  was  to  hare  6d.  a  mile  for  travel,  and 
six  dollars  for  blanket,  &c.  On  the  same  day,  an  order 
was  passed  for  raising  1,300  mten  for  North  River,  and 
200  for  Rhode  Island,  of  wliich  Hampshire  County  was 
required  to  furnish  182.  During  the  same  year,  by  anoth- 
er order,  1800  men  were  to  be  raised  for  Rhode  Island,  of 
which  199  were  to  come  from  Hampshire,  and  102  from 
Berkshire.  This  last  order  was  subsequently  so  altered 
that  100  men  were  to  go  to  Rhode  Island  from  the  South 
part  of  Hampshire,  while  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  with 
those  from  Berkshire,  should  proceed  to  Albany  to  join 
Gen.  Stark.  June  23d,  of  the  same  year,  1,000  men  were 
ordered  to  guard  the  prisoners  of  the  convention  entered 
into  by  Gates  and  Burgoyne.  During  the  same  year,  too^ 
an  order  was  passed  for  collecting  shirts,  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, equal  in  number  each,  to  one-seventh  of  the  males. 
Wm.  Scott  of  Pahner  was  the  collecting  agent  for  Hamp- 
shire County.  June  1st,  1779,  an  order  was  passed  for 
raising  a  large  number  of  shirts,  shoes  and  stockings  for 
the  army,  the  proportion  of  Springfield  being  66,  and 
Northampton  64.  On  the  8th  of  the  same  month,  800 
men  were  ordered  to  be  raised,  to  serve  in  Rhode  Island, 
the  term  of  service  to  extend  to  Jan.  1st,  1780.  Of  these, 
102  were  to  come  from  Hampsliire.  They  were  to  have 
£16  per  month,  in  addition  to  the  continental  pay.  On  the 
same  day,  2,000  men  were  ordered  to  be  raised,  to  fill  up 
the  15  continental  battalions  of  the  State.  They  were  or- 
dered to  meet  at  Springfield,  and  .Justin  Ely  of  that  town 
was  ajipointed  to  receive  them,  and  deliver  them  over  to 
the  continental  officers.  The  term  of  service  was, nine 
months,  and  the  fine  for  refusing  to  go,  when  draujrhted, 
Avas  £45.  Of  these  troops,  Hampshire  was  ordered  to 
raise  228.  On  the  9th  of  October  following,  2,000  men 
were  ordered  to  be  raised,  to  co-operate  with  the  French 
alUes,  of  which  450  were  to  be  from  Hampshire,  and  200 
from  Berkshii'e.  The  fine  for  refusing  to  serve  was  fixed 
*%it  £50.  The  troops  from^  these  two  counties  were  to  form 
one  regiment,  each  soldier  receiving  £16  per  month,  ir^ 


COMBIITTEES   OF   SAFETY.  219 

addition  to  liis  regular  continental  pay,  to  receive  a  bonus 
of  £30  from  the  towns  they  should  go  from,  and  to  di-aw 
two  shillings  mileage.  On  the  4th  of  Blay,  another  oi-der 
,for  the  colleetiou  of  shirts,  shoes,  stockings  and  blankets 
was  passed.  The  number  of  blankets  to  be  collected  was 
just  half  that  of  the  other  articles.  The  proportion  of 
Springfield  was  forty-two  shirts,  shoes  and  stockings,  and 
twenty-one  blankets,  while  the  number  required  from  the 
other  towns  was  approximately  in  the  ratio  of  their  popu- 
lation. 

Thes/3  statistics  shov/  what  immense  draughts  were  made 
upon  tlie  physical  resources  of  Western  Massachusetts,  in 
common  with  other  sections  of  the  state  and  country,  in 
order  to  effect  that  revolution  whose  fruits  are  now  so 
abundant  and  so  widely  enjoyed.  So  weak  became  the 
towns,  aft<;r  two  or  three  years  had  passed  away,  so  neces- 
sary was  it  to  remain  at  home  for  the  maintenance  of  wives 
and  children,  that  many  of  these  requisitions  were  not  com- 
plied with,  the  draughted  men  paying  their  fines,  and  re- 
fusing to  leave  their  homes.  It  is  recorded  in  a  journal 
kept  by  the  minister  in  Westfield,  at  that  time,  that  when, 
on  the  loth  of  May,  1778,  a  requisition  was  made  for  men 
from  that  town,  "  Xoah  Cobley  and  Paul  Noble  went,  and 
David  Fowler,  Roger  Bagg,  Enoch  Holcomb,  Joseph 
Dewey,  Simeon  Stiles,  Jacob  Noble,  Benjamin  Sexton, 
Jolm  Moxl(;y,  Martin  Root,  Stephen  Fowler,  Eli  Granger, 
Roger  Noble  and  Daniel  Fowler  paid  their  fines." 

The  administration  of  civil  affairs  in  the  Western  coun- 
ties, during  the  early  period  of  tlie  Revolutionary  strug- 
gle, presented  some  eccentricities  which  are  wortliy  of 
notice.  It  will  have  been  observed  that  the  Convention  of 
the  Committees  of  Safety  at  Northampton  received  a  peti- 
tion that  one  Mosely  be  released  from  jail.  This  petition, 
of  itself,  indicates  the  power  whicli  the  Safety  Committees 
of  the  time  possessed.  They  dilfercd  from  the  "  Vigilance 
Committees"  tliat  were  established  during  the  municipal 
infancy  of  the  new  settlements  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in 
tlieir  existence  by  the  consent  or  connivance  of  the  State 
and  continental  nuthorities.  They  formed,  in  fact,  one  of 
the  most  powcriiil  auxiliaries  of  both.  The  recognition  of 
these  committees  was  practiced  by  the  Courts  themselves,  a 
iact  well  illustrated  by  an  occurrence  that  took  place  in 


220  ,  THE   REVOLUTION. 

Greenfield.  People  in  the  vicinity  of  a  thick  forest  on  the 
East  side  of  Full  river,  in  that  town,  had  noticed  a  smoke 
rising  above  the  trees.  The  Safety  Committee  of  the  iovm 
were  notified  of  the  fact,  and,  repairing  to  the  spot,  found 
a  man  named  Harrington,  who  inhabited  a  kind  of  cave, 
in  which  he  had  gathered  all  the  tools  necessary  for  coun- 
terfeiting. They  took  him  and  conveyed  him  to  North- 
amjjton,  where  they  brought  him  before  Judge  Joseph 
Hawley.  The  judge  told  the  Committee  that  the  jail  was 
so  full  of  tories  that  it  would  hold  no  more,  and  advised 
them  to  take  him  into  the  pine  woods,  North  of  the  town, 
and  give  him  as  many  lashes  as  they  thougJit  best,  and  let 
him  go.  The  sentence  was  executed,  three  of  the  Com- 
mittee givmg  liim  light  blows,  but  the  fourth  believed  that, 
in  whipping,  the  lashes  should  be  "  well  laid  on,"  and 
brought  blood  at  every  stroke.  They  then  bathed  his 
wounds  with  spirits,  gave  him  to  drink  of  the  same,  and, 
after  exacting  of  him  a  promise  not  to  be  seen  in  those 
parts  again,  let  him  go.  He  thanked  them  for  their  lenity, 
and  kept  his  pledge. 

At  this  day,  it  is  impossible  to  find  such  an  abundance 
of  incidents  connected  with  the  Revolution  in  this  region, 
as  will  serve  to  impregnate  Avith  life  and  interest  the  dry 
statistics  to  wliich  the  narrator  is  confined.  The  tongues 
that  could  have  related  them  are  now  silent,  or  falter  with 
the  weakness  or  the  indistinct  memories  of  age.  Such  let- 
ters as  might  aid  the  historian  are  buried  in  the  unexplored 
lumber  of  private  garrets  and  public  halls.  It  is  diificult 
to  follow  the  men  of  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  who  en- 
listed in  the  war,  and  participated  in  its  reverses  and  vic- 
tories. In  many  cases  it  is  impossible.  The  companies 
of  minute  men  which  went  promptly  from  both  counties  to 
Boston  were  there  mostly  re-organized,  having  enlisted  for 
eight  months,  and  served  in  different  regiments.  Besides 
the  company  fi-om  Greenfield,  under  Capt.  Childs,  many 
other  companies  from  Hampshire  County  marched,  upon 
the  Lexington  alarm,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  did  eight 
months'  service.  Col,  Timothy  Danielson  of  Brimfield, 
the  President  of  the  County  Congress  at  Northampton  in 
1775,  had  the  command  of  a  regiment.  To  this  regiment 
belonged  a  company  of  61  men  from  Springfield,  of  which 
'  Gideon  Burt  was  Captain,  Walter  Pynchon  1st  Lieutec:- 


THE   MINUTE   MEN.  221 

nnt,  and  Aaron  Steel  2d  do.  A  compa.ny  from  tlio  towns 
of  Bclchertown,  Ware,  Greenwich  and  Hardwick  went, 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Bardwell,  whose 
Lieutenants  were  William  Gilmore  of  Ware,  and  Moses 
Howe  of  Belcliertown.  The  Northampton  company  of 
minute  men  numbered  69,  and  were  commanded  by  Capt. 
Jonatlian  Allen,  whose  Lieutenants  were  Oliver  Lyman 
and  James  Shepherd.  West  Springfield  sent  53  men,  un- 
der Capt.  Enoch  Chapin,  whose  Lieutenants  were  Samuel 
Flowers  and  Luke  Day,  the  latter  of  wliom  must  be  sub- 
jected to  less  honorable  mention  in  connection  with  the  no- 
torious rebellion  of  178G-87.  Capt.  Reuben  Dickinson 
of  Amherst  commanded  a  company  of  Gl  men  from  Am- 
herst, Shutesbury  and  Leveret  t,  and  had  for  his  Lieuten- 
ants Zaccheus  Crocker  of  Shutesbury,  and  Joseph  Dickin- 
son of  Amherst.  Blandford  and  Murrayfield,  (now 
Chester,)  sent  a  company  of  36  men,  under  Capt.  John 
Ferguson. 

On  the  Lexington  alarm,  ten  men  left  Williamsburg, 
under  Capt.  Abel  TJiayer,  who  seems  .to  have  been  too 
impatient  to  wait  for  21  others  who  followed  him,  and  at- 
tached themselves  to  his  prompt  little  corps.  Westfield 
turned  out  a  noble  company  of  70  men,  under  Capt.  War- 
ham  Parks,  whose  Lieutenants  were  John  Shepard  and 
Richard  Falley.  Every  man  in  this  company  was  from 
Westfield.  Forty-six  men  went  from  Southampton,  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Lemuel  Pomeroy.  A  few  of  these 
seem  to  have  belonged  in  NorthamjDton  and  Norwich,  and 
Jonathan  Wales  of  the  former  town  was  1st  Lieutenant. 
Pelham  and  Greenwich  sent  58  men,  under  Capt.  Isaac 
Gray.  His  1st  Lieutenant  was  Thomas  Willington,  and 
he  appears  to  have  belonged  in  Watertown.  His  2d 
Lieutenant  was  Josiah  Wilcox  of  Greenwich.  Capt.  Seth 
Murray  of  Hatfield,  commanded  a  company  of  49  men 
from  that  town,  while  his  first  Lieutenant  was  Samuel 
Cook  of  Hadley.  Worthington  and  Ashfield  formed  a 
noble  company  of  71  men,  under  Capt.  Ebenezer  Webber 
of  the  former  town,  wliose  Lieutenants  were  Samuel  Bart- 
lett  and  Samuel  Allen,  both  of  Ashfield.  The  company 
from  Granville  lunnbered  60  men,  under  Capt.  Lebbeus 
Ball,  whose  1st  Lieutenant  was  Lemuel  Bancroft  of  South- 
wick.  A  second  company  was  formed  in  Greenfield,  con- 
19* 


223  THE   REVOLUTION. 

sisting  of  64  men,  under  Capt.  Agrippa  "Wells,  or  "  Capt. 
Grii>,"  as  he  was  termed  in  the  familiar  style  of  his  asso- 
ciates. 

Col.  Danielson  of  Brimfield  has  already  been  mentioned 
as  the  commander  of  a  regiment.  His  Lieutenant  Col. 
was  William  Shepherd  of  Westfield,  and  the  Major  of  the 
regiment  was  David  Leonard.  Col.  Woodbridge  of  South 
Hadley  had  also  the  command  of  a  regiment.  Two  regi- 
ments of  minute  men  were  formed  in  Berksliire  County, 
one  made  up  from  the  middle  and  Northern  parts  of  the 
county  under  Colonel  (afterwards  General,)  Patterson  of. 
Lenox,  and  the  other  formed  in  the  Southern  part  of  the 
County,  under  Colonel  (afterwards  General)  Fellows  of 
Sheffield.  The  privates  in  these  reghnents  became  mostly 
"  eight  months  men,"  while  some  of  them  enlisted  for  the 
wai*.  The  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  ai-rived  in  the 
county  two  days  after  its  occurrence,  at  about  mid-day, 
and  the  next  morning  Col.  Patterson's  regiment  were  on 
their  way  to  Boston,  completely  armed  and  equipped,  and 
mostly  in  uniform.  After  the  i-e-orgauization  of  Col.  Pat- 
terson's Regiment,  Jeremiah  Cady  of  Dalton  (then  Ashue- 
lot  Equivalent,)  was  constituted  Major,  and  among  the 
Captains  were  Charles  Dibble  of  Lenox,  Nathan  Watkina 
of  Peru,  (then  Partridgefield)  Thomas  AVilliaras  of  Stock- 
bridge,  David  Noble  of  Pittsfield,  and  Samuel  Sloane  of 
WiUiamstown.  General  Fellows'  regiment  numbered 
among  its  Captains,  William  King  and  Peter  Ingersoll  of 
Great  Barrington,  William  Bacon  of  Sheffield,  Ebenezer 

Smith  of  New  Marlborough, Soule  of  Sandisfield, 

William  Goodrich  of  Stockbridge,  and  Noah  Allen  of  Ty- 
ringham.  A  company  of  Indians  from  Stockbridge,  under 
Capt.  Abraham  Nimham,  one  of  tlie  tribe,  was  among 
those  that  enlisted  in  Berkshire,  and  at  the  battle  of  White 
Plains,  four  of  them  were  killed  in  the  service  of  the 
country.  Others  served  honorably  elsewhere,  and  in  so 
high  esteem  were  they  held  by  General  Washington,  that 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  a  feast  was  given  them  by  his  com- 
mand, in  Stockbridge,  of  which  the  whole  tribe  partook. 

On  the  day  of  the  ever  memorable  battle  of  Bunker 

Hill,  Col.  Patterson's  regiment  defended  Fort  No.  3,  in 

^^harlestown,  a  work  of  their  own  construction.     Both  of 

the  Berkshire  regiments  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 


MOVEMENTS    QP   THE   TROOPS.  223 

ton,  until  the  place  was  evacuated,  in  March,  177G,  some 
of  them,  however,  being  connected  with  the  terrible  expe- 
dition of  Gen.  Arnold  to  Quebec,  and  sharing  in  all  its 
hardships.  After  the  evacuation,  Col.  Patterson's  regi- 
ment proceeded  to  New  York,  and  thence  to  Canada,  for 
tlie  purjjose  of  joining  Arnold.  Owing  to  the  news  of  his 
failure  at  Quebec,  they  did  not  proceed  to  that  city,  but 
some  of  them  engaged  in  the  disastrous  battle  at  The  Ce- 
dai'S.  Retreating  from  Canada,  their  route  led  them  to 
Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  Crossing  the  bay,  tliey 
fortified  Mount  Independence,  from  which  point,  in  No- 
vember, they  marched  to  Albany.  Proceeding  thence  to 
'Esopus,  they  passed  through  the  Minisink  country,  and 
joined  Gen.  Washington's  forces  at  Newtown,  Pa.,  in  time 
to  ci'oss  the  Delaware  with  him,  and  participate  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  This  regiment  was  also 
active  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  The  extent  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  regiment  between  the  dates  of  its  depart- 
ure from  New  York,  and  its  arrival  at  Newtown,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  when  they  left  New  York  they 
numbered  over  GOO,  and  when  tiiey  joined  Gen.  AVashing- 
ton,  there  were  only  220  of  them.  Death  in  battle,  dis- 
ease and  capture  had  nearly  destroyed  them.  The  battle 
of  Bennington  was  fouglit  on  the  ItJth  of  August,  and  on 
the  13th  of  September  following,  Gen.  Lincoln  detached 
Col.  Brown  of -Pittsfic-ld,  with  a  body  of  500  men,  many 
of  whom  belonged  in  Berkshire,  for  the  pui-])ose  of  recov- 
ering Ticonderoga  and  other  posts  that  had  fallen  into  the 
possession  of  the  royal  army,  in  its  passage  from  the  North. 
Though  it  was  found  impracticable  to  reduce  either  Ticon- 
deroga or  Mount  Independence,  tlie  gallant  body  took 
Mount  Defiance  and  Mount  Hope,  200  batteaux,  several 
gun-boats,  an  armed  sloop  and  21)0  prisoners.  They  also 
released  100  Americans.  Col.  Brown  was  a  man  of  great 
shreAvdness  and  prudence,  and  was  among  the  first,  if  not 
the  first,  to  read  the  real  character  of  the  traitor  Arnold. 
Two  years  before  Ai-nold's  treason.  Brown  declared  that 
such  was  his  "  baseness  of  heart — his  love  of  gold — that  if 
the  British  should  find  out  the  man,  he  -would  prove  a  traitor 
to  his  country."  Col.  Brown  was  cliosen  Ibr  the  delicate 
and  dangerous  enterprise  of  going  to  Canada  to  excite  the 
province  against  the  rule  of  the  mother  country,  and  attach 


224  THE   REVOLUTION. 

it  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  while  there  that 
he  sounded  tlie  character  of  Ai-nold,  whom  he  charged  in 
a  handbill  with  levying  contributions  on  the  inhabitants  of 
Canada,  for  his  own  private  use  and  benefit.  He  was  then 
but  a  young  man,  and  was  only  36  years  old,  when,  on  the 
19th  day  of  October,  1780,  he,  having  made  a  sally  witli 
his  men  from  Fort  Paris,  to  assist  Gen.  Van  Rensellaer  in 
heading  off  Johnson  with  his  tories  and  savages,  fell  in  an 
ambuscade,  at  Stone  Arabia,  in  Palatine,  N.  Y. 

Gen.  Fellows  was  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains,  and 
both  he  and  General  Patterson  were  survivors  of  the  war. 
Rev.  Cornelius  Jones,  the  first  minister  of  Sandisfield,  and 
subsequently  a  wealthy  farmer  in  Rome,  N.  Y.,  command- 
ed a  company  of  militia  from  the  latter  town,  at  the  cap- 
ture of  Burgoyne.  Col.  Oliver  Root  of  Pittsfield  was  a 
survivor  of  the  ambuscade  at  Stone  Arabia,  Avhere  Col, 
Brown  fell,  and  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  Dr.  Timothy 
Childs  of  Pittsfield  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Army,  and 
marched  with  Capt.  Noble's  company  of  minute  men,  to 
Cambridge,  in  1775.  Rev.  Whitman  Welch  of  Williams- 
town,  a  chaplain  in  the  Army,  died  near  Quebec  in  177G. 
Col.  Mark  Hopkins,  of  Great  Barrington,  died  at  Wliite 
Plains. 

Tlie  tories  in  Western  Massachusetts  were  few  in  num- 
ber, and  occupied  everywhere  a  very  uncomfortable  posi- 
tion. After  the  opening  of  hostilities,  those  who  favored 
the  cause  of  the  King,  at  heart,  were  very  chary  in  the 
expression  of  their  sentiments.  That  there  were  a  few 
brawlers,  is  evident,  from  the  petition  of  the  county  con- 
vention assembled  at  Northampton  in  1777.  The  clergy, 
as  has  already  been  stated,  were  almost  unanimously  in 
favor  of  the  patriot  cause.  Among  those  who  were  in 
reality  opposed  to  it  were  Rev.  Mr.  Ashley  of  Deerfield, 
who  had  married  a  relative  of  Gov.  Hutchinson,  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Newton  of  Greenfield,  over  whom  Mr.  Ashley  was 
supposed  to  exercise  considerable  influence.  On  one  occa- 
sion, these  two  clergymen  made  an  exchange,  and  Mr.  Ash- 
ley was  informed  by  Mr.  Newton  that  he  might  take  the 
occasion  to  treat  upon  the  subject  of  the  Revolution,  "by 
way  of  caution  to  the  people."  Mr.  Ashley  somewhat  en- 
^■4S,rged  upon  the  liberty  granted  him,  and  seriously  offended 
the  congregation.     During  the  intermission  of  service,  at 


THE  TOBIES.  225 

noon,  the  friends  of  the  patriot  cause  assembled,  and  talked 
tlie  matter  over.  They  finally  resolved  themselves  into  a 
meeting,  and  chose  a  committee  to  take  measures  iu  rela- 
tion to  the  afternoon  preaching,  which  they  did  by  fasten- 
ing up  the  meeting  house.  When  J\Ir.  Ashley  came  to 
commence  the  afternoon  service,  he  was  met  at  the  door  by 
one  of  his  Deerfield  parishioners,  who  gave  him  a  signiii- 
cant  nudge  with  his  elbow.  After  repeating  this  fonn  of 
salutation,  Mr.  Ashley  asked  him  the  reason  of  the  attack, 
and  admonished  him  that  he  "  should  not  rebuke  an  elder." 
"  An  elder  ?  an  elder  ?"  replied  his  tormentor,  "  if  you  had 
not  said  you  was  an  elder,  I  should  have  thought  you  was 
a  poison  sumach."  Mr.  Ashley  had  to  retire  without  en- 
tering the  church.  But  this  was  not  the  last  of  the  rev- 
erend gentleman's  troubles.  Returning  to  his  own  parish, 
at  Deerfield,  he  soon  after  preached  a  sermon  in  which  he 
spoke  against  the  patriot  cause,  and  gave  his  opinion  that 
those  Americans  who  fell  at  Lexington  had  met  with  a 
fearful  doom  in  the  next  world.  Ou  the  following  Sab- 
bath, he  undertook  to  enter  his  pulpit,  but  found  it  spiked 
up.  After  ineffectual  attempts  to  enter,  he  turned  to  one 
of  his  deacons,  and  requested  him  to  go  and  get  his  ham- 
mer, and  force  for  him  an  entrance.  The  deacon  was  a 
blacksmith,  but  informed  his  pastor  that  he  did  not  work  ou 
the  Sabliath.  At  last,  an  axe  was  procured,  and  the  pul- 
pit entered. 

Capt.  Agrippa  Wells,  of  Greenfield,  (who,  with  his  com- 
pany, Avas  present  at  the  capture' of  Burgoyne,)  was  at  one 
time  at  home  on  a  furlough,  and  llev,  Mr.  Newton,  who, 
with  all  his  leanings  to  toryisni,  had  managed  to  keep  a  ju- 
dicious seat  upon  the  fence,  called  at  the  house  of  the  ofii- 
cer  to  learn  the  news.  lie  fbnnd  the  family  at  a  meal, 
and,  iu  the  course  of  the  conversation,  either  sportively  or 
m  earnest,  asked  the  Captain  what  they  intended  to  do  witli 
th('  tories.  "  What  do  with  them  ?"  shouted  Capt.  Wells, 
bringing  his  fist  down  upon  the  table  witli  a  force  that 
made  the  table  furniture  ring  and  dance,  "do  with  'em, 
damn  'em,  we  intend  to  hang  the  devils."  Mr.  Newton 
probably  did  not  indulge  in  any  greater  freedom  of  expres- 
sion after  this  than  lie  had  before. 

There  was  iu  Lenox  a  notorious  tory,  who  stubbornly 
resisted  all  moral  suasion  plied  by  his  Whig  neighbors,  to 


226  THE   REVOLUTION, 

induce  him  to  support  the  continental  cause.  The  Vigi- 
lance Committee  of  the  town  finally  took  his  case  into  se- 
rious consideration,  and  agreed  to  arrest  and  scare  his 
torjism  out  of  him.  Accordingly,  one  day,  on  his  appear- 
ance in  the  village  for  business,  he  was  arrested  and  taken 
before  the  Committee,  and  told  that  he  must  either  sur- 
render his  allegiance  to  King  George,  or  dangle  at  the  end 
of  a  rojie  from  the  sign-post.     He  told  them  to  "  hang,  and 

be  d d,"  for  he  should  continue  a  subject  of  his  lawful 

king  as  long  as  he  had  life^  to  serve  him.  The  alternative 
was  immediately  proceeded  with,  and  having  fastened  a 
halter  about  his  neck,  he  was  attended  with  due  solemnity 
to  the  sign-post,  pulled  up,  and  suffered  to  remain  until 
nearly  defunct.  They  then  let  him  down,  and  suffering 
him  to  revive,  asked  him  if  he  was  willing  to  hurra  for  the 
Continental  Congress.  Though  somewhat  tamed,  he  still 
refused,  and  was  suspended  a  second  time,  until  his  situa- 
tion became  decidedly  uncomfortable,  and  his  executioners 
feared  they  had  finished  him.  Being  lowered  again  and 
plied  with  restoratives,  he  was  brought  to  once  more,  and 
then  informed  that  he  must  renounce  his  opposition,  or 
hang  in  earnest  a  third  time.  The  experiment  j^roved  suc- 
cessful, and  he  agreed  to  swing  his  hat  in  favor  of  the  col- 
onial cause.  He  was  then  taken  into  the  tavern  and 
favored  with  a  glass  of  toddy,  when  he  remarked — "  Gen- 
tlemen, this  is  one  way  to  make  Wliigs,  hut,  by  thunder,  it'll 
do  it" 

An  aged  lady  still  survives  in  Springfield,  who  receives 
a  regular  pension  from  the  British  Government,  for  ser- 
vices rendei'cd  that  Government  by  her  husband,  who  was 
on  the  tory  side  in  the  Revolution.  She  has  probably  re- 
ceived an  aggregate  of  S  10,000,  in  the  course  of  her  life. 

Rev.  Abraham  Hill  of  Shutesbury  was  among  those  who 
were  oppgsed  to  the  patriot  cause.  His  sentiments  on  this 
subject  alienated  him  from  his  people  so  far  that  his  con- 
nection with  them  was  finally  broken  up,  his  church  hav- 
ing become  reduced  to  a  solitary  member.  While  it  does 
not  ajjjDcar  that  any  considez'able  number  of  the  clergymen 
of  Hampshire  County  served  as  chaplains  in  the  revolu- 
tionary army,  there  v/ere  many  of  them  who  warmly  es- 
poused the  American  cause,  among  whom  Rev.  Dr.  Josejih 
^»Lyman  of  Hatfield  was  conspicuous.     Among  those  who 


THE  NATIONAL   ARMORY.  227 

served  as  chaplains  in  the  army,  from  Berkshire,  were  Rev. 
George  Throop  of  Otis,  llev.  Daniel  Avery  of  Windsor, 
and  Rev.  Thomas  Allen  of  Pittsfield,  who  was  a  partici- 
pator in  the  battle  of  Bennington.  One  of  the  chaplains 
from  Hampshire  County,  Rev.  Jonathan  Smith  of  Chico- 
pee,  still  survives,  and  his  silver  hair  and  venerable  forai 
are  familiar  to  all  in  the  region  of  his  home,  who  attend 
the  annual  celebrations  of  the  National  birthday. 

It  was  during  the  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war  that 
those  steps  were  taken  which  subsequently  led  to  the  es- 
tablislunent  of  one  of  the  national  armories  in  Springfield. 
The  town  became,  at  first,  a  recruiting  post  and  rendezvous 
for  soldiers.  Tlien,  in  consequence  of  its  inland  and  cen- 
tral situation,  and  its  distance  Irora  points  subject  to  sud- 
den attacks  of  the  enemy,  it  was  fixed  upon  as  a  depot  for 
military  stores,  and  a  place  for  repairing  arms,  &c.  At 
that  time  the  repairing  shops  were  on  Main  street,  and  the 
mechanics  employed  lived  in  the  same  locality.  No  pub- 
lic buildings  were  erected  then,  and  a  laboratory  for 
cartridges,  and  such  other  fireworks  as  were  used,  occupied 
a  Ijarn.  A  few  cannon  were  also  cast  at  this  point,  and  the 
late  Gen.  Mattoon  of  Amherst,  one  of  Hampshire's  bravest 
and  most  energetic  spirits  in  the  Revolution,  used  to  tell 
of  an  order  that  he  received  from  Gen.  Gates,  to  proceed 
to  Springfield,  and  convey  a  number  of  cannon  from  that 
point  to  the  field  of  operations  in  New  York.  The  Gen- 
eral rode  from  Amherst  to  Springfield  on  Sunday,  and  with 
a  small  body  of  men,  accomplished  the  task,  "  and  those 
cannon  told  at  Saratoga."  In  the  course  of  two  or  three 
years,  during  1778  and  1779,  the  works  were  moved  to  the 
Hill,  where,  modified  and  amplified  to  an  extent  that  rivals 
the  armories  of  the  old  world,  they  still  remain.  The 
Avorks  in  their  earlier  days  were  protected  by  a  guard,  and 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1784,  sixty  troops  came  from 
West  Point,  uiider  the  command  of  Major  J.  Williams,  and 
"  were  stationed  there  for  the  Winter,  as  a  guard  to  the 
magazine  and  other  military  stores  on  Continental  Hill." 

The  scarcity  of  money  in  the  army  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, is  very  strikingly  illustrated  by  an  incident  which  oc- 
curred in  West  Si)ringfield.  After  the  capture  of  Bur- 
goyne,  a  detachment  of  the  American  army  arrived  at  that 
town,  on  their  way  Eastward.     While  there,  the  paymaster 


228  THE   EEVOLUTION. 

was  taken  sick,  and  was  attended  faithflilly  for  several 
days  by  Dr.  Cliauncey  Brewer  of  Springfield.  At  the 
close  of  his  sickness,  he  informed  the  Doctor  that  he  had 
no  money,  and  insisted  that  he  should  take  for  his  fee  the 
money  box.  This  he  accepted,  and  it  is  still  preserved  by 
Mr.  James  Brewer  of  Springfield,  as  a  precious  memorial 
of  "  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls." 

The  definitive  treaty  of  peace  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States,  signed  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1783,  was  duly  celebrated  by  such  public  demonstrations 
of  joy,  in  many  of  the  towns  of  "Western  Massachusetts, 
as  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  people  would  permit. 
The  extent  of  these  demonstrations  was,  however,  no  indi- 
cation of  the  deep  sense  of  relief  and  gratification  arising 
from  the  fact  that  the  many  sacrifices  that  had  been  of- 
fered, of  life  and  treasure,  had  purchased  that  freedom  for 
v/hich  they  had  been  so  nobly  made.  There  was  a  public 
celebration  of  the  event  at  Westfield.  The  "morning. was 
ushered  in,"  by  the  report  of  cannon,  and  a  flag  of  the 
United  States,  then  a  new  ensign,  was  displayed  at  the  top 
of  a  pole  erected  on  the  green*  At  noon,  thirteen  cannon 
were  fired  in  honor  of  the  states  then  composing  the  con- 
federacy. The  assembly  then  proceeded  to  the  church, 
and  listened  to  an  appropriate  sermon  from  Rev.  Noah  At- 
water,  the  pastor  of  the  Westfield  church,  "  and  an  excel- 
lent anthem  was  sung,  suited  to  the  occasion."  After  the 
exercises  closed,  the  majority  of  the  leading  citizens,  with 
a  number  of  gentlemen  from  Springfield  and  the  neighbor- 
ing towns,  sat  down  to  a  dinner.  The  toasts  which  followed 
were  "  each  accompanied  by  a  discharge  of  cannon."  The 
company  drank  to  the  United  States,  to  Peace,  to  the  gen- 
erous and  faithful  allies  of  the  states,  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  to  Gen.  Washington,  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
had  fallen,  to  oblivion  to  all  distinction  of  whig  and  tory 
among  the  people,  and  they  drank — 

"  Success  to  the  lover,  honor  to  the  brave, 
Health  to  the  sick  and  freedom  to  the  slave." 

The  evening  exercises  consisted  of  a  brilliant  display  of 
fireworks.     The  Hampshire  Herald,  from  which  this  ac- 
count is  taken,  follows  its  report  with  the  statement  that 
^■%>iuring  the  preceding  week  about  700  or  800  troops,  on 


CELEBRATION    OP   PEACE.  229 

their  way  home  from  the  wars,  had  passed  through  the 
town,  and  testifies  to  the  decency  and  good  order  of  their 
behavior.  Northampton  also  celebrated  the  event.  A  ser- 
mon was  preached  on  the  occasion  by  Rev.  Mr.  Spring,  and 
the  proclamation  of  peace  was  read  from  the  court  house 
steps,  by  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  before  the  militia  under 
arms,  and  a  large  concourse  of  gentlemen  ;  "  and  the  even- 
ing was  concluded  with  decent  mirth  and  hilarity."  The 
ladies  of  the  town,  who  had  been  as  deeply  engaged  in  the 
cause  of  the  Revolution  as  their  fathers,  husbands  and 
brothers,  were  much  offended  because  they  were  allowed 
no  part  in  the  matter,  and,  on  the  next  day,  met  and  had 
a  celebration  by  themselves.  After  drinking  to  Lady 
Washington  and  Congress,  the  following  toasts  and  senti- 
ments were  given :  "  Reformation  to  our  husbands,"  "  May 
the  gentlemen  and  ladies  ever  unite  on  joyful  occasions," 
"  Ilappiness  and  prosperity  to  our  families,"  ''  Reformation 
to  the  men  in  general,"  and  "  May  reformed  husbands  ever 
find  obedient  wives."  Some  miserable  rhymester  of  the 
day  cai'icatured  their  movements,  in  the  public  prints,  and 
described  their  procession  as  follows : 

•*  The  presidentess,  spry  to  leap, 
Led  first  as  shepherd  leads  the  sheep, 
The  rest  pushed  on  with  sturdy  straddle, 
With  each  in  hand  a  pudding  paddle. 
By  neat  tow  strings  all  at  their  backs, 
Hung  thirteen  pretty  little  sacks;  « 

All  tied  tight  they  did  conceal 
Just  thirteen  quarts  of  Indian  meal. 
Each  had  a  spoon  of  white-wood  metal, 
Each  at  her  side  a  nice  tin  kettle. 
Thus  fixed,  they  marched  right  through  the  town, 
Nor  would  be  stopped  by  spark  or  clown. 
Old  Dido  with  her  Tyrian  band 
Ne'er  cut  a  Hash  one  half  so  grand, 
While  they  moved  on  with  pomp  and  show, 
To  take  some  lea  and  pudding  too." 
20 


I 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Shays  Rebellion — Its  Origin  and   Progress. 

The  joy  of  peace  and  the  exultation  of  freedom  were 
destined  to  give  early  place  to  an  apprehension  of  evil, 
springing  not  from  foreign  foes,  for  they  were  vanquished, 
but  from  internal  dissensions  and  lawless  outbreaks  of  pop- 
ular force.  The  expenses  of  the  war,  the  depreciation  of 
the  paper  issues  of  money,  the  heavy  taxation,  and  the  ex- 
tent of  town  and  individual  debts,  began,  some  two  or  three 
years  previous  to  the  close  of  the  war,  to  awaken  a  spirit  of 
popular  discontent  in  Massachusetts,  that,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  ripened  into  a  most  unhappy  and  disgraceful 
rebellion.  INIore  than  any  otlier  cause — more  than  taxa- 
tion or  deterioration  of  money — the  wide  existence  of  pri- 
vate indebtedness,  and  the  legal  efforts  made  for  the 
collection  of  claims,  operated  to  bring  about  the  uneasiness 
and  its  shameful  and  disastrous  results.  It  is  a  common 
fault  that,  in  times  of  pecuniary  distress,  the  people  attrib- 
ute to  the  government  tlie  evils  from  which  they  suffer, 
and  it  is  not  a  subject  of  marvel  that  when  a  proportion  of 
the  people  felt  themselves  helplessly  within  the  power  of 
their  Creditors,  they  should  grow  restive,  and  seek  in  un- 
tried channels  the  relief  v.'hich  common  means  failed  to 
command ;  nor  is  it  new  that  at  such  times  demao^osrues 
should  be  found  ready  to  take  advantage  of  popular  dis- 
contejat,  to  win  notoriety  to  themselves,  and  advance  their 
own  interests.  Conventions  began  to  be  held  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  as  early  as  1781,  to  consult  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  grievances.  These  Conventions  were  made  up  of 
delegates  from  several  towns,  and,  based  on  their  action, 
demagogism  took  early  occasion  to  excite  the  spirit  of  re- 
bellion. The  earliest  and  most  inveterate  demagogue  in 
the  field  was  Samuel  Ely.  He  was  a  cast-off,  irregular 
preacher,  who  had  acted  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  sev- 
eral years  at  Somers,  Ct.  He  was  a  vehement,  brazen- 
faced declain^er,  abounding  in  his  hypocritical  pretensions 
^«to  piety,  and  an  iudustrioua  sower  of  discord ;  and  he  de- 


SAMUEL   ELY,   THE   "  MOBBER."  231 

lighted  in  nothing  more  than  in  ai'ousing  jealousies  between 
the  poor  and  the  rich.  He  brought  his  misguided  pai'ish- 
ioners  at  Somei's  to  such  a  deplorable  condition  in  a  few 
years  that  they  were  consti'aiued  to  call  a  Council  of  the 
neighboring  ministers,  who,  upon  submitting  to  an  exami- 
nation his  moral  and  literary  qualifications,  unhesitatingly 
pronounced  him  unfit  for  tlie  desli,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  leave,  and  Hampshire  County  became  his  subsequent 
home,  and  the  scene  of  his  operations.  Here  he  soon 
found  his  place,  and  his  tools.  No  field  could  have  been 
better  prepared  for  his  seditious  spirit.  He  promoted  the 
calling  of  Conventions,  and  then  used  their  action  as  a  pre- 
text for  rebellion  and  riot,  and  was  but  too  successful.  In 
the  month  of  April,  1782,  he  succeeded  in  raising  a  mob 
of  sufficient  force  to  distui'b  the  holding  of  the  Supremo 
Judicial  Court  and  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  North- 
ampton. For  his  connection  with  this  affair,  he  was  ar- 
rested, and  pleading  guilty  to  the  indictment  against  him, 
was  condemned  to  a  term  of  imprisonment  in  Springfield. 
While  under  sentence,  and  at  a  time  when  the  people  were 
withdrawn  from  the  town,  a  mob  assembled  and  released 
him.  Three  persons,  supposed  to  be  ringleaders  in  the 
rescue,  were  arrested  and  committed  to  jail  in  Nortliamp 
ton.  These  were  Capt.  Dinsmore,  Lieut.  Paul  King,  and 
Lieut.  P.  Bardwell,  and  they  were  held  as  hostages  for  the 
delivery  of  Ely.  Another  mob  then  gathered  for  the  re- 
lease of  the  ringleaders.  They  assembled  in  Hatfield  to 
the  number  of  300  persons,  under  Capt.  Reuben  Dickin- 
son, while  the  Sheriff  of  the  County,  Gen.  P^lihu  Porter 
of  Hadley,  called  out  the  militia  to  the  number  of  1,200, 
for  the  protection  of  the  jail.  On  the  15th  of  June,  Capt. 
Dickinson  dispatched  three  men  to  Northampton,  with  a 
proposition  to  the  Sheriff  for  a  committee  to  meet  the  riot- 
ers one  mile  from  Northampton,  in  two  hours  and  a  half 
from  the  delivery  of  the  message.  Gen.  Porter  declined, 
and  the  next  morning  received  tlie  following  note  from 
Dickinson :  "  The  demands  of  our  body  are  as  follows : 
that  you  bring  the  prisoners  that  are  now  in  jail,  viz.  Capt. 
Dinsmore,  Lt.  King  and  Lt.  P>ardwcll,  forthioiih.  That 
you  deliver  up  Dea.  Wells'  bonds,  and  any  other  that  may 
be  given  in  consequence  of  the  recent  disturbance.  The 
above  men  to  be  delivered  on  the  parade,  now  in  our  pos- 


/* 


232  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

session — the  return  to  be  made  in  half  an  hour."  This 
insulting  demand  was  considered,  and  so  far  yielded  to  that 
the  three  men  were  released  on  their  parole  of  honor, 
agreeing  to  deliver  up  the  body  of  Samuel  Ely  to  the 
Sheriff,  or  in  default  thereof,  their  own  bodies,  on  the  order 
of  the  General  Court.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
contemptibly  pusillanimous  than  the  conduct  of  Gen.  Por- 
ter on  this  occasion.  That  the  leniency  of  the  General 
Court  in  the  treatment  of  this  breach  of  the  peace  was  the 
cause  of  the  subsequent  disturbances  is  not  now  to  be  said, 
but  the  fact  that  all  the  notice  they  took  of  it  was,  at  their 
session  in  the  November  following,  to  pardon  every  man 
concerned  in  the- riot,  except  Ely,  would  naturally  lead  to 
that  opinion. 

This  action  of  the  General  Court,  if  it  was  intended  for 
good,  failed  entirely  of  'its  end,  for  tlie  "  mobbers,"  as  they 
were  called,  placed  the  construction  of  fear  and  weakness 
upon  their  leniency.  The  very  next  year,  on  the  last  day 
of  the  holding  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  the 
Court  of  the  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  at  Springfield, 
it  being  in  the  month  of  May,  a  mob  collected  from  diifer- 
ent  parts  of  the  county  to  the  number  of  about  sixty,  to 
prevent  the  session.  In  the  forenoon,  they  showed  no  dis- 
position to  oppose  the  Courts,  but  at  two  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon, they  assembled  at  a  tavern,  resolved  themselves 
into  a  Convention  of  the  County  for  the  redress  of  griev- 
ances, and  then,  after  ])assing  a  series  of  resolves,  adjourned 
to  an  elm  tree  near  the  Court  House,  armed  with  blud- 
geons. At  lengtli,  the  bell  rang  for  the  assembling  of  the 
Court,  when  the  Judges,  headed  by  the  Sheriff,  appeared, 
and  were  opposed  as  they  endeavored  to  enter  the  build- 
ing. The  Sheriff  calmly  expostulated,  but  without  eftect, 
save  upon  the  inhabitants  who  had  assembled,  and  who 
immediately  commenced  an  action  upon  the  mob,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  repulsing  them.  Those  who  could  retire  were 
glad  to  get  off  with  broken  heads  and  contused  faces,  while 
several  were  taken  and  committed  to  prison.  Afterwards, 
by  a  regular  procedure,  they  were  brought  before  the 
Court  of  Sessions  for  examination,  and  were  bound  to  ap- 
pear for  trial  before  the  Supreme  Court. 

On  the  29th  of  September  following,  a  meeting  of  the 
.Committees  of    seven  towns  was  held  at   Deerfield,  "to 


CONVENTIONS.  233 

take  into  consideration  the  deplorable  situation  the  people 
of  the  County  and  tlie  Commonwealtli  are  in,  and  the 
more  deplorable  situation  they  are  soon  like  to  be  in,  by 
reason  of  the  very  great  scarcity  of  a  circulating  medium." 
The  Convention  professed  to  see  before  them  a  general 
and  awful  bankruptcy,  and,  while  they  did  not  assume  to 
point  out  tlie  measures  of  relief,  they  thought  something 
should  be  done.  Among  the  grievances  complained  of  by 
this  Convention  was  the  burden  placed  upon  them  by 
tlieir  location  in  the  Northern  part  of  the  County,  being 
thus  distant  from  the  Courts  of  Justice  and  the  offices  of 
the  Eegistcr  and  Treasurer,  and,  in  consequence,  subject 
to  much  more  expense  than  those  living  in  tlie  middle  and 
Southern  parts  of  the  County.  This  trouble  they  pro- 
posed to  remedy  by  petitioning  the  General  Court  for  a 
division  of  the  Count j&  or  for  the  removal  of  the  Courts 
wholly  from  Springli^d  to  A'orthampton.  The  Conven- 
tion deemed  it  of  importance  that  a  Convention  of  the 
County,  should  be  held  to  take  these  and  other  matters 
into  consideration,  and  recpicsted  delegates  from  the  seve- 
ral towns  to  meet  at  Hatfield  on  the  20th  of  October,  at 
the  house  of  Seth  Marsh,  for  that  j)uri)ose.  Accordingly, 
on  that  day,  delegates  trom  twenty-seven  towns  in  the 
County  assembled,  and  discussed '  the  subjects  of  the 
National  and  State  debts,  and  the  necessity  of  their  pay- 
ment. This  body  was  moderate  and  judicious  in  the 
expression  of  its  vi(!ws,  but  while  it  reconuneuded  the 
good  people  of  the  County  to  acquire,  by  industry  in  their 
several  callings,  the  money  necessary  for  tlie  payment  of 
their  taxes,  they  expressed  the  opinion  tluit  it  was  impos- 
sible for  them  to  do  so  at  so  rapid  a  rate  as  the  Govern- 
ment demanded. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  people  of  the  Common- 
wealth had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  just  how  far  they 
had  l)ecome  involved,  and  what  burdens  rested  upon  them. 
Tlie  State  debt  amounted  to  more  than  £1,300,000,  and 
there  was  due  the  Massachusetts  officers  and  soldiers  no 
less  than  £250,000,  while  the  proportion  of  the  federal 
debt,  for  which  the  State  was  responsible,  was,  at  least, 
£1,500,000.  Every  town  was  also  in  debt  for  the  supplies 
it  had  furnished  its  soldiers.  When  it  is  remembered  that, 
for  nearly  nine  years,  the  expenditures  that  created  this 
20* 


234  THE    SHAYS    REBELLION. 

debt  had  been  in  progress,  and  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
productive  forces  of  the  State  had  been  diverted  into  the 
channel  of  war,  it  can  readily  be  imagined  that  a  people 
never  rich,  must  have  become  extremely  poor.  The  im- 
post and  excise  duties  could  only  partially  relieve  the  tax- 
ation upon  j)olls  and  estates.  Legislation  became  diificult. 
The  people  9omplained  of  the  policy  of  paying  only  the 
interest  on  the  debt  of  the  State,  as  not  lightening  them  of 
their  burdens,  and  then  they  complained  when,  in  1784, 
the  Legislature  issued  a  tax  of  £140,000  towards  the  re- 
demption of  the  debt,  as  well  as  when,  two  years  subse- 
quently, £100,000  was  assessed  for  the  same  purpose. 
At  this  time,  and  consequent  upon  the  loose  morals  to 
which  war  so  inevitably  leads,  there  had  sprung  up  a  love 
of  luxury  and  indolence.  The  thrifty  and  staid  habits  of 
earlier  days  had  been  broken  in  upon  by  the  excitements 
of  the  Revolution,  and  the  whole  public  mind  and  morals 
suifered.  Credit  abroad  was  good,  and  a  ruinous  super- 
fluity of  importation  followed.  The  opposition  of  policy 
between  private  debtors  and  creditors  was  not  greater  than 
that  between  rival  interests  in  the  Legislature.  Those 
who  represented  the  landed  interest  were  in  favor  of  rais- 
ing the  whole  revenue  by  impost  duties,  while  those  repre- 
senting the  commei'cial  interest  i^rotested  against  the  policy 
as  unjust. 

On  the  third  of  July,  1782,  the  "Tender  Act"  was 
passed,  for  the  benefit  of  private  debtors.  This  made  neat 
cattle  and  other  articles  a  legal  tender,  and  by  its  retro- 
spective operation  only  tended  to  susjiend  lawsuits,  and 
thus  increase  the  very  evil  it  was  intended  to  obviate. 
This  law  did  not  last  long,  but  it  lived  long  enough  to  set 
a  high  example  of  injustice  to  creditors,  which  lawlessness 
too  readily  followed.  Congress  having  promised  half  pay 
for  life  to  such  officers  as  should  remain  in  the  service,  by 
a  resolve  of-  the  22d  of  March,  1782,  commuted  the  sum 
to  five  years'  full  pay,  which  latter  act,  though  involving  a 
change  extremely  favorable  to  the  States,  raised  a  great 
outcry.  This  matter  of  commutation  was  one  of  the 
grievances  complained  of  at  the  Deerfield  and  Hatfield 
Conventions,  though  the  army  oificers  had  but  little  for  the 
outcry  raised  on  their  account,  the  paper  promises  they 
received  even  being  insufficient  to  make  up  the  losses  they 


CONVENTIONS    AND   MOBS.  235 

had  experienced  on  the  nearly  worthless  money  they  had 
received  for  their  regular  pay.  Their  securities  then 
passed  into  the  hands  of  speculators,  when  the  shameless 
cry  was  raised  that  the  Commonwealth  was  not  in  honor 
bound  to  pay  a  man  more  for  them  than  they  had  cost 
him,  and  should  avail  itself  of  the  depreciation  of  its  secu- 
rities for  its  own  benefit. 

It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  machinery  which  pop- 
ular discontent  projDosed  for  the  relief  of  its  difficulties 
was  Conventions  and  mobs,  and  this  was  the  machinery 
used  from  first  to  last.  The  Conventions  were  at  first  re- 
spectable, and  disclaimed  all  connection  with  mobs.  Sub- 
sequently they  became  the  abettors  of  violence.  The 
mobs  themselves  had  originally  one  object,  and  that,  the 
stoppage  of  the  Inferior  Courts,  so  that  debts  might  not  bo 
collected,  and  subsequently  the  destruction  of  the  Superior 
Courts,  so  that  themselves  might  not  be  in  danger  of  trial 
for  their  crimes.  In  this  was  found  the  real  motive  which 
actuated  the  rioters,  while  then-  pretended  motives  were 
based  upon  the  action  of  the  Conventions,  which  published 
their  lists  of  grievances,  declaring  them  to  be  attributable 
to  a  defective  Constitution,  a  badly  framed  Government, 
and  oppressive  legislation.  The  bold  charges  of  the  Con- 
ventions carried  wilh  them  a  moi'al  power  which,  while  it 
weakened  the  Government  and  drew  to  them  the  sympa- 
thies of  many  who  at  first  would  have  shrunk  from  all 
thoughts  of  treasonable  violence,  gave  decided  countenance 
to  the  rioters,  and  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  dema- 
gogues who  led  them.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  fact,  too, 
that,  as  the  Conventions  grew  stronger  and  more  denun- 
ciatory, better  men  with  better  motives  appeared  among 
tlie  leaders  of  the  mob,  insomuch  that  whereas,  at  first,  the 
mob  was  composed  of  a  set  of  unprincipled  scoundrels, 
who  were  willing  to  follow  the  lead  of  Ely,  it  finally  be- 
came a  larger  and  far  more  respectable  body,  with  more 
respectable  leadex's.  It  thus  proved  that  the  more  the 
Conventions  increased  in  magnitude  and  decreased  in 
character,  the  larger  became  the  mob  and  more  elevated, 
until,  at  last,  they  stood  on  even  ground,  and  played  into 
each  others'  hands.  Between  the  Conventions  and  the 
mobs,  everything  became  a  grievance.  Lawyers  were  a 
grievance  because  they  assisted  in  the  administration  of 


236  THE   SHAYS     REBELLION. 

justice.  This  prejudice  went  so  far  that  by  popular  voice 
they  were  excluded  alike  from  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate.  In  the  scarcity  of  a  circulating 
medium,  there  was  a  loud  popular  call  for  an  emission  of 
paper  money.  The  Legislature  refused,  and  that  was  a 
grievance.  In  short,  the  grievances  wei'e  nearly  number- 
less, as  will  hereafter  be  seen. 

On  the  loth  of  August,  1786,  a  Convention  of  thirty-! 
seven  towns  in  Worcester  County  assembled  in  the  town 
of  Worcester,  and  voted,  to  start  with,  that  it  was  "  a  law- 
ful and  constitutional  body."  It  then  entered  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  causes  of  discontent  among  the  people,  and 
at  last  agreed  upon  the  following  enumeration  of  them : 
"  1.  The  sitting  of  the  General  Court  in  Boston;  2d,  The 
want  of  a  circulating  medium  ;  3d,  The  abuses  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law  and  the  exorbitance  of  the  fee-table ;  4th, 
The  existence  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  in  their 
present  mode  of  administration ;  5th,  The  appropriating 
the  revenues  arising  from  the  impost  and  excise  to  the 
payment  of  the  interest  of  the  State  securities ;  6th,  The 
unreasonable  and  unnecessary  grants  made  by  our  Gene- 
ral Court  to  the  Attorney  General  and  others ;  7th,  The 
servants  of  the  Government  being  too  numerous  and  hav- 
ing too  great  salaries ;  8th,  This  Commonwealth  granting 
aid  or  paying  moneys  to  Congress  while  our  public  ac- 
counts remain  unsettled."  This  was  a  formidable  list  of 
grievances,  and  the  Convention  only  proposed  that  they 
should  be  redressed  by  lawful  and  constitutional  means, 
and  bore  particular  testimony  against  all  riots,  mobs  and 
unconstitutional  combinations.  The  Convention  voted  to 
correspond  with  its  sister  counties  in  Convention,  and 
peaceably  adjourned.  w 

The  tendency  of  this  and  similar  Conventions  was 
plainly  seen  and  pointed  out  by  the  more  judicious  corres- 
pondents of  the  public  prints  of  the  period.  These  wri- 
tei-s  attributed  the  prevailing  pressui'es  to  extravagance  in 
living  and  dress,  and  to  the  large  consumption  of  British 
fabrics.  One  says :  "  How  much  soever  we  may  be  o^P 
pressed,  yet  thus  much  is  certain  ;  we  cannot  be  oppressed 
without  justice.  Why  then  should  we  wish  to  stop  its 
execution  ?  If  we  have  honestly  involved  ourselves  in 
public  or  private  debts,  let  us  as  honestly  discharge  the 


THE   HATFIELD    CONVENTION.  237 

obligations  we  liave  voluntarily  contracted.  "We  have 
nobly  bled  for  our  liberty,  and  finally  obtained  tlie  victory. 
But  at  the  rate  we  are  about  to  use  it,  God  knows  it  can- 
not be  much  preferable  to  slavery."  Another  says — "  We^"^ 
see  them  assembling  in  Conventions  to  concert  measures 
to  defraud  their  own  and  the  public  creditors."  Still 
another  declares  that  "  these  Conventions  naturally  tend  to 
weaken  and  subvert  the  Government."  The  Conventionsj 
came  also  under  the  lashing  pen  of  satire,  which,  following 
their  mode  of  procedure,  declared  it  "  a  grievance  tliat 
money  is  scai'ce  and  a  greater  grievance  that  honesty  is 
scarcer ;  a  grievance  that  one  knave  leads  ten  fools  by  the 
nose ;  a  grievance  that  those  who  have  done  the  most  to 
make  the  times  bad  should  complain  most  of  the  bad- 
ness of  them ;  a  grievance  that  men  who  cry  and  bawl, 
merely  to  make  themselves  popular,  should  be  regarded, 
and  a  grievance  that  we  should  be  so  ungrateful  to  Heav- 
en for  the  salvations  arid  blessings  we  have  received,  as  to 
murmur  at  difficulties  necessarily  incurred  in  order  to  ob- 
tain them." 

The  Worcester  Convention  was  followed,  on  the  22d  of"" 
August,  by  a  Convention  of  delegates,  from  fifty  towns  in 
Hampshire  County,  at  Hatfield.  This  Convention  was 
called  together  by  circular  letters  from  a  minor  Convention 
previously  held  in  Pelliam.  Tbe  Hatfield  Convention  was 
in  session  for  three  days,  and,  folfowing  the  example  of  the 
Worcester  body,  proceeded  at  first  to  vote  itself  a  consti- 
tutional assembly.  It  then  decided  upon  a  full  score  of 
grievances,  and  put  forth  its  grievances  and  votes  in  nume- 
ral order,  as  follows : 

1st.  The  existence  of  the  Senate. 

2d.  Tlie  present  mode  of  Representation. 

3d.  The  officers  of  the  Government  not  being  annually  de-    ^ 
pendent  on  the  representatives  of  the   people,  in    General    '  /^v^ 
Court  assembled,  for  their  salaries. 

4th.  All  the  civil  oflicers  of  Government,  not  being  annually 
elected  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  in  General  Court 
assembled. 

5th.  The  existence  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and 
General  Sessions  of  the  Peace. 

6th.  The  fee  table  as  it  now  stands. 

7th.  The  present  mode  of  appropriating  the  impost  and  ex-^ 
cise. 


238  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

8th.  The  unreasonable  grants  made  to  some  of  the  officers 
of  Government. 

9th.  The  Supplementary  aid. 
^'  .  10th.  The  present  mode  of  paying  the  governmental  secu- 
rities. 

11th.  The  present  mode  adopted  for  the  payment  and 
speedy  collection  of  the  last  tax. 

J,  12th.  The  present  mode  of  taxation,  as  it  operates  unequally 
between  the  polls  and  estates,  and  between  landed  and  mer- 
cantile interests. 

13th.  The  present  method  of  practice  of  the  attorneys  at 
law. 
y       14th.  The  want  of  a  sufhcient  medium  of  trade,  to  remedy 
the  mischiefs  arising  from  a  scarcity  of  money. 

15th.  The  General  Court  sitting  in  the  town  of  Boston. 

16th.  The  present  embarrassments  on  the  press. 
^    17th.  The  neglect  of  the  settlement  of  important  matters 
depending  between  the  Commonwealth  and  Congress,  rela- 
ting to  moneys  and  averages. 

"  18th.  Voted:  This  Convention  recommend  to  the  several 
towns  in  this  county,  that  they  instruct  their  representatives 
to  use  their  influence  in  the  next  General  Court,  fo  have  emit- 
ted a  bank  of  paper  money,  subject  to  a  depreciation  ;  making 
it  a  tender  in  all  payments,  equal  to  silver  and  gold,  to  be  is- 
sued in  order  to  call  in  the  Commonwealth's  securities. 

19th.  Voted,  That  whereas,  several  of  the  above  articles  of 
grievances  arise  from  defects  in  the  Constitution ;  therefore  a 
revision  of  the  same  ought  to  take  place. 
^^-  20th.  Voted,  That  it  be  recommended  by  this  convention, 
to  the  several  towns  in  this  county,  that  they  petition  the  Gen- 
eral Court  immediately  to  come  together,  in  order  that  the 
other  grievances  complained  of  may,  by  the  Legislature,  be 
redressed. 

21st.  Voted,  That  this  Convention  recommend  it  to  the  in- 
habitants of  this  county,  that  they  abstain  from  all  mobs  and 
unlawful  assemblies,  until  a  constitutional  method  of  redress 
can  be  obtained. 

22d.  Voted,  That  Mr.  Caleb  West  be  desired  to  transmit  a 
copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention  to  the  Conventions 
of  the  Counties  of  Worcester  and  Berkshire.  ^ 

'■-  After  further  votes,  giving  the  chairman  power  to  call 
the  Convention  together  again  when  sufficient  cause  might 
be  represented  to  him,  and  to  publish  the  proceedings  in 
the  Springfield  prints,  the  Convention  adjourned.  A  moreJ 
terrible  list  of  grievances  than  they  conjured  into  existence 
was  probably  never  collected  together,  and,  as  they  were 


r* 


MOB   AT  NORTHAMPTON.  239 

put  forth  by  a  body  of  delegates  ft-om  fifty  toAvns,  and  sent 
into  other  counties,  they  could  not  but  exert  a  very  pow- 
erful influence  in  stirring  up  the  riotous  spirit  which  the 
body  professed  to  deprecate.  They  had  done  all  they  pos- 
sibly could  to  make  the  Government  appear  contemptible 
and  even  execrable.  It  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
violence  should  immediately  follow.  On  the  29th  of  Au-"* 
gust, — four  days  after  the  rising  of  the  Convention, — the 
day  appointed  by  law  for  the  sitting  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  and  the  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  at 
Northampton — there  assembled  in  the  town,  from  different 
parts  of  the  county,  a  large  mob,  some  of  them  armed  with 
swords  and  muskets,  and  some  with  bludgeons,  with  tho 
professed  intention  of  stopping  the  session  of  the  Courts, 
and  preventing  the  transaction  of  business.  The  newspa- 
pers of  the  day  and  region  estimated  their  numbers  at 
400  or  500,  while  Minot,  who  probably  was  guided  by  the 
representations  of  the  judges  themselves,  estimates  the 
number  to  have  been  nearly  1,.500.  The  mob  took  pos- 
session of  the  ground  adjoining  the  Court  House,  and 
dispatched  a  messenger  t6  the  justices,  and  the  other  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Court  who  had  already  assembled,  with  the 
not  over-impolite  statement  that,  as  the  people  labored  un- 
der divers  grievances,  it  was  "inconvenient"  that  the 
Court  should  sit  for  the  dispatch  of  business,  until  there 
was  an  opportunity  for  redress.  The  Court,  of  course, 
saw  the  whole  drift  and  meaning  of  the  message.  If  they 
had  any  doubts,  based  on  the  smoothness  of  the  language 
used,  the  bludgeons  and  muskets  displayed  without,  the 
threats  of  violence  o])enly  uttei'ed,  and  the  shrieking  of 
fifes  and  the  beating  of  drums  left  nothing  to  be  misunder- 
stood. The  answer  of  the  justices  was  necessarily  what 
the  rioters  would  have  it.  No  Court  was  held,  and  the 
mob,  after  holding  possession  of  the  Court  House  until  12 
o'clock  at  night,  "  retired  and  dispersed,  having  conducted 
from  first  to  last  with  less  insolence  and  violence,  and  with 
more  sobriety  and  good  order  than  is  commonly  to  be  ex- 
pected in  such  a  large  and  promiscuous  assembly,  collected 
in  so  illegal  a  manner,  and  for  so  unwarrantable  a  pur- 
pose." The  adjournment  of  the  Court  was  without  day, 
and  it  is  facetiously  recorded  that  one  of  the  most  sensible 


240  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

of  the  rioters  was  not  satisfied  with  the  form  of  language 
used,  as,  under  it,  "  the  Court  might  sit  in  the  night." 

Bowdoin,  then  Governor  of  the  State,  issued  a  procla- 
mation, in  which  he  called  upon  "  all  judges,  justices,  sher- 
iffs, grand  jurors,  constables  and  other  officers,  civil  and 
military,  to  suppress  all  such  riotous  proceedings"  as  those 
at  Northampton.  The  proclamation  closed  with  a  beauti- 
ful and  spu'ited  appeal  to  patriotism,  personal  honor  and 
State  pride,  and  a  direction  to  the  Attorney  General  to 
prosecute  and  bring  to  condign  punishment,  not  only  the 
ringleaders  and  abettors  of  the  Northampton  mob,  but  the 
ringleaders  and  abettors  of  any  subsequent  riot.  Owing 
to  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs,  the  Governor  pro- 
claimed the  assembling  of  the  General  Court  on  the  18  th 
of  October,  Subsequent  events  induced  him  to  revoke  the 
order,  and  to  hasten  the  opening  of  the  session,  by  pro- 
claiming it  for  the  27th  of  September. 

The  newspapers  of  Westei-n  Massachusetts — ^not  over 
numerous,  to  be  sure — were,  without  an  exception,  on  the 
side  of  law  and  order,  although  their  proprietors  had  more 
cause  of  complaint  than  any  of  their  neighbors.  So  great 
was  the  pressure  upon  them,  in  consequence  of  the  duties 
upon  paper  and  advertisements,  that  they  were  with  great 
difficulty  kept  in  existence.  The  Hampshire  Herald,  pub- 
lished in  Springfield,  after  two  or  three  years'  existence, 
was  obliged  to  suspend  publication,  in  September,  1786. 
All  the  ablest  public  correspondence  of  the  period  was 
against  conventions  and  the  mobs.  Every  week  gave  is- 
sue to  some  calm  discussion  of  the  agitating  subjects  of  the 
day,  some  noble  appeal,  or  some  well  conceived  satirical 
criticism.  One  writer,  after  stating  that  "  too  much  praise 
cannot  be  given  to  that  numerous  band  of  patriots  who,  by 
neglecting  their  farms,  crops  and  manufactures,  have  ex- 
pended more,  in  time  and  money,  than  their  whole  quota 
of  the  national  debt,"  very  apply  quotes  from  McFingal 
the  following  lines : 

"  And  when  by  clamors  and  confusions 
Your  freedom's  grown  a  public  nuisance, 
Cry  "  liberty"  with  powerful  yearning 
(As  he  doth  "  fire"  whose  house  is  burning,) 
Though  he  already  has  much  more 
Than  he  can  find  occasion  for. 


THE   PRESS   AND    CLERGY.  241 

While  every  dunce  that  turns  the  plains, 

Though  bankrupt  in  estate  and  brains, 

By  this  new  light  transformed  to  traitor, 

Forsakes  his  plough  to  turn  dictator, — 

Starts  an  haranguing  chief  of  whigs. 

And  drags  you  by  the  ears  like  pigs. 

All  bluster,  armed  with  factious  license. 

Transformed  at  once  to  politicians, 

Each  leather  aproned  clown,  grown  wise, 

Presents  his  forward  face  to  advise, 

And  tattered  legislators  meet 

From  every  workshop  in  the  street. 

His  goose  the  tailor  finds  new  use  in 

To  patch  and  turn  the  Constitution. 

The  blacksmith  comes  with  sledge  and  grate 

To  iron-bind  the  wheels  of  State, 

The  quack  forbears  his  patients  souse 

To  purge  the  Council  and  the  House, 

The  tinker  quits  his  moulds  and  boxes 

To  cast  assembly  men  at  proxies." 

Nor  were  the  clergy  behind  the  press  in  their  opposition 
to  the  seditious  movements  of  the  day.  Both  had  battled 
bravely,  side  by  side,  for  liberty  and  right,  during  the  long 
years  of  the  Eevolutionaiy  War,  and  both  were  on  the 
side  of  law  in  the  troubled  years  that  followed.  The  peo-'"' 
pie  of  Boston  were  so  far  moved  by  the  evils  that  threat- 
ened, that  they  issued  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  towns  in 
the  Commonwealth,  of  which  tlie  following  extract  will 
exhibit  the  aim  and  spirit : — "  Fellow  citizens — we  now 
entreat  you,  by  the  mutual  ties  of  friendship  and  affection, 
by  the  sacred  compact  which  holds  us  in  one  society,  by 
the  blood  of  brethren  shed  to  obtain  our  freedom,  by  the 
tender  regard  we  feel  for  our  rising  offspring,  claiming 
freedom  from  our  hands  as  their  inheritance  by  the  grant 
of  Heaven,  to  use  your  endeavor  that  redress  of  grievan- 
ces be  sought  for  in  a  Constitutional  and  orderly  Avay,  and 
we  pledge  ourselves  to  join  our  exertions  with  yours  in  the 
same  way,  to  obtain  redress  of  such  as  do  really  exist.". 
But  the  spirit  of  discontent  and  rebellion  had  taken  deep 
root,  and,  nourished  as  it  was  by  the  assiduous  culture  of 
demagogism,  extended  its  branches  upward  and  abroad. 

On  the  week  succeeding  the  Northampton  demonstrntionl 
occurred  the  day  for  opening  the  Courts  of  C<)mmon  Pleas 
and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  at  Worcester,  and  a 
21 


242  THE    SHAYS    REBELLIOH", 

mob  of  at  least  300  men  v/ere  on  the  ground  to  stop  the 
proceedings.  They  were  undei*  the  command  of  Capt.^ 
Adam  Wheeler  of  Ilubbardston,  though,  when  charged 
with  being  their  leader,  he  disclaimed  both  the  office  and 
the  responsibility.  His  Lieutenant  was  Benjamin  Con- 
verse of  Hardwick.  Other  principal  officers  were  Capt. 
Hazeltine  of  Hardwick,  and  a  Capt.  Smith  of  Shirley. 
Only  100  of  the  men  were  under  ai'ms.  The  remainder 
carried  bludgeons.  The  members  of  the  Court  had  arrived 
in  the  town,  and  had  assembled  at  a  public  house.  They 
issued  fox'th,  at  the  hour  appointed  for  opening  the  Court, 
and  walked  through  the  crowd  Avithout  molestation,  umil 
they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  Court  House  steps,  when 
they  were  stopped  by  the  presentation  of  baj^onets.  Judge 
Ward,  a  man  of  spirit,  had  no  intention  of  being  thus  dis- 
posed of.  He  expostulated,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  He 
then  told  the  commander  of  the  mob  that  he  wished  to  ad- 
dress the  people.  This  he  was  allowed  to  do  from  the 
steps,  and  he  gave  them  a  speech  two  hours  long,  in  which 
he  informed  the  crowd  that  they  were  committing  treason, 
and  that  their  punishment  would  be  the  gallows.  Allu- 
ding to  the  request  that  had  been  made  by  the  mob,  that 
the  Courts  should  be  adjourned  without  day,  he  told  them 
that  it  was  against  the  laAv  thus  to  adjourn.  But  his  speech 
was  without  effect.  The  mob  insisted  on  the  adjournmeni] 
and  re-inforcements  coming  in,  and  the  militia  being  known 
to  be  so  far  infected  as  not  to  be  depended  upon,  the 
Judges  at  last  gave  way.  The  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
adjourned  sine  die,  and  the  Court  of  Sessions  to  the  21st^ 
of  November. 

On  the  11th  of  September,  a  hundred  armed  men  as- 
sembled at  Concord,  under  the  command  of  Job  Shattuck 
of  Groton,  and  the  afore-mentioned  Capt.  Smith.  Thisj 
was  one  of  the  shabbiest  mobs  that  had  thus  far  appeared. 
On  the  following  day,  they  took  possession  of  the  ground 
opposite  the  Court  House,  and  there  they  wantonly  out- 
raged such  men  and  horses  as  passed  over  a  space  which 
they  pretended  to  guard.  They  had  plenty  of  rum  to 
drink,  and  hay  to  lie  on.  In  the  afternoon,  they  were  re- 
inforced by  a  company  of  90  men  from  the  counties  of 
Plamjjshire  and  Worcester,  under  the  command  of  Adam 
^Wheeler  and  Beniamin  Converse.     Others   scattered  in, 


<* 


FURTlIEn    DEMONSTRATIONS.  243 

and  rallied  to  the  standard  of  the  mobbers,  until  the  whole 
body  numbered  300  men.  At  this  time,  a  Convention  was 
sitting  in  the  town,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  tlie  history  of 
tlie  convention  movement,  direct  communications  were 
opened  between  the  deliberative  and  the  armed  bodies,  and 
they  acted  in  concert.  It  was  the  day  appointed  for  lidd- 
ing the  Courts  of  Middlesex  County,  and  the  Convention 
and  the  mob  joined  in  a  message  to  the  justices,  informing 
them  of  their  determination  to  resist  any  attempt  to  pro- 
ceed to  business.  The  Court  Avas  intimidated,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  the  mob  accomplished.  Two  thirds,  at  least,  of  the 
j-ioters,  got  drunk  that  night,  and  all  appeared  indifferent 
to  the  object  that  had  brought  them  together.  In  fact, 
they  were  only  kept  together  by  the  commanders  whose 
names  have  been  mentioned,  with  one  or  two  other  lead- 
ers. This  mob  had  been  emboldened  by  the  previous  ac- 
tion of  the  Governor,  who,  after  having  issued  a  positive 
order  for  the  assembling  of  the  militia  to  protect  the  Courts, 
countermanded  his  order,  on  representations  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Concord  would  open  pacific  negotiations  with  the 
rioters.  At  that  time,  too,  the  Governor  had  but  little 
faith  in  the  loyalty  of  the  militia,  for  multitudes  who  would 
take  no  open  part  in  the  rebellion  were  known  secretly  to 
favor  its  cause  and  councils.  ^ 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress  in  Hampshire 
and  the  middle  and  Eastern  Counties,  sedition  Avas  equally 
busy  in  Berkshire.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  fix'st"" 
demonstration  against  the  King's  Courts,  at  the  opening  of 
the  Revolution,  occurred  in  that  County.  Having  suc- 
ceeded in  that  measure,  they  were  tardy  in  becoming  will- 
ing that  the  Courts  sliould  resume  their  functions.  No 
Probate  Courts  Avere  held  ft-om  1774  until  1778.  At  a 
County  Convention  held  during  the  latter  year,  it  AA'as 
found  that  several  toAvns  Avhich  had  been  consulted  as  to 
their  desire  for  the  opening  of  Courts  of  Common  Pleas 
and  Sessions  of  the  Peace  had  decided  against  the  project, 
by  large  majorities.  It  was  not  until  1779  that  the  County 
consented,  by  a  small  majority  in  Convention,  that  these 
Courts  might  be  opened.  No  business  was  done  by  them 
until  1780,  aud  daring  tliis  long  period,  cases  had  accumu- 
lated to  a  most  burdensome  extent.  The  agitation  of  the 
subject  of  grievances  commenced  almost  immediately  of- 


244  THE   SHATS   REBELLION. 

tenvards,  and  when  the  commotions  of  1786  came  on, 
Berkshire  was  no  whit  behind  her  sister  Counties  in  the 
materials  of  rebellion.  During  the  last  week  in  August, 
and  nearly  contemporaneously  with  the  Convention  at  Hat- 
field, a  County  Convention  came  together  at  Lenox,  and, 
though  the  body  was  more  temperate  and  judicious  than 
other  Conventions  whose  action  has  been  recorded,  it  had 
a  reformatory  voice,  although  that  voice  was  respectful  to 
the  Government.  The  Convention  approved  of  many  acts 
and  sundry  schemes  of  governm.ental  policy  that  had  been 
condemned  by  other  Conventions,  and  solemnly  engaged, 
so  far  as  their  influence  would  go,  to  support  the  Courts  of 
Justice,  in  the  legal  exercise  of  their  powers,  and  to  allay 
the  popular  excitement  that  prevailed,  both  against  the 
Courts  and  the  Government.  The  event  proved  that  their 
influence  was  small.  At  the  opening  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  at  Great  Barrington,  a  few  days  subsequently, 
a  mob  assembled,  to  the  number  of  eight  hundred,  and  not 
only  prevented  a  session  of  the  Court,  but  abused  the  jus- 
tices, three  of  whom  they  compelled  to  sign  an  obligation 
that  they  would  not  act  under  their  commissions,  until  the 
grievances  complained  of  should  be  redressed.  The  fourth 
justice,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  Senate,  refused  to 
sign,  and  did  not  sign,  the  obligation.  Whether  this  fact 
exhibits  the  pusillanimity  of  the  others,  or  the  leniency  of 
the  mob  towards  one  from  whom,  as  a  legislator,  they 
might  look  for  favor,  does  not  appear.  But  they  were  not 
content  with  these  outrages,  and  so  proceeded  to  break 
open  the  jail,  and  release  the  debtors  confined  there. 

The  whole  State  was  now  in  a  ferment.  Rebellion  was 
everywhere,  and  anarchy  stared  the  people  boldly  in  the 
face.  Other  and  more  powerful  spirits  were  entering  into 
the  conflict.  One  of  the  strongest  and  most  dangerous  and 
persistent  of  these,  was  Luke  Day  of  West  Springfield. 
Day  was  commissioned  as  a  Captain  at  the  opening  of  the 
Revolution,  and  served  his  country  with  honor  in  the  Con- 
tinental army,  for  seven  years,  when  he  returned  home 
poor,  and  a  major  by  brevet.  During  the  early  part  of 
the  Autumn  in  which  the  principal  riots  occurred,  he  was 
busy  in  exciting  discontent  and  rebellion.  Frequent  meet- 
ings were  held  at  the  old  Stebbins  Tavern,  in  his  native 
^wn,  in  whose  heated  councils  he  was  always  first  and 


LUKE   DAT   AND   DANIEL    SHAYS.  245 

foremost.  His  leading  companions  were  Adjt.  Elijah  Day, 
Benjamin  Ely,  Dan  Ludington,  and  others  who  had  suf- 
fered from  the  depreciation  of  the  circulating  medium. 
Day  was  a  good  declaimei',  and  his  bar-room  harangues 
were  powerful  and  effective.  He  succeeded  in  drawing 
quite  a  large  company  to  his  standard,  and  proceeded  to 
drilling  them  daily  on  the  West  Springfield  Common.  At 
first,  his  men  were  armed  with  hickory  clubs,  while  they 
wore  in  their  hats  a  sprig  of  hemlock.  At  the  same  time, 
Daniel  Shays  of  Pelham,  who  had  also  been  a  Captain  in 
the  Continental  army,  was  carrying  on  operations,  similar 
to  those  of  Day.  Shays* had  not  served  through  the  war, 
but  left  the  army  in  1780.  Judging  from  what  is  known 
of  these  two  men,  it  was  more  the  result  of  accident,  than 
any  other  cause,  that  Shays  had  the  precedence,  and  the 
fortune  to  make  his  name  infamous  by  association  with  the 
rebellion  in  Avhich  he  was  engaged.  Day  was  the  stronger 
man,  in  mind  and  will,  the  equal  of  Shays  in  military  tal- 
ent, and  his  superior  in  the  gift  of  speech.  The  two  were 
the  leading  spirits,  and  co-operated  with  each  other. 

Thus  far,  the  demonstrations  in  Western  Massachusetts ' 
had  been  made  against  the  Inferior  Courts.  In  doing 
this,  the  rioters  had  made  themselves  liable  to  indictment 
for  high  misdemeanor.  Having  progressed  thus  far,  the 
next  step  was,  of  course,  to  stop  tlie  Supreme  Judicial' 
Courts,  and,  at  this  point,  the  rebellion  changed  its  foothig, 
and  became  plainly  and  unmistakably  treasonable.  The 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  was  to  open  at  Springfield  oil 
Tuesday,  Sept.  2Gth.  The  Government  had  anticipated  a 
disturbance,  and  determined  to  act  promptly,  and  meet 
force  with  force.  On  the  Saturday  evening  preceding  the 
session,  120  men,  on  the  side  of  the  Government,  took  pos- 
session of  the  Court  House,  and,  with  increasing  numbers, 
held  it  during  Sunday,  Monday  and  Tuesday.  They  were 
under  the  command  of  IMajor  General  William  Shepard 
of  AVestfield,  and  were  determined,  at  all  risks,  to  protect 
the  Court  in  the  exercise  of  its  functions  during  the  ses- 
sion. On  Tuesday,  their  numbers  had  risen  to  300,  or 
more.  The  insurgents,  thus  anticipated,  began  to  muster 
on  Sunday,  and  when  Tuesday  morning  came,  their  num- 
bers fully  equaled  those  of  the  Government  party.  Both 
Shays  and  Day  were  on  the  ground,  acting  together,  and 
21* 


246  THE    SHAYS    REBELLION. 

passed  tlie  time  in  drilling  and  haranguing  their  troops. 
The  insurgents,  as  a  body,  were  apparently,  and,  perhaps, 
really,  desirous  of  a  battle,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  pos- 
session of  the  Court  House.  But  their  principals  knew 
better  than  this,  for  the  militia  were  made  up  of  the  best 
men  in  the  county,  were  perfectly  equipped  and  well  offi- 
cered, while,  except  in  numbers,  the  mob  were  inferior  to 
them  in  every  respect.  The  Court  was  opened  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  but  the  Grand  Jury  did  not  appear,  and  was, 
in  fact,  under  arms,  at  the  door,  for  the  protection  of  the 
Court  that  could  do  no  business  without  them.  During  the 
day,  the  insurgents  occupied  ground  about  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  North  of  the  Court  House,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
present  FeiTy  Street.  Throughout  the  day,  numbers 
flocked  in  from  the  towns  around,  and  attached  themselves 
to  either  standard,  a  company  of  militia  not  unfrequently 
marching  in  a  body  to  join  the  insurgents,  after  they  had 
been  ordered  from  abroad  to  support  the  Government. 
The  Government  party  wore  a  strip  of  white  paper  in 
their  hats,  to  distinguish  themselves  from  the  hemlock 
bearers,  and  spies  were  traversing  the  space  between  the 
two  bodies,  alternately  using  the  paper  and  hemlock  badge, 
as  they  approached  and  mingled  in  the  respective  camps. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  the  insurgents  sent  a  message^ 
to  the  Court,  projiosing  the  conditions  on  which  they  would 
consent  to  disband  and  retire.  These  conditions  were  that 
the  people  should  not  be  indicted  for  rising  in  arms  to  pre- 
vent the  Courts  from  sitting  at  Northampton,  or  for  appear- 
ing at  that  time  to  stop  the  proceedings  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court ;  that  no  civil  causes  should  be  tried,  except 
those  in  which  both  parties  were  ready  and  willing ;  that 
the  militia  embodied  by  the  Government  should  not  receive 
payment  for  their  services,  with  several  others  of  smaller 
moment.  The  Court  refused  these  conditions,  promptly 
and  decidedly,  and  declared  that  they  should  execute  the 
laws  in  accordance  with  their  oaths.  This  produced  the 
greatest  uneasiness  and  excitement  among  the  insurgents. 
They  then  complained  to  the  Court  that  they  had  received 
insulting  messages  from  the  Government  party,  who  had 
declared  that  they  should  not  pass  over  the  ground  occu- 
pied by  them.  They  were  so  far  exasperated  as  to  threat- 
^  an  attack  on  the  militia.     At  this  time.  Gen.  Shepard 


/* 


FORMIDABLE   MOB   AT   SrRrN'GFIELD.  247 

had,  for  some  purpose,  gone  to  Northampton,  and  the  com- 
mand devolved  upon  Col.  Burt  of  Longmeadow.  To  ob- 
viate this  cause  of  dissatisfaction,  they  were  told  tliat  they 
might  pass  over  the  ground  occupied  by  the  militia,  if  it 
would  be  any  gratification  to  them,  and  they  would  behave 
themselves  properly.  Accordingly,  Shays  marched  his 
men  down,  and  back  and  forth,  before  the  Government 
troops,  thus  taking  an  opportunity  to  show  their  strength, 
in  numbers  and  arms.  On  Wednesday  evening,  both  par- 
ties had  been  re-inforced,  and  were  going  through  their 
exercises,  each  body  preserving  its  lines  and  its  sentry 
posts.  On  Thursday,  a  little  before  noon,  the  Court  ad- 
journed. This  was  the  third  day  of  the  session,  but  it  had 
accomplished  nothing,  the  panel  of  jurors  not  having  been 
filled.  Previous  to  the  adjournment,  the  Court  decided 
not  to  go  to  Berkshire,  according  to  appointment,  as  the 
same_  scenes  were  anticipated  there.  The  militia,  howev- 
er, still  remained  upon  the  spot,  and  the  insurgents  became 
more  turbulent  than  ever,  and  threatened  again  to  marcli 
down  and  take  the  position  which  the  militia  had  so  firmly 
and  persistently  held.  Gen.  Shopard,  who  had  then  re- 
turned, drew  his  men  all  up  in  order,  to  receive  them,  and 
down  they  came.  But  in  coming  opposite  the  well  armed 
lines,  the  mob  was  intimidated.  At  this  time,  there  were 
.2,000  men  on  the  ground,  1,200  of  whom  belonged  to  the 
insurgcnts,^  but  only  about  one  lialf  of  these  had  muskets, 
aiul  but  a  few  had  bayonets.  The  remainder  were  armed 
with  nothing  but  bludgeons.  Passing  by  the  Government 
troops,  without  daring  to  make  a  demonstration,  they  were 
not  disturbed,  and  after  parading  their  forces  to  their 
^hearts'  content,  they  retired  to  their  former  stand. 

The  Court  room  being  vacant,  its  protection  became  a- 
matter  of  no  moment,  and  as  threats  had  been  issued  in 
regard  to  the  capture  of  the  arsenal.  Gen.  Shepard  with- 
drew his  troops,  and  occupied  ground  upon  the  Hill,  when 
the  insurgents  again  marched  down,  and  took  ])ossession  of 
the  ground  so  long  coveted,  and  then  so  valueless.  Anoth- 
er day  passed,  and  then  the  insurgents,  having  become  sat- 
isfied with  what  they  had  accomplished,  or  satisfied  that 
they  could  accomplish  nothing  more,  separated  and  retired, 
in  which  act  they  were  immediately  imitated  by  the  militia. 
For  four  days  the  people  of  the  town  were  thus  kept  in 


248  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

the  most  distressed  condition,  and  were  in  hourly  appre- 
hension that  a  collision  would  take  place  that  would  fill 
their  houses  with  the  dead,  wounded  and  dying,  or  lay 
them  in  ashes.  Immediate  neighbors  were  in  opposite 
camps,  and  intimate  friends  were  in  arms  against  each  oth- 
er. The  female  portion  of  the  population  were  subjects 
of  great  anxiety  and  distress,  and  it  was  with  feelings  of 
the  greatest  relief  that  they  saw  the  forces  evacuating  the 
town,  an'd  welcomed  their  husbands  and  brothers  to  their 
homes.  The  intelligence  of  these  operations  was  diffused 
in  every  part  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  disaffected  in- 
dividuals in  Berkshire  either  did  not,  or  pretended  they 
did  not,  believe  that  the  Supreme  Court  had  relinquished 
its  intention  to  hold  a  session  in  that  county.  Accordingly, 
a  formidable  mob  assembled  at  Great  Barrington,  on  the 
day  on  which  the  Court  should  have  assembled,  and  having 
found  nothing  upon  which  to  vent  their  power,  became 
riotous  and  turbulent,  from  sheer  malice  and  mischief. 
Several  individuals  who  were  opposed  to  them  in  princi- 
ple and  policy,  were  obliged  to  flee  from  the  place,  and  one 
gentleman  who  held  an  important  office  under  the  Govern- 
ment, was  pursued  in  various  directions,  by  armed  men. 
Houses  were  entered  and  searched  by  the  lawless  rioters, 
and  inoffensive  citizens  were  fired  upon.  The  whole  pi'o- 
ceedings  were  marked  with  that  dastardly  cowardice, 
which  distinguishes  a  mob  that  has  lost  sight  of  all  claims 
to  respectability,  or  a  respectable  object,  and  seeks  only  for 
opportunities  for  revenge  and  insult. 

On  the  27th  of  September,  the  Legislature  assembled 
according  to  proclamation,  and  immediately  listened  to  the 
Governor's  statement  of  the  affairs  that  have  been  narra- 
ted. His  speech  was  strong  and  decided,  and  forcible  in 
its  condemnation  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  disaffected, 
even  were  the  grievances  of  which  they  complained  in  ex- 
istence. In  his  opinions,  touching  the  treatment  which  the 
insurgents  should  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  Government, 
he  was  supported  by  the  Senate,  but  the  House  was  more 
or  less  affected  by  the  sentiments  of  popular  discontent, 
and  while  its  members  condemned  the  rebellion,  they  sym- 
pathized with  its  professed  objects,  and  were  really  anxious 
that  the  tumult  which  had  been  raised  should  have  an  in- 
fluence in  effecting  reforms  that  they  felt  to  be  necessary. 


DOINGS    OF  THE   LEGISLATURE.  249 

The  joint  Committee  on  the  Governor's  speech  reported  an 
approval  of  the  Governor's  conduct  in  raising  the  militia, 
and  a  promise  to  pay  those  who  had  been,  or  should  be, 
called  into  service  to  defend  the  State,  a  determination  to 
look  into  and  redi'ess  all  grievances,  and  a  provision  that 
the  privileges  of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  should  be  sus- 
pended for  a  limited  time.  The  Senate  agreed  to  the  re- 
port at  once,  and  the  House,  after  a  long  discussion,  agreed 
to  all  but  the  Habeas  Corpus  clause.  This,  after  a  long 
debate,  was  recommitted.  Petitions  for  the  abatement  of 
grievances  came  in  from  every  quarter — from  County  Con- 
ventions and  towns.  At  last,  a  list  of  grievances  was  sing- 
led out  for  consideration  and  action.  These  were  :  "  the 
sitting  of  the  General  Court  in  the  town  of  Boston ;  the 
institution  and  regulation  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas 
and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  with  the  mode  of  hold- 
ing the  Probate  Courts ;  the  burdens  of  tlie  jieople  arising 
from  the  scarcity  of  money,  and  the  dilliculties  thereby  ac- 
cruing in  the  payment  of  back  taxes  and  private  debts  ; 
the  fee-bill  and  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment." In  the  meantime,  and  while  tlie  House  were  busy 
in  preparing  a  radically  reformatory  bill,  the  time  ap- 
proached for  holding  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  at  Taun- 
ton. The  Senate  and  House  concurred  in  a  message  to 
the  Governor,  requesting  his  serious  attention  to  the  pro- 
tection of  that  Court,  and  the  Governor  responded,  by  in- 
forming the  Legislature  of  the  measures  he  had  taken. 
The  two  houses  again  joined  in  a  message  to  his  Excellen- 
cy, in  which  they  promised  support  to  the  measures  he  had 
deemed  necessary  for  the  maintainance  of  order,  and  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  the  Guvernor  would  persevere  in  the 
exei'cise  of  his  appropriate  powers  for  enfoi'cing  obedience 
to  the  laws.  In  addition  to  tlie  message,  the  Legislature 
passed  a  riot  act.  This  act  visited  upon  all  ollenders,  who 
should  continue,  for  the  space  of  an  hour,  their  coml)ina- 
tions,  after  the  act  was  read  to  them,  with  the  confiscation 
of  their  property,  the  iniiietion  of  thirty-nine  stripes,  and 
imprisonment  not  more  than  one  year,  with  thirty-nine 
stripes  every  three  months  during  the  term  of  imprison- 
ment. The  measures  taken  to  protect  the  Court  at  Taun- 
ton were  successful,  the  insurgents  appearing  at  a  distance 
only.     The  following  week,  the  Court  held  its  session  at^ 


250  THE    SHATS   REBELLION. 

Cambridge,  supported  by  an  army  under  Major  General 
Brooks,  whose  force  was  so  overwhelmingly  large  as  to  put 
the  insurgents  beyond  all  idea  of  resistance.  At  about 
this  time,  the  Governor  communicated  to  the  Legislature 
the  fact  that  a  circular  letter  had  been  issued  to  the  select- 
men of  the  towns  in  Hampshire  county,  by  the  chief  of  the 
insurgents.     This  letter  explains  itself,  and  is  as  follows : 

Pelham,  Oct.  23,  1786. 
Gentlemen: — By  information  from  the  General  Court,  they 
are  determined  to  call  all  those  who  appeared  to  stop  the 
Court,  to  condign  punishment.  Therefore,  I  request  you  to 
assemble  your  men  together,  to  see  that  they  are  well  armed 
and  equipped,  with  sixty  rounds  each  man,  and  to  be  ready  to 
turn  out  at  a  minute's  warning ;  likewise  to  be  properly  or- 
ganized with  officers.  Daniel  Shays. 

The  Governor's  communication  was  referred  to  a  com-" 
mittee,  which  reported  a  bill  suspending  the  writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus,  providing  for  trying  traitors  in  any  county,  and  for 
the  pardon  of  all  persons  concerned  in  the  previous  acts  of 
insurrection  on  taking  tlieir  oath  of  allegiance  previous  to 
the  first  day  of  January,  and  not  persevering  in  their 
crimes  after  the  passage  of  the  act.  In  the  meantime,  the 
House  gave  but  too  melancholy  evidence  that  it  was  under 
the  influence  of  lawless  councils.  Not  that  there  was  not 
evidence  in  that  body  of  a  disposition  to  support  the  Gov- 
ernment, in  case  of  open  rebellion,  but  the  members  were 
infected  with  the  idea  that  the  grievances  under  which  the 
people  believed  themselves  to  be  suffering  were  such  a  pal- 
liation of  their  action,  as  to  call  for  tender  treatment. 
Outsiders  looked  on  with  apprehension,  especially  such  as 
were  decidedly  on  the  side  of  order  and  good  government. 
They  knew  the  temper  of  the  rebellion,  and  did  not  believe 
that  mild  measures  were  the  proper  remedy  for  it.  But 
the  circular  letter  of  Shays,  and  the  announcement  that 
another  Convention  was  to  be  held  at  Hadley,  with  other 
bold  and  insulting  measures  instituted  by  the  revolutionists, 
brought  them,  in  a  measure,  to  their  senses,  and  acts  equiv- 
alent to  those  recommended  by  the  Committee  on  the  Gov- 
ernor's Message  were  passed.  In  partial  conformity  with 
that  clause  recommending  the  suspension  of  the  privilege 
of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  a  bill  was  framed  which 
empowered  the   Governor  and  Council  to  imprison  with,-' 


FURTHER   DISTURBANCE   IN   •WORCESTER.  251 

out  bail  or  mainprise  sucli  persons  as  the  safety  of  the  ^ 
Commonwealth  might  require.  On  the  18th  of  November,'^ 
the  Legislature  adjourned.  Besides  such  acts  as  have 
been  incidentally  mentioned,  they  had  passed  acts  for  col- 
lecting arrear  taxes  in  specific  articles,  for  making  real  and 
personal  estate  a  tender  in  discharge  of  executions  and  ac- 
tions commenced  in  law,  for  rendering  law  processes  les3 
expensive,  for  appropriating  one-third  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  impost  and  excise  duties  for  the  exigencies  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  had  given  utterance  to  an  address,  instructing, 
the  citizens  in  their  duties,  &c.  .  '"^ 

But  the  Legislature  had  reckoned  without  their  host. 
Rebellion  had  gone  too  far,  and  its  agents  and  abettors  had 
read  an  unmistakable  timidity  in  the  action  of  the  General 
Court.  The  exercise  of  lawless  power  had  debauched  the 
minds  of  those  who  had  engaged  in  it,  and,  although  the 
popular  cry  still  sounded  upon  the  popular  subject  of  pop- 
ular gi-ievances,  the  real  motives  that  became  predominant 
had  connection  as  well  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Constitu- 
tion as  the  advancement  of  private  schemes  of  ambitiyu 
and  personal  security.  Tlie  leniency  of  the  GovernmcivTl 
was  stamped  by  the  mob  as  an  evidence  of  weakness  and 
cowardice,  and  liardly  a  single  individual,  out  of  the  thou- 
sands wlio  had  engaged  in  the  insurrection,  availed  himself 
of  the  act  of  indemnity  passed  for  his  benefit.  The  legis- 
lators were  hardly  out  of  their  chairs  before  a  convention 
commenced  its  sessions  in  Worcester.  This  convention 
adopted  an  address  to  the  people,  in  which  they  maintained 
the  right  of  the  people  to  examine  and  condemn  the  con- 
duct of  their  rulers,  declared  the  course  of  the  rulers  of 
Massachusetts  to  have  been  a  mistaken  one,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  condemned  the  action  of  the  insurgents  in  stop- 
ping the  Courts,  .and  begged  tlie  people  not  to  obstruct 
them  again.  The  proceedings  of  the  convention,  in  the 
broad  view,  were  characterized  by  calmness,  impudence 
and  cool  assumption.  On  the  21st  of  November,  two  days 
before  the  address  was  issued,  the  Court  of  Sessions  was, 
by  adjournment,  to  be  held  at  Worcester,  but  when  the 
Court  entered  the  town,  they  found  not  only  a  convention 
but  a  mob  to  receive  them.  No  measures  had  been  taken 
by  the  very  conciliatory  and  pacific  Legislature  to  defend 
the  Court,  and  it  was,  of  course,  helpless.     Here,  as  on 


252  THB   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

some  previous  occasions,  the  mob  assumed  the  title  of 
"  regulators."  When  the  members  of  the  Court,  led  by 
the  Sheriff,  arrived  at  the  court  house,  they  were  met  by  a 
triple  row  of  bayonets.  The  Sheriff,  Col.  William  Green- 
leaf  of  Lancaster,  addressed  the  crowd,  telling  them  of  the 
evil  and  danger  of  their  course,  and  reading  to  them  the 
Governor's  proclamation  and  the  riot  act.  But  this  availed 
nothing.  During  the  Sheriff's  address,  he  was  interrupted 
by  one  of  the  leaders,  who  told  him  the  people  sought  re- 
lief from  gi'ievances,  that  among  the  most  intolerable  was 
the  Sheriff  himself,  and  that  next  to  his  person  in  offen- 
siveness  were  his  fees,  particularly  in  criminal  executions. 
"  If  you  consider  my  fees  for  criminal  executions  as  op- 
pressive," replied  the  Sheriff,  "  you  need  not  wait  long  for 
redress,  for  I  will  hang  every  one  of  you,  gentlemen,  with 
the  greatest  pleasure,  and  without  charge."  For  this  sharp 
reply,  some  one  in  the  mob  revenged  himself,  by  sticking  a 
pine  twig  in  the  back  of  the  Sheriff's  hat,  and  as  he  retired 
with  the  judges,  bearing  unwittingly  the  rebel's  badge,  his 
appearance  gave  rise  to  jeex'ing  merriment  that  could  not 
be  repressed.  They  effectually  dispersed  the  Court,  and 
then  the  mob,  which  was  in  force  in  the  region,  undertook 
to  co-operate  with  the  insurgents  at  Concord  and  Cam- 
bridge. In  the  meantime,  the  Governor  had  not  been  idlc^j 
but  had  issued  his  orders  to  the  Major  Generals  to  hold 
their  divisions  in  readiness  for  service,  and  his  warrants 
for  the  arrest  of  the  leaders,  three  of  whom — Shattuck, 
Parker  and  Page — were  arrested,  the  first  making  a  des- 
perate resistance,  and  receiving  serious  wounds  in  the  cap- 
ture. On  the  5th  of  December,  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  was  to  assemble  at  Worcester.  Previous  to  this 
time,  four  hundred  insurgents,  from  Hampshire  and  Wor- 
cester Counties,  rendezvoused  at  Shrewsbury.  While 
here,  twenty  horsemen  from  Boston,  all  men  of  large  for- 
tunes, went  after  them  with  the  determination  to  arrest 
their  leaders,  but  news  of  their  approach  preceded  them, 
and  the  insurgents  got  out  of  the  way,  by  proceeding  to 
Holden.  On  the  report  that  the  horsemen  had  Avounded  a 
man  at  Shrewsbuiy,  a  party  went  back  to  give  them  fight, 
but  the  fear-inspiring  score  had  retired,  and  the  party  pro- 
ceeded to  Grafton.  Capt.  Shays,  with  his  party  from 
IJampshire,  marched  to  liutland,  and  took  up  his  quarters 


FURTHEE   DI3TURBAKCE   IN   "WORCESTER.  233 

there,  and,  from  that  point,  issued  his  orders  to  many  towns 
in  Hampshire  and  Worcester  Counties,  to  join  him.  These 
movements  all  transpired  during  the  week  previous  to  the 
appointed  session  of  the  Court,  and,  on  the  Sunday  even- 
ning  that  intervened,  the  Grafton  party  entered  Worcester, 
and  took  possession  of  the  Court  House.  During  the 
night,  they  were  joined  by  several  otlaer  parties.  On  Mon- 
day morning,  the  Worcester  training  band  and  alarm  list 
paraded  Avith  170  men,  and  marched  down  Main  street  to- 
wards the  rebels.  Advancing  slowly,  Capt.  Howe  sent  for- 
ward an  ollicer,  to  demand  by  what  authoi-ity  the  highways 
were  obstructed.  He  was  told  that  "he  might  come  and 
see."  He  then  addressed  his  troops  in  a  sjiirited  manner, 
and  gave  them  tlie  order  to  charge  bayonets  and  advance. 
Before  their  determined  carriage  the  line  of  msurgents 
wavered,  and  breaking  up  by  a  rapid  wheel,  they  gained 
an  eminence  before  the  Court  House.  The  militia  passed 
them,  and  then  returned  and  were  dismissed. 

On  Monday  evening,  the  insurgents  beat  to  arms,  on  an 
alarm  that  a  company  of  liglit  horse  from  Boston  were  ap- 
proaching, and  tliough  the  alarm  proved  to  he  a  false  one, 
they  were  so  much  startled  by  it  that  they  lay  upon  their 
arms  all  niglit.  About  sunset,  on  IMonday,  there  came  on 
a  very  violent  snow  storm,  yet  intelligence  came  in  that 
several  companies  of  insurgents  were  on  the  march  for 
Worcester,  from  Leominster,  Brookfield,  &c.  The  storm 
continued  with  unabated  fury  on  Tuesday,  yet  a  number 
of  men  had  made  their  way  in  from  Holden.  This  was 
the  day  for  opening  the  Court,  whose  members,  on  seeing 
the  large  body  of  insurgents  already  present,  and  knowing 
that  larger  bodies  were  in  the  vicinity,  adjourned  the  ses- 
sion of  their  body  in  accordance  with  orders  from  the 
Governor,  until  tlie  23d  of  January.  On  Tuesday  even- 
ing, a  serious  alarm  was  raised  among  the  insurgents  from 
the  fact  that  several  of  them  had  been  seized  with  violent 
sickness,  and  they  came  to  the  belief  that  they  had  imbibed 
poison  with  their  water.  A  quack  doctor  by  the  name  of 
Samuel  Stearns,  belonging  in  Paxton,  confirmed  their  fears 
by  discovering  a  sediment  in  their  glasses,  which  he  de- 
clared to  be  a  compound  of  arsenic  and  antimony.  This 
increased  the  alarm,  and  then  the  mob  remembered  that 
they  had  purchased  the  sugar  for  their  gi'og  of  an  anti- 
22 


254  THE   SHAY8   REBELLION. 

Shays  merchant,  in  "Worcester.  He  was,  therefore,  charge^'^ 
with  the  attempt  to  poison  them.  An  intelligent  physician 
appearing  at  this  juncture,  allayed  their  fears  by  pronoun- 
cing the  sediment  to  be  genuine  Scotch  snuff,  and  the  mer- 
chant's clerk  acknowledged  that  he  had  accidentally  spilled 
a  portion  of  that  article  into  the  sugar.  The  merchant  re- 
stored entire  peace  and  tranquillity  by  making  the  crowd  a 
present  of  a  few  gallons  of  old  Santa  Cruz  rum. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  insurgents  were  joined  by 
eighty  men  from  Belchertown,  and  in  the  afternoon.  Shays 
came  in  with  350  moi'e.  It  would  seem,  from  the  move- 
ment of  such  large  bodies  of  insurgents,  that  either  they 
had  been  misinformed  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  Govern- 
ment, or  were  determined  to  make  a  demonstration  which 
should  intimidate  the  authorities,  the  Legislature  having 
adjourned.  Capt.  Luke  Day  of  West  Springfield  had 
answered  the  call  which  Shays  issued  at  Rutland,  and, 
with  100  men  and  boys  from  Westfield,  West  Springfield 
and  Longmeadow,  started  on  the  Saturday  previous  to  the 
Worcester  demonstration,  for  the  East,  and  a  company  of 
fifty  others  followed  him.  But  the  storm  of  Tuesday  Avas 
too  much  for  their  valor,  and  drove  them  all  back  to  their 
homes.  But  Day  had  made  rapid  progress,  and  gone  as 
far  as  Leicester.  It  is  said  that  while  there,  he  called  at 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Sargeant  to  get  some  refreshments. 
Mr.  Sargeant  Avas  an  ardent  government  man,  and  on 
learning  Day's  character,  he  took  him  by  the  collar,  thrust 
him  out  of  the  door,  and,  while  he  administered  a  parting 
kick,  bade  him  give  his  respects  to  Shays,  and  tell  him  if 
he  would  call  upon  him  he  would  treat  him  to  the  same, 
compliment.  Shays,  on  reaching  Worcester,  immediately 
billeted  his  soldiers  upon  the  citizens  of  the  town,  and 
W^ednesday  found  the  place  occupied  by  at  least  1,000  iu- 
sur2;ents.  And  then  came  on  conferences  between  the 
members  of  the  late  Convention  and  the  mob,  and  together 
they  agreed  upon  a  hypocritical  petition  to  the  Governor, 
copies  of  which  were  sent  to  all  the  towns  in  the  three 
Western  Counties.  In  this  document,  they  complained  of 
the  suspension  of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  pleaded  in 
justification  of  their  conduct,  the  movements  of  the  i")eo- 
ple  in  the  Revolution,  and  prayed  that  their  friends  in  cou- 
^Ifinement,  out   of  the   counties  to   which  they  belonged, 


PETITION   TO   THE   QOVEENOR.  255 

might,  with  the  petitioners,  have  the  benefits  of  the  act  of 
indemnity,  and  that  tliey  and  the  petitioners  might,  so  long 
as  they  should  behave  themselves  in  an  orderly  manner, 
be  safe  in  their  persons  and  properties.  The  petitioners 
assured  the  Governor  that  they  did  not  rise  on  account  of 
their  disaffection  towards  the  Commonwealth,  but  because 
they  could  not  provide  for  their  wives  and  cliildren,  and 
pay  their  debts.  They  also  prayed  that  the  Courts  in 
Berkshire,  Hampshix-e  and  Worcester  might  be  adjourned 
until  after  the  May  session  of  the  General  Court.  The 
insurgents  made  no  acknowledgment  of  error,  and  only 
promised  to  go  home  and  preserve  peace,  on  conditions 
that  were  impossible  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  Governor,  were 
he  disposed  to  accede  to  them.  On  Tliursday,  the  insurJ 
gents  retired  from  Worcester,  though  but  a  few  of  them 
disbanded  and  dispersed,  for,  at  this  veiy  time.  Gen.  Shep- 
ard  had  1200  men  ready  for  the  field,  awaiting  orders,  and 
the  leaders  of  the  rebellion  had  betjun  to  feel  that  their 
only  safety  was  in  keeping  their  men  around  them. 
Among  the  insurgents  were  a  number  of  men  fi"om  Berk- 
shire, who,  in  returning  tlu'ough  Northampton,  were  as- 
sailed by  a  volley  of  jokes  from  six  or  eight  unanned 
inhabitants.  The  regulators  were  over-sensitive,  and  re- 
torted with  foul  abuse  and  insult,  and,  at  last,  became  so 
infuriated  as  to  make  an  attack  on  the  crowd  that  gathei'ed 
around,  with  their  guns  and  swords.  The  inhabitants  col- 
lected immediately,  under  proper  officers,  and  escorted 
them  out  of  the  town.  Wm.  llartly,  one  of  the  insurgents 
who  belonged  in  Williamsburgh,  was  frozen  to  death  before 
he  readied  home. 

Thus,  the  Legislature  had  scarcely  been  adjourned  two 
weeks,  when  the  session  of  two  Courts  in  Worcester  had 
been  broken  up  in  consequence  of  the  threats  of  the  mob. 
The  next  point  at  which  a  Court  was  to  be  holden  was  in 
the  County  of  Hampshire,  and  for  the  projected  demonstra- 
tion there,  the  insurgents  instituted  their  preparations. 
Daniel  Gray,  the  chairman  of  a  Committee  appointed  by 
the  leaders  of  the  insurrection,  issued  the  following  address 
to  the  people  of  Hampshire  County,  which  was  published 
in  the  Hampshire  Gazette  : 

'■^Gentlemen: — We  have  thought  proper  to  inform  you  of 
some  of  the  principal  causes  of  tlie  Jate  risings  of  the  people, 
and  also  of  their  present  movement,  viz. : 


256  THE   SnAY3   REBELLION. 

"1st.  The  present  expensive  mode  of  collecting  debts, 
which,  by  reason  of  the  great  scarcity  of  cash,  will,  of  neces- 
sity, fill  our  jails  with  unhappy  debtors,  and  thereby  a  respect- 
able body  of  people  rendered  incapable  of  being  serviceable 
either  to  themselves  or  the  community. 

"  2d.  The  moneys  raised  by  impost  and  excise  being  appro- 
priated to  discharge  the  interest  of  governmental  securities, 
and  not  the  foreign  debt,  when  these  securities  are  not  sub- 
ject to  taxation. 

"  3d.  A  suspension  of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  by 
which  those  persons  who  have  stepped  forth  to  assert  and 
maintain  the  rights  of  the  people  are  liable  to  be  taken  and 
conveyed  even  to  the  most  distant  part  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  thereby  subjected  to  unjust  punishment. 

"4th.  The  unlimited  power  granted  to  justices  of  the  peace 
and  Sheriffs,  deputy  Sheriffs  and  Constables,  by  the  Riot  Act, 
indemnifying  them  to  the  prosecution  thereof;  when,  perhaps, 
wholly  actuated  from  a  principle  of  revenge,  hatred  and  envy. 

"  Furthermore^  be  assured  that  this  body,  now  at  arms,  de- 
spise the  idea  of  being  instigated  by  British  emissaries,  which 
is  so  strenuously  propagated  by  the  enemies  of  our  liberties ; 
and  also  wish  the  most  proper  and  speedy  measures  may  be 
taken  to  discharge  both  our  foreign  and  domestic  debt." 

At  this  date,  the  Hampshire  Herald,  published  in  Spring- 
field, seems  to  have  had  a  resurrection,  for  an  address  from 
a  leader  of  the  insurgents — Thomas  Grover  of  Montague 
— dated  at  Worcester,  is  recorded  to  have  appeared  in  it, 
who  opened  with  a  declaration  that  it  had  "  fallen  to  his 
lot  to  be  employed  in  a  more  conspicuous  manner  than 
some  others  of  his  fellow  citizens,  in  stepping  forth  in  de- 
fense of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  people,  more 
especially  of  the  County  of  Hampshire."  Mr.  Grover  re- 
fei'red  to  the  list  of  grievances  published  by  Daniel  Gray, 
and  added  to  it  very  materially,  by  putting  forth  a  list  of 
reforms,  which  the  insurgents  were  determined  to  "  con- 
tend for."  The  more  important  of  these  were  the  revision 
of  the  Constitution,  the  total  abolition  of  the  Courts  of 
Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  the 
removal  of  the  General  Court  from  the  town  of  Boston, 
the  abolition  of  the  office  of  deputy  sheriff,  and  certain 
other  offices  connected  with  the  management  of  the  finan- 
cial affairs  of  the  State. 

"While  these  efforts  were  in  progress,  to  keep  the  public 
,  juind  agitated  on  the  subject  of  gx-ievances,  measures  were 


CONVENTION   AT  HADLET.  257 

taken  by  the  leaders  of  the  insurgents  to  raise  and  organ- 
ize a  formidable  band  of  troops  in  the  county,  and  a  com- 
mittee of -seventeen  was  appointed  to  carry  those  measures 
into  effect.  This  Committee  was  requested  to  write  to 
the  respective  towns  assigned  it,  directing  them  to  meet 
and  organize  their  companies,  and  to  call  them  together  for 
regimental  organization.  The  Committee  was  constituted 
as  follows :  Capt.  Fisk  of  South  Brimfield,  and  Capt.  Col- 
ton  of  Longmeadow  for  the  1st  Regiment;  Capt.  Sackett 
of  Westfield,  and  Capt.  Day  of  West  Springfield  for  the 
2d  Regiment ;  Capt.  Jewell  of  Chesterfield,  Capt.  Brown 
of  AVhately,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Morse  of  Worthington,  for 
tlie  3d  Regiment ;  Capt.  Shays  of  Pelham,  Capt.  Josejih 
Hinds  of  Greenwich,  and  Capt.  Billings  of  Amlierst,  for 
the  4th  Regiment ;  Capt.  Foot  of  Greenfield,  Capt.  Dins- 
more  of  Conway,  Capt.  Clarke  of  Colerain,  and  Capt. 
Hill  of  Charlemont,  for  the  oth  Regiment ;  Capt.  Grover 
of  Montague,  and  Capt.  Powers  of  Shutesbury,  for  the  Gth 
Regiment. 

Notwithstanding  these  demonstrations,  which  had  a  de'^ 
tcnnincd  aspect,  there  was  evident  trepidation  in  the  camps 
and  councils  of  the  regulators.  The  respectable  constitu- 
ents of  Conventions  had  withdrawn  from  those  bodies. 
The  measures  adopted  by  the  Government  plainly  showed 
those  who  had  trusted  for  reforms  to  the  effect  upon  the 
Government  of  violent  assemblages  of  the  people,  that 
they  had  been  mistaken.  A  Convention  assembled  at  Ilad- 
ley  on  the  2d  of  January,  under  a  most  illiterate  president, 
and  with  contemptibly  small  numbers.  Its  temper  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  it  advised  the  people  to  lay 
aside  their  arms,  and  resort  to  the  more  laudable  mode  of 
petition  for  redress.  So  dispirited  and  weak  was  the  dem- 
onstration, that  the  newspaper  wags  of  the  time  could  liot 
refrain  from  the  uttei'ance  of  their  lampoons,  one  of  which 
represented  the  "  Robin  Hood  Club"  to  have  made  its 
exit  at  Hadley,  a  corpse,  and  then  went  on  to  describe  the 
procession : 

"The  corpse  was  preceded  by  the  little  man  in  the  East, 
with  a  long  white  wand  to  clear  the  streets  of  little  boys,  who 
collected  in  great  numbers,  gazing  at  the  wondrous  novelty. 
At  his  right  hand,  the  great  and  only  remaining  member  of 
the  Council  of  War,  weeping  over  the  petition  of  the  men  at 
22* 


258  THE   6HATS   REBELLION. 

arms,  addressed  to  the  Governor  and  Council,  which  he  car- 
ried open  in  his  left  hand. 

Pall  Holders, 
Earl  of  Greenfield.  Earl  of  Chesterfield. 

Duke  of  Hamilton.  Earl  of  Southwick. 

'•  It  was  argued  as  their  number  was  so  very  small  they 
must  dispense  with  two  of  the  usual  number  of  pall  holders, 
as  otherwise  they  would  make  a  very  contemptible  figure  in 
the  rear.  The  club  being  composed  of  members  attached  to 
an  ancient  custom  in  this  country,  the  bier  was  therefore  sup- 
ported by  four  of  their  eldest  sons,  viz.  :  Gen.  Pelham,  Col. 
Luke  Trumps,  Col.  Montague,  and  Capt.  Amherst.  The 
chairman  followed  the  corpse  as  chief  mourner,  with  his  cap 
under  his  arm,  and  his  venerable  locks  covered  with  a  white 
cap,  suggesting  of  what  death  he  expected  soon  to  die.  Par- 
son Montague  at  his  left  hand  carrying  before  him  a  humble 
request  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns  in  the  County, 
(said  to  be  draughted  by  the  deceased  in  his  last  moments,) 
to  lay  aside  their  arras  and  petition  the  Legislature  for  a  re- 
dress of  their  grievances,  at  the  same  time  giving  the  chair- 
man good  consolation,  and  advising  him  to  a  preparation  for 
his  own  hastening  dissolution.  The  few  remaining  members 
closed  the  procession." 

Even  Shays  himself  had  become  secretly  sick  of  the 
position  he  occupied,  and  without  faith  in  his  prosjiects. 
But  a  short  time  after  he  retired  from  Worcester,  he  had 
a  conversation  with  a  confidential  officer  of  the  Govern- 
ment, who  put  him  the  question  (premising  tliat  he  might 
answer  it  or  not,  at  his  option,)  "  Whether,  if  he  had  an 
opportunity,  he  would  accept  of  a  pardon,  and  leave  his 
people  to  themselves."  "  Yes,  in  a  moment,"  replied  Shays. 
This  reply  was  communicated  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, who  empowered  an  officer  to  tell  him  that  if  he  would 
immediately  leave  the  insurgents,  and  engage  to  conduct 
in  future  as  a  good  citizen,  he  should  be  protected,  and  in 
case  he  should  be  convicted  in  any  Judicial  Cour-t,  he 
should  be  pardoned.  This  Commission,  owing  to  an  early 
complication  of  events,  was  never  executed. 

But  matters  had  now  gone  too  far  for  sudden  retraction. 
Some  of  the  leaders  were  already  in  prison,  and  the  oth- 
ers knew  themselves  to  be  in  danger.  They  therefore  re- 
mained in  force,  while  the  Government,  willing  to  give 
them  one  more  trial,  and  hoping  that  the  addx'esses  it  had 
issued  and  the  orders  it  had  uttered,  would,  together  with 


MILITIA   CALLED    OUT.  259 

the  evident  decline  of  the  popularity  of  the  rebellion,  bring 
them  to  their  senses,  took  no  measures  to  protect  the  Court, 
which  by  an  adjournment  by  order  of  the  Legislature,  was 
to  open  at  Springfield  on  the  26th  of  December.     But 
this,  like  every  show  of  lenity  that  had  been  made  by  the  , 
Government,  Avas  dishonored.     On  the  day  on  which  the"") 
Court  was  to  open.  Shays,  with  300  armed  men,  marched 
into  the  town,  and  took  possession  of  the  Court  House. 
Their  respect  for  the   Court  led  them  to  announce  their 
business  respectfully.     A  Committee  consisting  of  Daniel 
Shays,  Luke  Day  and  Thomas  Grover,  sent  a  note  to  the 
justices,  in  the  humble  form  of  a  petition,  requesting  them 
not  to  proceed  to  business.     The  justices   had  seen  too 
much  of  the  business  not  to  understand  the  petition,  and 
replied  that,  in  consequence  of  the  opposition,  no  business 
would  be  done.     The  insurgents  then  peaceably  retired^ 
News  of  these  proceedings  reached  the  Governor,  and  itl 
settled  the  question  of  policy  at  once.     He  and  his  Coun- 
cil, in  the  absence  of  the  Legislature,  were  determined  to 
employ  their  full  Constitutional  powers  in  suppressing  tho 
Rebellion.     The  next  Court  was  to  be  holden  at  Worces- 
ter.    Accordingly,  700  men  were  ordered  to  be  raised  in 
the  County  of  Suffolk,  500  in  Essex,  800  in  Middlesex, 
1200  in  Hampshire,  and  1200  in  Worcester,  the  whole 
amounting  to  4,400  men,  rank  and  file.     The  troops  fromj 
Suffolk,  Essex  and  Middlesex  were  ordered  to  rendezvous 
in  the   vicinity  of  Boston,  on  the  19th  of  January,  those 
from  Hampshire  at  Springfield,  and  those  from  Worcester 
were  to  join  those  from  the  Eastern  Counties,  at  the  town 
of  Worcester.      The   command   was    intrusted   to   Major 
General  Benjamin  Lincoln.     The  supplies  for  this  body 
were  raised  by  a  voluntary  loan,  offered  by  citizens  of 
Boston,  depending  (and  they  did  not  depend  in  vain)  on 
the  Legislature  to  repay  them  when  it  should  assemble^ 
In  the  meantime,  the  Governor  issued  an  address  to  the 
people,  informing  them  of  the  measures  he  had  taken  for 
the  protection  of  the  Judicial  Courts  at  Worcester,  the  re- 
pression of  all  insurgents  against  the  Government,  and  the 
apprehension  of  all  disturbers  of  the  public  peace  ;  and  ho 
conjured  the  people,  by  everytliing  valuable  in  Ufe,  to  co- 
operate with  him  in  every  necessary  exertion  for  restoring 
to  the  Commonwealth  that  order,  harmony  and  peace  upon 


260  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

which  its  happiness  and  character  so  much  depended. 
The  orders  issued  by  the  Governor  to  Gen.  Lincoln,  di- 
rected him  to  consider  liimself,  at  all  times,  under  the 
direction  of  the  civil  officer,  save  where  an  armed  force 
should  appear  to  hinder  the  execution  of  his  orders,  and  to 
call  for  fux'ther  aid  if  he  should  need  it.  lie  was  further 
ordered  to  apprehend,  disarm  and  secure  all  who,  in  a  hos- 
tile manner,  should  attempt  the  destruction,  invasion,  det- 
riment, or  annoyance  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  particu- 
larly those  in  arms  in  Worcester,  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  y 
Counties. 

That  part  of  the  army  designed  to  act  at  "Worcester, 
reached  that  town  on  the  2  2d  of  January,  the  day  prece- 
ding the  session  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  Gen- 
eral Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and,  protected  as  they  were  by 
an  overwhelming  force,  there  was  no  attempt  to  disturb 
them. 


/-. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Shays  Rebellion — its  Decline  and  Sitppres- 


SION. 


The  Government  was  so  strongly  in  force  in  the  East- 
ern and  middle  parts  of  the  State  that  the  cause  of  the 
insurgents  there  became  hopeless,  and  they  foresaw  that 
whatever  advantage  they  lioped  to  win,  was  to  be  won  in 
the  Western  part  of  the  State,  and  that,  by  a  decided 
movement.  Luke  Day  at  this  time  had  at  his  command, 
in  West  Springfield,  4U0  men,  who  showed  as  many  bayo- 
nets. These  he  had  billeted  upon  the  inhabitants,  and 
was  exercising  daily,  in  preparation  for  assisting  Shays  in 
an  attack  upon  the  Springfield  Arsenal.  This  depot  of 
arms  was  greatly  coveted  by  the  insurgents,  and  they  were 
determined  to  take  it,  before  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Lincoln 
and  his  forces  from  the  East.  In  accordance  with  orders 
from  Head  Quarters,  Gen.  Shepard  took  possession  of  the 
post,  with  a  force  of  900  men,  and  was  afterwards  re-in- 
forced  with  200  more,  all  from  tlie  militia  of  the  County 
of  Hampshire.  This  army  was  furnished  from  the  Arse- 
nal with  such  field  pieces  and  equipments  as  were  neces- 
sary. This  was  the  moment  for  the  insurgents.  On  car- 
rying this  point,  and  gaining  possession  of  tlic  arms  depos- 
ited there,  before  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Lincoln,  was  seen  to 
depend  everything  like  a  formidable  continuance  of  their 
operations.  A  ftailure  undeniably  involved  tlie  explosion 
and  destruction  of  the  insurrectionary  movement.  To 
this  point,  therefore,  the  insurgents  moved.  Day  with  his 
400  men,  as  has  been  stated,  Avas  already  in  West  Spring- 
field. A  force  of  400  men,  from  Berkshire  County,  under 
the  command  of  Eli  Parsons,  had  taken  a  position  in  the 
North  part  of  Springfield,  in  the  present  town  of  Chico- 
pee,  while  Shays,  having  consolidated  his  forces  at  the 
East,  approached  the  Arsenal  on  the  Boston  road.  Of  all 
the  leaders  of  the  insurrection  at  this  time.  Day  caaried 
the  boldest  and  most  determmed  spirit,  lie  instituted 
martial  law  on  his  own  account,  and  stopped  and  examined 


263  THE  BHATS  REBELLION. 

all  passengers.  Two  individuals,  who  submitted  to  his 
outrages  with  reluctance,  were  badly  wounded.  The  late 
Hon.  Ezra  Starkweather  of  "Worthington,  in  Hampshire 
County,  was  imprisoned  by  him  for  two  or  three  days. 
The  forces  thus  at  the  command  of  Shays  numbered,  in 
the  aggregate,  1,900  men,  an  army  nearly  twice  as  large 
as  that  under  Gen.  Shepard,  while  the  large  number  of 
old  continental  soldiers  which  it  contained,  gave  it  an  ap- 
pearance of  courage  and  power  which  the  event  proved 
did  not  inhere  in  it. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  Shays  forwarded  a  message  to 
Day,  stating  that  he  proposed  to  attack  Shepard  on  the 
next  day,  and  desiring  his  co-operation.  Day  immediately 
returned  reply  that  he  could  not  assist  him  on  the  2oth, 
but  would  do  so  on  the  day  following.  What  induced  him 
to  make  this  reply,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine,  but  it  was 
probably  to  gain  time  to  get  the  general  management  of 
affairs  into  his  own  hands.  His  message,  by  whatever 
policy  dictated,  was  fortunately  intercepted  by  Gen.  Shep- 
ard, who  thus  learned  the  intentions  of  both  commanders, 
and  made  his  preparations  accordingly.  It  appears  that 
the  messenger,  while  on  his  way  back  to  Shays,  stopped  at 
the  tavern  in  Springfield  to  warm  himself.  He  entered 
the  bar  room  very  cold,  and  exciting  the  suspicions  of  a 
company  of  young  men  present,  they  urged  him  to  drink, 
and  took  care  to  give  him  a  very  heavy  draught  of  liquor. 
In  a  few  minutes,  he  was  snoring  in  his  chair.  Day's  letter 
taken  from  his  pocket,  and  himself  placed  where  there  was 
no  danger  of  his  reaching  Shays,  who,  not  hearing  from 
Day,  took  it  for  granted  that  he  would  co-operate  with 
him,  while  Day,  supposing  that  his  message  had  been 
safely  delivered,  commenced  the  part  of  dictator  which  he 
intended  to  play,  by  sending  an  insolent  message  to  Gen. 
Shepard,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

Head  Quarters,  West  Springfield, 
Jan.  25,  1787. 
*'  The  body  of  the  people,  assembled  in  arms,  adhering  to 
the  first  principles  of  nature  —  self-preservation  —  do,  in  the 
most  peremptory  manner,  demand  : 

''  1st.  That  the  troops  in  Springfield  lay  down  their  arms. 
•'  2d.  That  their  arms  be  deposited  in  the  public  stores,  un- 


ADVANCE   OF   THE   INSURGENTS.  2G3 

der  the  care  of  the  proper  ofRcers,  to  be  returned  to  the  own- 
ers at  the  termination  of  the  present  content. 

"  3d.  That  the  troops  return  to  their  homes  on  parole." 

This  ridiculously  aiTogant  document  was  signed  by 
Day,  and  bore  upon  the  back  —  "  by  Col.  Eli  Parsons." 
While  Day  was  thus  playing  king.  Shays  was  playing  pe- 
titioner. The  latter  dated  his  note  at  Wilbraham,  and 
forwarded  it  Eastward  to  Gen.  Lincoln,  who  was,  at  that 
time,  two  days  march  from  Springfield.  In  this  docu- 
ment, Shays  stated  that,  from  his  imwillingness  to  being 
accessory  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  and  from,  his  desire  for 
the  promotion  of  peace,  he  was  led  to  propose  that  all  the 
insurgents  should  be  indemnified  until  the  next  session  of 
the  Legislature,  when  a  hearing  of  the  complaints  of  the 
people  might  be  had ;  that  the  persons  arrested  by  the 
Government  should  be  released,  without  j^unishment,  and 
that  these  conditions  should  be  confirmed  to  the  people  by 
a  proclamation  from  the  Governor.  If  these  conditions 
should  be  complied  with,  he  promised  that  the  insurgents 
should  return  home,  and  Avait  for  relief  from  their  bur- 
dens, through  a  constitutional  channel.  But  this  petition 
was  doubtless  a  sham,  the  object  which  Shays  wished  to 
accomplish  being  to  keep  Lincoln  back,  or  induce  him  to 
believe  that  haste  Avas  not  necessary  in  his  movements, 
^hile,  without  waiting  for  a  reply,  he  intended  to  push  on 
Tiis  operations.  But  Gen.  Lincoln  had  seen  too  much  of 
the  rebellion  to  be  easily  misled.  He  deemed  Gen.  Shcp- 
ard  to  be  in  great  danger,  and  apjireciated  the  importance 
of  the  juncture  as  fully  as  did  the  insurgents.  The  season 
was  very  cold,  but  he  crowded  on  his  troops,  and,  to  guard 
against  all  possibility  of  defeat,  he  despatched  an  order  to 
Gen.  Brooks  to  march  with  the  Middlesex  Militia  to 
Si^ringfield  as  early  as  possible. 

Shays  reached  Wilbraham  on  the  evening  of  the  24th, 
and  quartered  Ins  troops  upon  the  inliabitants.  But  he 
was  among  the  friends  of  the  Government,  and  Asaph 
King,  at  that  time  deputy  sheriff.  Col.  Abel  King,  Dr. 
Samuel  F.  INIerrick  and  Dca.  Noah  Warrincr  met,  to  de- 
vise a  Avay  of  conveying  to  Gen.  Shepard  intelligence  of 
the  proximity  of  the  force.  It  was  at  last  decided  that  the 
job  belonged  to  the  sheriff.  On  the  25th,  Shays  moved 
towards  Springfield,  when  King  mounted  a  splendid  young 


264  THE  SHAYS  REBELLION. 

horse  that  stood  saddled  in  his  bam,  and  started  him  across 
the  fields,  to  the  "stony  hill  road."  The  snow,  knee  deep 
to  his  horse,  was  covered  with  a  crust,  and  he  was  obliged, 
in  some  instances,  not  only  to  break  a  path  for  his  horse, 
but  to  pull  down  or  leap  fences.  When  he  came  out  upon 
the  road,  the  legs  of  his  horse  were  streaming  with  blood. 
He  was  far  ahead  of  Shays,  and  sjiurring  on,  reached  the 
arsenal  in  forty -five  minutes  from  the  time  he  left  Wilbra- 
ham.  From  him,  Shepard  learned  all  the  particulars 
which  he  had  not  before  known,  and  ascertained  that  the 
force  of  Shays  was  on  the  march.  Forewarned,  though 
not  altogether  confident  of  results,  Gen.  Shepard  made  his 
preparations  for  the  reception  of  the  insurgents,  but  it  was 
not  until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  Shays  and  his 
force,  (who  had  probably  delayed  their  progress  in  order 
to  hear  something  from  Day)  made  their  appearance  upon 
the  Boston  road,  approaching  the  arsenal.  Determined  on 
not  acting  with  rashness,  Gen.  Shepard  sent  out  one  of  his 
aids,  with  two  other  gentlemen,  to  inquire  of  Shays  his 
intentions,  and  to  warn  him  to  desist  from  an  attack.  The 
purport  of  his  answer  was  that  he  would  have  possession 
of  the  arsenal,  and  of  the  barracks.  As  he  continued  his 
approach.  Gen.  Shepard  repeatedly  sent  messages  to  him, 
stating  that  if  he  persisted  he  should  assuredly  fire  upon 
his  troops.  To  this  threat,  one  of  the  leaders,  standing  by, 
remarked  that  "  that  was  all  they  wanted."  One  of  thSf 
messengers  sent  out  had  been  a  fellow  officer  with  Shays  > 
in  the  Continental  ai"my,  and,  in  his  conversation  with  the 
rebel,  told  him  that  he  (the  messenger)  was  engaged  in  the 
defense  of  his  country.  Shays  replied,  "then  we  are  on 
the  same  side."  "We  shall  take  very  different  parts,  J^ 
imagine,"  responded  the  messenger.  Shays  sportively  re-^ 
joined  that  "the  part  he  should  take  was  the  hill  on  which 
the  arsenal  stood."  Shays  told  another  messenger  that  he 
should  lodge  in  the  barracks  that  night.  The  messenger 
replied  that  if  he  undertook  it,  he  would  lodge  in  heaven 
or  hell,  he  did  not  know  which  —  he  hoped  it  would  be 
heaven.  This  parleying  was  rapidly  carried  on,  the  insur-. 
gents  all  the  time  advancing.  At  last,  it  became  too  appa- 
rent to  Gen.  Shepard  that  blood  must  be  shed,  and  even 
then  his  humanity  did  not  forsake  him.  He  directed  a 
^^scharge  of  cannon  to  their  right  and  left,  and  then  over 


THE  RETREAT  OF  THE  REBELS.        265 

their  heads.  The  report  of  these  pieces  was  heard  through- 
out the  village,  and  excited  the  most  intense  emotions  of 
pain  and  apprehension.  Horsemen  had  been  traversing 
the  space  between  Main  street  and  the  Hill,  to  note  and 
report  the  progress  of  events.  But  the  insurgents  still 
advanced,  with  an  unbroken  front.  They  had  arrived 
within  fifty  rods  of  Shepard's  battery,  when  he  ordered 
his  cannon  to  be  discharged  upon  the  center  of  the  column. 
The  smoke  rolled  up,  and  exhibited  to  the  Government 
troops  a  most  pitiable  scene  of  cowardice  and  confusion. 
Three  of  the  insurgents  lay  dead  upon  the  field,  and  a 
fourth  was  mortally  wounded.  Their  names  were  Ezekiel 
Root  and  Ariel  Webster  of  Gill,  Jabez  Spicer  of 
Leyden,  and  John  Hunter  of  Shelburne,  the  latter  dyinjr 
the  following  day.  Breaking  up  with  the  cry  of  "mur- 
der," the  cowardly  host  turned  in  reti-eat,  and  an  attempt 
of  Shays  to  display  his  column  was  entirely  abortive.  IIc^ 
had  no  power  to  stay  his  men,  and  that  night  they  slept  at 
Ludlow,  ten  miles  distant.  The  humanity  that  had  thus 
far  governed  Gen.  Shepard  did  not  forsake  him  in  the 
moment  of  triumph.  He  might  easily  have  followed  up 
his  great  advantage,  and  cut  them  down  by  hundreds,  but 
his  object  was  accomplished.  The  enemy  was  routed  and 
terrified,  and  he,  in  a  moment,  saw  that  the  rebellion  was 
no  longer  formidable.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  were  taken 
to  a  stable,  and  there  were  suffered  to  lie  for  several  days 
— until  they  were  stiffly  frozen — before  they  were  clauned 
by  friends. 

Dui'ing  these  proceedings,  Day  had  remained  with  his 
corps  at  West  Springfield,  entirely  inactive,  and  the  report 
of  the  cannon  had  not  sufficed  to  move  him.  Lincoln's 
army  was  still  a  day's  march  distant,  but  was  making  as 
rapid  progress  as  possible.  The  day  following  his  retreat, 
Shays,  perceiving  himself  altogether  too  near  the  path  of 
Lincoln's  army,  proceeded  to  Chicopee,  to  form  a  juncliou 
witli  the  Berkshire  insurgents  under  Eli  Parsons,  and  in 
this  brief  march  he  lost  200  men  by  desertion.  Tbis 
movement,  and  the  knowledge  that  Day  still  remained 
with  his  force  in  West  Springfield,  gave  Gen.  Shepard, 
notwithstanding  the  cowardly  beluivior  of  Shays'  men,  ap- 
prehension that  a  more  serious  attack  was  im})cnding,  but 
the  arrival  of  Gen.  Lincoln  and  his  troops,  on  the  27lh, 
23 


266  THE    8HAYS    REBELLION. 

dissipated  all  fears  on  that  point.  Day,  in  the  meantime, 
had  established  a  guard  at  the  ferry  house,  and  Gen.  Lin- 
coln, so  soon  as  he  had  arrived,  and  learned  the  position 
of  affairs,  determined  on  a  new  line  of  policy  —  that  of 
pursuit  and  aggression.  The  moment  was  favorable,  and 
his  weary  soldiers  were  put  upon  the  march  for  "West 
Springfield,  while  the  Hampshire  troops,  under  Gen. 
Shepard,  were  sent  up  the  river  upon  the  East  side,  to 
prevent  a  junction  of  the  forces  of  Shays  and  Day,  and  to 
cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  latter.  The  army  of  Gen.  Lin- 
coln crossed  the  river  upon  the  ice.  Upon  its  appearance 
there,  the  guard  at  the  ferry  house  turned  out,  but,  after 
making  an  insignificant  show  of  resistance,  they  fled. 
The  infantry  passed  up  "  Shad  Lane,"  while  the  cavahy, 
#nder  Major  Buffington,  a  gallant  officer  of  the  Revolution, 
went  up  the  middle  of  the  river,  to  prevent  the  crossing 
of  Day's  force. 

•  The  retreat  of  Day's  guard  from  the  ferry  house,  and 
their  arrival  at  his  head  quarters,  was  the  signal  for  a  gen- 
eral stampede  of  liis  frightened  troops.  The  people  of  the 
town  were  no  less  frightened  than  the  insurgents.  In  fact, 
on  the  day  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Lincoln's  army,  they 
had  removed  their  most  valuable  effects  to  the  localities 
then  known  as  "  Tatham,"  "  Piper"  and  "  Amos  Town," 
and  remained  there  themselves  to  avoid  the  consequences 
of  a  collision  which  they  deemed  inevitable.  Day's  men 
made  not  the  slightest  show  of  resistance,  but  left  their 
bread  and  their  pork  and  beans  baking  in  the  ovens  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  fled  by  the  way  of  Southampton  to  North- 
ampton, often  casting  away  all  impediments  to  their  pro- 
gress, and  strewing  their  path  with  muskets,  knapsacks  and 
ammunition.  Day  and  his  men  did  not  pause  until  they 
had  arrived  at  Northampton,  which  they  reached  that  night, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  who  were  overtaken  and  cap- 
tured by  the  light  horse.  Shays  heard  of  the  retreat  of 
Day's  forces,  and  then  put  his  own  troops  in  motion  for  the 
North,  and  passing  through  South  Hadley,  reached  Am- 
herst before  the  next  morning.  His  forces  had  now  be- 
come as  reckless  as  they  were  frightened.  One  man,  an 
adjutant  in  the  party,  was  killed  in  consequence  of  the 
army  mistaking  its  own  rear  guard  for  the  advance  guard 
of  Lincoln's  party.     They  plundered  the  house  of  Major 


** 

/* 


IMPORTANT    CAPTUREi'^  i267 

Goodman  of  South  Ilatlley,  of  tAvo  barrels  of  rum,  his  ac- 
"count  books  and  divers  articles  of  household  furniture,  and 
stripped  the  beds,  broke  the  windows,  &c.  They  also  broke 
open  the  house  of  Col.  Woodbridge,  and  took  such  articles 
as  they  wished  for,  and  ti-eated  other  houses  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  the  same  manner.  Shays  endeavored  in  vain 
,4o  prevent  these  outrages.  The  party  had  not  long  left 
Chicopee  behind  them,  when  Gen.  Lincoln  and  his  army 
Avere  in  full  pursuit.  Before  the  latter  arrived  at  Amherst, 
however.  Shays  had  pushed  forward,  for  Pelham,  his  home, 
and  to  those  ble«k  hills  Lincoln  declined  following  him. 
On  looking  about  in  Amherst,  it  was  found  that  most  of 
the  male  inhabitants  had  left,  to  follow  the  insurgents,  and 
that  ten  sleigh-loads  of  provisions  from  Berkshire  had  gone 
forward  for  their  use.  An  interdict  upon  the  co-operation 
of  the  remaining  inhabitants  was  uttered,  and  then  Gen. 
Lincoln  passed  over  to  Hadley,  to  secure  a  cover  for  his 
chilled  and  Avearied  troops.  Day  had  already  left  North- 
ampton, and,  passing  through  Amherst,  had  preceded  Shays 
at  JPelham.  His  numbers  had  decreased  from  400  to  240 
men. 

On  the  day  following  Gen.  Lincoln's  arrival  at  Hadley, 
news  came  in  that  a  small  party  of  Gen.  Shepard's  men 
had  been  captured  at  Southampton,  and  that  the  agents  in 
the  capture  still  remained  at  that  point.  The  Brookficld 
volunteers  under  Col.  BaldA\un,  numbering  50  men,  Avith 
100  horse,  under  Col.  Crafts,  were  dispatched  in  pursuit, 
the  former  in  sleighs.  This  pursuing  force  Avere  soon  on 
the  track  of  the  insurgents,  Avhom  they  found  to  consist  of 
<80  men  in  ten  sleighs.  They  came  up  Avith  them  in  the 
night,  at  Middlofield.  The  insurgent  force  was  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  iLudiugton,  of  Southam})ton,  and  among 
the  Government  volunteers  was  General  Tup])cr,  under 
Avhom  Ludington  had  acted  as  corporal  in  the  Revolution- 
ary Avai'.  The  house  in  wliich  Ludington  was  quartered 
was  lirst  surrounded,  and  General  Tupper,  without  know- 
ing that  his  old  corporal  Avas  within,  summoned  him  to  sur- 
render. The  corporal  kucAV  the  A'oice  at  once,  and  made 
but  few  words  before  he  surrendered.  The  remainder  of 
the  insurgents  paraded  under  arms,  but  Avore  intimidated 
by  the  representation  of  tlie  number  of  the  government 
forces,  when  they  laid  down  their  arms,  and  the  conquerors 


268  THE    SHATS    REBELLION. 

had  the  pleasure  and  pride  of  returning  with  59  prisonersr, 
and  nine  sleigh-loads  of  provisions,  without  shedding  a 
drop  of  blood. 

The  next  day  after  the  dispatch  of  this  expedition,  (Jan. 
30)  General  Lincoln  sent  a  letter  to  Capt.  Shays  and  his 
associate  leaders,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

"  Whether  yon  are  convinced  or  not,  of  your  error  in  flying  * 
to  arms,  I  am  fully  persuaded  that,  before  this  hour,  you  must 
have  the  fullest  conviction  upon  your  own  minds  that  you  are 
not  able  to  execute  your  orighiai  purposes.  Your  resources 
are  few,  your  force  inconsiderable,  and  hourly  decreasing 
from  the  disaffection  of  your  men  ;  you  are  in  a  post  where 
you  have  neither  cover  nor  supplies,  and  in  a  situation  in 
which  you  can  neither  give  aid  to  your  friends,  nor  discom- 
fort to  the  supporters  of  good  order  and  government.  Under 
these  circumstances,  you  catmot  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  dis- 
band your  deluded  followers.  If  you  should  not,  I  must  ap- 
proach and  apprehend  the  racst  intluential  characters  among 
you.  Should  you  attempt  to  fire  upon  the  troops  of  Govern- 
ment, the  consequences  must  be  fatal  to  many  of  your  men, 
the  least  guilty.  To  prevent  bloodshed,  you  will  communi- 
cate to  your  privates,  that  if  they  will  instantly  lay  down  their 
arms,  surrender  themselves  to  Government,  and  take  and  sub- 
scribe the  oath  of  allegiance  to  this  Commonwealth,  they  shall 
be  recommended  to  the  General  Court  for  mercy.  If  you 
should  either  withhold  this  information  from  them,  or  sufTev 
your  people  to  fire  upon  our  approach,  you  must  be  answera- 
ble for  all  the  ills  which  may  exist  in  consequence  thereof."     , 

To  this  letter,  Shays  returned  a  reply  on  the  same  day, 
as  follows : 

Pelham,  Jan.  30th,  1787. 

"  To  Gen.   Lincoln^  oommandinrj   the    Government  troops   at^ 
Jladley, 

Sir:  The  people  assembled  in  arms,  from  the  counties  of 
Middlesex,  Worcester,  Hampshire  and  Berkshire,  taking  into 
serious  consideration  the  purport  of  the  flag  just  received,  re- 
turn for  answer  that,  however  unjustifiable  the  measures  may 
be  which  the  people  have  adopted,  in  having  recourse  to  arms, 
various  circumstances  have  induced  them  thereto.  We  are 
sensible  of  the  embarrassments  the  people  are  under ;  but 
that  virtue  which  truly  characterizes  the  citizens  of  a  repub- 
lijean  government  hath  hitherto  marked  our  paths  with  a  de- 
gree of  innocence  ;  and  we  wish  and  trust  it  will  still  be  the 
case.  At  the  same  time,  the  people  are  willing  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  on  the  condition  of  a  general  pardon    and  return 


SHAYS   AT   PELHAM.  269 

to  their  respective  homes,  as  they  are  unwilling  to  stain  the 
land,  which  we,  in  the  late  war,  purchased  at  so  dear  a  rate, 
with  the  blood  of  our  brethren  and  neighbors.  Therefore,  wo 
pray  that  hostilities  may  cease  on  your  part,  until  our  united 
prayers  may  be  presented  to  the  General  Court,  and  we  re- 
ceive an  answer,  as  a  person  is  gone  for  that  purpose.  If  this 
request  may  be  complied  with,  government  shall  meet  with  no 
resistance  iVom  the  people,  but  let  each  army  occupy  the  post 
where  they  now  are.  "Daniel  Shays,   Captain.''^    J 

On  the  next  day,  three  insurgent  leaders  visited  Had- 
ley,  bringing  a  note  to  Gen.  Lincoln,  signed  by  Francis 
Stone,  Daniel  Shays  and  Adam  Wheeler,  repeating  the 
request  made  in  Shays'  note,  that,  as  they  had  sent  a  peti- 
tion to  the  General  Court,  hostilities  might  cease  on  both 
sides,  until  the  decision  of  the  Legislature  should  be  known. 
To  this,  Gen.  Lincoln  i-eplied  that  the  request  was  totally 
inadmissible,  as  he  had  no  power  to  treat  in  that  manner. 
lie  again  warned  the  insurgents  against  maintaining  their 
hostile  position,  and  again  threw  upon  them  the  responsi- 
bility of  such  evUs  as  might  follow  the  dishonor  of  his 
caution. 

That  the  insurgents  had  become  entirely  satisfied  that 
their  cause  was  hopeless,  was  evident  alike  from  their  ac- 
tion and  the  petition  which  they  had  forwarded  to  the 
Legislature.  The  latter  document  was  very  humble  in  its 
terms.  They  acknowledged  their  error  in  having  recourse 
to  arms,  and  not  seeking  redress  in  a  constitutional  way, 
and  prayed  that,  as  the  General  Court  had  already  shown 
its  appreciation  of  the  causes  of  uneasiness  among  the  peo- 
ple, by  redressing  a  number  of  their  grievances,  they  would 
overlook  the  mis-step  they  had  taken.  They  professed  a 
strong  desii'e  to  prevent  the  shedding  of  blood,  a  calamity 
which  they  deemed  impending,  if  a  "  reconciliation"  should 
.not  soon  take  place,  and  solemnly  promised  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  repair  to  their  respective  homes,  provided 
a  general  pardon  should  be  granted.  The  policy  was,  un- 
doubtedly, to  remain  in  force  while  the  result  of  their  peti- 
tion was  pending,  for  the  purpose,  as  well  of  self-protection, 
and  the  protection,  particularly,  of  the  officers,  as  of  ob- 
taining advantageous  terms.  Tlie  insurgent  force  at  Pel- 
ham,  did  not,  at  this  time,  embrace,  by  any  means,  all  under 
arms  against  the  Government.  Squads  were  collected  in 
various  quarters.  On  the  3d  of  February,  a  party  of 
23* 


270  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION". 

twenty  horse  and  150  troops  in  sleighs  were  sent  from 
Worcester  to  New  Braintree,  to  look  after  a  company  of 
rebels  posted  there.  On  seeing  the  Government  party  ap- 
proach, the  insurgents  left  their  quarters,  and  took  a  posi- 
tion behind  a  stone  wall,  from  which  they  fired  upon  their 
pursuers,  seriously  wounding  two  men.  They  then  turned 
and  escaj)ed  by  flight. 

Upon  the  dispersion  of  the  insurgents  at  Springfield, 
2,000  of  the  militia  which  had  been  raised  to  go  against 
them  were  discharged,  as  it  was  supposed  that  the  rebel- 
lion would  not  be  formidable  thereafter,  but,  upon  their 
making  a  stand  at  Pelham,  the  Governor,  fearful  of  still 
further  difficulty,  issued  his  orders  for  2,600  of  the  militia 
in  the  middle  counties  to  take  the  fit;ld.  But  this  was  a 
useless  precaution,  for  Shays,  finding  himself  and  his  cause 
growing  weaker  every  day,  determined  on  a  movement 
which  should  place  his  men,  in  a  measure,  beyond  the 
temptation  of  desertion,  which  the  proximity  of  their  com- 
fortable homes,  the  promise  of  safety,  and  their  wanin<T 
fortunes,  were  so  thoroughly  calculated  to  excite.  He  de- 
termined to  withdraw  from  Pelham,  and,  by  a  stratagem, 
to  accomplish  his  purpose  without  Gen.  Lincoln's  knowl- 
edge. Accordmgly,  one  of  his  leaders  was  dispatched  to 
obtain  a  private  interview  with  an  officer  of  the  army,  and 
while  the  attention  of  the  government  troops  was  attracted 
by  this  interview,  which  occurred  on  the  od  of  February, 
Shays  drew  ofi'  his  entire  force  from  Pelham,  and  marched 
to  Petersham,  in  the  county  of  Worcester.  News  of  the 
motion  of  Shays'  army  was  brought  to  Gen.  Lincoln  at 
noon,  but  he  supposed  the  insurgents  were  only  shifting 
their  position.  Still,  to  be  ready  for  anything  that  might 
occur,  he  issued  orders  to  his  army  to  provide  themselves 
with  provisions  for  three  days,  and  be  ready  to  march  at  a 
moment's  warning.  At  six  o'clock,  he  received  news  that 
convinced  him  that  the  insurgents  had  retired,  and  at  eight 
liis  army  were  on  their  way  in  pursuit.  The  weather  was 
extremely  cold,  and  hardly  any  part  of  New  England 
could  produce  a  path  more  bleak  and  drear  than  that 
which  lay  before  them.  At  two  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
the  army,  passing  through  Shutesbury,  had  reached  New 
Salem,  and  here  came  on  a  violent  snow  storm,  which,  ad- 
^d  to  the  prevailing  cold,  rendered  their  march  one  of 


LEGISLATIVE   ACTION.  271 

extreme  suffering.  Their  only  safety  lay  in  keeping  up 
their  motion.  In  the  mean  time,  the  insurgents  had  eom^ 
pleted  their  march,  and  were  snugly  quartered  upga-  the 
inhabitants  of  Petersham.  At  nine  o'clock  in  tire  morn- 
ing, the  advanced  guard  of  light  horse  entered  the  town, 
giving  to  Shays  and  his  party  the  first  intimation  of  the 
approach  of  the  government  troops.  No  surprise  could  have 
been  more  complete.  The  storminess  and  coldness  of  the 
night,  and  the  long  distance  of  thirty  miles  which  lay  be- 
tween Hadley  and  Petersham,  were  considerations  tliat 
fulled  them  to  a  sense  of  perfect  security.  They  had 
hardly  time  to  snatch  their  arms  and  provisions  for  a  hasty 
retreat,  when  the  whole  of  Lincoln's  army — cavalry,  artil- 
lery and  infantry — came  pouring  into  the  town.  The 
friglitcned  rebels  instantly  evacuated  their  houses,  and 
thronged  into  a  back  road  leading  to  Athol,  scarcely  dis- 
charging a  gun.  Gen.  Lincoln  might  have  slain  them  in 
great  numbers,  but  this  was  not  his  policy.  lie  contented 
himself  with  routing  them,  and  taking  150  of  them  prison- 
ers, whom,  after  administering  to  tliem  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance, he  dismissed,  with  passports,  to  their  homes.  But 
Shays  and  the  other  leaders  succeeded  in  making  their  es- 
cape, with  so  rapid  a  movement,  that  they  could  not  be 
traced.  Two  or  three  days  subse([uently,  he  was  at  Win- 
chester, N.  II.,  with  300  men,  and  the  others  fled  mostly 
to  that  State,  Vermont  and  New  York. 

The  Legislature  convened  on  (lie  very  day  that  Shays 
marched  from  Pelliam.  ]>y  adjuurnnient,  it  should  have 
met  four  days  earlier,  but  such  was  the  state  of  popular 
excitement  in  the  Commonwealtli,  that  a  suilieient  number 
of  members  had  not  come  together.  The  lirst  business 
was  to  listen  to  the  Governor's  narrative  of  events  con- 
nected with  the  insurrection,  and  the  measures  he  had  in- 
stituted for  its  suppression.  On  the  next  day,  a  declaration 
of  rebellion  was  adopted  by  both  houses,  as  well  as  an  ap- 
proval of  Gen.  Lincoln's  offer  of  clemency  to  all  privates 
and  non-commissioned  officers  among  tlic  insurgents,  on 
condition  of  their  surrendering  their  arms,  and  subsci'ibing 
the  oath  of  allegiance  as  prescribed  by  the  Governor. 
They  also  sent  an  answer  to  the  Governor's  speech,  entire- 
ly approving  the  measures  he  had  taken,  desiring  him  to 
continue  them,  persistently  and  vigorously,  and  i)romising 


272  THB   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

Ilim  sucli  support  as  it  was  in  their  province  to  render. 
In  the  ftilfiUment  of  this  promise,  they  made  an  appropria- 
tion of  £40,000  for  the  re-imbursement  of  the  money  bor- 
rowed of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  and  passed  a  resolve  ap- 
proving  of   the    spirited   couduct   of    Gen.    Shepard,   in 
defending  the  Springfield  arsenal.     They  then  took  up  the 
petition  which  had  been  forwarded  by  the  insurgents  from 
Pelham,  and  voted  that  the  paper  could  not  be  sustained, 
for  sundry  reasons.     Some  of  these,  as  stated,  were  tech-4 
nical,  but  the  first  and  most  important  was  that  those  coni 
cerned  in  the  petition  were  avowedly  in  ai^ms,  and  in  a 
state  of  hostility  against  the  government,  a  position  which 
they  determined  to  maintain  until  all  should  be  pardoned. 
The  last  reason  given  was  that,  if  the  jietition  had  been  a 
proper  one,  and  properly  subscribed  by  all  who  desired 
pardon,  their  cause  had  been  supported  by  so  many  false- 
hoods that  no  dependence  could  be  placed  on  their  prom- 
ises of  amendment.     On  the  Gth  of  February,  the  Governor 
communicated  to  the  Legislature  the  intelligence  connected 
with  the  routing  of  the  insurgents  at  Petersham.     After 
some  hesitation,  in  regard  to  the  best  policy  of  procedure,  it 
was  decided,  in  view  of  the  new  aspect  of  affairs,  to  counter- 
mand the  order  issued  by  the  Governor  for  raising  2,G00 
men,  and  a  resolve  was  passed  that  an  army,  not  exceeding 
1,500  men,  should  be  enlisted  to  serve  four  months.     They 
also  requested  the  Governor  to  issue  a  proclamation,  otFer- 
ing  a  reward  not  exceeding  £150  for  the  apprehension  of 
either  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  request  the 
Governors  of  other   States  to  issue  similar  proclamations. 
They  also  took  appropriate  notice  qf  the  action  of  Gen. 
Lincoln  and  his  troops,  and  of  their  march  from  Hadley  to 
Petersham,  than  which  a  more  remarkable  one  was  never 
performed  in  America. 

The  dispersion  of  the  rebels  at  Petersham  served  to 
scatter  numbers  of  them  over  the  "Western  part  of  the 
State,  who  took  frequent  occasion  to  vent,  in  a  small  way, 
the  spite  which  their  aggregated  impotence  had  served  to 
engender.  While  Lincoln  was  at  Petersham,  he  heard  of 
the  gathering  of  a  portion  of  the  fugitives  near  Northfield, 
and  would  have  proceeded  to  that  point,  but  for  an  express 
that  reached  him  from  General  Patterson,  of  Berkshire 
^^ounty,  requiring  his  presence  in  that  quarter.     So,  dis- 


FURTHER  TROUBLES  IN  BERKSHIRE.       273 

missing  three  companies  of  artillery,  and  ordering  two  reg- 
iments to  Worcester,  he  left  Petersham  witli  a  body  of  his 
troops,  on  the  7th  of  February,  and  marched  to  Amherst 
the  same  day,  a  distance  of  25  miles.  The  next  day's 
march  was  through  old  Hadley  to  Northampton,  8  miles. 
From  this  point,  they  passed  in  nearly  a  direct  line  through 
Chestei-field,  Worthington,  Peru,  Hinsdale  and  Dalton,  to 
Pittsfield.  In  Berkshire  County,  the  insurgents  had  as- 
sembled, during  the  pursuit  of  Shays,  for  the  purpose  of 
diverting  or  dividing  the  attention  of  the  Government,  and 
with  the  ulterior  object  of  joining  his  forces,  should  they 
be  driven  Westward.  But  the  I'riends  of  good  order  iu 
Berkshire  would  not  then  tolerate  rebellion  on  their  soil. 
They  accordingly  volunteered,  to  the  number  of  500  men, 
some  of  the  first  men  in  the  County  taking  their  ])laces  iu 
the  ranks.  At  the  intersection  of  three  roads  in  the  town 
of  West  Stockbridge,  the  insurgents  collected,  to  tJie  num- 
ber of  150  or  200  men,  under  one  Plubbard,  and  it  became, 
or  appeared,  important,  to  disperse  this  party  before  it 
should  gi-ow  stronger.  To  effect  this  purpose,  the  volun- 
teers for  the  Government  turned  out  in  a  body,  and 
marched  for  the  spot.  On  the  ai)proach  of  their  advanced 
corps,  consisting  of  thirty-seven  infantry,  they 'received  a 
fire  from  Hubbard's  sentries,  and  the  insurgents  were  in- 
stantly drawn  up  in  good  order  and  commanded  to  fire, 
but  they  hesitated.  Tlieodore  Sedgwick,  subsequently 
judge  of  the  Sui)reme  Court,  ap[)reciating  the  cause  of 
their  apprehension,  immediately  rode  up  to  them,  and  ad- 
dressing them  as  old  acquaintances,  directed  them  to  lay 
down  tbeir  arms.  Many  of  them  complied  wdth  his  con^ 
mand,  wliilc  others  turned  and  fled.  Eighty-four  of  them, 
including  Hubbard  liimself,  were  taken  })risoners,  the;  ma- 
jority of  whom  were  allowed  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  return  home.  Two  of  tlie  insurgents  had  been  wound* 
cd  by  some  scattered  firing  that  liad  taken  place.  Subse-^ 
quently,  a  number  collected  in  the  town  of  Adams,  but 
dispersed  on  the  approach  of  Gen.  Patterson,  re-aj)j)earing 
at  Williamstown,  where  tliey  Avere  dispersed  in  tlie  same 
manner.  These  events  all  transpired  before  the  arrival  of 
Gen.  Lincoln's  troops  in  the  County,  and,  together  with  the 
continuance  of  the  dis2)Osition  of  the  insurgents  to  embody, 
■were  the  cause  of  Gen.  Patterson's  application  for  assist- 


274  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

ance.  While  Lincoln  was  on  the  march,  250  insurgents 
collected  in  the  town  of  Lee,  to  stop  the  Courts,  and  were 
met  and  opposed  by  300  citizens.  The  two  bodies  finally 
entered  into  an  arrangement,  the  conditions  being  that  the 
insurgents  should  disperse,  and  that  the  commander  of  the 
militia  should,  in  case  the  insurgents  were  taken,  use  his 
personal  endeavors  to  have  them  tried  within  their  own 
County.  The  rebels  were  enabled  to  secure  these  terms 
by  obtaining  a  yarn  beam  from  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Perry, 
mounting  it  as  a  cannon,  and  thus  deceiving  the  militia. 
As  soon  as  the  army  arrived  at  Pittsfield,  a  party  were  de- 
tached in  sleighs  directly  back  to  the  town  of  Dalton,  in 
pursuit  of  one  Major  Wiley,  who  had  a  party  of  insurgents 
in  command,  and  another  body  of  troops  proceeded  to  Wil- 
liamstown,  to  look  after  the  rebels  in  that  quarter.  The 
Dalton  company  took  six  prisoners,  among  whom  was 
Wiley's  son,  but  Wiley  himself  succeeded  in  escaping. 
The  Williamstown  detaclmient  took  fourteen  prisoners,  and 
had  one  of  their  men  wounded  in  the  struggle  that  attended 
the  capture. 

The  exasperation  that  took  possession  of  the  baffledy 
leaders  of  the  insurrection,  at  this  juncture,  was  great. 
Shays  was  defeated,  and  the  government  army  was  iu 
Berkshire,  which  then  had  become  the  stronghold  of  the 
rebellious  movement.  The  following  letter,  from  one  of 
the  leaders  whose  name  has  been  previously  mentioned, 
will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  extreme  bitterness  which  pre- 
vailed : — 

"Berkshire,  February  15,  1787.  » 
*  "Friends  and  felloio  sufferers: — Will  you  now  tamely  suf- 
fer your  arms  to  be  taken  from  you,  your  estates  to  be  confis- 
cated, and  even  swear  to  support  a  constitution  and  form  of 
government,  and  likewise  a  code  of  laws,  which  common 
sense  and  your  consciences  declare  to  be  iniquitous  and  cruel  ? 
And  can  you  bear  to  see  and  hear  of  the  yeomanry  of  this 
Commonwealth  being  patched  and  cut  to  pieces  by  the  cruel 
and  merciless  tools  of  tyrannical  power,  and  not  resent  it  even 
unto  relentless  bloodshed  f  Would  to  God  I  had  the  tongue  of  a 
ready  writer,  that  I  might  impress  upon  your  minds  the  idea 
of  the  obligation  you,  as  citizens  of  a  republican  government, 
are  under,  to  support  those  rights  and  privileges  that  the  God 
of  Nature  hath  entitled  you  to.  Let  me  now  persuade  you, 
■*y  all  the  sacred  ties  of  friendship,  which  natural  affection 


CONDITIONS    OP  INDEIINITT.  275 

inspires  the  human  heart  with,  immediately  to  turn  out,  and 
assert  your  rights. 

"  The  first  step  that  I  would  recommend  is  to  destroy  Shep- 
ard's  army,  then  proceed  to  the  County  of  Berkshire,  as  we 
are  now  collecting  at  New  Lebanon,  in  York  State,  and  Pow- 
nal,  in  Vermont  State,  with  a  determination  to  carry  our  point, 
if  jire,  blood  and  carnage  will  effect  it.  Therefore,  we  beg 
that  every  friend  will  immediately  proceed  to  the  County  of 
Berkshire,  and  help  us  to  Burfjoyne  Lincoln  and  his  army.  I 
beg  this  may  immediately  circulate  through  your  County. 

''I  am,  gentlemen,  in  behalf  of  myself  and  other  officers, 
Your  humble  servant,  Eli  Parsons."  j 

On  the  ICth  of  February,  the  Legislature  closed  its  de- 
liberations in  regard  to  the  political  disqualifications  which 
should  be  the  conditions  of  indemnity  to  the  insurgents. 
It  was  a  subject  of  immense  importance  to  the  State,  and 
called  for  the  exercise  of  the  most  judicious  counsels. 
The  conditions  instituted  were,  "  that  the  offenders,  having 
laid  down  tlieir  arms,  and  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  Commonwealth,  should  keep  the  peace  for  three  years, 
and,  during  that  term,  should  not  serve  as  jurors,  be  eligi- 
ble to  any  town  office,  or  any  other  ofSce  under  the  gov- 
ernment, should  not  hold  or  exercise  the  employment  of 
school  masters,  innkeepers,  or  retailers  of  spirituous  liquors, 
or  give  their  votes  for  the  same  terra  of  time  for  any  offi- 
cer, civil  or  military,  within  the  Commonwealth,  unless 
they  should,  after  the  1st  day  of  May,  1788,  exhibit  ple- 
nary evidence  of  their  having  returned  to  their  allegiance 
and  kept  the  peace,  and  of  their  possessing  such  an  une- 
quivocal attachment  to  the  Goverimient,  as  should  aj^pear 
to  the  General  Court  a  sufficient  ground  to  discharge  them 
fi'om  all  or  any  of  these  disqualifications."  To  such  of  the 
privates  among  the  rebels  as  had  taken  \\\)  arms  on  the 
sjde  of  the  Government  before  the  1st  of  February,  the 
Governor  Avas  empowered  to  extend  the  release  of  any  or 
all  of  these  conditions,  as  also  to  certain  others  designated, 
while  those  absolutely  excepted  from  the  indemnity  were — 
"  such  as  were  not  citizens  of  the  State,  such  as  had  been 
members  of  any  General  Court  in  the  State,  or  of  any 
State  or  County  Convention,  or  had  been  employed  in  any 
commissioned  office,  civil  or  military ;  such  as,  after  deliv- 
ering up  their  arms,  and  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance 
during   the  rebellion,  had  again   taken  and  borne  arras 


276  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

against  the  Government ;  such  as  had  fired  upon,  or  wound- 
ed, any  of  the  loyal  subjects  of  the  Commonwealth ;  such 
as  had  acted  as  committees,  counsellors  or  advisers  to  the 
rebels ;  and  such  as,  in  former  years,  had  been  in  arms 
against  the  Government  in  the  capacity  of  commissioned 
officers,  and  were  afterwards  pardoned  and  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  rebellion."  The  law  appeared  stringent  to 
the  advocates  of  lenient  measures  m  the  House,  and,  had 
it  not  appeared  that  the  rebels  were  still  malignantly  pur- 
suing their  measures  in  the  Western  part  of  the  State,  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  shame  the  faces  and  shut  the  mouths 
of  their  friends  and  advocates,  it  would  have  been  carYied 
in  that  branch  of  the  Legislature  with  much  difficulty. 

A  few  days  after  the  insurgents  were  routed  at  Peters- 
ham, Gen.  Shepard  took  his  position  at  Northfield,  a  point 
lying  so  near  to  the  adjoining  line  of  New  Hampshire  as 
to  be  desirable  to  the  rebels.     From  this  place,  on  the  16th 
of  February,  he  dispatched  Capt.  Samuel  Buffington,  with 
a  company  of  horse,  for  the  purpose  of  apprehending  cer- 
tain refugees  abidmg  in  Vermont.     Having  procured   a. 
warrant  from  a  Vermont  magistrate,  they  undertook  their 
work,  but  they  found  the  Vermonters  opposed  to  them,  and 
so  far  sympathetic  with  the  refugees,  as  to  render  it  impos- 
sible to  prosecute  the  pursuit,  when  they  returned  to  North- 
field.     On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  a  small  party  was 
dispatched  to   Bernardston,  for  the   purpose  of  arresting 
Capt.  Jacob  Parmenter,  a  leader  of  the  rebels.     One  of 
the   Government  party  was  Jacob  Walker   of  Whately, 
and,  unfortunately  for  him,  Parmenter  was  overtaken  in 
the  Eastern  part  of  Bernardston,  accompanied  by  two  oth- 
ers, riding  in  a  sleigh.     The  sleighs  of  the  respective  par- 
ties unexpectedly  came  in  collision  with  each  other,  when 
Parmenter  hailed  the  other  party,  and  receiving  no  an- 
swer,  ordered  his  men  to  fire.     This  they  essayed  to  do, 
but  their  priming  was  wet,  and  their  guns  unserviceable. 
Instantly  Parmenter  and  AYalker  raised  their  guns,  took 
deliberate  aim  at  each  other,  and  fired  simultaneously,  when 
"Walker  fell,  with  a  mortal   wound.     Parmenter  and  his 
associates  escaped  unharmed,  but  they  were  captured  the 
next  day,  in  Vermont,  and  secured  in  the  jail  at  North- 
ampton. 
<y    On  the   2Gth  of  February,  a  large  body  of  insurgents 


STOCKBRIDQE  PLUNDERED.  277 

under  Capt.  Hamlin,  entered  Berkshire  County  from  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  proceeded  to  the  town  of  Stock- 
bridge,  arriving  there  on  the  morning  of  tlie  27th.  Halt- 
ing at  a  house  kept  by  Mrs.  Bingham,  they  divided  them- 
selves into  parties,  for  the  purpose  of 'pillaging  the  village. 
One  of  these  parties  found  Jahleel  Woodbridge  in  bed, 
made  him  captive,  and  plundered  the  house  of  all  its  val- 
uables. Entering  the  house  of  Deacon  Ingersoll,  they 
found  the  good  man  at  prayer.  Mrs.  Ingersoll,  understand- 
ing the  weak  points  of  the  mob,  went  to  the  door  and 
handed  them  a  bottle  of  brandy,  with  which  they  content- 
edly marched  off.  Ira  Seymour  was  a  character  peculiarly 
offensive  to  them,  and  several  houses  were  passed  in  their 
anxiety  to  reach  him,  but  he  escaped,  though  without  shoes 
to  protect  his  feet  from  tlie  snoAV.  From  Capt.  Jones,  they 
stole  a  large  quantity  of  "  military  stores,"  and,  what  he 
esteemed  more  highly  than  aught  else,  and  never  recov- 
ered, a  belt  of  wampum,  given  him  by  the  Indians,  in  token 
of  friendship.  They  also  took,  as  prisoners,  him  and  his 
sons  Josiah  and  William,  an  old  negro  woman  who  was 
laboring  in  the  family,  und  the  hired  man,  who  at  once  de- 
clared himself  to  be  a  Shays  man,  and  ready  and  anxious 
to  join  the  insurgents,  but  he  was  not  believed,  and  was 
driven  off  with  the  others.  Passing  to  the  house  of  Dr. 
Sergeant,  they  broke  open  the  chamber  of  Mercy  Scott,  a 
seamstress,  and  stole  her  silver  shoe-buckles.  They  then 
secured  Dr.  S.,  two  medical  students  of  the  name  of  Hop- 
kins and  Catlin,  and  Dr.  Partridge,  Moses  Lynch  and  a 
hired  man,  and  marched  them  off  as  prisoners.  They  then 
proceeded  to  the  house  of  Gen.  Ashley,  and  took  him. 
One  band  entered  the  store  of  a  Mr.  Edwards  to  get  spir- 
ituous liquors.  From  the  office  of  Theodore  Sedgwick, 
they  took  Ephraim  Williams  and  Henry  Hopkins  prison- 
ers, and  stole  a  quantity  of  linen  from  the  drawers.  At 
the  house  of  Mr.  Sedgwick,  they  met  with  their  match. 
They  found  there  P21izabeth  Freeman,  popularly  known  as 
"  Mum  Bett,"  a  woman  of  color.  She  armed  herself  with 
the  kitchen  fire-shovel,  and  escorted  the  gentlemen  over 
the  house  and  into  the  cellar,  forbidding  all  wanton  destruc- 
tion of  property,  under  penalty  of  a  blow  from  the  shovel. 
On  reaching  her  own  chest,  in  which  she  had  secreted  the 
family  silver,  the  robbers  asked  her  what  it  contained. 
24 


278  THE  8HAT9  REBELLION. 

"  Oh,  you  had  better  search  that,"  she  replied,  "  an  old 
nigger's  chest !"  And  thus  she  succeeded  in  shaming  them 
out  of  it.  One  of  the  robbers  stole  Mr.  Sedgwick's  horse, 
a  favorite  of  "  Mum  Bett,"  but  after  mounting  him  was 
thrown  to  the  ground.  Bett  seized  the  horse,  and  giving 
him  a  furious  blow,  supposed  she  had  sent  him  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  thievish  clan,  but  he  was  retaken  by  them, 
and  never  returned.  At  the  house  of  Asa  Bement,  Jr., 
they  were  very  violent,  and  fired  upon  a  boy  who  endeav- 
ored to  escape  on  horseback,  with  a  white  paper  in  his 
hat.  Tiie  boy  leaped  from  the  horse,  and  escaped  to  the 
house  of  the  elder  Mr.  Bement,  but  before  the  scoundrels 
could  reach  that  house,  they  were  recalled  in  order  to  com- 
mence their  march. 

When  the  prisoners  had  been  brought  in,  they  were  pa- 
raded in  front  of  a  locality  now  occupied  by  the  new 
grave-yard.  At  this  moment,  Nathaniel  Lynch,  Asa  Be- 
ment, Jr.,  George  Kirkland  and  Ned  Monday,  a  colored 
man,  rode  up,  threatened  to  fire  upon  the  robbers,  and  ac- 
cordingly discharged  their  pieces.  They  were  immediately 
pursued.  Kirkland's  horse  leaped  the  fence,  and  carried 
his  rider  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Tucker.  He  was  met  at 
the  door  by  a  young  woman  who  told  him  thaf  there  was  a 
Shays  man  within.  The  Shays  man  proved  to  be  a  Ger- 
man soldier,  known  as  ''  Little  Pete,"  and  belonging  in 
"West  Stockbridge.  Rushing  out,  he  seized  Kirkland's 
horse  by  the  bridle,  and,  pointing  a  pistol  at  his  breast,  or- 
dered him  to  surrender.  There  was  -no  resisting  such  an 
argument,  and  Kirkland  was  led  back,  into  the  line  of  pris- 
oners. Little  Pete  mounted  his  horse,  and,  content  with 
his  share  in  the  spoils,  struck  a  fast  gait  for  Vermont  or 
Canada,  from  whence  he  did  not  return  for  twenty  years. 
Lynch  and  Bement  were  pursued  to  a  swamp,  and  fired 
upon,  but  not  injured.  A  portion  of  Hamlin's  party  had 
become  so  drunk  as  to  be  unable  to  proceed,  but  the  re- 
mainder, after  sending  Gen.  Ashley,  wliom  Hamlin  had 
recognized  as  a  fellow  officer  in  the  Revolution,  back  to  his 
home,  marched  with  their  prisoners  for  Great  Barrington. 
In  the  meantime,  messengers  had  gone  in  every  direction, 
announcing  the  presence  of  the  insurgents. 

On  reaching  Great  Barrington,  Hamlin's  party  stopped 
for  liquor  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Bement,  and  then  they 


/* 


DEFEAT   OF  THE   ROBBERS.  279 

called  upon  Mrs.  Bement  to  show  tliem  the  jail,  wliich  was 
attached  to  the  house,  in  order,  as  they  said,  to  see  if  it 
was  strong  enough  to  hold  their  prisoners,  when  they  should 
get  ready  to  store  them  there.  There  was  hut  one  way  for 
the  lady,  who  went  around,  unlocking  the  cells,  and  sing- 
ing with  charming  unconcern  and  mischievous  pleasantry : 

"  Ye  living  men  come  view  the  grouna,  " 

Where  you  must  shortly  lie  !" 

The  dehtors  in  the  jail  were  all  released,  but,  as  the  peo- 
ple of  the  town  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  information  of 
their  approach  had  been  forwarded  to  Sheffield,  there  was 
little  chance  for  plunder,  and  the  robbers  began  to  take 
measures  for  their  safety.  -^ 

The  militia  of  Sheffield  had  been  collected  under  Lieut. 
Goodrich,  and  were  joined  by  a  company  from  Great  Bar- 
rington,  raising  the  whole  number  to  80  men.  A  report 
was  then  received,  that  the  insurgents  were  beating  a  rc- 
.  treat  through  Egremont  to  New  York,  when  the  Govern- 
ment party,  under  the  command  of  Col.  John  Ashley,  took 
a  back  road,  and,  in  their  sleighs,  drove  for  the  residence 
of  Francis  Hare  Jr.,  in  Egremont.  They  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far,  when  they  found  that  the  insurgents  were  in  the 
rear  in  pursuit.  A  halt  was  made,  the  sleighs  drawn  aside, 
and  the  party,  amid  considerable  confusion,  attempted  to  form. 
Lieut.  Goodrich  then  took  his  Slieffield  company  through 
a  lot  of  girdled  trees  on  the  West  side  of  the  road,  while 
Capt.  Ligersoll,  witli  the  Great  Barrington  company,  ad- 
vanced througli  a  wood  on  the  Eastern  side,  engaging  in  a 
scattering  fire  during  tlieir  progress,  being  first  fired  upon 
by  the  insurgents.  Quite  a  hot  engagement  of  a  few  l)rief 
minutes  ensued,  when  the  rebels  turned  in  flight.  Other 
parties  of  government  forces  soon  came  in,  one  being  from 
Lenox,  under  Capt.  AYilliam  Walker.  A  number  of  pris- 
oners, variously  stated,  from  25  to  60,  were  taken.  Col. 
Ashley,  in  his  official  dispatch  to  Gen.  Lincoln,  gives  the 
former  number,  while  Minot  multii)lies  the  number  by  two. 
Thirty  of  the  insurgents  were  Avounded,  among  whom  was 
Hamlin  himself.  Two  were  killed  outright,  and  a  third, 
one  Rathbun,  died  some  time  afterwards  of  his  wounds. 
In  the  melee,  Solomon  Gleazen,  the  village  schoolmaster 
of  Stockbridge,  one  of  Hamlin's  prisoners,  was  shot  dead. 


280  THE    SHAYS   REBELLION. 

A  Mr.  Porter,  of  the  Great  Barrington  militia,  was  stot 
dead,  and  carried  home  to  his  wife  before  she  was  aware 
of  his  falh  Dr.  Burghardt  of  Richmond  was  wounded. 
After  securing  the  prisoners,  and  ordering  those  members 
of  the  Stockbridge  militia,  who  had  been  released  from 
captivity  by  Hamlin's  tlight,  into  the  ranks,  a  council  of 
war  was  held,  and  the  troops  marched  from  the  field.  The 
prisoners  were  first  taken  to  Great  Barrington,  but  the 
jail  was  not  large  enough  to  hold  them,  and  they  were 
taken  to  Lenox,  under  an  escort  of  a  line  of  sleighs  a  mile 
in  length,  and  with  such  demonstrations  of  mock  pomp, 
and  grotesque  hilarity  as  the  occasion  was  calculated  to  in- 
sj)ire.  Half  an  hour  previous  to  the  action,  Hamlin  pa- 
roled a  number  of  his  prisoners,  on  the  condition  that  they 
should  proceed  to  Egremont,  under  an  insignificant  guard 
of  four  men.  These  were  relieved  by  a  party  of  horse, 
and  sent  back  to  their  homes. 

The  plunder  of  Stockbridge  by  the  insurgents  under 
Hamlin,  Avas  the  last  important  demonstration  made  dui'ing 
the  rebellion,  and  the  action  that  took  place  between  them 
and  the  volunteers  under  Col.  Ashley  was,  in  fact,  the  only 
fight  tliat  occurred  from  first  to  last.  It  was  the  first  and 
only  instance  in  which  a  considerable  body  of  the  rebels 
exhibited  the  slightest  courage,  and,  from  the  quantity  of 
liquor  they  had  stolen  and  drunk  during  the  day,  it  is  not 
uncharitable  to  suppose  that  their  ephemeral  bravery  was 
more  properly  attributable  to  artificial  excitement  than 
genuine  courage.  The  insurrection  had  now  degenerated 
into  nothing  better  than  a  wholesale  system  of  robbery, 
which  no  decent  man,  and  no  man  holding  the  smallest 
stake  in  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the  community,  could 
apologize  for,  or  attempt  to  justify. 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  this  band  came  from  New[ 
York,  as,  also,  that  upon  the  dispersion  of  the  rebels  at 
Petersham,  they  fled  to  adjoining  States.  In  those  States, 
they  Avere  not  content  with  finding  a  refuge  from  pursuit, 
and  an  opportunity  for  revenging  themselves  by  passing 
over  the  border,  as  occasion  permitted,  and  committing 
their  outrages  in  Massachusetts,  but  they  sought  to  diffuse 
their  seditious  principles  among  those  who  afforded  them  a 
shelter.  Already  a  spirit  of  insurrection  had  appeared  in 
several  of  the  adjacent  States.     So  wide  was  this  spirit  in 


II 


CO-OPEnATI05    OF   OTHER   STATES.  281 

its  power  and  prevalence,  and  so  strongly  was  the  move- 
ment ill  Massachusetts  regarded  as  the  central  and  decisive 
field  of  operations,  that  "  Hurra  for  Shays  !"  was  as  famil- 
iar a  watchword  in  Connecticut,  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  in  Western  Massachusetts.  The  safety  which  the 
rebel  refugees  enjoyed,  in  their  retreats  beyond  the  lines 
of  home  jurisdiction,  presented  a  difficulty  which  the  Gen- 
eral Court  sought  to  obviate,  by  requesting  tlie  Governor 
to  write  to  the  Governors  of  the  neighboring  States,  asking 
them  to  take  measures  for  the  apprehension  of  the  rebels, 
and  for  preventing  them  from  the  acquisition  of  supplies. 
The  States  applied  to  were,  for  reasons  rather  to  be  strong- 
ly suspected  than  boldly  asserted,  very  slow  and  tame  in 
their  responses.  Rhode  Island  responded  first,  and,  after 
promising  what  was  desired,  contented  herself  v,'ith  allow- 
ing the  refugees  to  roam  throughout  the  State  at  their  will. 
The  Governor  of  Connecticut  promised  aid,  issued  a  pro- 
clamation offering  a  reward  for  tlie  apprehension  of  "ihe 
rebels,  and,  assisted  by  a  resolution  of"  the  Legislature  of 
that  State,  showed  his  sincerity  by  his  works.  New  Hamp- 
shire acted  honorably  and  efficiently. 

After  the  news  of  the  Stockbridge  incursion  reached  the 
Legislature,  that  body  requested  the  Governor  to  write 
again  to  the  Governor  of  New  York,  from  Avhom,  as  well 
as  from  the  Governor  of  Vermont,  no  re])ly  had  been  re- 
ceived, urging  liim  to  take  measures  for  tlie  apprehension 
of  such  rebels  as  had  taken  refuge  in  that  State,  founding 
his  plea  for  such  action  on  the  articles  of  confederation  lit" 
erally  interpreted.  Unknown  to  the  General  Court,  Gen. 
Lincoln  had  anticipated  their  action,  and  immediately  after 
the  Stockbridge  demonstration,  sent  a  disi)atcli  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  giving  the  origin  and  history  of  that 
event.  ^  The  New  York  Legislature  was  then  in  session, 
and,  after  listening  to  the  communication,  resolved  to  re- 
commend it  to  the  Governor  to  repair  to  the  spot  where 
the  insurgents  might  be,  call  out  the  militia  to  his  support, 
and  to  take  all  necessary  measures  for  the  apnrehension  of 
such  insurgents  as  might  be  found  within  the  bounds  of 
the  State.  The  Governor  immediately  issued  orders  for 
raising  a  brigade  and  three  regiments  of  militia,  to  hold 
themselves  ready  for  motion  at  a  moment's  warning,  and 
took  his  measures  with  such  promptness  and  efficiency,  that 


282  THE   6HAYS   REBELLION. 

the  refugees  were  obliged  to  flee  to  Vermont,  the  only  ad- 
joining State  that  was  not,  nominally,  at  least,  shut  against 
them.  A  singular  incident  was  connected  with  the  flight 
which  the  insurgents  found  it  necessary  to  make  from  New 
York.  On  the  3d  of  Maj'ch,  Levi  Bullock  of  Lanesboi-- 
ough,  a  young  man,  and  one  of  those  engaged  in  plunder- 
ing Stockbridge,  returned  home.  He  was  so  fearful  of 
apprehension  that  he  dared  not  show  himself,  except  to  a 
boy  named  Thomas  Mayo,  whom  he  persuaded  to  go  out 
with  him  and  lodge  in  what  is  popularly  called  a  "  potato 
hole" — a  place  dug  out  for  the  storage  of  vegetables  in  the 
winter.  They  took  a  bed,  and  a  small  pot  of  live  coals. 
Closing  the  entrance  to  their  cave,  and  lying  down  upon 
their  bed,  they  were  both  found  dead  the  following  day. 
»  Finally,  Vermont,  after  wavering  for  some  time  in  the 
fear  of  stirring  up  rebellion  at  home,  where  the  popular 
feeling  was  strongly  sympathetic  with  the  Massachusetts 
insurgents,  came  into  the  line  of  judicious  and  neighborly 
policy,  and,  on  the  27th  of  February,  the  Governor  issued 
his  proclamation  for  the  apprehension  of  the  rebels ;  and 
in  communicating  the  same  to  the  Governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, he  assured  him  of  his  co-operation  in  the  measures 
instituted  for  checking  the  intestine  broils  in  the  sister 
Commonwealth.  The  Legislatui*e  of  Pennsylvania  also 
showed  a  generous  compliance  with  the  Governor's  re- 
quest, and  made  an  addition  to  the  reward  oifered  by  him 
for  the  apprehension  of  the  leaders  of  tlie  rebellion. 

Thus,  measures  having  been  effectually  taken  to  subdue 
and  keep  under  subjection  the  rebellion  within  the  State, 
and  to  place  it  under  ban  in  the  adjace;it  jurisdictions,  the 
Legislature  turned  its  attention  to  the  trial  of  those  already 
in  the  custody  of  the  law.  It  was  decided  tliat  the  Su- 
preme Judicial  Court  should  hold  a  special  session  in  each 
of  the  disaffected  Counties  of  Berkshire,  Hampshire  and 
Middlesex,  leaving  the  Court  to  hold  its  regular  session  in 
Worcester,  on  the  last  Tuesday  in  April.  A  law  was 
enacted  at  the  same  time,  excluding  from  juries  those  who 
had  in  any  manner  been  guilty  of  favoring  the  rebellion, 
with  the  provision  that  a  subsequent  vote  of  the  town 
might  restore  their  names  to  the  jury  box.  But  this  law 
was  not  of  very  generally  operative  application,  for,  in 
some  towns,  the  sympathy  in  favor  of  the  rebellion  had 


COMMISSION    OF   INDEMNITY.  283 

been  so  pervasive  that  hardly  a  sufficient  number  of  men 
was  left  to  fill  the  necessary  town  offices.  This  state  of 
things  called  for  a  legislative  remedy,  and  it  was  instituted 
by  the  appointment  of  three  Commissioners,  who  were 
empowered  to  grant  indemnity  to  all  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  rebellion  in  that  indirect  manner  that  placed 
them  beyond  the  cover  of  the  act  of  indemnity,  on  their 
subscribing  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  furnishing  satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  their  return  to  faitliful  citizenship.  This 
indemnity  was  to  be  granted  with  the  remission  of  any  or 
all  of  the  conditional  disqualifications  attached  to  the  gen- 
eral act  of  indemnity.  The  Commissioners  were  also  author- 
ized to  remit  the  disqualifying  conditions  to  those  who  had 
taken  the  benefit  of  the  act  of  indemnity,  provided  that 
satisfactory  evidence  of  their  repentance  and  amendment 
should  be  adduced,  excluding,  liowever,  from  their  protec- 
tion, Daniel  Shays,  Luke  Day,  Eli  Parsons  and  Adam 
"Wheeler,  all  those  persons  who  had  fired  upon  or  killed 
citizens  in  the  peace  of  the  Commonwealth,  with  the  com- 
mander of  their  party ;  and,  also,  the  members  of  the  rebel 
Council  of  War,  and  all  those  against  Avhom  the  Governor 
and  Council  had  issued  a  warrant,  unless  liberated  on  bail. 
The  Commission  consisted  of  Gen.  Lincoln,  Samuel  Phil- 
lips, Jr.,  President  of  the  Senate,  and  Samuel  Allyne 
Otis,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  order 
to  protect  the  places  of  trust  from  feigned  converts  to  the 
Government,  a  resolution  was  passed,  directing  that  Se- 
lectmen and  other  town  ollicers  should  take  and  subscribe 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  -, 

While  providing  thus,  in  the  most  judicious  manner,  for 
the  trial  of  the  principal  criminals,  and  lor  restoring  tlie 
masses  that  had  been  in  rebellion  to  relations  of  peace  with 
the  Commonwealth,  the  Legislature  did  not  forget  to  con- 
tinue the  reformatory  progress  it  had  commenced  at  the 
previous  session.  It  reduced  the  number  of  terms  of 
liolding  the  sessions  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and 
General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  enacted  a  new  fee-bill  con- 
siderably diminishing  the  fees  of  attorneys  and  public  offi- 
cers, and  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  whether  there 
were  any  real  public  grievances  under  which  the  peo{)le 
suffiired.  This  Committee  reported  tln-ee,  viz  : — "  Tliat 
suitable  provision  had  not  been  made  for  the  seasonable  > 


/ 


284  THB   6HATS   REBELLION. 

and  punctual  payment  of  the  interest  due  on  public  secu- ' 
rities  ;"  "  that  the  Treasurer  had  not  been  laid  under  great- 
er restrictions  with  regard  to  the  drawing  of  orders,"  and 
"  That  the  salary  established  by  law  for  the  support  of  the 
first  Magistrate  of  the  Commonwealth,  was  higher  than 
was  reasonable." 

A  bill  was  passed  for  the  redress  of  this  latter  grievance, 
reducing  the  Governor's  salary  from  £1,100  to  £800. 
This  bill  the  Governor  returned  with  objections,  based  on 
Constitutional  provisions,  stating,  in  connection,  that,  al- 
though his  expenditures  far  exceeded  his  income,  he  would 
consent  to  the  reduction  so  far  as  he  was  personally  con- 
cerned, but  it  was  neither  in  his  power,  nor  in  consonance 
with  his  inclination,  to  diminish  or  render  precarious  the 
salary  of  his  successors.  The  necessary  two-thirds  of  the 
Legislature  could  not  be  obtained  for  over-riding  the  veto, 
and  the  measure  consequently  fell  to  the  ground.  The 
Legislature  was  then,  on  the  10th  of  March,  prorogued  to 
the  ensuing  annual  election. 

The  Commission  for  granting  indemnity  to  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  rebellion  went  busily  to  work,  and  not  les3 
than  790  persons  availed  themselves  of  its  offices.  Li  the 
meantime,  the  trials  of  those  under  ai-rest  came  on  in 
Berkshire,  Hampshire,  Worcester  and  Middlesex.  These 
trials,  of  course,  excited  the  widest  popular  attention  and 
interest.  The  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  sitting  in  Great 
Barrington,  for  the  County  of  Berkshire,  found  six  persons 
guilty  of  high  treason,  and  condemned  them  to  death,  viz : 
Samuel  Rust  of  Pittsfield,  Peter  Williams,  Jr.,  of  Lee, 
Nathaniel  Austin  of  Shelfield,  Aaron  Knap  of  West 
Stockbridge,  Enoch  Tyler  of  Egremont,  and  Joseph  Wil- 
liams of  New  Marlboro.  The  following  were  sentenced  to 
various  grades  of  punishment  for  seditious  words  and  prac- 
tices :  William  Whiting  of  Great  Barrington — £100  fine, 
imprisonment  for  seven  months,  and  recognizance  in  the 
sum  of  £300  to  keep  the  peace  for  five  years  ;  John  Dem- 
ing  of  West  Stockbridge — a  fine  of  £60,  and  recognizance 
in"£l00  to  keep  the  peace  for  three  years;  John  Hubbard 
of  Shelfield — a  fine  of  £100  and  recognizance  in  £200  to 
keep  the  peace  for  four  years  ;  Daniel  Sackett  of  Pittsfield 
— a  fine  of  £60,  and  recognizance  in  £100  to  keep  the 
j)eace  for  three  years.     Six  were  also  convicted  at  the 


BENTENCES   OP  THE   REBELS.  285 

Court  held  in  Northampton,  and  condemned  to  death,  viz : 
Jason  Parmcnter  of  Bernardston,  Daniel  Liidington  of 
Southampton,  Alpheus  Colton  of  Longmeadow,  James 
White  of  Colerain,  John  Wheeler  of  Hai'dwick,  and  Henry 
IVTcCulloch  of  Pelham.  Those  convicted  of  treasonable 
words  and  practices,  and  sentenced  to  lower  grades  of  pun- 
ishment were :  Joseph  Jones — (his  crime  being  an  assault 
upon  and  fii'ing  a  pistol  at  the  Deputy  Sheriff  in  the  exe- 
cution of  his  office,)  one  hour  on  the  gallows,  and  recog- 
nizance in  £80  to  keep  the  peace  for  two  years ;  Silas 
Hamilton,  Esq.,  of  Whitingham,  Vt.,  (for  stirring  up  sedi- 
tion in  this  Commonwealth.)  to  stand  one  hour  in  the  pil- 
lory, and  be  publicly  whipped  on  the  naked  back  with 
twenty  stripes ;  Moses  Harvey,  a  fine  of  £50,  to  sit  on  the 
gallows  with  a  rope  around  his  neck  for  one  hour,  and  re- 
cognizance in  £200  to  keep  the  peace  for  five  years ;  John 
Severance,  a  fin^  of  £30  and  recognizance  in  £100  to 
keep  the  peace  for  three  years ;  Abner  Fowler,  a  fine  of 
£50,  imprisonment  for  twelve  months,  and  bonds  to  keep 
the  peace  for  five  years  ;  Thomas  Ivillam — a  fine  of  £20, 
and  recognizance  in  £50  to  keep  the  peace  for  three  years  ; 
and  Samuel  Rose,  an  hour  in  the  pillory,  and  a  public 
whipping,  with  twenty  stripes. 

Ilenry  Gale  of  Princeton  was  tried  and  condemned  to^ 
death  in  Worcester,  and  Job  Shattuck  of  Groton,  at  Con- 
cord. Fourteen  individuals  were  thus  under  sentence  of 
death  for  leadership  and  acts  of  criminal  violence  in  the 
rebellion,  and  a  large  number  under  milder  sentences,  fur 
acting  minor  parts  in  the  same  revolt.  One  convict,  (Mo- 
ses Harvey)  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
who  was  sentenced  to  an  hour's  occupation  of  the  gallows 
with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  the  payment  of  a  fine  of  £50 
and  bonds  to  keep  the  peace  and  be  of  good  behavior  for 
five  years,  received  his  punishment,  and  this  sentence,  as 
will  hereafter  be  seen,  was  the  only  one,  of  all  those  pro- . 
nounced,  that  was  ever  executed. 

The  movements  of  the  insurgents  during  this  time,  and 
subsequently,  were  not  particularly  note-worthy.  One 
night,  towards  the  last  of  April,  some  twenty-five  insur- 
gents assembled  under  arms  on  the  West  side  of  the  river 
at  Northfield,  and  beat  tlieir  drums  and  fired  their  guns. 
They  were,  probably,  n  company  who  had  come  down  from 


286  THE   6HAY9   REBELLION. 

Vermont  and  New  Hampsliire  to  reconnoiter,  and  they 
quickly  fled  before  tlae  troops  stationed  there,  under  Gen. 
Shepard.  Among  the  last  days  of  May,  Capt.  Bingham 
of  Partridgefield  was  arrested  for  his  participation  in  the 
rebellion,  and  committed  to  jail  in  Northampton.  About 
the  same  time,  four  men  engaged  in  sowing  seditious  senti-, 
ments  in  Connecticut  were  taken  into  custody  by  the  au- 
thorities of  that^State,  in  accordance  with  the  proclamation 
of  the  Governor  and  the  action  of  the  Legislature.  On 
the  29th  of  the  same  month,  Lieut.  Bullard  of  Orange  was 
arrested  in  Swanzey,  N.  IL,  while  enlisting  men  for  Shays, 
and  committed  to  jail  in  Northampton,  with  two  accompli- 
ces. At  a  later  date,  three  guns  were  discharged  upon  the 
dwelling  house  of  Joshua  Healey  of  Chesterfield,  the  balls 
entering  the  house.  This  was  in  consequence  of  Mr  Hea- 
ley's  commencement  of  a  suit  for  damages,  previously  in- 
flicted by  the  insurgents.  Still,  the  insurgents  were  busy. 
Their  leaders,  they  saw,  were  under  the  extremest  sen- 
tence of  the  law,  and  although  they  could  not  hope  to  suc- 
ceed in  their  schemes  of  rebellion,  they  were  extremely 
anxious  to  rescue  the  convicts  from  the  punishment  to 
which  they  were  sentenced.  They  threatened  and  bullied, 
and  declared  that  their  predatory  incursions  were  only  pre- 
liminary to  a  general  invasion.  Some  of  them  even  went 
to  Canada  to  solicit  the  aid  of  that  Government,  but  with- 
out success.  In  the  meantime,  the  Governor  and  Council, 
in  the  exercise  of  that  remai-kable  lenity  that  had  ever 
marked  their  policy,  on  the  30th  of  April  extended  a  free 
pardon  to  eight  of  those  sentenced  to  death  in  the  Western 
Counties,  leaving  only  two  to  be  hung  in  each  County,  and 
these  were  to  be  hung  in  the  latter  part  of  May.  Prepa- 
rations were  accordingly  made  at  the  proper  time  for  their 
execution.  Gen.  Shepard  moved  down  from  Northfield  to 
Northampton  with  his  troops,  to  protect  the  officers  of  the 
law  in  the  execution  of  their  duty.  A  gallows  had  been 
erected,  and  all  the  preparations  made  for  the  solemn  event. 
"When  all  was  ready,  and  it  had  been  demonstrated  to  those 
who  had  declared  that  these  convicts  should  not  be  hung, 
that  the  Government  was  abundantly  able  to  carry  out  the 
execution  of  the  laws,  the  Sheriff  opened  a  reprieve  of  the 
sentence  to  the  21st  of  June  following,  which  had  been 
granted  by  the  Governor  on  the  17th  of  May,  and  read  it 


THE  LEGI8LATURE   AGAIN   CONVERTED.  287 

to  the  assembled  multitude.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  len- 
ient course  pursued  by  the  Government,  the  malignant 
remnants  of  the  broken  rebellion  still  took  occasion  to  vent 
their  spite.  Scarcely  had  Gen.  Shepard  with  his  troops 
left  Northfield  to  attend  the  execution,  when  a  party  of  rebel 
officers,  with  a  number  of  the  inliabitants  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, under  the  command  of  Col.  Smith  of  New  Salem, 
proceeded  to  Warwick,  and  made  Dr.  Medad  Pomeroy  and 
Joseph  Metcalf  prisoners.  These  were  both  highly  re- 
spectable and  well  known  men,  and  a  paper  left  in  the  house 
of  Dr.  Pomeroy  stated  that  they  were  to  be  reserved  a3 
hostages  to  secure  the  lives  of  Jason  Parmenter  and  Hen- 
ry McCulloch,  then  under  sentence  of  death.  The  paper 
declared  that  if  those  two  convicts  should  be  executed,  the 
prisoners  should  also  be  put  to  death.  Both  were,  howev- 
er, soon  afterwards  allowed  to  escape,  probably  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fact  that  the  convicts  had  been  reprieved, 
though  the  consciousness  that  they  would  find  it  difficult  to 
hold  them  doubtless  had  its  effisct. 

The  Governor  was  unexpectedly  called  upon,  by  the 
death  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth,  to  call  the 
Legislature  together  again — making  the  fourth  session  of 
the  year.  Tliis  was  subsequent  to  the  annual  election"! 
which  had  resulted  in  removing  Gov.  Bowdoin  from  tlie 
Chief  Magistracy,  and  bestowing  that  office  upon  Jolm 
Hancock,  and  in  such  changes  in  the  Legislature  as  showed 
that  the  rebellion  had  been  more  widely  sympathized  in  | 
than  the  Government  had' ever  dreamed.  On  meeting  for^ 
the  last  time  the  out-going  Legislature,  Gov.  Bowdoin  ex- 
pressed his  gratification  tliat  he  was  about  to  retire  from 
office,  and  nobly  declared  that  he  should  liave  expressed 
his  w'ish  for  retirement  earlier,  could  he  have  done  it  with- 
out the  imputation  of  deserting  the  people  wliile  their  af- 
fairs were  in  a  critical  situation.  In  taking  his  leave  of 
the  Court,  he  conferred  his  best  wishes  upon  the  Common- 
wealth, and  expressed  the  hope  ''  that  the  people  might  have 
just  ideas  of  liberty,  and  not  lose  it  in  licentiousness,  and 
in  despotism,  its  natural  consequence."  During  the  session 
of  the  Court,  the  Commissioners  for  granting  pardon  to 
offijnders  made  their  report,  in  which  they  declared  that, 
beyond  the  obvious  and  well  known  causes  of  the  rebel- 
lion, a  delusion  in  regard  to  the  action  and  position  of  the 


288  THE   BHATS   BEBELLION. 

General  Court  had  been  a  powerful  cause  in  sowing  discord 
and  discontent,  and  that  this  delusion  had,  in  too  many  in- 
stances, been  excited  and  fostered  by  the  members  of  the 
General  Court  themselves.  For  this,  the  General  Court 
were  disposed  to  make  amends,  and  before  they  rose,  they 
passed  a  reply  to  the  Governor's  address,  in  which  they 
accoi'ded  to  him  the  warmest  praise  for  the  measures  he 
had  adopted,  declared  their  sincere  confidence  in  his  char- 
acter, expressed  regret  for  his  retirement  from  office,  and 
gave  utterance  to  their  wish  that  he  might  receive  from  a 
grateful  jieople  those  marks  of  aifectiou  and  esteem  whicb 
were  the  proper  reward  for  his  services  and  merits. 

The  rebels  and  their  sympathizers  had  now  a  Governor 
and  Legislature  of  their  own  choosing,  but  that  Governor 
and  that  Legislature,  in  their  very  first  acts,  set  aside  the 
most  unjust  verdict  which  the  people  had  rendered  against 
Gov.  Bowdoin,  and  endorsed  his  conduct  by  following  his 
policy.  Gov.  Hancock,  in  his  ojiening  speech  from  thel 
chair,  communicated  the  intelligence  of  the  incursions  that 
had  been  made,  and  submitted  whether  it  would  not  be  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  continue  in  service  the  troops  then 
stationed  in  Hamj)shire  and  Berkshire,  so  long  as  it  might 
be  judged  necessary  to  secure  safety  and  tranquillity  to 
those  counties.  The  Committee  on  the  Governor's  Mes- 
sage reported  a  resolution  requesting  him  to  raise  800  men 
for  the  protection  of  the  Western  Counties,  to  continue  in 
service  for  six  months,  unless  discharged  earlier.  The 
Senate  assented  to  this,  but,  after  the  House  had  debated 
it,  they  sent  down  an  order  for  the  appointment  of  a  Com- 
mittee to  consider  the  expediency  of  repealing  the  act  of 
disqualifications  (under  certain  resti'ictions)  to  those  wlio, 
within  a  specified  time,  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Commonwealth.  In  the  subsequent  debates  in  the 
House,  the  feeling  of  a  portion  of  the  members  became 
discoverable  in  their  wish  that  the  indemnity  should  be 
indiscriminate  and  entire.  The  final  decision  was,  that  not 
less  than  500  nor  more  than  800  men  should  be  raised  for 
the  Western  Counties,  and  that,  with  the  exception  of  nine 
persons,  all  who  would  take  and  subscribe  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance before  the  12tli  day  of  the  ensuing  September, 
should  be  pardoned.  In  the  House,  the  measure  for  a  gen"^ 
^**eral  pardon  was  decided  in  the  negative  by  a  vote  of  120 


GOVERNOR   BOWDOIN   JUSTIFIED.  289 

to  94.  Thus  did  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature  con- 
demn the  policy  and  the  sentiments  which  had  placed  them 
in  office,  and  thus  did  they  indorse  and  confirm  the  policj) 
of  Gov.  Bowdoin. 

Still,  it  was  necessary  that  the  new  Legislature  should 
do  something  to  justify  the  grounds  on  which  it  was  elect- 
ed. So,  while,  in  every  important  particular,  they  endorsed 
the  acts  of  the  previous  administration,  they  took  such  oc- 
casion as  they  could,  to  cast  blame  and  dishonor  upon  it. 
The  bill  for  suspending  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  Habeas 
Corpus,  passed  by  the  previous  Legislature,  was  to  expire 
by  the  limitation  of  its  own  provisions,  on  the  first  of  July  ; 
yet,  on  the  14th  of  June,  a  Committee  was  raised  to  bring 
in  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  offensive  law.  The  motives 
that  led  to  this  action  are  too  evident  to  call  for  statement, 
or  admit  of  apology.  The  repeal  could  hardly  have  beeuJ 
carried  through  its  various  stages  before  the  law  would 
have  expired  of  itself.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  pro- 
ject should  afterwards  have  miscarried,  and  that  its  advo- 
cates should  have  become  so  heartily  ashamed  of  it  as 
openly  to  renounce  it.  The  Legislature  then  turned  its 
eye  to  the  execution  of  those  reforms  that  had  been  called 
for  by  the  people,  the  prominent  one  being  the  reduction 
of  the  salary  of  the  Governor.  In  the  election  which  had 
placed  the  noble  Hancock  in  office,  the  unwillingness  of 
Gov.  Bowdoin  to  have  his  salary  reduced  was  made  the 
most  of,  in  the  electioneering  efforts  instituted  to  prejudice 
the  people  against  him.  At  the  commencement  of  the  ag- 
itation of  this  subject,  Gov.  Hancock  sent  in  a  message, 
voluntarily  offering  £300  of  his  salary  for  the  benefit  of 
the  State,  at  the  same  time  expressing  the  hope  that  when 
the  finances  of  the  State  should  arrive  at  a  better  condi- 
tion, his  action  might  not  operate  to  the  prejudice  of  any 
of  his  successors,  nor  be  considered  as  anything  else  than 
a  personal  contribution  for  the  relief  of  the  burdens  of  the 
people.  The  Legislature  accepted  the  donation,  praised' 
the  Govei'nor,  declared  their  intention  at  some  future  time 
to  consider  the  constitutionality  of  reducing  the  Govei'iior's 
salary,  of  which  his  predecessor  had  exjiressed  doubts, 
and  dropped  the  subject.  Thus  again  did  the  Governor 
and  the  Legislature  indorse  and  confirm  the  policy  and 
principles  of  Gov.  Bowdoin  and  the  previous  General 
25 


290  THE    SHAYS    REBELLION. 

Court.  They  then  indorsed  and  continued  the  tender  act 
passed  by  their  predecessors,  condemned,  like  them,  the 
project  of  an  issue  of  paper  money,  complied  with  the 
usual  conditions  of  coercive  measures  for  the  suppression 
of  the  rebellion,  and  voted  supplies  for  the  troops.  That/ 
their  proceedings  were  watched  with  intense  interest  by 
their  constituents  may  readily  be  imagined.  Such  a  rebuke 
to  the  prejudices  of  a  popular  constituency  has  no  parallel 
in  the  legislation  of  the  State.  The  policy  of  the  previous^ 
administration  was  ti'iumphantly  vindicated,  by  the  very 
men  chosen  to  modify  or  overthrow  it,  and  the  last  blow 
given  to  one  of  the  most  disgraceful  rebellions  that  ever 
stained  the  annals  of  a  free  Commonwealth.  It  should  be/ 
added  that,  previous  to  the  close  of  the  session,  the  Legis- 
lature took  appropriate  notice  of  the  friendly  acts  of  the 
Governments  of  the  adjoining  States,  in  assisting  in  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  requested  the  Governor 
to  gain  jjermission  to  march  the  troops  of  Massachusetts 
into  those  States  for  the  purpose  of  desti'oying  or  conquer- 
ing the  rebels  if  necessary  ;  and  they  declared  that  no  fur- 
ther acts  of  clemency  could  be  passed  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  might  be  in  arms  against  the  Commonwealth, 
consisting  with  the  dignity  of  the  State,  and  the  safety  and 
protection  of  its  citizens. 

The  great  sea  of  rebellion  that  had  so  recently  been  at 
high  tide,  had  now  receded  to  low  ebb.  Only  pitiful  bands 
of  marauders  hung  upon  the  borders  of  the  State,  the 
prime  leaders  of  the  rebellion  were  in  concealed  exile,  the 
mob-elected  Legislature  had  declared  a  conservative  poli- 
cy, a  new  army  had  taken  the  field,  and  the  Commonwealth 
was  entirely  safe.  It  thus  became  a  matter  of  serious  con- 
sideration with  the  Governor  and  Council,  whether  the 
sentence  of  the  law  should  be  visited  upon  the  convicts,  all 
of  whom  had  played  secondary  parts  in  the  insurrectionary 
movement.  The  Governor  finally  concluded  to  grant  a 
second  reprieve  to  the  convicts  until  the  2d  of  August,  thus 
holding  them  as  hostages  for  the  good  behavior  of  the  re- 
maining malcontents.  Subsequently,  a  reprieve  Avas  grant- 
ed to  the  20th  of  September,  when  all  received  a  full  par- 
don, save  one  in  Berkshire,  who  was  convicted  in  the 
previous  October,  and  whose  sentence  was  commuted  to 
^WJiai'd  labor  for  seven  years,   his  two  companions  in  the 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  REBELLION.         291 

Berkshire  jail  having,  in  the  meantime,  escaped  from  con- 
finement. 

But,  as  if  the  approval  of  the  measures  which  had  been 
instituted  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  by  the  ad- 
ministration of  Governor  Bowdoin,  on  the  part  of  its  suc- 
cessor, was  not  sufficient,  the  rebels  themselves  brought  in 
their  testimony,  with  penitence  and  promise  on  their  lips, 
and  doubtless  in  their  hearts.  At  last,  Shays  and  Parsonsfl^ 
sent  in  a  petition  for  pardon.  They  declared  the  enter- 
tainment of  a  penitent  sense  of  their  errors,  and  pleaded 
in  their  own  behalf  the  hardships  which  had  come  upon 
them  in  consequence  of  their  conduct.  While  extenuating, 
they  did  not  presume  to  justify  their  course,  a  course  which 
they  should  never  cease  to  regret.  They  urged  as  motives 
for  their  pardon  the  multiplied  misfortunes  that  had  befall- 
en them,  and  the  sufferings  of  their  innocent  families. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  the  State  had  become  so  quiet 
that  the  Governor  reduced  the  number  of  troops  in  service 
to  200,  and  on  the  12th  of  September  he  discharged  the 
remainder,  thus  declaring  the  entire  reduction  of  the  in- 
surrection, and  the  restoration  of  peace  and  safety  to  the 
Commonwealth.  On  the  13th  of  June,  1788,  the  LegislaP 
ture  adopted  a  resolution,  justifying  all  officers  and  othei's 
who  had  apprehended  persons  engaged  in  the  use  of  the 
property  of  others,  such  as  quartering  insurrectionary 
troops  in  houses.  Sec,  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the 
rebellion,  and  indemnifying  jailors  and  sheriffs  from  whom 
j)risoners  had  escaped,  or  who  had  been  prevented  from 
I'ultilluig  the  legitimate  duties  of  their  office  by  the  rebel- 
lion. They  then  closed  up  legislation  upon  the  subject  by\. 
indemnifying  a// who  had  been  engaged  in  the  rebellion,' 
and  not  convicted,  except  against  j)rivate  suits  for  damages 
done  to  individuals,  on  condition  of  their  taking  and  sub- 
scribing the  oath  of  allegiance  within  six  months  from  the 
passage  of  the  act,  save  tlie  nine  persons  excepted  from 
the  act  of  indemnity  passed  just  a  year  previously,  whose 
pardon  was  qualified  with  the  condition  that  they  should 
never  hold  any  office,  civil  or  militaiy,  within  the  Com- 
monwealth. Tliis  act  called  back  the  exiles  to  their  homes, 
who  had  long  previously  returned  to  their  senses,  and  the 
rebellion  became  history,  and  a  lesson  in  Government 
which  may  never  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

Sketches  of   Shays  and  Day  —  Comments  on  and 
Incidents  of  the  Rebellion. 

It  will  not  be  inappropriate,  before  briefly  commenting 
on  the  remarkable  insurrection  whose  leading  events  have 
been  narrated,  to  pass  in  review  the  character  and  histoiy 
of  the  two  men  who  were  its  leading  spirits,  viz. :  Daniel 
Shays  and  Luke  Day.  Daniel  Shays  was  born  in  Hop- 
kinton,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  in  the  year  1747. 
An  old  gentleman  still  living,  and  retaining  a  vivid  recol- 
lection of  his  youth,  says  that  the  parents  of  Shays  were 
very  poor,  so  poor,  in  fact,  as,  in  some  instances,  to  have 
depended  upon  their  neighboi-s  for  the  necessaries  of  life. 
When  young,  he  worked  for  a  farmer  in  Framingham,  and 
the  necessities  whicli  poverty  forced  upon  him  prevented 
him  from  the  acquisition  of  even  a  respectable  education. 
Previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
he  became  a  resident  of  Great  Barrington,  but,  having  re- 
mained there  a  short  time,  he  removed  to  Pelham,  which 
became  his  home  and  the  scene  of  many  of  his  movements 
connected  with  the  rebellion  with  which  he  has  associated 
his  name.  He  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight, 
when,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
he  entered  the  service  of  his  country,  with  the  rank  of  en- 
sign. He  was  plausible,  ambitions,  of  good  address  and 
appearance,  and  possessed  undoubted  courage,  but,  with 
all  these  qualities,  he  lacked  that  essential  element  in  a 
worthy  and  symmetrical  cliaracter — principle.  In  177G, 
he  was  ajipointed  a  Lieutenant,  in  Col.  Varnum's  regi- 
ment, and,  doubtless,  owing  to  his  gallant  carriage  and 
pleasant  address,  was  detached  on  recruiting  service,  with 
the  promise  of  an  appropriate  reward  for  enlisting  twenty 
men.  He  came  to  Massachusetts,  and  abundantly  suc- 
ceeded. But  he  Avas  as  ambitious  of  rank  as  of  money, 
and  his  easy  success  in  this  enterprise,  suggested  a  plan 
for  carrying  out  his  projects  for  self-advancement,  which 
^%Q  proceeded  to  put  in  practice.     He  went  again  into  the 


SKETCH    OF   DANIEL    SHAYS.  293 

recruiting  service,  and  enlisted  a  handsome  company,  wtose 
engagement  to  serve  was  based  on  the  condition  that  he 
should  be  their  Captain.  He  took  his  company  to  'SVcst 
Point,  and  when  the  men  were  about  to  be  apportioned  to 
the  various  corps  where  they  were  needed,  the  terms  of 
their  enlistment  were  made  known.  The  leading  officers 
indignantly  remonstrated,  but  the  army  was  suffering  for 
men,  and  they  felt  themselves  obliged  to  pocket  the  indig- 
nity, and  yield  to  his  most  unsoldierlike  demands.  A  Cap- 
tain's Commission  was  promised  him,  but  it  was  not  issued 
until  1771),  thougli  he  was  allowed  the  pay  of  a  Captain 
from  January,  1777.  He  was  in  Col.  Putnam's  regiment 
at  Newark,  N.  J.,  when,  in  October,  1780,  he  was  dis- 
charged from  service. 

To  a  mind  in  the  slightest  degree  sensitive  to  motives 
of  honor,  the  means  he  instituted  to  effect  his  promotion, 
and  the  position  which  he  consequently  held  in  the  army, 
would  liave  been  distasteful  even  to  disgust,  and  anjmec- 
dote  of  a  remarkable  character  is  preserved  which  shows 
still  more  fully,  perhaps,  how  entirely  he  was  lacking  in 
those  nicer  sensibilities  which  mark  a  high  natui'e  and  a 
noble  man.  In  the  year  1780,  Gen.  Lafayette  made  to 
each  of  the  officers  under  his  immediate  command  the 
present  of  a  swurd.  Instead  of  prizing  the  gift  as  one  above 
all  price — as  something  to  be  handed  down  in  his  family 
as  a  proud  memento  of  a  noble  struggle  and  a  noble  man, 
he  took  his  gift  and  sold  it  for  a  few  paltry  dollars.  But 
Shays  was  brave,  nevertheless.  At  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  at  the  storming  of  Stony  Point  and  the  capture  of 
Burgoyne,  he  did  gallant  and  unflinching  service,  and  car- 
ried to  his  grave  an  honorable  scar  received  in  figliting  the 
battles  of  his  country.  Notwithstanding  his  bravery,  it 
may  readily  be  seen  Avhy  Shays  did  not  retire  from  the 
army  witli  an  honorable  name,  and  as  he  was  bankrupt  in 
fortune,  like  nearly  all  of  the  officers  who  had  been  in  ser- 
vice, as  well  as  unfitted  for  the  peaceful  jnirsuits  of  indus- 
try, he  was  ready  to  embark  in  any  congenial  enterprise 
for  retrieving  his  fortunes,  or  brightening  his  jirospects. 
The  seditious  spirit  that  seized  a  portion  of  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  found  in  him 
a  tool  subservient  to  its  ends.  He  played  desperately,  for 
a  desperate  stake,  and  lost.  Of  the  motives  that  induced 
25* 


294  THE    SHAYS   REBELLION. 

him  to  take  the  leadership  of  the  rebellion,  Shays  gave  his 
own  account  afler  his  return  from  exile,  to  a  young  clergy- 
man whom  he  found  in  occupation  of  the  pulpit  in  Pelham 
at  that  time.  This  clergyman,  one  Sabbath  morning,  no- 
ticed the  entrance  into  the  church  of  a  gentleman  of  a 
somewhat  distinguished  bearing,  and  straightway  every 
eye  was  on  him,  and  every  pew-door  was  opened  to  give 
him  a  seat.  At  the  close  of  the  service,  he  learned  the 
name  of  his  hearer,  who  had  just  returned  to  his  home 
with  the  pardon  of  the  Government.  On  the  following 
day.  Shays  called  on  the  clergyman,  and  held  a  long  cosc 
versation  with  him  upon  his  labors  and  his  sufferings.  He> 
declared  to  him  that  he  had  been  entirely  deceived  in  re- 
gard to  the  feelings  of  the  people  on  the  subject  of  rebel- 
lion asrainst  the  Government.  He  said  that  he  was  assured 
that  if  he  would  collect  one  hundred  men,  and  march  in 
any  direction,  multitudes  would  flock  to  his  standard,  but 
he  found  to  his  extreme  chagrin  that  he  produced  but  lit- 
tle sensation,  and  tliat  few  comparatively  joined  his  forces 
and  fortunes.  That  he  would  have  forsaken  his  project  iu 
mid-passage,  could  he  have  done  it  with  the  assurance  of 
personal  safety,  has  already  been  shown  in  his  reply  to  a 
confidential  officer  of  the  Government,  who  put  the  ques-) 
tion  to  him. 

Of  the  military  genius  of  Shays,  perhaps  enough  has 
already  been  written  in  the  history  of  his  bungling  move- 
ments. He  had  absolutely  no  qualifications  for  high  mili- 
tary command.  His  soldiers,  whom  it  is  charity  to  sup- 
pose were  made  cowards  by  the  consciousness  of  being 
engaged  in  a  bad  cause,  rather  than  from  moral  infirmity, 
neither  respected  nor  feared  him.  According  to  his  own 
confessions  he  had  but  little  authority  in  his  army.  On 
one  occasion,  he  thought  it  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  appearance  of  amilitary  organization,  to  command  a  man 
to  stand  guard.  "  No,  I  won't,"  replied  the  independent 
individual  addressed.  "  Let  that  man,  (pointing  to  anoth- 
er) he  is  not  so  sick  as  I  am."  But  the  other  man  refused 
in  the  same  decided  manner,  and  desired  the  "  commander- 
in-chief  to  fix  ujion  some  one  who  was  stronger.  No  man 
can  fail  to  see,  in  these  brief  incidents  of  his  life,  that 
while  he  had  no  lack  of  personal  bravery,  he  was,  so  far 
^as  the  rebeUion  was  concerned,  an  adventurer, — glad  to 


SKETCH    OF   LUKE    DAY.  295 

lead  it  while  it  promised  success  ;  anxious  to  leave  it  when 
he  found  success  doubtful.  He  was  bound  to  the  insurrec- 
tionary movement  by  no  tie  of  principle,  no  active  convic- 
tion of  right,  no  controlling  motive  of  love  for  the  pubHc 
good.  Strictly  speaking.  Shays  was  not  a  demagogue,  but 
he  was  the  willing  tool  of  demagogues.  Easy,  reckless, 
somewhat  ambitious  of  notoriety,  mistakenly  confident  of 
his  mihtary  talent,  ungoverned  by  principle,  fond  of  tlie 
excitements  of  the  camp,  readily  influenced  tlirough  his 
vanity,  and  poor,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  was  easily  led 
into  a  course  which  had  so  many  abettors  among  the  cooler 
heads  that  kept  themselves  safely  within  the  pale  of  non- 
commitalism.  Like  the  majority  of  the  leaders  in  the  re- 
bellion, Shays  never  prospered  after  it.  Afler  remaining 
in  Massachusetts  awhile,  he  removed  to  Sparta,  N.  Y.  In 
1820,  he  received  a  pension  from  the  U.  S.  Government, 
and,  at  that  time,  his  family  consisted  only  of  an  aged 
wife.  His  schedule  of  personal  effects  at  that  date  was 
meager  in  the  extreme,  footing  up  only  S40  G2.  lie  died 
in  September,  1825,  at  the  age  of  78  years. 

Of  the  history  and  character  of  Luke  Day,  something 
has  already  been  said.  He  was  bom  in  West  Springfield, 
July  25th,  1743,  and  was,  consequently,  four  years  the  sen- 
ior of  Shays.  His  father  was  the  proprietor  of  an  exten- 
sive landed  estate,  which,  for  some  reason,  was  inherited 
by  a  younger  brother.  His  service  in  the  Revolution  was 
longer  than  that  of  Shays,  and  much  more  soldierly  and 
honorable.  Day  was  a  demagogue,  and  a  braggadocio. 
When  Shepard's  army  was  in  Springfield,  his  tongue, 
though  abundantly  accustomed  to  the  language  of  boasting 
and  bravado,  could  hardly  express  the  contempt  he  felt  for 
the  government  forces.  He  talked  wildly  of  braving 
Shepard's  men,  and  of  spilling  "the  last  droj)  of  blood  that 
ran  in  his  veins,"  but  he  never  embraced  the  opportunity^ 
of  making  the  sacrifice.  Day  was  not,  like  Shays,  a  tool  ' 
of  the  rebellion,  but  an  active  agent.  He  raised  his  own 
men,  and  drilled  and  commanded  them.  He  maintained 
authority  among  his  troops.  He  was  an  inveterate  speech- 
maker,  and  the  shallowness  of  his  principle,  and  the  liber- 
tinism which  stained  his  estimate  of  political  freedom,  are 
abundantly  illustrated  in  an  extract  from  one  of  his 
speeches  which  has  been  preserved.     A  few  days  orevious 


296  THE    SHAYS   REBELLION. 

to  the  attack  of  Shays  upon  the  arsenal,  Day,  in  haranguing 
his  men,  said : — "  My  hoys^  you  are  goincj  to  jiyht  for  liberty. 
If  you  wish  to  hnoio  what  liberty  is,  I  will  tell  you.  It  is  for 
every  man  to  do  what  he  pleases,  to  make  other  folks  do  as 
you  please  to  have  them,  and  to  keep  folks  from  serving  the 
devil." 

Day  was  not  insensitive  to  the  good  opinion  of  those 
whom  he  respected,  and,  on  one  occasion,  went  to  Rev. 
Dr.  Lathrop,  the  well  known  minister  at  West  Springfield 
at  that  time,  and,  after  a  somewhat  difficult  introduction  of 
the  subject,  informed  the  Doctor  that  he  and  Shays  had 
determined  to  attack  the  Arsenal,  asking  him  if  he  thought 
they  should  succeed.     The  reverend  gentleman   told  him 
most  decidedly  that  he  thought  he  would  not,  and  gave  for 
his  reasons  that  his  questioner  was  engaged  in  a  bad  cause, 
and  that  he  and  all  his  men  knetv  it.     He  then  told  him 
that  a  resort  to  arras  to  obtain  redress  for  supposed  griev- 
ances was  not  justifiable,  and  that  the  measures  he  was 
taking  would  involve  him   in  difficulty,  and  bring  distress 
and  ruin  upon  liis  family;  and  he  advised  him  to  disperse 
his  men  immediately.     After  the  defeat  of  Shays,  Day  fled 
to  New  York.     While  in  exile,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Lathrop, 
and  quoted  with  no  little  plausible  shrewdness  and  mean- 
ing the  fbllowing  opening  passage  of  the  4th  chapter  of 
Ecclesiastes :  "  So   I  returned,   and  considered  all   the  op- 
pressions that  are  done  under  the  sun,  and  behold  the  tears 
of  such  as  were  oppressed,  and  they  had  no  comforter; 
and  on  the  side  of  the  oppressors  there  was  power,  but 
they  had  no  comforter.     AVherefore,  I  praised  the   dead 
Avliich  were  already  dead,  more  than  the  living  which  are 
yet  alive.     Yea,  better  is  he  than  both  they  which  hath  not 
yet  been,  who  hath  not  seen  the  evil  work  that  is  done  un- 
der the  sun.     Again  I  considered  all  travail  and  every 
right  work,  that  for  this  a  man  is  envied  by  his  neighbor. 
This  is  also  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit."     It  would  ap- 
l^ear  by  a  mittimus  issued  by  the  Clerk  of  the   Suffolk 
County  Court,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1788,  that  he  was,  at  a 
late  day,  under  arrest.     How,   or  when,   he  was  arrested, 
does  not  appear,  but,  from  the  fact  of  his  durance  in  the 
Suffolk  County  jail,  and  his  arraignment  there  on  the  charge 
of  treason,  his  arrest  was  probably  effected  by  the  agency 
of  the  New  York  authorities.     This  mittimus  is  now  pre- 


COMMENTS    ON   THE   REBELLION.  297 

served  in  the  archives  of  Hampshire  County,  to  which 
county,  by  his  own  request,  he  was  transferred  for  triaL 
The  mittimus  directed  the  Sheriff  and  Jailer  of  the  county 
to  keep  him  until  he  should  be  discharged  by  due  course 
of  law.  Two  months  afterwards,  he  was  discharged  by 
the  operation  of  the  general  pardon.  After  his  pardon,  he 
returned  to  West  Springfield,  where,  after  suffering  ex- 
tremely for  several  years  with  the  gout,  he  died  in  poverty, 
in  1801,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  In  his  movement^"> 
in  the  insurrection.  Day  had  far  more  earnestness,  though 
no  more  principle  than  Shays.  He  believed  that  he  had 
been  wronged,  and  it  infuriated  him,  and  his  own  heated 
words  excited  himself  as  much  as  they  did  those  to  whorn^ 
they  were  addressed. 

In  reviewing  the  rebellion  in  which  these  two  raeffV 
played  the  most  prominent  parts,  it  is  admitted,  at  the  out- 
set, that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  labored  under  serious 
burdens,  but  they  were  relieved,  so  far  as  legislation  could 
do  it,  by  the  very  Government  which  put  down  the  rebel- 
lion, and  by  a  Government  which,  in  its  lenient  and  most 
humane  treatment  of  the  rebels,  demonstrated  its  suscepti- 
bility to  moral  influences  so  tliorouglily,  as  to  prove  that 
its  reformatory  measures  would  have  been  better  effected 
through  the  power  of  the  popular  will,  and  through  consid- 
erations connected  with  the  public  good,  than  by  the  intim- 
idation of  brute  force.  And  when  the  materials  of  the 
rebellion  arc  taken  into  considei'ation, — their  entire  lack 
of  moral  power,  their  utter  cowardice,  their  boastings  and 
their  thi'eatenings,  their  insolence  and  malice,  their  outra- 
ges and  robberies — apology  for  them  stammers  with  awk- 
ward qualifications,  and  justification  stumbles  with  the 
weight  it  carries.  That  there  were  some  good  and  honest 
men  among  the  rebels,  is  no  apology  for  the  rebellion. 
They  were  good  men  deceived  by  bad  men,  oi-  misled  by 
their  falsely-sprung  impulses.  The  leadership  of  the 
movement  was  exclusively  confined  to  men  who  would 
come  legitimately  under  the  denomination  of  one  of  three 
classes,  viz :  adventurers,  demagogues  and  desj)eradoes. 
Such  were  Shays,  Day,  Siiattuck,  Parsons,  Ely,  Wheeler, 
Hamlin  and  their  associates.  There  was  not  a  high  and 
honorable  character  among  them,  and  that  these  men  were 
allowed  to  rise   in  arms  against  the  State  authorities,  that 


298  THE   SHATS   REBELLION. 

they  found  their  secret  and  disguised  friends  even  in  the 
Legislature  itself,  and  were  widely  symj^athized  with 
among  the  people,  who,  while  ashamed  or  afraid  to  join 
them,  gave  them  covert  support  for  the  purpose  of  influ- 
encing legislation,  is  a  shame  to  the  Commonwealth  which 
offered  the  first  blood  on  the  altar  of  American  freedom. 

The  policy  of  the  rebellion  was  even  more  contemptible^/ 
than  its  materials.     It  cannot  have  escaped  notice  that  the 
first  acts  of  the  rebellion  were  to  stop  the  Courts,  for  the 
purpose    of  hindering   the  collection  of  just  debts.     The 
very  basis  was  therefore  dishonesty,  made  doubly  dishonest 
by  the  lying  pretense  that  the  violence  instituted  was  based     . 
on  the  action  and  declarations  of  conventions.     The  second 
step  was  the  stopping  of  the  Superior  Courts  that  the  reb- 
els might  not  be  convicted  of  their  crimes ;  and  still  they 
based  their  violence  on  the  action  of  Conventions,  some  of 
which  had   deprecated,  most   emphatically,' air  violence. 
The  third  step  Avas  open  rebellion  against  a  Government 
which,  in  their  petitions,  they  pretended  to  wish  to  conciliate ; 
and  while  their  leading  motive  of  conduct  became  personal 
safety,  they  still  tried  to   deceive  the  public  by  harping 
upon  the  discordant  strings  of  popular  grievances.     TheJ- 
fourth  step  was  robbery  and  murder,  revenge  and  malice.       J I 
It  will  have  been  seen,  too,  that  originally,  at'least,  the  mob      I 
had  no  idea  of  fighting,  and  that,  even  later,  they  had  no      ^! 
settled  determination  to  fight.     Their  sympathizers  did  not 
believe  they  would  fight,  "and  did  not  intend  they  should. 
Their  policy  was  to  intimidate  the  Government,  and,  by 
appearing  in  arms,  to  gain  such  advantages  as  should,  in 
the  first  place,  secure  the  redress  of  their  alleged  grievan- 
ces, and,  in  the  second,   ensure  their  safety.     It  was  the 
play  of  brag  and  bully,  a  grand  sham  and  show,  a  hollow 
pretense — a  thousand  tunes  more  insulting  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  Legislature  than  downright  treason  and  up- 
right insurrection.     The  hoUow-heartedness  and  insincerity 
of  the  rebellion  was  exhibited  on  every  occasion  where  its 
courage   and  pretensions  were  put  to   the  test.     The  first 
drop  of  blood  scattered  them  like  frightened  sheep,  and 
they  fled  before  the   Government  troops  with  disgraceful 
precipitation,  even  when  best  prepared  to  make  a  stand. 
The  measures  taken  to  suppress  the  rebellion  claim,  at  this 
^4a.j,  the  warmest  tribute  of  the  pen  of  praise.     To  Gov- 


II 


COMMENTS    ON   THE    REBELLION.  299 

emor  James  Bowdoin,  more  than  any  other  man,  belongs 
the  credit  of  preserving  the  State  from  anarchy,  and  of  so 
meting  out  justice  with  mercy,  severity  with  prudence, 
force  with  discretion,  and  law  with  Christian  humanity,  as 
to  reconcile  a  discontented  people  with  their  Government, 
restore  j^eace  wliere  all  was  discord,  and  put  down  a  wide 
rebellion  against  the  constituted  authorities,  with  less  blood- 
shed than  had  often  resulted  from  an  insignificant  border 
conflict  of  the  old  province.  He  did  this  in  the  face  of  a 
people  stee])ed  with  seditious  sentiments.  He  did  it 
against  the  prejudices  of  a  reluctant  and  infected  Legisla- 
ture, and  it  seems  almost  a  miracle  of  moral  power  that  he 
was  enabled  to  conceive  and  carry  Out  a  policy  which  even 
a  Governor  and  a  Legislature  elected  by  the  mob  and  their 
sympathizers,  the  latter  having  in  its  composition  a  portion 
of  the  mob  itself,  were  obliged  to  indorse  and  approve. 
His  name  must  be  enrolled  amon";  the  hiu'hest  benefac- 
tors  of  Massachusetts,  and  be  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance while  love  for  the  old  Commonwealth,  respect  for 
good  government,  and  loyalty  to  free  institutions,  shall  en- 
dure. 

The  indirect  effect  of  the  rebellion  was  to  hasten  the^ 
adoption  of  a  federal  government.  It  exhibited  to  the 
country  the  gateway  of  political  perdition,  and,  in  itself, 
and  in  its  atfiliatcd  movements  in  the  neighboring  States, 
showed  what  multitudes  were  ready  to  press  into  it.  ButJ 
it  sowed  also  the  seeds  of  bitterness.  It  broke  the  chain 
of  family  affection.  It  planted  thickly  springing  and  long 
enduring  prejudices  in  neighborhoods.  It  divided  church- 
es, and  thrust  loved  and  revered  ministers  from  tlieir  pul- 
pits. It  strewed  the  jjath  of  legislation  with  thorny  jeal- 
ousies. It  wasted  precious  time,  and  misapplied  scanty 
moans.  It  increased  the  indebtedness  of  the  State.  If  it 
meliorated  legislation,  it  disgraced  and  vitiated  it  in  the 
same  proportion.  If  it  intimidated  the  Govei-nment,  as  it 
intended  to  do,  it  dishonored  it  in  the  same  degree.  If  it 
produced  one  good  effect,  in  any  way,  or  by  any  means, 
that  good  effect  was  purchased  by  a  sacrifice  of  honor  that 
would  have  been  dearly  parted  with  at  a  thousand  fold  the 
price  received.  But  it  taught  a  lesson,  and  let  that  lessoii^ 
be  remembered :  That  the  rebellion  of  a  people  against  a 
government  estuhllshcd  hj  themselves  is  not  justifiable,  even  \ 


\i^ 


300  THE   SHAT3   REBELLION. 

in  an  extreme  case,  and  can  only  result  in  dishonor  to  the 
State,  and  calamity  and  disgrace  to  those  who  participate^ 
in  it. 

The  rebellion  was  accompanied  by  incidents  almost  num- 
berless, which,  if  they  could  be  collected  and  properly  re- 
corded, would  form,  of  themselves,  an  interesting  chapter. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  movement,  a  wag  met  a  gentleman 
from  Hampshire,  and  addressed  him  as  follows :  "  I  find 
your  Convention  (alluding  to  tlijC  Hatfield  Convention) 
and  the  devil  think  alike  in  some  things."  "  How  so  ?" 
inquired  he  of  Hampshire.  "  Why,"  responded  the  wag, 
"  your  Convention  has  voted  that  the  Court  of  the  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace  is  a  gi'ievance.  The  devil  thinks  so 
too,  because  that  Court  punishes  thieves,  whores,  drunk- 
ards, liars,  breakers  of  the  peace  and  profane  swearers, 
who  are  his  favorite  children."  During  the  last  days  of 
September,  1786,  at  the  time  when  the  large  mob  was  as- 
sembled in  Springfield  to  stop  the  session  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court,  Shays  was  quartered  in  a  house  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Ferry  Street.  At  that  time,  Dr.  Chauncey  Brew- 
er, a  resident  of  Springfield,  had  been  out  in  the  night  to 
attend  a  patient.  The  Doctor  was  a  decided  anti-Shays 
man,  and  openly,  and  at  all  times  wore  the  slip  of  Avhite 
paper  in  his  hat.  He  was  arrested  by  the  sentinels,  and 
brought  before  Shays.  With  entire  unconcern,  he  told  the 
rebel  leader  that  he  was  pei'fectly  easy  in  regard  to  the 
matter,  and  if  he  would  give  him  a  place  to  sleep,  he 
would  retire.  Shays  did  not  feel  easy,  and  told  him  that 
if  he  would  take  oil"  his  paper  badge  he  might  go.  "  No, 
Sir"  said  the  Doctor,  "  I  shall  not  do  it — just  give  me  a 
place  to  sleep."  "  Doctor,  you  must  take  off  that  badge," 
responded  Shays.  "No,  Captain  Shays,  that  badge  will 
stay  there,"  persisted  the  Doctor,  good  naturedly,  "  and 
now,"  added  he,  "  let  me  give  you  a  bit  of  information.  I 
have  got  a  number  of  patients  to  see  in  the  morning.  The 
people  are  not  inclined  to  distui'b  you  now,  but  if  they  are 
deprived  of  their  physician,  and  find  out  where  I  am,  you 
will  have  war  about  your  ears."  "  Well,  Doctor,"  replied 
Shays,  take  off"  that  badge  and  go."  "  Captain  Shays,  I 
shall  not  do  it,"  said  the  Doctor.  "  Well,  go  along,  you 
rebel,"  said  Shays,  and  the  Doctor  picked  his  way  home, 
|uid  kept  the  paper  to  write  prescriptions  on.     As  illustra- 


INCIDENTS    OP   THE   REBELLION.  801 

tive  of  the  extent  to  which  public  feeling  was  excited,  two 
members  of  the  church  in  Whately  brought  up  a  child,  re- 
spectively, to  be  baptized,  on  a  Sabbath  in  August,  1787. 
One  of  them  received  the  name  of  "  Benjamin  Lincoln ;" 
the  other  that  of  "  Daniel  Shays." 

After  the  repulse  of  Shays,  at  the  time  he  made,  or  at- 
tempted to  make,  the  attack  upon  the  Springfield  Arsenal, 
a  number  of  men  deserted,  and  made  their  way  home- 
wards. In  passing  tlie  houses  on  their  route,  they  gave 
the  customary  "  Hurra  for  Shays  !"  In  one  instance,  a 
liorse,  attaclied  to  a  Avagon,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
distant  from  them,  broke  from  his  fastenings  by  the  side  of 
the  road,  and,  running  away,  was  killed.  An  action  was 
brought  by  the  owner  of  the  liorse  against  the  Shays  men 
for  the  recovery  of  the  value  of  the  animal,  on  the  ground 
that  they  were  primarily  the  cause  of  his  death.  The  de- 
fendants engaged  a  lawyer  in  their  behalf  whose  weakness 
was  occasional  over-draughts  of  brandy,  and  who,  when 
under  the  infiuence  of  liquor,  was  not  particularly  choice 
in  his  language,  even  in  the  Court  room.  He  managed  to 
get  through  with  his  evidence,  and,  with  marvellous  con- 
ciseness, made  his  plea  in  the  following  wurds,  which,  bar- 
ring its  profanity,  is  a  model :  "  May  it  please  the  Court, 
and  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury!  If  '  Hurra  for  Shays'  will 
kill  a  horse  at  eighty  rods,  then  we've  lost  our  case  :  if  not, 

then  by we've   won   it."     The  jury  coincided   with 

this  opinion,  and  returned  a  verdict  for  the  defendants. 

The  news])aper  wags  were,  of  course,  in  their  element, 
and  the  following  epigram,  from  the  pen  of  one  of  them,  is 
decidedly  pointed  and  witty  : 

"  Says  sober  Bill,  'well,  Shays  has  fled, 
And  peace  retnrns  to  bless  our  days  !' 
■  •  '  Indeed,'  cries  Ned,  '  I  always  said 

He'd  prove  at  last  Ti  fall-back  Shays; 
And  those  turned  over  and  undone 
Call  him  a  worthless  Shays,  to  run  P  '' 

At   the  time   of  the  action   near  the   Arsenal,  one  of 
the    Government   troops   named   Chaloner,    a   citizen  of 
Greenfield,  had  both  arms  shot  off  while   loading  a  can- 
non.    When  it  was  seen,    Deacon  llarroun  of  Colerain 
26 


302  THE   SHAYS   REBELLION. 

immediately  took  tis  place,  and,  as  the  swab  had  been  lost 
with  the  arms,  he  thrust  a  mitten  down  the  cannon  to  the 
length  of  his  arm,  and  thus  successfully  swabbed  the 
piece. 


A 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Industrial  Movements  and  Social  Aspects. 

It  may  readily  be  imagined  that  the  excitements  of  the 
Revolutionary  "War  and  those  of  the  Shays  Rebellion, 
which,  together,  had  occupied  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
Western  Massachusetts  for  more  than  twelve  years,  had 
left  but  little  opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  re- 
sources of  the  region.  The  natural  increase  of  popula- 
tion, and  the  accumulation  of  families  at  new  points  had 
called  some  new  town  corporations  into  existence,  but  no 
new  walks  of  industry  had  been  projected,  and  no  new 
fields  of  enterprise  opened.  The  discontents  of  those 
times  were  manifested  not  unfrequently  in  attempts  to  pro- 
cure changes  of  county  lines  which,  when  entire  peace  had 
returned,  and  labor  had  purchased  freedom  from  debts  and 
difficulties,  were  dropped,  until  later  years  and  an  increased 
population  made  them  necessary.  In  1784  and  1785,  an 
attempt  Avas  made,  by  a  petition  to  the  Legislature,  to  have 
a  new  county  formed  of  the  towns  of  "Warwick,  "Wendell, 
New  Salem,  and  Shutosbury,  and  the  districts  of  Green- 
wich and  Orange,  in  old  Hampshire  County,  and  the  towns 
of  Hardwick,  Barre,  Hubbardston,  Petersham,  Terapleton, 
Winchester,  Athol  and  Royalston  in  Worcester  county, 
with  Petersham  for  the  County  seat.  Tlie  remoteness  of 
these  towns  from  the  county  seats,  and  the  overwhelming 
amount  of  business  which  the  existing  Courts  had  on  hand, 
were  alleged  as  the  basis  of  the  petition. 

The  means  of  transportation  in  the  Connecticut  Yalley 
had  always  been  limited  and  diificult.  As  enterprise  sprang 
into  new  life  upon  the  close  of  the  long  decade  of  war  and 
disturbance,  this  lack  of  means  for  the  transportation  of 
merchandise,  lumber,  &c.,  was  severely  felt,  and  the  lead- 
ing men,  not  only  of  IIam]ishire,  but  Berkshire,  joined  in 
the  project  of  increasing  them,  by  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able enterprises  that  had,  at  that  day,  been  planned  in 
America,  viz: — the  construction  of  a  canal  around  the  falls 
at  South  Hadley,  and  around  Turner's  Falls  at  Montague. 


804  INDUSTRIAL   ENTEKPRISES. 

On  the  23d  of  February,  1792,  the  Legislature  passed 
"  An  act,  incorporating  the  Honorable  John  Worthington 
Esquire,  and  others  therein  named,  for  the  purpose  of  ren- 
dering Connecticut  River  passable  for  boats  and  other 
things,  from  the  mouth  of  Chicopee  River  Northward 
throughout  this  Commonwealth,  by  the  name  of  the  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Locks  and  Canals  on  Connecticut  River." 
Besides  John  Worthington,  (who  was  a  resident  of  Spring- 
field) the  other  iudividuals  named  in  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion were  Caleb  Strong,  Robert  Breck,  Samuel  Henshaw, 
Ebenezer  Lane,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Benjamin  Prescott  and 
Levi  Shepard  of  Northampton,  Samuel  Lyman,  Jonathan 
Dwight,  Thomas  Dwight,  John  Hooker  and  William  Smith 
of  Springfield,  Theodore  Sedgwick  of  Stockbridge,  David 
Sexton  and  John  Williams  of  Deerfield,  Samuel  Fowler 
of  Westfield,  Justin  Ely  of  West  Springfield,  Dwight  Fos- 
ter of  Brookfield,  Simeon  Strong  of  Amherst,  and  William 
Moore. 

The  toll  established  by  law  for  passage  through  the  Ca- 
nal at  South  Hadley  was,  for  every  tun  weight  in  boats, 
four  shillings  and  sixpence,  and  the  same  sum  for  every 
thousand  feet  of  boards.  Five  shillings  and  sixpence  per 
tun  was  the  toll  established  for  the  Canal  at  Montague,  and 
two  shillings  and  sixpence  for  every  thousand  feet  of 
boards,  while  every  boat  passing  through  the  locks  and  ca- 
nals was  to  be  tolled  at  the  rate  of  one  shilling  for  every  tun 
which  tlie  boat  was  capable  of  carrying,  over  and  above  the 
freight  it  had  on  board.  The  capacity  of  the  locks,  as  pre- 
scribed, was  to  be  equal  to  the  transport  of  boats  or  rafts 
twenty  feet  wide,  and  sLxty  feet  long.  The  act  of  incorpo- 
ration was  to  be  void,  unless  the  works  at  South  Hadley 
were  completed  in  four,  and  those  at  Montague,  in  six, 
years. 

Soon  after  their  incorporation,  the  company  commenced 
operations  at  South  Hadley,  Benjamin  Prescott  of  North- 
ampton, subsequently  the  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Ar- 
-  mory  in  Springfield,  being  the  engineer,  Li  the  planning 
and  execution  of  this  work,  he  had  no  precedent,  it  is  be- 
lieved, in  this  country.  It  is  supposed  that  this  was  the 
first  canal,  of  any  importance,  at  least,  attempted  to  be 
built  in  the  United  States.  The  Middlesex  Canal  Co.  was 
aiot  incorporated  until  a  year  or  more  afterwards.     On  tho 


THE  LOWER   CANAL   C03IPLETED.  805 

25tli  of  February,  L793,  the  company,  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature,  were  empowered  to  assess  the  propi-ietors  in 
such  sums  as  were  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  work, 
and,  in  case  the  assessments  were  not  paid,  to  sell  the 
shares  of  delinquents.  The  shares  were  made  transfera- 
ble, and  wei'e  establislied  as  personal  estate.  The  difficul- 
ties which  called  for  this  enactment  gave  early  threat  of 
breaking  up  the  undertaking.  Money  was  scarce,  and  the 
cost  of  the  enterprise  had  evidently  been  under-estimated. 
From  subsequent  events,  it  is  evident  that  the  new  powers 
of  the  company  did  not  give  the  necessary  funds,  for,  soon 
afterwards,  an  agent  was  sent  to  Holland,  then  the  money- 
lending  country  of  the  world,  to  engage  the  interest  of  the 
Dutch  in  the  undertaking.  The  agent  succeeded  in  getting 
a  considerable  amount  of  stock  taken,  and  returned  with 
his  money.  In  the  meantime,  the  practical  difficulties  that 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  enter^^rise  had  been  comprehended, 
and,  by  an  act  passed  on  the  21st  of  June,  1793,  the  pro- 
prietors were  released  from  the  obligation  to  build  their 
canals  and  locks  of  the  capacity  already  stated,  that  capac- 
ity being  reduced  to  the  reception  of  boats  and  rafts  ibrty 
feet  in  length,  and  sixteen  feet  in  width.  The  work  in- 
creased in  the  minds  and  upon  the  hands  of  its  projectors, 
until  they  saw  that  it  was  all  that  one  corporation  could 
do,  to  finish  and  take  care  of  the  South  lladley  enterprise. 
Accordingly,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1794,  two  years 
after  the  act  of  incorporation,  an  act  was  passed  for  divi- 
ding and  separating  the  interest  in  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Canals.  It  was  enacted  that  the  proprietors  of  the  latter 
should  remain  a  cor])oration,  and  tliat  Samuel  Henshaw 
and  Benjamin  Prescott  of  Northiunpton,  and  Jonathan 
Dwight  of  Springfield,  and  their  associates,  should  be  a 
distinct  corporation,  by  the  name  of  "Tlie  proprietors  of 
the  Upper  Locks  and  Canals  on  Connecticut  River,"  vest- 
ed with  all  the  powers  incident  to  corporations.  The  in- 
terest in  this  new  enterprise  was  divided  into  five  hundi'ed 
and  four  shares. 

The  lower  canal  was  at  last  finished,  and  was  two  and  a 
half  miles  long,  much  of  it  dug  through  solid  rock.  But 
its  bed  was  not  low  enough  to  take  the  water  from  the  riv- 
er, and  this  difficulty  was  sought  to  be  obviated  by  the  con- 
struction of  a  dam.  It  was  accordingly  commenced,  at 
2G* 


806  INDUSTRIAL   ENTERPRISES., 

the  head  of  the  canal,  and  run  obliquely  up  and  across  the 
river  to  a  narrow  point  in  the  stream,  when  its  course  was 
changed,   and  run  directly  across,  to  the  opposite  shore. 
This  operation  gave  early  rise  to  difhculties,  and  to  law- 
suits that  followed  up  the  movements  of  the  company  for 
several  years.     The  dam  set  the  water  back  for  several 
miles,  flowing  the  Northampton  meadows  and  inflicting  some 
intermittent  fever  and  more  excitement  upon  the  people  of 
that  town,  who  immediately  got  the  company  indicted  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  nuisance.     The  complainants  won 
their  case,  when  it  came  on  for  trial,  and  the  dam,  save  its 
oblique  section,  was  ordered  to  be  torn  down.     This  affair 
frightened  ofi"  the  Dutchmen,  interested  in  both  the  lower 
and  the  upper  enterprise,  who  took  early  occasion  to  sell 
off  their   shares  at  a  large  sacrifice,  and  retire  from  the 
field,  when  the  stock  soon  came  to  be  held  by  few  hands. 
The   oblique  dam  answered  the  purposes  of  the  company 
but  indifierently,  but  it  was  all  they  had  for  several  years. 
The  style  of  the  locks,   and  the  machinery  used  at  that 
time,  are  worthy  of  description,  and   show  how  little  was 
then  known  of  the  proper  structure   of  canals.     At  the 
point  where  boats  were  to  be  lowered  and  elevated,  was  a 
long,  inclined  plane,  traversed  by  an  immense  car  of  the 
width  of  the  canal  and  of  sufficient  length  to  take  in  a 
boat,  or  a  section  of  a  raft.     At  the  top  of  this  inclined 
plane,  were  two  large  water  wheels,  one  on  either  side  of 
the  canal,  which  furnished,  by  the  aid  of  the  water  of  the 
canal,   the  power  for  elevating  the  car,  and  for  balancing 
and  controlling  it  in  its  descent.     At  the  foot  of  the  inclined 
plane,  the   car  descended  into  the  water  of  the  canal,  be- 
coming entirely  submerged.     A  boat  ascending  the   river, 
and  passing  into  the  canal,  would  be  floated  directly  over 
and  into  the  car,  the  brim  of  the  latter,  of  course,  being 
gauged  to  a  water  level  by  its  elevation  aft  in  proportion 
to  the  angle  of  inclination  of  the  traverse  way.     The  boat 
being  secure  in  the  car,  the  w^ater  was  let  upon  the  water 
wheels,  which,  by  their  common  shaft,  were  attached  to  the 
car  through  two  immense  cables,  and  thus,  winding  the  ca- 
bles,  the  car  was   drawn  up  to  a  proper  point,  when  the 
boat  passed  out  into  the  canal  above.     The  reverse  of  this 
operation,  readily  comprehended  by  the  reader,  transfered 
^  boat,  or  the  section  of  a  raft,  fi'om  above  downwards. 


ALTERATIONS  AND   IMPROVEMENTS.  807 

The  demand  foi*  more  water  in  the  canal  at  last  became 
imperatiye,  but  the  money  for  effecting  the  necessary 
changes  was  wanting.  Finally,  the  proprietors  resorted  to 
an  expedient  for  "  raising  the  wind,"  as  well  as  the  water, 
not  uncommon  in  those  days,  and  in  accordance  with  their 
petition,  the  Legislature,  on  the  25th  of  Februaiy,  1802, 
granted  them  a  lottery  for  raising  $20,000,  for  the  purpose 
of  rendering  the  locks  and  canal  passable  without  the  aid 
of  a  dam  across  the  river,  by  lowering  the  bed  of  the  ca- 
nal four  feet  throughout  its  entire  extent.  Thomas  Dwight, 
Justin  Ely,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Joseph  Lyman  Jr.,  and  John 
Williams  were  appointed  as  the  managers  of  this  lottery, 
each  of  whom  was  bound  in  the  sum  of  85,000  for  the 
faithful  discharge  of  his  trust.  They  were  directed  to 
publish  the  schemes  they  should  ari'ange  in  the  newspapers 
of  the  county.  The  grant  was  to  be  operative  for  four 
years.  This  plan  succeeded,  and,  at  the  end  of  1804,  or 
the  commencement  of  1805,  the  lowering  of  the  canal  was 
completed.  The  engineer  in  this  operation  was  Ariel  Cool- 
ey,  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of  native  force  and  ingenuity, 
who  pushed  aside  the  car  and  cables,  and  introduced  the 
simple  lock,  like  tliose  now  in  use  on  all  important  works. 
After  he  had  completed  his  work,  he  made  a  contract  with 
the  proprietors  to  keep  the  canal  in  repair,  survey  the 
craft  that  should  pass  through  the  canal,  and  take  the  tolls, 
for  fifty  years,  for  the  consideration  of  one-quarter  of  the 
tolls.  This  arrangement  relieved  the  corporation  of  near- 
ly all  its  care  in  connection  with  the  enterprise,  and  Mx-. 
Cooley  probably  did  not  sujjpose  that  any  great  expense 
would  ever  be  necessary,  in  keeping  the  canal  in  operative 
order.  In  1814,  however,  he  found  it  necessary,  in  order 
to  increase  the  facilities  of  navigation,  to  run  another  dam 
across  the  river.  This  was  only  partly  completed  when 
the  Winter  came  on,  and  the  Spring  fresliet  swept  it  all 
away.  Li  1815,  he  completed  a  dam  directly  across  the 
river  from  the  head  of  the  canal,  where  it  stood  until  1824, 
when  it  was  swept  away.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Cooley 
had  died,  and  the  administrators  of  the  estate  rebuilt  the 
dam,  which  still  stands,  and  is  marked  by  a  slight  ripple 
where  the  water  joins  with  the  dead  water  set  back  by  the 
great  dam  of  the  Iladley  Falls  Company.  Both  dams 
were  indicted  as  nuisances,  on  complaint  of  those  intere.-ted 


308  INDUSTRIAL    ENTERrRISES. 

in  the  sha(J  fisheries  above,  but  the  indictment  of  the  first 
was  stopped  by  the  agreement  of  Mr.  Cooley  to  build  a 
fish-way,  by  which  the  shad  could  ascend  the  rivei\  This, 
by  a  proper  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  power  of  the  fish, 
he  was  enabled  to  do.  Directly  below  the  dam,  he  ran 
out  from  the  Eastern  shore  an  oblique  dam,  a  part  of  the 
way  across  the  river.  The  water,  as  it  passed  over  the 
main  dam,  was  arrested  by  the  oblique  dam,  forming  an 
eddy  into  which  the  shad  could  run  from  the  rapids  below. 
At  a  point  opposite  this  oblique  dam,  and  fronting  the  eddy 
made  by  it,  he  cut  down,  for  the  width  of  a  plank  or  two, 
and  to  a  limited  length,  the  main  dam,  making  a  passage 
through  which  the  powerful  fish  could  dart ;  and  the  event 
proved  that  he  had  calculated  upon  their  powers  correctly. 
The  second  indictment  gave  rise  to  an  extended  lawsuit,  in 
which  nearly  all  the  lawyers  in  the  County  were  engaged, 
on  one  side  or  the  other.  The  matter  resulted  in  the  re- 
building of  the  fish-way.  The  contract  of  Mr.  Cooley  was 
ultimately  given  up,  by  an  arrangement  between  his  admin- 
istrators and  the  proprietors,  and  tlie  canal  thus  remained, 
used  more  or  less  for  manufacturing  purposes,  as  naviga- 
tion declined,  until  it  was  purchased  by  the  Hadley  Falls 
Co.,  who  were  empowered  to  build  their  present  dam,  sub- 
ject to  an  equitable  indemnification  of  the  fishing  rights 
above. 

The  construction  of  the  dam  at  Montague  was  first  at- 
tempted some  two  miles  below  the  falls,  at  Smead's  Island, 
by  Capt.  Elisha  Mack  of  Montague,  who  operated  either 
as  engineer  for  the  Corporation,  or  a  contractor  for  its 
work.  After  a  season  of  unsuccessful  effort,  the  point  was 
abandoned,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  depth  of  the  water. 
In  this  connection,  an  incident  may  be  mentioned,  going  to 
prove  that  the  sub-marine  armor  of  later  times  is  "nothino- 
new  under  the  sun."  While  Capt.  Mack  was  operating  at 
Smead's  Island,  an  itinerant  Scotchman  made  his  appear- 
ance, who  undertook  to  construct  a  sort  of  leathern  case 
for  tlie  body,  with  a  long  tube  attached  for  the  purpose  of 
respiration,  and  glass  about  the  tace  for  the  use  of  vision. 
He  succeeded  in  worming  his  way  into  the  Captain's  fiivor, 
worked  steadily  at  the  curious  armor,  and,  on  a  Saturday 
night,  pronounced  it  complete,  and  appointed  Monday  for 
an  experimental  test.     After  closing  work,  he  obtained  the 


THE  UPPER  CANAL  COMPLETED.        309 

loan  of  Capt.  Mack's  gray  mare,  a  valuable  animal,  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  a  lady,  a  somewhat  attractive  fair  of 
the  times  and  the  locality.  Capt.  Mack  conferred  the  fa- 
vor gladly,  and  would  have  been  rejoiced  to  see  the  inge- 
nious Scotchman  again,  but  he  never  did,  both  mare  and 
rider  mysteriously  disappearing. 

In  1793,  Gapt.  Mack  succeeded  in  constructing  a  dam 
at  Turner's  Falls.  It  stood  one  year  on  trial,  as  it  was 
doul)ted  whether  it  would  be  able  to  withstand  the  Spring 
freshets,  but  it  sustained  the  test.  In  the  course  of  the 
following  year,  the  canal  was  commenced,  but  it  was  not 
completed  for  the  passage  of  rafts  and  boats  until  two  or 
three  years  afterwards.  In  the  meantime,  the  lumbermen 
were  obliged  to  "  draw  by,"  or  take  their  raft  boxes  in 
pieces  above  the  dam,  and  cart  them  to  a  point  below, 
where  they  were  again  committed  to  the  river,  and  re-con- 
structed for  tlie  remaining  passage  downwai'ds.  This  ca- 
nal is  three  miles  in  length. 

The  Falls  at  South  Hadley  have  ever  been  an  interest- 
ing feature  in  the  natural  scenery  of  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley. It  was  around  them,  as  well  as  around  Turner's  Falls, 
that  the  aboriginal  iuliabitants  of  the  valley  gathered  in 
large  numbers,  to  pursue  their  fisheries.  The  land  now 
covered  by  the  village  at  South  Iladley  Falls  was  origin- 
ally granted  to  Major  John  Pynchon,  being  half  of  one 
thousand  acres  granted  him  by  the  General  Court,  after 
his  severe  losses  by  the  Sjiringfield  fire,  during  King  Phil- 
ip's War.  The  original  Indian  name  of  both  falls  was, 
doubtless,  Patucket ;  or  Pawtucket,  Patuxet,  &c.,  as  the 
word  was  otherwise  spelled.  This  was  the  general  Indian 
name  for  water-lalls,  and  there  is  a  single  evidence  on  re- 
cord that  the  falls  at  South  Iladley  were  known  by  that 
name.  This  occurs  in  the  seventh  article  of  the  original 
agreement  made  by  the  inhabitants  of  Springfield,  in  the 
words :  "  that  the  meddowe  and  i)asture  called  Nayas,  to- 
wards  Patucket"  &c.  Nayassett  or  Nayas  was  defined  in 
the  record  of  an  early  deed  as  "  the  tliree  corner  meadow 
and  land  adjoining,  extending  Northerly  to  Chicopee  river." 
This  tract,  then,  was  « toioards  Patucket,"  and  that  being 
the  general'name  for  falls,  was,  doubtless,  the  one  by  whicli 
the  Indians  knew  the  locaUty.  In  early  times,  the  river 
was  a  great  resort  for  salmon,  a  fish  now  di-ivcu  out  of  tho 


310  INDUSTRIAL   ENTERPRISES. 

river  by  the  erection  of  tlie  obstructions  to  their  ascent  of 
the  stream,  already  noticed.     They  remained  in  the  stream 
until  some  years  after  the  erection  of  the  dam  at  Monta- 
gue.    The  first  season  after  the  construction  of  this  dam, 
they  were  very  plenty  at  Turner's  Falls,  and  were  caught 
in  immense  numbers,  as  they  could  not  get  beyond  there, 
but  after  this,  they  declined  rapidly,  from  year  to  year,  un- 
til, at  last,  they  entirely  forsook  the  stream.     They  were 
caught  at  South  Hadley  as  late  as  the  year  1800.     An  eye 
witness  describes,  ft-om  memory,  the  mode  of  their  capture. 
In  hauling  in  a  seine,  in  the  shad  fishery,  they  not  unfre- 
quently  formed  a  portion  of  the  prey,  and  manifested  their 
presence  by  commotions  well  understood  by  the  fishermen. 
The   common   seine  could   not  withstand  their  powerful 
struggles,  and  the  fishermen  were  obliged  to  wade  out,  and 
get  behind  the  net,  and,  by  kicking  it,  and  striking  upon 
the  water,  drive  them  into   the  shallow  water  near  shore, 
where  they  were  grasped  by  the  skillful,  and  rendered 
powerless  by  certain  deftly  delivered  raps  upon  the  head. 
At  that  time,  as  many  as  2,000  shad  were  sometimes  taken 
at  a  haul.     The  shad  fishery  has  gradually  declined  since, 
owing  partly,  doubtless,  to  an  actual  diminution  of  the 
number  of  shad  entering  the  river,  and  partly  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  gill-nets  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
river,  which  have  become  so  prevalent  as  to  operate  almost 
as  an  absolute  bar  to  their  progress  up  the  stream.     The 
shad  fisheries  at  South  Hadley  Falls  were  formerly  con- 
sidered common  property,  and  were  participated  in  by  all 
who  had  a  taste  for  the  business.     But  in  these  days,  shad 
are  held  in  much  higher  repute  than  then,  and  command  a 
much  larger  price.     Under  this  state  of  things,  the  owners 
of  the  land  upon  the   fishing  grounds  a  few  years  since 
availed  themselves  of  the  law,  giving  to  the  owners  of  land 
on  unnavigable  streams  the  exclusive  right  to  fish  on  them, 
expelled  the  old  fishermen  from  their  annual  haunts,  and 
took  possession  of  the  fish-rights.     Under  the  law  which 
eifected  this  change,  a  stream  is  defined  to  be  unnavigable 
above  tide  water.     The  owners  of  the  land  are,  therefore, 
now  making  a  profitable  thing  of  it.     In   1853,  they  took 
out  from  40,000  to  50,000  shad,  which,  at  a  shilling  apiece, 
a  reasonable  average,  amounted  in  productive  value  to 
more  than  $8,000. 


BRIDGES.  311 

The  question  of  the  future  occupation  of  the  river  by 
these  noble  fish  is  one  of  great  interest  and  importance, 
and  one  not  to  be  decided  by  precedent.  Since  the  con- 
struction of  the  dam  by  the  Hadley  Falls  Co.,  no  shad 
have  ascended  beyond  that  point,  and  yet,  no  perceptible 
diminution  of  the  fish  has  occurred.  That  it  is  not  so  im- 
»portant  for  them  to  ascend  to  the  sources  of  the  stream  for 
spawning,  as  it  is  for  salmon,  has  already  been  proved.  In 
fact,  it  is  by  no  means  certain,  although  it  is  highly  proba- 
ble, that  the  shad  caught  in  the  river  are  the  same  that  are 
bred  in  it.  In  1812,  shad  were  caught  in  large  numbers 
in  Medford,  below  a  dam  in  Mystic  river,  only  a  mile  re- 
moved from  tide-water,  and  they  had  been  caught  there 
thus  for  years.  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  they  bred 
there  at  all.  'VYhether  they  did,  or  did  not,  the  fact  is  an 
important  one  in  connection  with  the  question  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  shad  in  the  Connecticut. 

The  lottery  system,  in  the  construction  of  important 
works  of  improvement,  was  much  in  vogue  during  the  last 
part  of  the  18th  and  the  first  of  the  19th  centuries.  On 
the  Gth  of  March,  1782,  a  lottery  was  granted  "  for  erect- 
ing a  bridge  over  Chikabee  river,  on  the  road  leading  from 
Springfield  to  Iladley."  On  the  first  of  November,  of  the 
same  year,  a  lottery  was  granted  for  repairing  and  support- 
ing a  bridge  over  Agawam  River,  in  West  Si)ringfield. 
On  the  18th  of  June,  1783,  a  lottery  was  granted  for  the 
purpose  of  rebuilding  a  bridge  across  Westfield  river,  in 
the  town  of  Westfield,  near  a  place  called  Weller's  Mills. 
On  the  11th  of  February,  1789,  an  act  was  passed  grant- 
ing a  lottery  "for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  suitable  build- 
ing for  the  use  of  the  free  school  in  Williamstown."  This 
was  granted  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  sum  not  exceed- 
ing £1,200. 

Bridges  over  the  smaller  streams,  now  built  and  sup- 
ported by  towns,  were  formerly  owned  by  incorporated 
companies,  and  supported  by  tolls.  On  the  16th  of  March, 
1805,  George  Blake,  Pitt  Bliss,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr., 
James  S.  Dwight,  Joshua  Frost,  Charles  Leonard,  Daniel 
Lombard,  Edward  Pynchon,  William  Smith,  Gad  Warri- 
ner,  Solomon  Warriner,  Eleazer  Williams,  John  Worth- 
ington  and  A^ios  Worthmgton,  were  incorporated  as  '■  The 
proprietors  of   Aggawaum  Bridge,"  for  the   purpose  of 


812  INDUSTRIAL   ENTERPRISES. 

building  a  bridge  over  that  river,  in  West  Springfield. 
On  the  18th  of  June,  1795,  Jonathan  Leavitt  and  Eliel 
Gilbert  and  their  associates  were  incorporated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  bridge  over  Connecticut  river,  between 
Greenfield  and  Montague.  This  still  remains  a  toll  bridge. 
On  the  22d  of  June,  1797,  Jonathan  Hoit  and  David 
Smead  were  incorporated  as  the  proprietors  of  the  Deer- 
field  River  Bridge,  in  the  town  of  Deei-field,  at  the  point 
where  Williams'  Ferry  was  then  kept.  As  early  as  July 
7,  1786,  Jonathan  Hoit  was  also  associated  in  an  act  of  in- 
coi'poration  with  John  Williams,  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing a  bridge  over  the  same  river,  at  a  place  then  called 
Rocky  Mountain.  On  the  8th  of  March,  1803,  Lemuel 
Dickinson  and  74  others  were  incorporated  for  the  purpose 
of  building  a  bridge  over  the  Connecticut  River,  between 
the  towns  of  Hadley  and  Hatfield,  a  bridge  that  is  not 
maintained  at  the  present  day.  On  the  6th  of  March, 
1792,  David  Sexton,  David  Smead,  Lyman  Taft,  Elisha 
Mack,  and  their  associates,  were  incorporated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  erecting  a  bridge  over  Connecticut  River  between 
Montague  and  Greenfield,  "  at  the  place  called  the  Great 
Falls."  On  the  2d  of  March,  1803,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Levi 
Shepard,  Joseph  L}nnan,  Jr.,  Asahel  Pomeroy,  John  Tay- 
lor, and  a  large  number  of  others,  were  named  in  an  act 
of  incorporation,  for  building  the  bridge  over  the  Connec- 
ticut, between  Northampton  and  Hadley.  On  the  22d  of 
February,  of  the  same  year,  John  Hooker,  George  Bliss, 
Joseph  Williams,  Samuel  Fowler,  Jonathan  Dwight, 
Thomas  Dwight,  Justin  Ely,  and  theii*  associates,  were  in- 
corporated as  the  proprietors  of  the  bridge  connecting 
Springfield  with  West  Springfield.  The  toll  established 
was  for  each  foot  passenger,  3  cents  ;  for  each  horse  and 
rider,  7  cents;  for  each  horse  and  chaise,  chair  or  sulkey,  16 
cents;  for  each  coach,  chariot,  phajton,  or  other  four 
wheeled  carriage  for  passengers,  33  cents ;  curricle,  25  cents ; 
horse  and  sleigh,  10  cents  ;  neat  cattle,  3  cents  each  ;  sheep 
and  swine,  1  cent.  On  the  10th  of  February,  David  Mor- 
ley  was  authorized  to  build  a  toll  bridge  across  Westfield 
rivBr,  "  near  the  late  dwelling  house  of  Stephen  Noble, 
deceased."  He  was  authorized  to  collect  of  foot  passen- 
gers 1  cent  toll,  for  a  horse  and  rider,  4  cents,  horse  and 
^haise,  10  cents,  &c.     On  the  17th  of  Junej  1800,  the  tovm 


TURXPIKES.  813 

of  Westfield  was  authorized  to  build  a  toll  bridge,  "  over 
Westfield  Great  River,  near  Park's  IMills." 

Turnpikes  were  largely  multiplied  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  the  Shays  Rebellion,  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  increasing  business  and  population,  and  the 
general  poverty  of  the  towns  and  counties.  On  the  8th  of 
March,  1797,  Asaph  White,  Jesse  King  and  their  associ- 
ates were  incorporated  as  "  The  Second  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Corporation,"  for  the  purpose  of  laying  out  and 
making  a  turnpike  road  from  the  west  line  of  Charlemont, 
to  the  west  foot  of  Hoosac  Mountain  in  Adams,  witli  the 
privilege  of  collecting  tolls  of  passengers.  On  the  I'Jth 
of  June,  1801,  Ezra  Mai'vin,  Elihu  Stow  and  a  hundred 
others,  more  or  less,  were  incorporated  as  "  The  Eleventh 
Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation,"  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  road,  "  to  begin  at  the  south  line  of  Massachu- 
setts, at  or  near  the  ending  of  the  turnpike  road  lately  es- 
tablished by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Connecticut ; 
thence  into  and  through  the  East  parish  of  Granville  to 
Blandford  meeting  house,  and  from  thence  through  tlie 
town  -street  in  Blandford,  by  the  usual  Pittsfield  road,  so 
called,  and  into  the  town  of  Bccket  by  the  same  road,  ini- 
til  it  connects  with  the  road  of  the  Eighth  Turnpikd  Cor- 
poration." This  latter  corpoi-ation  was  established  on  the 
24th  of  February,  1800,  Joseph  Stebbins,  James  S.  Dwight, 
and  George  Bliss,  being  the  leading  names  in  the  act. 
The  road  began  at  tlie  line  l)etween  AVesttield  and  Russell, 
near  Westfield  River,  running  near  the  river  through  parts 
of  the  towns  of  Russell  and  Blandford,  to  a  point  then 
known  as  Falley's  store ;  thence  by  the  West  Branch  of 
the  river  through  parts  of  Blandford  and  Cliestcr,  until 
it  reached  what  was  known  as  the  Government  road,  hy 
which  it  ran  to  Becket,  connecting  with  the  road  from 
Blandford  to  Pittsfield;  thence  by  the  usual  road  from 
Becket  meeting  house  to  Pittslield  line.  The  Tliird  Mas- 
sachusetts Turnpike  Corporation  was  established  March 
9th,  1797.  The  leading  names  in  the  act  of  incorporation 
%vere  Jonah  Brewster,  Elisha  Brewster,  Jonathan  Brewster, 
Samuel  Buffington  and  Tristram  Browning,  and  their  road 
commenced  on  the  East  side  of  Roberts'  Hill  in  North- 
ampton, and  ran  to  the  Eastern  line  of  Pittsfield,  passing 
21 


A 


314  INDUSTRIAL    ENTERPRISES. 

tlirougli   "Westhampton,   Cliesterfield,  Worthington,    Peru 
(then  Partridgefield)  and  Dalton. 

There  never  was  a  Fourth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Cor- 
poi-ation,  but  the  Williamstown  Turnpike  Corporation  le- 
gitimately comes  in  its  place.  This  was  established  on  the 
1st  of  March,  1799,  for  the  purpose  of  building  and  keep- 
ing in  repair  a  road  from  the  AVest  side  of  Hoosac  moun- 
tain, commencing  at  the  termination  of  the  road  of  the  2d 
Corporation,  (from  Charlemont  over  the  mountain)  and 
running  thence  through  Adams  and  Williamstown  to  the 
line  of  Petersburg,  Rensselaer  County,  N.  Y.  The  Fifth 
Coi'poration  was  established  on  the  1st  of  March,  1799. 
This  was  for  the  building  of  a  road  from  Northfield^ 
through  Warwick  and  Orange  to  Athol,  and  also  from 
Greenfield  through  Montague  and  unimproved  lands  to 
Athol,  where  the  roads  were  to  join,  and  proceed  through 
Templeton,  Gardner,  Westminster  and  Fitchburg,  to  Leo- 
minster. The  Sixth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Coi'poration 
was  established  on  the  22d  of  June,  1799,  their  road  com- 
mencing on  the  East  line  of  Amherst,  and  passing  through 
Pelham,  Greenwich,  Hardwick,  New  Bi-aintree,  Oakham, 
Rutland,  Holden  and  Worcester,  "to  the  great  road  in 
Shrewsbury,  leading  from  New  York  to  Boston."  The 
road  was  ordered  to  be  not  less  than  four  rods  wide,  and 
the  traveled  path  not  less  than  eighteen  feet  wide,  in  any 
place.  Tlie  Tenth  Turnpike  Coz-poration  was  established 
on  the  16th  of  June,  1800,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  out, 
making  and  keeping  in  re^^air  a  road  from  the  point  where 
the  Farmington  river  crosses  the  line  between  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut,  by  the  side  of  the  river  through 
Sandisfield,  Bethlehem,  (now  a  part  of  Otis)  Becket  and 
Lee,  to  Lenox  Court  House ;  thence  over  the  mountain, 
through  Richmond  and  Hancock,  to  the  New  York  State 
line.  The  Twelfth  Turnpike  Corpoi-ation  received  its 
charter  on  the  19th  of  June,  1801.  Its  road  commenced 
on  the  Connecticut  line,  in  Slieffield,  at  the  termination  of 
a  turnpike  leading  to  Hartford,  and  ran  Northwesterly  to 
meet  the  Hudson  River  Turnpike,  at  the  line  of  New 
York.  The  Thirteenth  Corporation,  established  June  19th, 
1801,  built  a  road  from  the  Connecticut  line  through  Gran- 
ville, to  the  Northwestern  part  of  Loudon,  now  a  portion 
of  the  town   of  Otis.     The    Fourteenth  Corporation   was 


TURNPIKES,  315 

cliarteredon  the  11th  of  March,  1802,  to  buihl  a  road  from 
the  West  end  of  the  Fifth  Turnpike  in  Greenfield,  through 
that  town,  Shelburne,  Buckland  and  Charlemont,  to  the 
Eastern  terminus  of  the  Second  Turnpike,  leading  over 
Hoosac  Mountain.  The  Fifteenth  Turnpike  Corporation 
was  established  on  the  12th  of  February,  1803,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  road  from  the  Connecticut  line  in 
Southfield  (now  a  part  of  Sandisfield)  to  connect  with  a 
turnpike  from  New  Haven ;  thence  through  Sandisfield, 
New  Marlboro  and  Great  Barrington,  to  the  Southern  line 
of  Stockbridge.  Tlie  Sixteenth  Corporation  was  chartered 
on  the  14.th  of  February,  1803,  to  build  a  road  from  the 
West  line  of  West  Springfield,  through  Southwick,  Gran- 
v\]\(i,  Tolland  and  Sandisfield,  to  the  turni)ikc  route  pass- 
ing through  Sheifield,  from  Hartford,  Ct.,  to  Hudson, 
N.  Y. 

The  Petersham  and  Monson  Corporation  was  established 
Februaiy  29th,  1804,  its  road  leading  from  the  Fifth  Turn- 
pike in  Athol,  through  the  towns  of  Athol,  Petersham, 
Dana,  Greenwich,  Ware,  Palmer  and  Monson,  to  connect 
with  the  turn]fike  leading  to  Stafford  in  Connecticut.  The 
Becket  Turnpike  Corporation  received  its  charter  on  the 
22d  of  June,  1803,  for  building  a  road  from  Becket,  con- 
necting tlie  turnpike  from  Hartford  to  Lenox  with  the 
turnpike  leading  from  Pittsfield  to  Westfield.  The  Spring- 
field and  Longmeadow  Corporation  was  established  on  the 
7th  of  March,  1804,  for  the  pur])ose  of  building  a  road 
from  the  Southern  extremity  of  Main  Street,  by  a  direct 
route  through  Longmeadow  to  the  Connecticut  line.  The 
Tyringham  and  Lee  Corporation,  established  on  the  loth 
of  March,  1805,  built  a  road  between  specified  points  in 
those  towns,  and  the  Williamsburg  and  Windsor  Corpora- 
tion, established  on  the  16th  of  March,  1805,  bulk  a  road 
through  Williamsburg,  Goshen,  Cummington  and  Windsor 
to  the  East  line  of  Cheshire.  Besides  these,  there  were 
the  Belcliertown  and  Greenwich,  the  Blandford  and  Rus- 
sell, the  Chester,  and,  perhaps,  a  few  other  minor  turn- 
pike corporations.  In  fact,  nearly  all  tlie  turnpikes  estab- 
lished by  the  Legislature  were  located  in  the  Western  part 
of  the  State. 

The  tedious  list  of  turnpike  corporations  which  has  been 
enumerated,  the  list  of  bridge  corporations  given,  and  the 


.^* 


316  LIFE   AND   MANNERS. 

statements  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  loclcs 
and  canals  for  the  purpose  of  x'endering  Connecticut  River 
navigable,  will  show  the  nature  of  the  enterprises  that  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  the  people  in  the  years  of  peace, 
industry  and  enterprise  that  followed  the  Shays  Rebellion. 
The  turnpike  fever  was  equal  to  the  railroad  fever  of  later 
times.  Turnpikes  were  everywhere,  and  the  taxation  of 
transport  was  universal,  but  that  taxation  was  not,  for  many 
years,  felt  to  be  a  grievance.  The  turnpike  roads  greatly 
facilitated  access  to  markets,  and,  in  the  same  degree,  in- 
creased the  value  of  real  estate  on  every  route  through 
which  they  passed.  It  is,  comparatively,  but  a  few  years 
since  the  towns,  made  competent  and  populous  through 
their  assistance,  took  the  large  majority  of  them  from  the 
hands  of  their  proprietors,  and  assumed  their  support  at 
the  public  charge.  That  they  had  a  decided  effect  in  the 
development  of  the  resources,  the  healthy  stimulation  of 
the  industry,  and  tlie  establishment  upon  the  soundest  basis, 
of  the  prosperity  of  Western  Massachusetts,  is  evident 
alike  from  their  popularity  as  investments,  the  regions 
through  wliich  they  passed,  and  the  points  of  production 
and  exchange  which  they  connected. 

The  style  of  life,  maimers  and  dress,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  licth  century,  is  a  subject  of  interest  to  the 
present  dwellers  upon  the  soil,  and  will  be  still  more  so  to 
their  successors.  A  venerable  native  of  Northampton — 
an  absentee  from  his  birth-place  for  lialf  a  century — in  a 
communication  to  tlie  Hampshire  Gazette,  has  described  it 
minutely,  and  that  town  Avill  serve  as  a  truthful  type  of  the 
style  of  the  region  and  the  times.  It  was  not  the  custom 
then  to  warm  the  churches.  Rev.  Solomon  Williams  was 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Nortliampton,  and  he  used  to 
preach  in  a  blue  great  coat,  with  a  bandanna  handkerchief 
about  his  neck,  and  woolen  mittens  on  his  hands.  Tlie 
boys  in  the  church  were  accustomed  to  warm  their  feet  by 
pounding  them  against  the  benches,  the  women  performing 
the  same  office  for  themselves,  through  the  more  silent 
agency  of  foot-stoves.  The  deacons  were  ranged  in  a  line 
at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit.  At  that  time,  prayer  meetings 
were  deemed  somewliat  fanatical,  but  the  children  were 
taught  the  catechism,  and  were  catechized  quarterly,  at  the 
school-house,  by  the  minister.     The  Lord's  Supper  was  re- 


HABITS   AND    CUSTOMS.  317 

garded  as  a  converting  ordinance,  and  it  was  not  uncom- 
jnon  for  mothers,  just  before  the  birth  of  their  first  cliikl, 
to  join  the  church,  in  order  that  their  first  infants  might 
have  the  right  to,  and  benefit  of,  baptism. 

The  gallows,  whi})ping-post  and  pillory  stood  in  front  of 
the  school-liouse,  and,  on  Saturday,  the  Sheriff  of  the  Coun- 
ty executed  such  sentences  as  called  into  exercise  the  of- 
fice of  •  those  instructive  instruments.  Whether  it  Avas 
supposed  that  whipping  on  the  bare  back,  cropping  the 
ears,  branding  the  forehead  with  a  hot  iron,  standing  on 
the  pillory,  and  sitting  on  the  gallows,  were  suitable  modes 
of  impressing  lessons  of  obedience  upon  the  children,  does 
not  appear,  but  the  proximity  of  those  scenes  to  the  school- 
Jiouse  would  seem  to  show  that  their  effect  was  deemed 
anything  but  demoralizing.  Judicial  dignity  was  main- 
tained by  the  old  methods.  The  judges  walked  from  their 
lodgings  to  the  Court  House  in  a  line,  wearing  cocked  hats 
that  covered  powdered  heads  of  hair.  They  were  preced- 
ed by  the  high  sheriff,  who  also  wore  a  cocked  hat,  and 
carried  a  long  rod  or  wand  in  his  hand,  the  Court  House 
bell  ringing  while  they  were  walking  from  their  lodgings 
to  the  scene  of  their  proceedings. 

In  social  life,  ardent  spirits  played  an  important  part. 
Respectable  traders  dealt  out  the  article  to  very  misera- 
ble topers,  respectable  men  assembled,  even  on  Sunday 
evenings,  in  the  parlor  of  the  village  tavern,  to  drink 
flip  and  smoke  their  pipes,  respectable  young  men 
went  forth  in  sleighing  parties,  stopping  at  every  tavern 
for  their  flip,  and  boys  drank  flip  by  the  hour  in  the  bar- 
rooms of  respectable  members  of  the  church.  Then,  Sun- 
day night  was  the  night  for  play  among  the  children,  Sat- 
urday night  being  observed  as  holy  time.  They  pui-sued 
their  noisy  games  in  the  street,  or  assembled  in  neighbor- 
ing houses  to  play  blind-man's-buff,  and  tell  stories.  Then 
there  was  not  an  umbrella  in  town.  The  old  men  all 
wore  cocked  hats  and  long  queues,  Avhile  the  more  genteel 
and  stylish  wore  rnflles  at  their  wrists.  This  description 
would  seem  almost  to  belong  to  another  age,  but  only  a 
brief  half  century  has  made  the  changes  that  give  to  it 
its  strangeness  and  anticpiity,  and  many  an  active  memory 
now  recalls  what  the  pen  depicts  and  perpetuates. 
27* 


.** 


CHAPTER    XX. 

The  War   of  1812  —  Conclusion  of  the   Outline 

History. 

The  prosperity  growing  out  of  the  extensive  public  en- 
terprises, instituted  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  facil- 
ities of  intercourse  and  transport  in  Western  Massachu- 
setts, was  sadly  interrupted  by  the  second  war  with  Great 
Britain,  fixmiliarly  known  as  "  The  War  of  1812."  The 
events  which  brought  about  this  war  are  still  in  the  mem- 
ory of  many  now  living,  while  the  policy  on  which  it  was 
based,  and  by  which  it  was  managed,  has  been  so  long,  and 
so  unjustly,  connected  witli  party  politics  and  associated 
with  party  names,  that  it  still  remains  to  the  historian  to 
render  full  justice  to,  and  impartial  judgment  upon,  the 
motives,  the  policy,  the  measures,  and  the  men,  whose 
fierce  collisions  and  bitter  animosities  made  so  stronsr  an 
impression  upon  the  public  mind  that  it  has  resisted  the 
obliterating  influences  of  forty  peaceful  and  prosperous 
years.  A  very  brief  recital  of  the  events  which  led  to 
the  war,  and  a  statement  of  the  principal  movements  in 
Western  Massachusetts  connected  with  its  progress,  are  all 
that  will  be  attemjjted  here. 

Scarcely  a  dozen  years  had  passed  after  the  treaty  of 
1783,  when  England,  engaged  in  her  terrible  struggle  with 
Napoleon,  was  driven  by  the  necessities  of  her  immense 
navy  to  the  impressment  of  her  own  subjects  for  seamen. 
This  necessity  pressed  so  sternly,  and  was  so  little  governed 
by  motives  of  national  honor,  tlaat,  passing  beyond  her  own 
bounds,  her  cruisers  boarded  American  merchantmen  on 
the  pretense  of  searching  for  British  deserters,  and  im- 
pressed American  sailors  who  wei'e  known  to  be  otherwise. 
In  nine  monfhs  of  the  yeai's  1796  and  1797,  the  American 
Minister  at  London  had  made  application  for  the  release 
of  271  seamen,  the  majority  of  whom  were  American  cit- 
izens. Nor  did  she  stop  here,  but  claimed  the  right  to  im- 
press, on  American  vessels,  British  seamen  and  British 
subjects.      American    merchantmen    were   boarded    and 


EVENTS   LEADING   TO   THE    "WAR.  819 

American  seamen  impressed,  in  American  waters.  An 
Amei'ican  merchantman  lying  in  the  harbor  of  New  York 
was  boarded  by  the  British  frigate  Cambria  in  1804,  and 
several  of  her  seamen  were  carried  off.  American  ves- 
sels, passing  from  port  to  port,  of  the  United  States,  were 
fired  into.  In  1806,  the  British  Orders  in  Council  and 
Napoleon's  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees  were  issued.  Eng- 
land declared  France  and  the  whole  continent  in  a  state 
of  blockade,  and  France  retaliated  in  kind.  Under  the 
operation  of  these  orders  and  decrees,  American  ships  be- 
came the  prey  of  both  England  and  France.  England 
declared  all  ships  sailing  from  the  harbors  of  France  and 
her  allies  to  be  la\\^ul  prizes,  save  those  that  first  touched 
at,  or  sailed  from,  English  ports  ;  and  France  adopted  the 
same  unjust  and  destructive  policy  with  regard  to  ships 
that  had  touched  at  an  English  port,  or  allowed  themselves 
to  be  searched  by  British  cruisers.  Between  both  powers, 
American  commerce  was  in  danger,  almost,  of  annihilation. 
The  American  nation  was  in  dish-ess,  and  on  fire  with  ex- 
citement, and,  in  retaliation  for  the  mischiefs  and  injustice 
imposed  by  the  French  Decrees  and  the  British  Orders  in 
Council,  an  embargo  was  laid  in  1807  upon  all  American 
vessels  and  merchandise.  This  embargo  prohibited  all 
American  vessels  from  sailing  from  foreign  ports,  and  for- 
bade foreign  ships  taking  cargoes  from  American  ports, 
while  all  coasting  vessels  were  obliged  to  give  bonds  to 
land  their  cargoes  in  the  United  States.  This  measure, 
while  it  doubtless  saved  multitudes  of  American  ships,  in- 
flicted on  the  people  generally,  by  its  arrest  of  the  tide  of 
commerce,  more  distress  than  their  loss  would  have  done. 
The  measure  weighed  very  heavily  upon  New  England, 
and  under  the  pressure  of  the  loud  complaint  raised  in  this 
section,  the  law  was  repealed  in  1809,  and  a  law  suljstitu- 
ted,  prohibiting  commercial  intercouse  with  France  and 
England.  In  1810,  this  law  was  modified,  so  as  to  exclude 
only  British  and  armed  vessels  from  the  waters  of  the 
United  States,  with  the  provision  that  it  should  be  fully 
restored  in  the  event  that  England  and  France  did  not  re- 
cede from  their  edicts. 

Passing  by  the  action  and  debates  of  the  Twelftli  Con- 
gress, the  negotiations  between  the  American  and  British 
Governments,  and  a  recapitulation  of  the  events  that  oc- 


320  THE   WAR    OF    1812. 

curred  in  the  progress  of  diplomacy,  we  come  to  tlie  decla- 
ration of  war  proclaimed  by  the  President  on  the  19th  of 
June,  1812.  The  declaration  was  received  in  New  Eng- 
land generally,  and  in  Massachusetts  particularly,  with  ut- 
ter condemnation.  The  country  was  then  divided  into  two 
parties,  the  Democratic  and  Federal,  who  traced  their  ori- 
gin to  the  date  of  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, the  Federalists  being  those  who  were  in  favor  of 
consolidation  and  concentration  of  power  in  the  federal 
head,  wliile  the  Democrats  advocated  the  preservation  of 
more  extended  powers  in  the  Governments  of  the  several 
States.  The  one  was  doubtless  too  conservative  ;  the  oth- 
er, too  I'adical ;  and  the  Constitution  was  a  happy  compro- 
mise of  these  extreme  views.  Under  the  Constitution,  the 
parties  were  continued,  and  exhibited  their  proclivities  by 
respectively  bestowing  upon  that  instrument  a  strict  and  a 
latitudinarian  construction.  At  the  time  war  was  declared, 
Madison  was  President,  with  a  Democratic  Congress  at  his 
back,  and  the  Democratic  party,  then  largely  in  the  major- 
ity, in  favor  of  the  war,  while  the  Federalists  were  bitterly 
against  it.  The  sympathies  of  the  latter,  so  far  as  her 
quarrel  with  France  was  concerned,  were  on  the  side  of 
Great  Britain,  while  the  Democrats  favored  the  French,  to 
the  disparagement  of  the  British  cause.  The  Federalists 
regarded  Great  Britain  as  struggling  for  her  very  exist- 
ence, against  the  jDOwer  of  a  monster  of  political  iniquity. 
They  believed  that  England  was  not  inimical  to  America, 
and  that  she  had  only  resorted  to  imjiressment  of  Ameri- 
can seamen,  and  her  Orders  in  Council,  to  save  herself 
from  the  grasp  of  one  whose  success  they  regarded  as  the 
gi'eatest  of  possible  evils.  They  deemed  it  as  much  the 
duty  of  the  Government  to  declare  war  against  France  as 
against  England,  as  she  stood  on  the  same  ground,  and 
was,  as  they  believed,  in  the  wrong  in  her  struggle  with 
England.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  party  feehng  ran  so 
high,  and  j^arty  lines  were  so  closely  drawn,  that  neither 
party,  save  by  pure  accident,  could  have  been  wholly  right. 
In  Massachusetts,  the  war  became  the  theme  of  pulpit  de- 
nunciation, the  subject  of  consideration  and  condemnation 
in  town  meetings,  and  the  target  of  full  quivers  of  resolu- 
tions from  the  taught-strung  bows  of  conventions.  Berk- 
shire was  somewhat  more  Democratic  than  the  river  region, 


CONVENTION  AT  NORTHAMPTON.         321 

but  the  latter  was  very  thoroughly  Federal,  and  hated  the 
war  with  entire  heartiness. 

It  will  be  necessary,  in  noticing  the  movements  in  this 
region,  to  refer  to  changes  in  the  old  county  of  Hampshire 
that  occurred  at  a  briefly  anterior  date.  On  the  24th  of 
June,  1811,  the  Northern  portion  of  the  county  succeeded 
in  its  endeavors  to  be  set  off  into  a  distinct  county,  with 
the  name  of  Franklin,  and  with  Greenfield  as  its  shire 
town,  though  Cheapside,  in  Deerfield,  was  the  favorite  lo- 
cation for  the  county  houses,  among  the  majority  of  the 
towns.  The  existence  of  county  buildings  in  Ijoth  Spring- 
field and  Northampton,  and  the  increase  of  legal  business 
in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  population,  soon  after- 
wards excited  a  movement  in  the  Southern  part  of  Hamp- 
shire, for  still  another  division,  and  on  February  2."),  LSI 2, 
the  division  was  effected,  by  the  establishment  of  the  pres- 
ent County  of  Hampden,  with  Si)ringfield  as  the  county 
seat.  Old  Hampshire  was  thus  divided  into  tliree  coun- 
ties,— the  middle  county,  with  Northampton  as  the  shire 
town,  retaining  the  time-honored  name  by  which  the  whole 
of  Western  Massachusetts  was  originally  known. 

Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war,  nearly  all  the 
towns  in  Western  Massachusetts  possessing  Federal  ma- 
jorities, passed  resolutions  condemning  it,  and,  V)y  concert 
of  action,  the  towns  of  the  three  river  counties,  in  legal 
town  meetings,  appointed  delegates  to  a  grand  convention 
to  ])e  liolden  at  Northampton  on  the  1  !th  of  .Inly,  1812,  to 
consult  upon  tlie  war.  Accordingly,  on  that  day,  delegates 
from  57  towns  in  the  three  counties  assembled  at  tlie 
Nortliampton  Court  House.  In  53  of  these  towns,  the 
deh'gates  were  regularly  appointed,  and  appeared  witli  the 
certificates  of  their  respective  town  clerks,  while  the  re- 
maining four  sent  representatives  of  federal  minorities. 
Tiie  most  of  these  delegates  are  now  deceasc^d,  but  a  few 
still  survive.     Their  names  were  as  follow : — 

Springfield — John  Hooker,  Chauncey  Brewer,  Justin  Lom- 
bard, Joseph  Pease;  Nortliampton— Joseph  Lyman,  Isaac 
Clark,  Elijah  H.  Mills,  Lewis  Strong;  Iladley— Charles  Phelps, 
Samuel  Porter;  Hatfield  —  Isaac  Maltby,  Israel  Billings; 
Deerfield — Ephraim  Williams,  Epaphras  Hoit,  HinyArms; 
Sunderland— Simeon  Ballard;  Blanclford— Jedediah  Smith, 
AlansonKnox;  Pelham — Isaac  Abercrombie;  Palmer — Amos 


322  THE   WAR    OF    1812. 

Hamilton,  Alpheus  Converse;  Southampton — Luther  Edwards, 
John  Lyman  ;  South  Hadley — Mark  Doolittle,  Bezaleel  Al- 
vord;  Greenfield — Richard  E.  Nevvcomb,  Samuel  Wells; 
New  Salem — Samuel  C.  Allen;  Montague — Henry  Wells; 
Granville — David  Curtis;  Greenwich — Robert  Field,  Joseph 
Williams ;  Amherst — Ebenezer  Mattoon,  Samuel  F.  Dickin- 
son, Simeon  Strong;  Monson — Deodatus  Dutton  ;  Belcher- 
town — Joseph  Bridgman,  Justus  Forward,  Phineas  Blair;  Cole- 
rain — John  Drury;  Shutesbury — William  Ward;  Ware — 
William  Paige  ;  Chesterfield — Asa  White,  Spencer  Phelps  ; 
South  Brimfield — Darius  Munger  ;  Warwick — Caleb  Mayo  ; 
Wilbraham — Robert  Sessions,  Aaron  Woodward  ;  Ashfield — 
Henry  Bassett;  Charlemont— Stephen  Bates  ;  Chester — Asa- 
hel  Wright:  Conway — Elisha  Billings,  John  Bannister;  Gran- 
by — Eli  Dickinson,  Levi  Smith;  Shelburne — William  Wells; 
Worthington — Ezra  Starkweather,  Jonathan  Brewster;  Whate- 
ly — Phineas  Frary  ;  Williamsburg — William  Bodman,  John 
Wells  ;  Norwich — William  Fobes,  Jesse  Joy ;  Westhampton 
— Sylvester  Judd,  Aaron  Fisher,  Jonathan  Clarke  ;  Buckland 
— Levi  White;  Cummington — Peter  Bryant;  Montgomery — 
Edward  Taylor ;  Wendell — Joshua  Green  ;  Goshen — Oliver 
Taylor ;  Middlefield — Erastus  Ingham  ;  Rowe — John  Wells  ; 
Heath — Roger  Leavitt ;  Hawley — Thomas  Longley;  Gill — 
Gilbert  Stacy;  Plainfield — Nehemiah  Joy;  Easthampton — 
Thaddeus  Clapp  ;  Holland — John  Polley  ;  Tolland — Eleazer 
Slocomb.  The  irregular  delegates  were  Rufus  Stratton  from 
Northfield,  Hezekiah  Nevvcomb  and  Caleb  Chapin  from  Ber- 
nardston,  Peletiah  Bliss  and  Timothy  Burbank  from  West 
Springfield;  and  Rufus  Graves  from  Leverett. 

In  all,  there  were  88  delegates,  comi^osed  of  the  best  and 
most  inlluential  citizens  in  the  three  counties,  many  of 
whom  were  in  high  civil  and  military  office.  The  conven- 
tion organized  by  the  choice  of  John  Hooker  of  Spring- 
field for  President,  and  Isaac  C.  Bates  of  Northamjjton  for 
Secretary.  The  proceedings  were  opened  with  prayer  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Williams  of  Northampton.  An  address  to  the 
people,  previously  issued  by  the  anti-war  minority  in  Con- 
gress, was  then  read,  when  Elijah  H.  Mills,  Ephraim  Wil- 
liams, Lewis  Strong,  Samuel  Hills,  Joseph  Lyman,  Ezra 
Starkweather,  John  Hooker,  Samuel  C.  Allen,  and 
Samuel  F.  Dickinson  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
report  in  regard  to  the  proper  action  of  the  Conven- 
tion, concerning  public  affairs,  after  which  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  the  loth.  On  that  day,  the  Committee 
reported  that  it  was  expedient  to  present  a  respectful  me- 


^* 


CONVENTION  AT  NORTHAMPTON.        323 

morial  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  praying  that 
Commissioners  might  be  forthwith  appointed  to  negotiate  a 
peace  with  Great  Britain,  upon  safe  and  honorable  terms, 
and  a  memorial  to  that  effect  was  therewith  su1)mitted,  with 
a  series  of  resolutions  for  the  consideration  of  the  Conven- 
tion. The  Committee  also  reported  that  it  was  expedient 
to  appoint  four  delegates  from  each  county,  to  meet  in 
State  Convention,  provided  the  measure  should  be  adopted 
in  other  parts  of  the  Commonwealth,  and,  also,  that  Com- 
mittees of  Safety  and  Correspondence  be  appointed  in  each 
County,  and  that  it  be  recommended  to  each  town  to  choose 
similar  Committees,  in  its  corporate  capacity.  The  entire 
report,  with  a  few  amendments  of  the  memorial,  was 
adopted,  and  the  Committees  recommended  were  appoint- 
ed. The  following  were  chosen  delegates  to  the  Slate 
Convention  from 

Hampden — William  Shepard,  George  Bliss,  Samuel  La- 
tlirop  and  Amos  Hamilton. 

Hampshire — Joseph  Lyman,  Eli  P.  Ashmun,  William 
Bodman,  and  Samuel  F.  Dickinson. 

Franklin — Ephraim  Williams,  Richard  E.  Newcomb, 
Rufus  Graves  and  Roger  Leavitt. 

The  Committees  of  Safety  and  Correspondence  were, 
for  Hampden,  .hicob  Bliss,  John  Hooker,  Oliver  B.  Morris 
and  Jonathan  Dwight  Jr.;  for  Hampshire,  Jonathan  II. 
Lyman,  Lewis  Strong,  Isaac  C.  Bates  and  William  Ed- 
wards ;  for  Franklin,  Jonathan  Leavitt,  Samuel  Wells, 
Elijah  Alvord  2(1,  and  George  Grennell  Jr. 

At  the  time  of  holding  this  Convention,  Caleb  Strong  of 
Northampton  was  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  That  the 
memorial  and  the  resolutions  adopted  represented  his  views, 
is  to  be  presumed, — a  presumption  receiving  additional 
force  from  the  fact  that  Lewis  Strong,  his  son,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Connnittee  that  reported  them,  and  had  the 
credit  of  being  the  able  author  of  the  memorial.  By  con- 
densation of  the  expression  of  opinion  and  sentiment  con- 
tained in  these  documents,  it  is  proposed  to  exhibit  the 
Massachusetts  view  of  the  war,  and  to  develop  such  facts 
of  importance  in  connection  with  it  as  may  be  deemed  de- 
sirable. 

The  memorial  claims  to  represent  to  the  President  the 
views  of  80,000  souls,  that  being  the  aggregate  constitueu- 


324  THE   WAR   OF    1812. 

cy  of  the  Convention.  It  declares  that  it  is  I'equisite  to 
the  proper  administration  of  the  Government  that  it  be 
guided  and  governed  in  its  operations  by  public  opinion,  in 
its  deliberate  voice  upon  subjects  correctly  understood  and 
appreciated  by  the  popular  mind,  and  that  the  "  substitutes 
and  agents"  of  the  people  in  public  office  should  give  that 
opinion  heed.  A  common  interest,  the  memorialists  de- 
clare, was  the  basis  of  the  federal  Union,  and  whenever 
any  section  should  consider  its  own  interests  sacrificed,  to 
aid  the  ambition,  or  appease  the  jealousies  of  another,  it 
was  not  to  be  concealed  that  the  indulgence  in  those  feel- 
ings which  partial  measures  were  calculated  to  produce 
would  endanger  the  Union. 

Having  premised  thus  much,  and  more  of  like  bearing, 
the  memorialists  state  that,  for  many  years  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  j^resent  goveAiment,  the  prosperity  and 
happiness  of  the  people  were  great  beyond  example,  but 
since  the  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  in 
1807,  to  protect  commerce  by  withdrawing  it  from  the 
ocean,  enterprise  had  lost  its  activity  and  labor  its  hope  of 
reward,  until,  such  was  the  commercial  distress  in  New 
England,  that  the  people  had  come  to  regard  their  rulers 
rather  as  enemies  than  friends.  They  endorsed  the  ad- 
dress of  the  Congressional  minority,  and  said  that  it  was 
not  necessary  for  them  to  go  over,  in  detail,  the  ground 
covered  by  that  document,  to  prove  the  war  to  be  "  neither 
just,  necessary  nor  expedient."  In  reference  to  the  Ber- 
lin and  Milan  Decrees,  they  say  that  those  decrees  were  al- 
leged to  have  been  repealed  in  jVovember,  1810,  but  Great 
Britain,  in  justification  of  her  refusal  to  withdraw  her  Or- 
ders in  Council,  had  invariably  considered  the  promise  of 
repeal,  made  in  the  month  of  August  preceding,  as  depend- 
ent on  the  determination  of  the  American  Government  to 
cause  its  rights  to  be  resjjected,  by  the  commencement  of - 
hostilities  against  the  English.  In  vain  did  the  people  of 
the  Union  wait,  for  more  than  eighteen  months,  to  see  the 
repealing  decree,  and  they  did  not  see  it  until  within  thirty 
days  after  the  declaration  of  war,  when  it  appeared,  bear- 
ing the  date  of  April,  1811,  (more  than  a  year  previous  to 
its  formal  promulgation)  notwithstanding  that,  in  the  mean- 
time, the  existence  of  those  decrees  in  full  force  was  dem- 
onstrated by  the  indiscriminate  capture  of  American  prop- 


X 


THE   MEMORIAL.  825 

erty  by  the  French,  and  by  the  fact  that  French  ministe- 
rial officers  were  in  total  ignorance  of  their  revocation. 
In  brief,  the  memorialists  regarded  the  alleged  repeal  of 
the  French  decrees,  before  the  declaration  of  war,  as  a 
mere  pretense, — as  a  deception  in  which  our  own  and  the 
French  Governments  were  complicated,  and  in  which  the 
American  Government  had  become  the  tool  of  France,  for 
embarrassing  the  affairs  and  crippling  the  power  of  Eng- 
land, with-  which  power  there  would  not  have  been  the 
slightest  pretense  for  war,  had  France  really  repealed  her 
decrees,  as  England  had  agreed  to  withdraw  her  Orders  in 
Council  when  those  decrees  should  be  revoked. 

The  memorial  then  states  the  conviction  of  the  Con- 
vention that  measures  should  immediately  be  taken,  in  the 
event  of  the  repeal  of  the  British  Orders  in  Council,  [an 
event  early  realized]  to  bring  the  war,  in  its  infancy,  to 
an  honorable  termination,  and  tliat  a  persistence  in  hostili- 
ties, after  the  removal  of  that,  the  only  leading  and  recent 
ground  of  war  against  Great  Britain,  would  be  viewed  as 
deeply  alarming  to  the  liberties  and  independence  of  the 
United  States,  Whatever  course  Great  Britain  might 
pursue,  in  consequence  of  the  fraudulent  attempt  that  had 
been  made  to  bind  America  to  the  cause  of  France,  they 
did  not  consider  the  Avar  as  required  by  the  interest,  secu- 
rity or  honor  of  tlie  American  jx'oplc.  '•  If  war  has  been 
declared  to  cleanse  the  honor  of  the  Government,  should 
not  that  jiower  have  been  selected,  as  our  enemy,  which 
inflicted  the  stain '(  which,  while  it  has  declared  the  Amer- 
icans to  be  *  more  dependant  than  Jamaica,  which,  at  least, 
has  its  Assembly  of  Eepresentatives  and  its  privileges,' 
has  practically  expressed  her  contempt  of  our  Govern- 
ment, and  her  disregard  of  National  law,  by  seizing,  scut- 
tling and  bui-ning  our  merchant  vessels,  without  even  the 
forms  of  regular  adjudication  ?"  The  memorialists  could 
not  see  how  affairs  were  to  be  mended,  even  if  Great 
Britain  had  given  cause  for  war,  by  the  necessary  change 
of  impressment  for  imprisonment,  and  imaulhorlzed  for 
authorized  seizure  of  American  ships  and  merchandise. 
They  closed  by  a  prayer  to  the  President  that  Commission- 
ers might  be  fortliwitli  appointed,  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  on  safe, 
just  and  honorable  terms. 
28 


S26  THE   WAR    OF    1812. 

The  resolutions  passed  by  the  Convention  cover  the 
entire  ground  represented  in  the  memorial,  and  descend 
still  fux'ther  into  particulars.  They  accuse  the  Government 
of  studiously  deviating  from  the  course  pursued  by  Wash- 
ington in  intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  of  prostituting 
the  national  character  and  sacrificing  vital  interests,  of 
partiality  for  one  nation  and  hostility  to  another,  wholly 
inconsistent  with  the  maintenance  of  an  honorable  neutral- 
ity, of  aggravating  and  emblazoning  the  wrongs  received 
from  Great  Britain,  and  palliating  and  concealing  those 
committed  by  France,  and  of  declaring  an  unjust  and  lui- 
necessary  war,  in  opposition  to  the  opinions,  wishes  and 
interests  of  a  vast  majority  of  the  commercial  States. 
They  deprecated,  "  as  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,"  an  al- 
liance with  the  Emperor  of  France,  renounced  further 
confidence  in  rulers  who  had  abused  their  trust,  declared 
that  they  had  yet  to  learn  that  Congress  had  any  power  for 
calling  out  the  militia,  except  "  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  invasions,"  and 
that  the  Convention  had  no  knowledge  of  any  opposition 
to  the  laws,  the  existence  of  any  insurrection,  or  of  any 
actual  or  imjiending  invasion.  The  last  resolution,  of  the 
twenty-one  adopted,  is  quoted  entire : 

"That,  although  we  do  not  consider  ourselves  bound,  vol- 
imtarily,  to  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  an  offensive  war,  which 
we  believe  to  be  neither  just,  necessary  nor  expedient,  we 
will  submit,  like  good  citizens,  to  the  requisitions  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  promptly  repel  ail  hostile  attacks  upon  our  coun- 
try. That,  collecting  fortitude  from  the  perils  of  the  crisis, 
and  appealing  to  the  searcher  of  hearts  for  the  purity  of  our 
motives,  we  will  exert  ourselves,  by  all  constitutional  means, 
to  avert  the  dangers  which  surround  us;  and  that,  while  we 
discountenance  all  forcible  opposition  to  the  laws,  we  will  ex- 
pose ourselves  to  every  hazard  and  every  sacrifice  to  prevent 
a  ruinous  alliance  with  the  tyrant  of  France,  to  restore  a 
speedy,  just  and  honorable  peace,  to  preserve  inviolate  the 
Union  of  the  States,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Constitution, 
and  to  perpetuate  the  safety,  honor  and  liberties  of  our  coun- 
try." 

The  authorities  of  the  United  States  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts  came  early  in  collision.  Governor 
Strong  was  disposed  to  a  strict  construction  of  the  Consti- 
tution, and  as  he,  lilie  the  Northampton  Convention,  could 


A 


GOVERNOR   STRONG.  327 

not  see  in  the  occasion  any  laws  of  the  Union  to  be  execu- 
ted, insurrections  to  be  suppressed,  or  invasions  to  be  re- 
pelled, he  declined  accession  to  the  requisition  made  for 
Massachusetts  troops,  to  be  placed  at  the  command  of  the 
President.  His  refusal  involved  grave  questions  touching 
the  jjower  of  the  federal  Government  to  call  out  the  militia 
of  the  States,  to  decide  on  the  exigency  for  calling  them 
into  service,  and  to  place  them  in  command  of  United 
States  officers  after  they  wei'e  called  out.  In  all  these 
points.  Governor  Strong  was  opposed  to  the  President, 
and  was  supported  in  his  position  by  the  wi'itten  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State ;  and  thus,  the  federal 
party,  the  strongest  at  first  in  the  advocacy  of  the  concen- 
tration of  power  in  the  federal  head,  became  the  first  to 
oppose  what  was  deemed  a  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the 
State.  The  Governor  did  not  believe  that  the  mere  act  of 
declaring  war,  on  the  part  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  gave  him  any  right  to  call  the  militia  of  the  several 
States  into  service.  During  the  year,  therefore,  the  militia 
of  Massachusetts  remained  unemployed,  though  they  were 
directed  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  repel  invasion 
of  the  territory  of  the  State. 

With  the  exception  of  the  purchase  of  fourteen  acres  of 
land  at  Pittsfield,  by  tlie  U.  S.  Government,  on  which  to 
erect  barracks  and  a  hospital  for  the  troops,  no  event  of 
importance  in  connection  with  the  war  occurred  in  West- 
ern Massachusetts,  until  a  call  for  troops  was  issued  by 
GoA'crnor  Strong,  in  the  Autumn  of  1814.  At  this  time, 
England  had  become,  in  a  measure,  released  from  the  pres- 
sures of  war  at  home,  and,  with  a  large  disposable  force 
at  her  command,  she  blockaded  (on  paper)  the  whole  At- 
lantic coast  of  the  United  States,  and  declared  her  inten- 
tion to  lay  waste  the  whole  coast,  from  Maine  to  Georgia. 
On  the  1st  of  September,  the  British  forces  took  peaceable 
possession  of  Castine,  on  the  Penobscot,  then  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts. 

The  U.  S.  troops  being  withdrawn  from  the  coast,  and 
an  invasion  apprehended,  the  Governor  made  a  requisition 
for  troops,  to  be  draughted  from  the  militia  companies  in  the 
State,  with  orders  to  march  to  Boston.  One  regiment  of 
infantry  was  made  up  from  the  companies  in  the  Nortliern 
part  of  old  Hampshhe  County,  under   the  command  of 


828  THE  WAR  OP  1813. 

Col.  Thomas  Longley  of  Hawley.  A  regiment  of  infantry 
also  went  from  the  Southern  part  of  old  Hampshire,  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Enos  Foot  of  Southwick.  A  regi- 
ment of  artillery  was  also  made  up  within  the  old  County 
bounds,  consisting  of  an  entire  company  from  Springfield,  un- 
der Capt.  Quartus  Stebbins,  another  comjjany  from  North- 
ampton under  Capt.  Asahel  Strong,  one  from  Belchertown 
under  Capt.  Bridgman,  and  one  from  Northfield,  under 
Capt.  Mattoon,  the  regiment  being  under  the  command  of 
Col.  William  Edwards.  An  entire  regiment  of  infantry 
went  from  Berkshire.  The  higher  officers  of  the  Western 
Massachusetts  troops  were  Major  General  Whiton  of  New 
Marlborough,  in  Berkshire  County,  whose  aids  were  Col. 
Henry  W.  Dwight  of  Stockbridge,  and  Col.  Sloane  of 
Lanesborough ;  and  Brigadier  ■  General  Jacob  Bliss  of 
Springfield.  The  troojis  marched  about  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober. The  Springfield  artillery  left  on  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing ;  and  the  prayer  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Osgood,  then 
young  in  his  pastoral  office,  in  the  presence  of  the  troops, 
before  they  left,  is  still  fresh  in  the  memories  of  no  incon- 
siderable number  of  the  citizens  of  the  town. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  Boston,  the  regiments 
from  the  river  counties  were  stationed  at  Dorchester,  on  the 
spot  then  known  as  Commercial  Point,  and  the  Berkshire 
regiment,  between  which  and  its  neighbors  there  was  no 
great  cordiality  of  feeling,  was  stationed  at  Cambridgeport. 
They  spent  some  forty  days  in  camp,  had  an  extremely 
pleasant  time,  were  reviewed  by  the  Governor  on  the  Com- 
mon, and  then  were  dismissed  to  their  homes ;  and  thus 
ended  Avliat  was  known,  in  the  language  of  the  day,  as 
"  Governor  Strong's  war." 

The  famous  Hartford  Convention  assembled  on  the  15th 
of  the  following  December.  It  consisted  of  twelve  dele- 
gates appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  seven 
by  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut,  and  four  by  that  of 
Rhode  Island,  with  one  from  Vermont  and  two  from  New 
Hampshire,  who  appeared  as  delegates  appointed  by  local 
Conventions.  The  delegates  from  Western  Massachusetts 
were  George  Bliss  of  Springfield  and.  Joseph  Lyman  of 
Northampton.  The  body  was  one  of  the  most  respectable, 
in  the  points  of  talent,  acquirements,  patriotism,  statesman- 
ship and  high  moral  and  social  worth,  ever  assembled,  on 


^* 


HARTFORD    CONVENTION.  329 

any  occasion,  within  the  United  States.  Conj^ress,  imme- 
diately after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  passed  a 
law  which  was  signed  by  the  President,  following  out,  to 
the  letter,  its  principal  recommendations,  which  recommend- 
ations accorded  fully  with  the  principles  and  policy  on 
which  Gov.  Strong  had  acted  from  the  first.  The  recom- 
mendations of  the  Convention  were  that  the  States  take 
measures  to  protect  their  citizens  from  "  forcible  draughts, 
conscriptions  or  impressments,  not  authorized  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,"  and  that  an  earnest  appli- 
cation be  made  to  the  General  Government,  requesting  its 
consent  to  some  ari-angement  whereby  the  States  separate- 
ly, or  in  concert,  might  assume  ujion  themselves  the  de- 
fense of  their  territory  against  the  enemy  ;  and  that  a  reas- 
onable portion  of  tlie  taxes  collected  within  the  State 
might  be  appropriated  to  that  olyect.  The  law  passed  by 
Congress,  three  weeks  afterwards,  authorized  and  recpiired 
the  President  to  "  receive  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  any  corps  of  troops  wliich  may  have  been,  or  may 
be,  raised,  organized  and  officered  under  the  authority  of 
any  of  the  States,  to  be  employed  in  the  State  raising 
the  same,  or  an  adjoining  State,  and  not  elsewhere  except 
with  the  consent  of  the  executive  of  the  State  raising  the 
same."  The  treaty  of  peace,  which  had  already  been 
signed  at  Ghent,  and  whicli  arrived  soon  after  the  passage 
of  the  law,  put  a  stop  to  all  further  proceedings,  and  the 
second  war  with  England  was  at  an  end. 

With  the  close  of  this  Avar,  it  is  proposed  to  conclude 
the  outline  liistory  of  Western  Massachusetts,  which  has 
been  extended  over  a  period  of  nearly  one  hundred  and 
eighty  years.  We  have  seen  the  little  pi-ayerful  band  of 
pilgrims  from  Roxbury,  as  they  planted  their  feet  and  for- 
tunes in  the  Connecticut  Valley  when  that  "  Eden  was  a 
wild ;"  we  have  seen  them  establishing  their  plantations 
along  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and  building  their  forts  and 
their  churches ;  we  have  witnessed  that  long  scene  of  fear 
and  blood  through  which  they  passed,  in  their  struggle 
Avith  perfidious  native  tribes ;  we  have  seen  the  savage  life 
of  the  region  fade  away  to  blank  extinction,  as  in  a  dis- 
solving' view,  before  the  advancing  scene  of  civilization  ; 
Ave  have  marked  the  tide  of  emigration  as  it  flowed  West- 
Avard,  across  the  mountains,  into  the  valley  of  the  Housa- 
28* 


330  CONCLUSION. 

tonic,  and  swelled  Northward  among  the  rivnlets  and  hills 
of  that  region ;  the  scenes  of  the  series  of  French  and  In- 
dian wars,  with  all  their  doubts  and  dangers,  their  trials 
and  conflicts,  have  passed  before  us,  followed  by  that  long 
and  glorious  struggle  which  terminated  in  National  inde- 
pendence ;  we  have  beheld  the  wild  excitements  of  civil 
discord,  the  peaceful  labors  of  enterprise,  and  the  unwel- 
come front  of  war  again  looming  in  the  prospect,  to  mar 
the  work  of  bloody  and  toilsome  years,  yet  everywhere, 
among  all  these  features,  we  have  seen  the  angel  of  pro- 
gress, sometimes  soaring — often  bound — always  hoping, 
and  never  despairing,  moving  joyously,  or  smiling  encour- 
agingly, and  pointing  onward.  The  venerable  shades  of 
our  fathers  have  been  summoned  before  us.  We  have 
seen  them  as  they  knelt  in  prayer  by  their  rude  hearth- 
stones, and  sung  their  godly  hymns  in  their  cheerless  sanc- 
tuaries ;  we  have  seen  them  in  their  tireless  watches  and 
border-wars, — brave,  indomitable,  patient,  enduring,  daring 
and  dying.  We  have  watched  them  in  their  daily  life — 
honest,  upright,  uncompromising,  noble  and  generous  men 
— who  loved  God,  hated  the  devil,  and  feared  not  the  face 
of  man.  We  have  seen  them  as  they  fell,  and  worthy 
sons,  our  fathers  still,  strode  sturdily  on  in  the  path  made 
sacred  by  their  footsteps. 

But  this  moving  panorama  of  life  and  event  has  not 
been  the  pastime  of  an  idle  evening.  The  present  age  is 
painted  upon  the  same  canvas,  which  is  rolling  still,  and 
waiting  only  the  index  of  a  future  delineator.  The  pres- 
ent is  bound  to  the  past  by  its  very  existence,  and  the 
highway  of  progress  in  Avhich  the  generation  of  to-day 
walk,  is  but  the  continuation  of  the  first  path  trod  by  pil- 
grim feet.  The  past  is  our  past.  Its  noble  lessons,  its 
high  experience,  its  glories  and  its  honors  are  ours  by  le- 
gitimate inheritance  ;  and,  while  we  exult  in  them  and  are 
jjroud  of  them,  we  should  poorly  do  them  honor  did  we 
fail  to  recognize  and  act  upon  the  principles  from  which 
they  sprung.  History  is  but  the  demonstrator  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  register  of  Providence,  and  could  the 
shades  of  those  who  have  gone  before,  return  to  the  scene 
of  their  former  toils  and  trials,  they  would  see,  (what  they 
have  already  seen  in  a  brighter  light,)  in  the  churches,  the 
schools,  the  rail.ways,  the  manufactories,  the  fertile  valleys 


A 


CONCLUSION.  331 

and  hills,  and,  above  all,  in  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  an  educated  and  progressive  community,  such  an  expla- 
nation and  justification  of  all  their  adversities  and  afflic- 
tions, as  would  crown  their  kingly  old  faitli  with  a  never 
dying  joy.  With  a  vision  thus  informed,  there  would  not 
be  a  page  of  their  history  on  which  they  could  not  see  the 
print  of  God's  finger,  and  not  a  leaf — even  the  most  bloody 
— that  was  not  illuminated  by  the  seal  of  providential 
mercy.  For  they  would  see  that  to-day  is  but  the  child 
of  yesterday, — that  the  present  is  but  the  daughter  of  the 
past,  and  that  pain  is  only,  though  evermore,  the  incident 
of  matei'nity.  They  would  see  that  the  wealth  of  bles- 
sings enjoyed  by  their  large  posterity  is,  in  God's  great 
economy,  but  the  legitimate  result  of  the  ti-ials  they  en- 
dured, the  toils  they  sustained,  the  blood  they  shed,  and  the 
painful  struggles  they  put  forth ;  and  that,  without  those 
sacrifices,  there  now  would  be  effeminacy  in  the  place  of 
manhood,  darkness  in  the  place  of  light,  vice  in  the  place 
of  vii'tue,  poverty  in  the  place  of  prosperity,  and  contempt 
for  God  and  Christianity  where  now,  even  Sabbath  silence 
is  eloquent  witli  the  language  of  honor  and  veneration. 

What  the  fathers  would  thus  see,  every  true  son  cannot 
fail  to  see,  and  seeing,  he  cannot  but  do  honor  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  past  by  abiding  to  its  glories,  day  by  day,  and 
thus  blessing  the  future  with  a  past  in  harmony  with  itself. 
Each  man's  thread  of  life  forms  a  portion  of  the  warp  of 
history,  and  as  the  shuttles  of  the  flying  days  tlu'ow  across 
it  their  woof  of  circumstance,  event,  influence,  interest, 
love  and  common  weal,  the  fabric  should  grow  stronger 
and  more  beautiful,  until,  when  the  end  approaches,  it  shall 
be  all  gold,  fit  to  form  the  crown  of  a  Colossal  Past,  draped 
in  the  harmoniously  descending  folds  of  a  history  com- 
plete. 


PAET  II. 

THE    GEOLOGY, 
AGRICULTURE,  RAILROADS,  NEWSPAPERS, 

-AND 

EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS 

OP 

WESTERN   MASSACHUSETTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Geology  of  Western  JIassachusetts. 

In  looking;  at  the  geology  of  "Western  Massachusetts,  we 
at  once  divide  it  into  two  portions,  as  has  been  done  in  the 
outline  history — that  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  Berk- 
shire County.  This  seems  a  natural  division,  since  the 
geological  characteristics  of  each  are  so  decidedly  differ- 
ent, and  since  the  mineral  products  are  so  much  more  ex- 
tensive in  the  one  than  in  the  other.  But  this  is  not  abso- 
lutely correct ;  for  in  neither  of  these  sections  can  we 
fail  to  find  objects  of  scientific  interest,  and  in  each  are 
found  mines,  quarries,  and  other  mineral  products,  of  no 
small  value  and  extent.  Instead,  therefore,  of  adopting 
this  more  comprehensive  and  general  plan,  it  is  proposed 
to  substitute  one  which  will  bring  to  notice  the  more  inter- 
esting facts  in  a  concise  form,  and  one  more  easily  under- 
stood.    This  is  as  follows  : 

First. — An  outline  of  the  geological  formations 

IN  THIS  TAUT  OF  THE  StATE. 

Second. — Theoretical  Geology. 

Third. — Matters  of  economical  value. 

Fourth. — Places  of   scenographical  be^lUty  and 

SUBLIMITY. 

The  prevailing  and  almost  the  only  rock  found  hi  the 
Eastern  portions  of  Franklin,  Hampshire  and  Hampden 
counties,  is  the  Gneiss,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  wrongly 
called,  Granite.  This,  in  its  composition,  is  the  same  as 
Granite,  although  the  arrangement  of  its  ingredients  is 
quite  different ;  they  being  arranged  in  strata,  or  layers,  in 
Gneiss,  while  they  are  confusedly  mixed  together  in  Gran- 
ite. •  Its  color  is  generally  a  light  gray,  although,  at  one 
locality,  in  this  valley,  it  lias  a  peculiar  reddish  tint.  Ex- 
amples of  this  kind  of  rock,  which  is  very  much  used  as  a 
building  material,  may  be  seen  in  the  so-called  "  Monson 
Granite,"  in  the  new  Library  Building  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege, or  in  the  piers  of  the  railroad  bridge  over  the  Deer- 
field  river,  in  the  town  of  Deerfield.     The  quarries  of  the 


<' 


336  GEOLOGY. 

Monson  stone  are  mostly  in  the  town  of  Monson,  although 
formerly  it  was  dug  to  some  extent  in  Palmer.  That  of 
which  the  Amherst  College  Library  Building  is  construct- 
ed, was  found  at  Pelham,  where  it  exists  in  great  quanti- 
ties, and  of  a  most  excellent  quality.  But  that  of  which 
the  Connecticut  River  railroad  bridge  at  Deerfield  is  built, 
was  quan-ied  at  Northfield,  which,  it  is  safe  to  predict,  will 
be  in  gi'eat  demand  when  the  taste  and  means  to  construct 
stone  edifices  in  greater  abundance  than  at  present  shall 
require  its  use.  This  rock  is  found  in  great  abundance  in 
the  central  portions  of  Massachusetts,  and  is  really  a  beau- 
tiful building  stone,  which  cannot  fail  to  attract  the  eye  of 
an  ordinary  observer,  if  it  be  merely  in  the  fresh  surfaces 
that  are  exposed  in  a  newly-laid  stone  fence. 

The  most  plausible  theory  jiroposed  to  account  for  the 
formation  of  this  rock,  is,  that  it  is  a  metamorphic  rock,  or, 
in  other  words,  one  that  has  been  altered  or  changed  from 
another  condition,  by  heat.  This  supposes  that  the  Gneiss 
was  originally  deposited  as  a  sand-stone — of  course,  much 
earlier  than  the  now  existing  sand-stone  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Valley — which  contained  fossils,  both  animals  and  plants, 
but  which,  owing  to  an  intense  heat,  has  been  so  nearly 
melted  as  to  destroy  its  organic  remains,  but  not  all  marks 
of  stratification.  And  this,  cooling  from  such  a  tempera- 
ture, and  under  so  great  pressure,  would,  when  completely 
cooled  down,  become  a  crystalline,  instead  of  a  sedimen- 
tary rock.  We  find  the  Gneiss  as  far  West  as  the  towns 
which  constitute  the  proper  Eastern  boundary  of  the  Con- 
necticut valley,  and  then  we  lose  sight  of  it,  until  we  have 
passed  fairly  to  the  Western  border  of  this  valley,  when  it 
again  appears.  The  width  of  this  valley,  interposed  be- 
tween the  walls  of  the  Gneiss,  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
miles, — the  nearest  portions  being  between  Wilbraham  and 
Granville,  which  are  about  twenty  miles  apart. 

If  we  follow  the  general  direction  of  the  Connecticut 
River  through  Massachusetts,  and  allow  a  space  of  from 
four  to  eight  miles  on  each  side  of  the  river  through  its 
whole  course,  save  from  Northfield  into  New  Hampshire, 
where  the  width  is  not  more  than  one  mile — we  shall  have 
a  very  general  outline  of  the  area  occupied  by  the  I^ew 
Red  Sand-stone  Formation.  The  average  thickness  of 
this  formation  is  fourteen  thousand  feet,  being  four  thou- 

V 


GEOLOGY.  837 

sand  more  than  at  the  mouth  of  Miller's  river,  where  it 
has  been  lately  measured  by  President  Hitchcock.  It  is, 
for  the  most  part,  of  a  dark,  red  color,  is  stratified,  and 
consists  in  some  places  of  fine  sand  hardened  into  rock, 
and  in  others  of  coarse  gravel  and  boulders,  with  a  diame- 
ter of  four  feet,  as  may  be  seen  in  many  places  through 
the  whole  valley,  but  especially  at  a  place  a  few  miles 
South  of  the  village  of  Montague.  It  is  also  of  a  much 
later  age  than  the  Gneiss,  and  was  probably  entirely  de- 
posited from  water,  while  the  Gneiss  belongs  to  the  class 
of  metamorphic  rocks,  as  already  mentioned. 

Although  the  new  red  sandstone  of  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley has  been,  and  still  is,  regarded  by  most  Geologists  as 
only  one  distinct  formation,  yet  recent  researches  are  lead- 
ing others  to  adopt  the  opinion  that  it  is  made  up  of  at 
least  two  fomiations,  as  they  are  regarded  by  European 
Geologists.  These  are  the  Permian  and  Triassic,  and  pos- 
sibly the  Carboniferous  Systems.  If  this  is  the  case,  then 
the  lowest  portion  of  the  sandstone — about  7000  feet — con- 
stitutes the  Permian  or  Carboniferaus  system,  while  the 
remainder  very  nearly  resembles  the  Triassic  as  found  in 
Europe.  The  reasons  for  tliis  division,  are,  from  the  fact 
that  tlie  beds  of  the  lowest  sand-stones  are  overlaid  by  tlie 
Trap,  and  are  composed,  for  the  most  part,  of  very  coarse 
materials  derived  from  other  rocks,  as  may  be  seen  in  Gill, 
JMt.  Mettawampe,  the  mouth  of  Miller's  River,  and  Dur- 
ham, Ct.  The  upper  part  is  distinguished  by  the  predom- 
inance of  very  fine  ingredients,  making  what  are  denomi- 
nated shales,  and  these  of  the  colors  black,  red,  and  gray, 
and  even  almost  white ;  and  in  this  portion  of  tlie  sand- 
stone are  found  the  tracks  and  othei'  fOssils.  It  is,  howev- 
er, still  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  this  division  be  a  cor- 
rect one,  since  during  tlie  last  summer  the  writer  has  dis- 
covered in  the  sandstone  of  this  valley,  a  fossil  plant,  a 
species  of  clathroptcris — ])erhap3  a  new  one — wliich  is 
described  as  a  characteristic  fossil  of  the  Lias  Sandstone 
of  Europe.  If  this  be  the  case,  then  it  is  possible  that, 
after  all,  the  sand-stone  of  this  vaUey  may  yet  be  classed 
as  high  up  in  the  series  as  the  Lias,  which  lies  immediate- 
ly above  the  Trias. 

The  sand-stone  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  is  considera- 
bly used  as  a  building  material,  both  on   account  of  ils  du- 
29 


338  GEOLOGY. 

rability,  unci  the  fact  that  it  is  worked  with  more  ease  than 
Granite  or  Gneiss.  It  is  also  interesting  and  important  to 
know,  that  it  works  very  much  easier  when  it  is  frozen 
quite  hard.  Tlie  quality  of  this  rock,  that  at  present  has 
been  found  in  Massachusetts,  is  for  the  most  part  of  too 
coarse  a  nature  to  be  used  in  ornamental  structures,  and 
is  used  mainly  in  constructing  foundations  for  buildings  and 
heavy  masonry.  Some  qualities,  however,  such  as  the 
rock  that  is  dug  at  a  quarry  in  Easthampton,  have  been 
hammered,  and  used  as  window  caps,  water  tables,  and 
rustics,  which  show  that  this  rock  is  not  only  a  durable 
stone,  but  also  a  very  handsome  one.  But  in  Portland, 
Ct.,  this  stone  is  quarried  to  an  immense  extent,  and  sent 
to  the  principal  cities  of  this  country,  to  be  used  both  as 
an  ornamental  and  useful  building  material ;  and  so  soft 
and  easily  worked  is  it,  that,  when  designed  for  elegant  ed- 
ifices, it  is,  by  a  curious  machine,  as  easily  brought  to  a 
smooth  and  even  surface,  as  marble  may  be,  by  the  tedious 
process  of  sawing  and  coarse  polishing.  These  interesting 
machines  will  well  repay  a  visit  to  any  of  the  stone-dress- 
ing yards  in  New  York  city. 

But,  although  we  now  can  find  no  quarries  of  this  rock 
of  the  finest  ([uality  in  this  part  of  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley, we  do  not  hesitate  to  predict  that  when  Springfield  and 
Ilolyoke  shall  have  so  increased  as  to  demand  this  hand- 
some rock  for  public  and  private  buildings,  abundant  local- 
ities will  be  discovered,  and  that  within  a  short  distance 
from  the  cities  where  they  will  be  needed.  At  present, 
the  only  localities  where  this  rock  is  dug  to  any  considera- 
ble extent,  is  one  quarry  at  Easthampton,  one  on  the 
Northeast  side  of  Mt.  I'om,  from  which  immense  quan- 
tities have  been  carried  to  Holyoke,  and  one  at  Long- 
meadow. 

In  the  midst  of  the  new  red  sand-stone,  running  in  a 
Northerly  and  Southerly  direction,  there  exists  a  very  re- 
markable formation,  quite  interesting  to  the  Geologist,  al- 
though of  but  little  practical  value  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
ti-y  at  the  present  time.  This  is  the  Greenstone,  or,  as  it  is 
more  generally  known,  Traji,  or  Basalt.  It  consists,  for 
the  most  part,  of  a  somewhat  interrupted  range  of  hills  or 
mountains,  commencing  at  the  Northern  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  extending  as  far  as  New  Haven,  East  and 


Jf 


'  GEOLOGY.  339 

West  Rock  being  its  most  Southern  place  of  appearance. 
This  rociv  is  nuiinly  composed  ol"  crystals  of  Pyroxene, 
Felds2)ar,  and  Hornblende,  is  of  a  very  dark  color,  and  is 
often  found  of  a  columnar  structure.  It  also  has  a  peculiar 
ringing  sound  when  a  fragment  of  it  is  struck  by  the  liam- 
mer,  and  is  intensely  hard,  being  one  of  the  most  diHicult 
of  all  rocks  to  remove  in  railroad  and  other  excavations. 
As  yet,  no  practical  use  is  made  of  the  Greenstone  in  por- 
tions of  Massachusetts  where  it  is  found,  probably  because 
other  rocks,  which  are  sufficiently  durable,  are  wrought  at 
a  much  less  expense,  and  are  abundant.  In  other  ])arfs 
of  the  world,  however,  it  is  extensively  used  for  macada- 
mizing roads,  and,  to  some  extent,  for  buildings  ;  an  in- 
stance of  which  is  an  Episcopal  church  in  New  Haven, 
Conn. 

If,  now,  we  construct  upon  the  map  of  the  State,  a  tri- 
angle, with  a  base  of  a  portion  of  the  Northern  boundary 
of  Massachusetts,  from  the  Western  boundary  of  Monroe 
to  tlie  center  of  Bernardston,  and  its  opposite  angle  in  the 
South-eastern  corner  of  Granville,  wc  shall  inclose  the 
greater  portion  of  the  Mica  State  in  the  Western  part  of 
Massachusetts,  as  well  as  a  belt  of  Talcose  Slate,  ruiuiins; 
from  Rowe,  in  a  Southerly  direction,  as  far  as  the  South- 
west ]iart  of  Chester.  Mica  Slate  is  composed  of  Mica  and 
Quartz,  the  former  predominating,  and  giving  to  it  a  glis- 
tening appearance,  while  the  quartz  acts  the  pai't  of  a  base, 
or  ground  work,  in  the  composition-  It  is  for  the  most 
part  of  a  dark  gray  or  brown  color,  and  frequently  studded 
with  crystals  of  Garnet,  and  Stiuirotide,  to  such  an  extent 
fliat  varieties  of  it  are  named  garnetiferous  and  stauroti- 
diferous  slate.  Its  hardness  is  below  that  of  Granite  and 
♦Syenite,  and  yd  it  is  but  little  affected  by  the  atmospliere, 
Avater,  or  frost.  No  great  use  is  made  of  it  for  building, 
save  the  heavy  work  on  railroad  piers  and  eml)ankments, 
as  well  as  ordinary  foundations.  It  is  of  considerable  use, 
however,  as  a  flagging  stone,  and  especially  so,  since  slabs 
of  it  fifteen  feet  square  may  be  easily  quarried.  The  great 
facility  of  getting  out  these  stones,  is  mainly  owing  to  the 
position  of  the  strata — nearly  vertical.  Hence  the  method 
■of  quai-rying  them  consists  simply  in  laying  bare  as  large 
tx  surface  of  the  rock  as  desirable,  and  then  drivmor  wedses 


340-  GEOLOGY. 

between  two  adjacent  strata,  over  as  large  a  surface  as  the 
size  of  the  shxb  requkes. 

The  Talcose  Slate — the  boundaries  of  which  have  al- 
ready been  given — is  not  found  in  so  great  abundance  as 
the  Mica  Slate,  although  it  extends  more  than  half  way 
across  the  State  in  a  Northerly  and  Southerly  direction, 
with  a  width  of  about  four  miles.  It  is  composed  of  talc, 
mixed  with  quartz,  and  mica,  and  sometimes  hornblende, 
and  is  generally  softer  than  mica  slate.  The  color  is  ordi- 
narily a  light  gray,  and  in  the  United  States,  is  usually  as- 
sociated with  mica  slate,  though  rarely  with  gneiss.  This 
rock  is  of  but  little  practical  value,  save  in  wide  stone 
Avails  and  foundations,  altliough  the  softer  varieties  answer 
very  well  for  ordinary  fire  stones,  such  as  the  linings  for 
conmion  furnaces,  and  the  sides  of  blacksmiths'  forges. 

The  bed  of  Gneiss  lying  "West  of  the  Connecticut  River 
may  be  easily,  though  impeifectly,  pointed  out,  by  another 
triangle,  having  for  its  base  i\\Q  Southern  boundary  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, from  Sheffield  to  the  Eastern  limit  of  South- 
wick,  and  its  apex  at  the  Northwestern  part  of  Florida. 

In  the  remaining  towns  in  the  Western  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts, are  found  no  less  than  three  distinct  geological 
formations,  the  Quartz,  Talcose  Slate,  and  Limestone,  to- 
gether with  some  small  amounts  of  Mica  Slate,  Gneiss,  and 
Alluvial.  Of  these,  however,  the  Limestone  is  the  most 
important  and  abundant,  occurring  in  every  one  of  -the 
towns  mentioned,  not  excepting  that  extreme  portion  of 
Massachusetts,  Boston  Corner — which  has  limestone  for 
its  foundation,  being  the  continuation  of  a  bed  which  ex- 
tends from  Connecticut  into  this  State. 

Limestone,  which  is  composed  of  carbonic  acid,  pure 
Lime,  and  a  small  amount  of  Silica,  is  of  various  colors, 
from  a  pure  white  to  a  jet  black,  and  is  a  stone  very  easily 
wrought,  softer  than  any  other  building  stone  unless  it  be 
Soapstone,  and  very  readily  receives  a  high  polish,  which, 
for  :i  long  time,  resists  the  action  of  air  and  water.  In 
fact,  it  is  one  of  the  most  durable  of  materials,  since  most 
of  the  very  ancient  temples  and  public  buildings  of  the 
Greeks,  Romans  and  Egyptians  which  still  exist — as  the 
pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  Parthenon,  the  temple  of  the  Ac- 
ropolis, and  a  multitude  of  others — are  constructed  of 
Limestone.     And  we  cannot  go  through  the  cities  of  mod- 


GEOLOGY.  341 

cm  Europe,  without  appreciating;  the  importance  of  Lime- 
stone or  Marble — for  Marble  is  always  Limestone,  though 
Limestone  is  not  always  Marble — in  the  construction  of 
buildings. 

Another  important  use  of  this  rock  is  to  produce  lime* 
This  may  be  obtained  from  the  poorest  limestone  by  burn- 
ing, or  driving  off  the  carbonic  acid  by  heat,  after  Avhich 
caustic  lime  remains — though  usually  contaminated^iore 
or  less  by  Silica^ — for  the  various  purposes  of  cement,  a 
cleansing  agent,  a  fertilizer  of  soils,  &c.  So  that,  when  we 
know  the  multitude  of  purposes  for  which  it  is  used,  we 
no  longer  have  cause  to  wonder  why  the  Creator  has 
formed  one-seventh  of  the  earth's  crust  of  this  material. 

Li  these  same  towns  wc  also  have  a  aluable  1)eds  of  Iron 
— the  hematite  ore,  a  hj'drous  peroxyd — which,  in  all 
probability,  is  derived  from  the  Limestone,  though  it  is  now 
regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Tertiary.  These  beds  are  of 
no  inconsiderable  extent,  as  may  be  seen  when  we  find  that 
they  extend — with  some  interruptions — from  Canada  to 
Alabama,  although  they  are  the  most  productive  in  Ver- 
mont, Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  New^  York.  Their 
value  is  also  very  great,  and  has  much  increased  within  a 
few  years,  since  the  means  of  transportation  by  railroad 
are  now  so  extensively  employed  in  that  section  of  coun- 
try. 

The  Quartz  Formation  exists  in  greater  abundance  in 
Berkshire  County  tlian  in  any  other  part  of  Massachu- 
setts. It  occurs  in  this  place  associated  with  Mica  Slate, 
although  in  other  places  in  this  State  in  company  with 
Gneiss,  and  Argillaceous  Slate.  For  the  most  part  it  is 
of  a  very  light  color — nearly  white — and  generally  of  an 
arenaceous  or  granular  character,  though  sometimes  it  is 
found  somewhat  stratified.  It  is  very  hard,  but  can  be 
much  more  readily  drilled  than  the  Trap,  and,  of  course, 
more  readily  removed  in  excavations.  Almost  the  only 
use,  of  any  special  importance,  that  is  made  of  this  rock, 
is  to  form  fire-stoncs,  which  are  much  more  durable  than 
those  of  Talcose  Slate.  Some  varieties  are  used  as  hearths 
in  Iron  Furnaces,  which  require  the  very  best  of  this  arti- 
cle, since  nearly  every  kind  gives  way,  or  crumbles,  by  the 
very  intense  heat. 

Serpentine  is  another  formation  tliat   deserves  a  passing 
29*  v         - 


343  GEOLOGY. 

notice,  at  least.     This  is  "  a  mottled  rock,  the  predominant 
color  green,  and  containing  about  forty  per  cent,  of  mag- 
nesia."    It  generally  occurs  in  connection  -with  hornblende 
slate,   and  in  many  of  the  largest    soapstoue  quarries  in 
New  England,  is  found  immediately  above  or  below  the 
soapstoue.     In   some  places,  it  bears  marks   of  stratifica- 
tion, and  hence  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  metamorphic 
rocks.     Serpentine  has  been  quarried  and  worked  to  some 
extent  as  an  ornamental  rock  for  mantles,  table  and  coun- 
ter tops,  and  other  similar  uses.     Its  liardness  is  from  3  to 
4,  while  marble  is  from  2  to  3 ;  but,  as  it  receives  an  ex- 
cellent polish,  and  is  more   enduring  than  marble,  it  fully 
compensates  for  its  greater  liardness  and  difficulty  of  work- 
ing.    At    Cavendish — Proctorsville — Vt.,    this    rock    was 
once  quarried,  and  the  business  of  polishing  carried  on  to 
a  considerable  extent,  and  for  a  time  it  was  in  very  good  re- 
pute ;  but,   for  several  years,  the  quarries  have  lain  un- 
worked,  the  mill  gone  to  decay,  and  the  property  all  dis- 
posed of  for  a  mere  trifle,  owing  to  the  slight  demand  for 
the  material.     But  it  is  impossible  to  see  why  this  stone  is 
not  extensively  used  for  ornamental  purposes,  for  surely  it 
is  of  a  much   richer  color,  and  far  more  attractive  than 
many  kinds  of  marble,  which  are  used  for  the  same  pur- 
poses.    And  it  is  no  vain  prediction  to  assert  that,  sooner 
or  later,  it  will  be  used,  not  merely  as  a  fancy  stone   to 
please  the   eye  wlien  polished  and  carefully  wrought,  but 
also  as  a  substantial  rock  for  many  economical  purposes. 
It  is  also  possible  that  a  caution  of  some  value  may  be  sug- 
gested to  those  who  have  beds  of  this  rock  in  their  posses- 
sion, and  that  is,  not  to  dispose  of,  or  rent,  any  quarries  of 
Serpentine   at  too  cheap   a  rate,   merely  because  hereto- 
fore it  has  not  been   worked  at  an   advantage  and  witli 
profit. 

Besides  the  formations  just  described,  we  find  several 
others  on  the  Geological  Map  of  Western  Massachusetts, 
altliough  most  of  them  are  of  small  extent,  and  of  but  lit- 
tle economical  importance.  With  the  exception  of  soap- 
stone  and  argillaceous  slate,  to  be  mentioned  in  another 
place,  the  formation  Alluvium  will  be  the  only  other  one 
mentioned  here.  This  we  are  familiar  with,  as  loam,  or 
rich,  fertile  soil.  It  lies  above  all  the  other  formations, 
and  hence  it  is  the  most  recent  of  all  the  rocks  belonging 


GEOLOGY.  343 

to  the  Historic  Period  of  Geology.  Alluvium  exists 
in  several  places  along  the  banks  of  the  larger  rivers, 
producing  the  splendid  meadows  of  Iladley,  Nortliampton, 
Deerfield,  Shetlield,  Great  Barrington  and  StockbridgL-. 
In  most  cases,  these  have  been  produced  by  the  deposition 
of  fine  mud  and  vegetable  mould,  at  the  bottom  of  some 
large  pond  or  lake,  which  once  stood  over  what  are  now 
these  meadows,  but  wdiich  was  drained  by  the  breaking 
away  of  some  barrier,  or  the  rise  of  the  continent  by  some 
mighty  upheaval. 

THEORETICAL    GEOLOGY. 

Among  the  vax'ious  objects  of  scientific  interest  in  the 
Western  part  of  Massachusetts,  The  cJianges  which  the 
Connecticut  Valley  has  undergone  during  its  formation, 
occupy  an  important  place.  Far  back  in  Geological  peri- 
ods, (for  the  Geologist  can  assign  dates  only  by  periods, 
and  not  by  single  years,)  this  valley  was  only  a  long  and 
narrow  estuary,  extending  from  the  Southern  part  of  Con- 
necticut, to  the  Northern  part  of  Massachusetts,  with  an 
average  width  of  eight  miles.  At  tliat  time,  this  part  of 
the  continent,  at  least,  was  more  under  the  ocean  than  at 
present — for,  otherwise,  we  cannot  see  how  the  ocean  could 
flow  inland  so  far — and  probably  tlie  ocean  gradually  with- 
drew, or  the  continent  arose,  during  the  deposition  of  the 
whole  of  the  sandstone.  The  bottom  and  the  shores  of 
this  estuary  were  mostly  made  up  of  the  non-fossiliferous 
rocks — gneiss,  and  mica  slate,  the  former  making  the  East- 
ern shore,  and  the  latter  the  Western,  wliile  both  together 
made  the  floor  or  foundation,  they  dipping  so  as  to  meet 
deep  beneath  the  sandstone.  At  tliis  time,  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  sandstone,  the  Trap,  or  llolyuke  range,  had  not 
erupted,  as  we  find  it  at  a  later  period  of  this  history. 

The  questions  that  now  very  naturally  meet  us,  are  :  how 
was  this  immense  bed  of  sandstone  formed,  from  whence 
were  tlie  materials  obtained,  and  how  came  they  to  be  de- 
posited to  tlie  depth  of  many  thousand  feet,  in  the  well  ar- 
ranged order  that  we  find  them?  Without  doubt  the  time 
required  to  eifect  all  this  must  have  been  immense ;  for  the 
rock  was  probably  formed  by  the  slow  wearing  away  of  the 
suri'ounding  non-fossiliferous  rocks,  by  the  action  of  frost, 
ice,  and  water,  and  carried  by  the  streams  into  this  quiet 
estuary,  to  be  there  deposited  and  ultimately  liardened  into 


344  GEOLOGY. 

the  new  red  sandstone.  This  formation  bears  no  evidence 
of  any  violent  action — except  in  limited  portions — such  as 
that  of  glaciers,  and  icebergs,  but  was  all  produced  by  the 
bringing  in  of  sand  and  gravel,  by  the  agency  of  small 
streams  and  rivers,  although  some  of  its  materials  might 
have  been  made  by  former  glaciers  and  icebei'gs. 

Thus  slowly  went  on  the  filling  up  of  this  valley.  At 
one  time,  the  shore  was  covered  to  some  extent  with  vefr- 
etation ;  again,  fishes  swam  in  its  waters,  and  left  their 
bodies  embalmed  in  the  solid  rock,  to  be  the  admiration  of 
the  Naturalist,  and  to  adorn  the  shelves  of  public  and  pri- 
vate cabinets ;  while,  at  other  periods,  birds  innumerable, 
grotesque  and  various  in  size,  from  the  Brontozooum  gigan- 
teum,  whose  stride  was  from  three  to  six  feet,  to  the  Pla- 
typtenna  delicatula,  whose  step  was  only  three  inches,  peo- 
pled these  shores,  accompanied  by  Lizards  and  Batrachi- 
ans,  some  of  which,  and  especially  one  biped  frog,  could 
make  a  track  more  than  twenty  inches  in  length,  while 
others  were  distinguished  not  so  much  by  the  size  of  the 
track,  as  by  their  peculiar  shape  ;  leaving  the  Naturalist 
to  conjecture  whether  the  animal  which  made  it  could  be 
classed  under  the  lizards,  birds,  or  tortoises. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  period  occupied  in  the  de- 
position of  the  sandstone,  another  formation  intruded  itself, 
and  that,  not  by  the  means  of  quiet  deposition  from  water, 
but  through  the  agency  of  intense  heat,  assisted  by  an  im- 
mense earthquake,  or  a  mighty  volcanic  eruption.  This 
was  the  formation  of  the  Trap,  exhibiting  itself  in  mural 
precipices,  but  not  a  continuous  range  of  hills,  from  North- 
field,  Massachusetts,  to  New  Haven,  Ct.  It  is  a  difficult 
question  to  decide  whether  this  Avas  the  lava,  or  melted 
matter,  ejected  by  some  mighty  eruption,  of  which  the  out- 
let was  an  immense  fissure,  extending  the  whole  length  of 
this  formation,  or  whether  it  was  melted  rock,  spread  out 
under  the  ocean,  which  was  erupted  in  some  other  manner, 
and  from  some  different  crater,  or  outlet.  There  are  one 
or  two  localities,  however,  which,  by,  the  peculiar  charac- 
ter of  the  rock,  seem  conclusively  to  show,  that  it  was 
formed  by  melted  matter,  poured  out  under  water,  upon 
the  sandstone.  An  example  of  this  peculiar  kind  of  rock, 
which  is  termed  "  volcanic  grit,"  may  be  seen  near  the 
Northeastern  part  of  Mt.  Tom,  and  close  by  the  Connecti- 


GEOLOGY.  345 

cut  River  railroad,  wliich  is  precisely  the  same  product 
that  we  should  expect,  were  we  to  pour  a  mass  of  melted 
rock  upon  sandstone  under  water,  which  did  not  entirely 
melt  the  pebhles,  and  coarse  grains  of  sand. 

The  general  direction  of  the  strata  of  the  Connecticut 
River  sandstone,  is  Northeast,  and  Southwest,  with  a  dip 
varying  from  20  to  50  deg.  East,  in  its  Northern  portions. 
The  dip  of  the  whole  formation,  also,  is  found  to  be  at  a 
much  higlier  angle  on  the  Western,  than  the  Eastern  side 
of  the  valley.  The  question,  then,  that  naturally  forces  it- 
self upon  us,  is  :  what  has  produced  any  inclination  in  these 
strata,  and  why  is  the  greater  dip  on  the  "Western  side? 
It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  mica  slate  on  the 
"West,  and  the  gneiss  on  the  East,  dip  under  the  sandstone, 
and  probably  meet  beneath  it,  somewhere  near  t!ie  middle 
of  the  formation.  It  is  also  found  that  the  mica  slate  dips 
under  the  sandstone  at  a  greater  angle  than  does  the  gneiss 
on  the  opposite  side.  If,  now,  it  can  be  supposed — as  some 
maintain — that  the  sandstone  might  have  been  deposited 
upon  the  mica  slate  as  it  now  exists, — a  steep  inclined 
plane — then  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  this  estuary  which  has 
been  mentioned,  could  deposit  its  sand  and  mud  upon  tliis 
non-fossiliferous  rock,  (which  dips  at  an  angle  ranging  from 
45  to  90  deg.)  though  at  a  smaller  angle  than  the  mica 
slate,  as  is  found  to  be  the  case  when  the  dip  lias  been 
measured.  Were  this  the  true  state  of  the  case,  why 
should  we  not  also  find  the  sandstone  on  the  Eastern  siile 
dipping  Westerly,  although  it  would  be  at  a  much  smaller 
angle  ?  A  more  plausible  theory  supposes  that  at  the  pe- 
riod of  the  deposition  of  the  sandstone,  the  mica  slate  and 
gneiss  were  much  more  nearly  horizontal  in  tlieir  layers 
than  at  present,  and  after  the  whole  formation  was  depos- 
ited, some  powerful  agency,  acting,  for  the  most  part,  from 
the  West,  bent  upwards  the  mica  slate  and  the  sandstone, 
which  produced  the  Easterly  dip.  This  theory  derives 
strength  from  the  fact  that  we  have  evidence  of  some 
mighty  power,  which  has  acted  either  Easterly  or  Wester- 
ly, or  possibly  in  both  directions  through  tlie  whole  of  the 
United  States,  forming  an  immense  plication  or  folded  axis 
^of  all  the  strata,  being  the  greatest  part  of  the  Apalachiaa 
chain  of  Mountains,  which  run  in  a  Northeasertly  and  South- 
westerly direction   through   the    Eastern   portion   of   the 


346  GEOLOGY. 

United  States.  Since,  then,  we  have  evidence  that  some 
mighty  power  has  acted  in  the  Western  part  of  Massachu- 
setts, with  such  lateral  force  as  to  double  the  strata  upon 
themselves,  and  form  the  Green  Mountain  range,  may  Ave 
not  plainly  infer  that  the  Eastern  dip  of  the  mica  slate  and 
sandstone  was  effected  by  the  same  cause  ?  And  especially 
does  this  seem  probable,  when  we  know  that  tlie  strike,  or 
direction  of  the  strata  of  both  these  rocks,  is  the  same  as 
the  general  direction  of  the  Apalachian  chain. 

If  we  have  thus  far  intelligibly  explained  some  of  the 
earlier  important  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  this  val- 
ley, we  now  come  to  consider  another  of  its  great  changes, 
which  has  occurred  subsequently  to  those  already  men- 
tioned. This  is  one  that  has,  geologically  speaking,  taken 
place  very  recently,  although  ages  before  man  begun  his 
existence  on  the  earth.  At  that  time,  instead  of  a  valley, 
such  as  now  exists,  the  sandstone  filled  up  this  whole  area, 
at  least  to  the  present  height  of  Mt.  Mettawampe  and 
Sugar  Loaf,  while  the  hills  of  Pelham  and  Leverett  on  the 
one  hand,  and  Chesterfield  on  the  other,  only  slightly  lifted 
themselves  up,  to  show  the  limits  of  this  valley,  as  it  exists 
at  the  present  time.  At  the  same  time,  the  Northern  part 
of  this  continent  was  covered  with  water  to  the  depth  of 
about  five  thousand  feet,  as  is  seen  by  the  grooves  and 
markings  on  the  rocks  of  the  White  Mountains ;  they  be- 
ing visible  up  to  the  hight  of  about  five  tliousand  feet,  but  no 
higher,  thus  making  at  that  time,  the  summit  of  Mt.  Wash- 
ington, a  solitary  island  in  the  midst  of  tliis  immense  ocean 
of  ice  and  water.  About  the  same  time,  probably  by  a 
change  in  the  climate,  this  ocean  was  almost  entirely  con- 
verted into  ice,  or,  at  least,  so  large  a  portion  of  it,  that 
immense  icebergs  and  glaciers  were  formed,  which  were 
swept  over  the  surface  by  a  power  which  as  yet  is  unac- 
counted for,  grinding  and  rasping  it  up,  and  urging  forward 
the  fragments.  Tliis  force  acted  almost  without  exception 
in  a  direction  from  North  to  South,  as  is  proved  by  the 
marks  and  striai  found  on  most  of  the  rocks  of  this  valley, 
Avhich  do  not  readily  decompose  by  exposure  to  the  air 
and  moisture,  and  also  because  we  find  the  Northern  sides 
of  all  the  hills  and  mountains  in  New  England — with  a  • 
very  few  exceptions — rounded  and  smoothed,  while  the 
Southern  slopes  are  generally  more  or  less  uneven,  or,  as 


GEOLOGY.  347 

they  would  appear,  had  no  such  agency  acted  upon  them 
^ince  their  original  formation. 

Thus,  then,  it  probably  was,  that  the  whole  of  this  val- 
ley was  hollowed  out,  and  prejDared  for  the  residence  of 
man.  For  years,  decades,  and  ages,  this  force  must  have 
progressed — tearing,  grinding,  and  pulverizing  the  solid 
rocks,  until  it  had  smoothed  away  some  of  the  rugged 
hills,  and  covered  them,  as  well  as  filled  up  the  valleys, 
Avitli  a  soil  upon  which  might  live  the  last  and  most  per- 
fect creation  of  vegetable  and  animal  existence. 

But  Mt.  Holyokc  and  its  range  of  hills  etfectually  resist- 
ed tliis  violence.  They  seemed  to  exist  as  if  in  defiance 
of  this  power,  (although  they  show  symptoms  of  most  tre- 
mendous grinding  and  wearing,)  for  their  upper  portions 
are  made  of  tluit  most  invincible  and  unyielding  of  all 
rocks — the  Trap — which  Engineers  always  strive  to  their 
utmost  to  avoid,  in  making  excavations  for  raikoads  and 
other  public  works. 

The  last  geological  change  which  has  taken  place  in  this 
valley  (besides  the  ordinary  action  of  water,  frost  and  air, 
which  are  i-eckoncd  as  geological  changes,)  previous  to  the 
existence  of  the  present  fauna  and  tlora,  was  the  emerg- 
ence, and  gradual  rise  of  it,  as  well  as  a  large  part  of  this 
continent  from  the  ocean.  The  evidence  of  such  a  change 
exists  in  the  deposits  of  soil  and  sand  beds  in  those  places 
Avhere  we  know  they  could  not  have  been  deposited  by  the 
drift  agency,  and,  above  all,  by  the  beautiful  alluvial  ter- 
races which  we  see  upon  the  banks  of  many  rivers, 
throughout  the  United  States,  which  were  probably  pro- 
duced by  the  wearing  or  bursting  away  of  successive  bai'- 
riers,  as  the  continent  gradually  arose  from  tlie  ocean. 

Another  object  of  scientific  interest  may  be  found  in  the 
foot-marks  of  the  Connecticut  Valley.  These  are  pecu- 
liarly interesting,  since  they  open  a  new  field  in  Geology, 
and  lead  to  the  establishment  of  great  principles,  which 
would  appear  incredible  from  so  trivial  and  apparently  un- 
important circumstances.  This  interesting  class  of  fossils 
is  ibund  in  tlie  upper  portions  of  the  sandstone  of  the  Con- 
necticut Valley,  in  nearly  thirty  localities,  from  the  town 
of  Gill  in  Massachusetts,  to  Middletown,  Ct.,  a  distance  of 
eighty  miles,  and  generally  in  localities  near  the  river. 
They  are  almost  always  in  the  finer  qualities  of  the  sand- 


348  GEOLOGY. 

stone,  and  hence  in  tlie  Trias,  and  in  certain  layers  of  the 
rock,  several  feet  frequently  intervening  between  these 
layers. 

In  a  description  of  these  foot-marks  by  President  Hitch- 
cock of  Amherst,  and  published  as  a  part  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  for 
1848,  he  reckoned  forty-nine  species  as  then  discovered  ; 
but  since  that  time  six  or  eight  new  ones  have  been  dis- 
covered, but  not  described,  making  in  all,  at  present,  about 
fifty-seven,  which  number  will  doubtless  be  greatly  in- 
creased, as  new  quarries  are  opened,  and  their  contents 
examined  by  other  scientific  inquirers  on  this  subject. 
■  Most  of  these  tracks  were  made  by  birds,  and  hence  the 
name  given  to  this  branch  of  Natural  History  when  first 
brought  to  notice  was  Ornithicnites,  or  Bird  Tracks.  But 
further  researches  have  shown  that,  although  most  of  them 
were  by  birds,  yet  Quadrupeds,  Frogs,  and  Salamandei-s, 
also  left  their  indelible  tx'aces  on  the  mud  of  the  primeval 
Connecticut  Valley,  as  well  as  other  animals  who  made 
their  footprints,  to  the  great  wonder  and  amazement  of 
Naturalists,  as  to  what  division  of  the  animal  kingdom  they 
could  belong.  An  attempt  to  describe  the  animals  who 
have  immortalized  themselves  on  the  everlasting  monu- 
ments of  this  valley,  should  be  made  only  by  one  well  ac- 
quainted with  comparative  anatomy ;  and  yet,  with  little 
of  the  imaginative,  and  still  less  of  the  scientific,  we  may, 
with  tolei'able  certainty,  make  out  a  description  that  will 
give  us  a  general  outline  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  this 
valley.  This  has  already  been  done  by  Dr.  Hitchcock,  in 
his  history  of  these  footmarks : — 

"  Now  I  have  seen,  in  scientific  vision,  an  apterous  bird, 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high — nay  large  flocks  of  them — 
walking  over  the  muddy  surface,  followed  by  many  others  of 
an  analogous  character,  but  of  smaller  size.  Next  comes  a 
biped  animal,  a  bird,  perhaps,  with  a  foot  and  heel  nearly  two 
feet  long.  Then  a  host  of  lesser  bipeds,  formed  on  the  same 
general  type  ;  and  among  them  several  quadrupeds  with  dis- 
proportioned  feet,  yet  many  of  them  stilted  high,  while  others 
are  crawling  along  the  surface,  with  sprawling  limbs.  Next 
succeeds  the  huge  Polemarch,  leading  along  a  tribe  of  lesser 
followers,  with  heels  of  great  length,  and  armed  with  spurs. 
But  the  greatest  wonder  of  all  comes  in  the  shape  of  a  biped 
batrachiaUj  with  feet  twenty  inches  long.     We  have  heard  of 


GEOLOGY.  849 

the  Labyrinthodon  of  Europe — a  frog  as  large  a«  an  ox,  but 
his  feet  were  only  six  or  eight  inches  long — a  mere  pigmy 
compared  with  the  Olozoum  of  New  England.  Behind  hira 
there  trips  along,  on  unequal  feet,  a  group  of  small  lizards  and 
Salamandrid(B^  with  trifid,  or  quadrifid  feet.  Beyond,  half 
seen  amid  the  darknes.s,  there  move  along  animals  so  strange 
that  they  can  hardly  be  brought  within  the  types  of  existing 
organization.  Strange,  indeed,  is  this  menagerie  of  remote 
sandstone  days ;  and  the  privilege  of  gazing  upon  it.  and  of 
bringing  into  view  one  lost  form  after  another,  has  been  an 
ample  recompense  for  my  efforts,  though  they  should  be  re- 
warded by  no  other  fruit." 

One  or  two  very  instructive  les>:ons  present  themselves 
so  strikingly  upon  a  consideration  of  this  subject,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  forbear  their  mention.  One  is,  the  value  of 
trijles  ;  for  what  can  seem  of  more  trivial  importance  than 
the  impression  of  a  foot  in  mud,  or  wet  sand,  liable  to  be 
effaced  by  the  smallest  wave,  or  the  pattering  of  a  shower  ? 
And  yet,  these  fossils  aid  us  to  arrive  at  conclusions  which 
are  of  immense  importance  in  deciding  the  position  of  the 
sandstone,  and  especially  the  upi)er  portions  of  it,  and  also 
in  fixing  on  the  earliest  period  of  the  existence  of  birds  on 
the  earth.  They  also  teach  hifmiUhj.  For,  while  man 
has  been  striving,  ever  since  he  has  had  an  existence,  to 
write  liis  name  so  indelibly  that  posterity  may  see  and  read 
it,  these  birds,  these  reptiles,  nay  these  very  worms,  with- 
out even  a  thought,  have  left  more  enduring  mementoes  of 
themselves,  than  chisel  could  ever  imprint  upon  marble,  or 
monuments  of  brass  and  iron. 

"Reptiles  and  birds,  a  problem  ye  have  solved 
Man  never  has — to  leave  a  trace  on  earth 
Too  deep  for  time  and  fate  to  wear  away." 

Of  the  fossils  in  Massachusetts,  aside  from  the  tracks  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley,  this  State  has  but  little  to  boast. 
And  even  the  bones  of  the  animals  which  nuide  these 
tracks,  as  yet,  are  nowhere  to  be  found,  leaving  quite  an 
enigma  to  the  geologist  for  solution.  Several  years  ago, 
however,  a  few  fos.<il  bones  were  found  in  tlu^  sandstone, 
which  were  believed  by  those  who  saw  them  to  be  those 
of  birds,  but,  before  their  characters  were  determined,  ])y 
a  sad  accident  they  were  lost,  and  naturalists  are  still  in 
the  same  darkness  with  regard  to  them.     It  was  reported. 


850  GEOLOGY. 

a  few  years  since,  while  the  dam  was  being  constructed 
across  the  Connecticut  at  Ilolyoke,  that  a  skeleton  of  a 
large  animal  was  found  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation. 
But  examination  proved  it  to  be  only  ripple  marks  instead 
of  ribs — remains  of  old  ocean  on  the  sandy  shores  of  this 
valley,  and  not  of  a  saurian,  one  of  its  inhabitants.  But, 
although  the  remains  of  birds  and  reptiles  are  so  extreme- 
ly rare — save  in  their  tracks — yet  the  Fishes  are  left  in  a 
most  perfect  state  of  preservation.  At  Sunderland,  Deer- 
field,  Chicopee,  AVest  Springfield  and  South  liadley,  these 
fossils  have  been  found,  in  a  black  shale,  which  is,  possibly, 
the  Trias.  And  so  closely  do  these  specimens  resemble 
similar  fossils  of  a  famous  locality  in  Germany,  that  when 
some  of  our  specimens  were  sent  to  European  naturalists, 
they  firmly  believed  that  they  must  originally  have  been 
sent  from  Germany,  and,  either  by  accident  or  design,  re- 
turned again  across  the  ocean.  But  two  genera  as  yet 
have  been  described,  the  Palajoniscus,  and  Eurynotus,  of 
which  Agassiz  describes  about  a  dozen  species,  although 
many  more  remain  to  be  described.  These  fossils  are  very 
rare,  not  being  even  so  abundant  as  the  tracks,  for  unfor- 
tunately they  have  been  found  in  but  a  few  localities,  and 
these  have  not  been  in  quarries  where  the  rock  is  dug  out 
for  economical  purposes;  and  at  Sunderland,  the  most  pro- 
ductive locality,  they  occur  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
so  low  down  in  the  strata,  that  they  can  be  got  out  only  at 
very  low  Avater.  But,  fortunately  for  science,  a  large 
amount  of  these  fishes,  as  well  as  the  tracks  of  this  valley, 
Avere  collected  by  tlie  late  Dexter  Marsh  of  Greenfield, 
Mass.,  and  these  in  the  best  state  of  preservation.  This 
collection  has  been  visited,  during  the  few  years  past,  by  a 
great  number  of  persons  from  different  parts  of  this  coun- 
try, as  well  as  from  abroad.  On  account  of  the  death  of 
its  ])roprietor,  it  was  sold  at  auction  in  September,  1853, 
and  hence  distributed  to  various  parts  of  the  country,  al- 
though mostly  to  public  collections.  The  loss  of  this  man 
to  science  was  very  great,  since  he  combined  in  himself 
the  rare  qualities  of  a  pei'severing  and  untiring  laborer  in 
Avhatever  he  undertook,  a  very  respectable  acquaintance 
Avith  science  for  a  man  of  his  circumstances,  and  the  skill 
to  remove  from  the  quarry,  and  prepare  for  examination, 


GEOLOGY.  851 

large  slabs  of  rock  containing  tracks  and  fishes,  which 
are  the  most  difTicult  specimens  to  collect  for  a  cabinet. 

In  the  lower  beds  of  the  new  red  sandstone,  a  great 
abundance  of  marine  vegetables  has  been  discovered,  and 
a  few  in  the  uj)per  beds,  along  with  the  terrestrial  plants. 
They  are,  however,  mostly  of  that  low  type  of  the  fu- 
coids,  which  are  only  made  out  with  considei'able  difRculty. 
One  remarkable  locality  of  large  specimens  of  these  plants, 
is  in  the  Northern  part  of  the  village  of  Greenfield,  where 
they  may  be  found  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and 
from  five  to  six  feet  in  length.  These  plants  liave  not  been 
studied  very  carefully,  as  yet,  so  that  we  may  hope  at  some 
future  time  to  have  more  perfect  knowledge  concerning 
them.  At  Bcrnardston,  also,  some  marine  fossils  (ani- 
mals) called  Encrinites,  have  been  discovered  in  a  small 
bed  of  limestone,  which  throws  important  light  upon  the 
position  of  the  bed,  proving  it  metamorphic  and  compara- 
tively receni,  although  lying  beneatli  the  sandstone. 

The  "Western  portion  of  Massachusetts  is  more  abund- 
antly supplied  with  minerals  than  with  fossils,  from  the 
abundance  of  non-fossil  if  erous  rocks  in  this  quarter.  They 
are,  however,  of  no  pecuniary  value,  excepting  some  of 
the  ores,  nor  always  the  most  splendid  and  attractive,  al- 
though many  of  them  are  extremely  rare.  Of  the  valua- 
ble gems,  we  are  not  aware  that  this  part  of  the  State  pos- 
sesses any  wortliy  of  notice.  In  Worcester  County,  how- 
ever, just  over  the  line,  in  Royalston,  we  find  small,  but 
beautiful  aqua-marine  beryls,  the  locality  being,  in  fact, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  United  States ;  and  in 
Stiirbridge,  pyrope  garnets  are  found  in  considerable  quan- 
tities, some  of  winch  are  of  a  most  beautiful  red,  when 
handsomely  cut,  and  set  in  gold.  In  this  part  of  the 
State,  however,  quartz  and  agates  are  sometimes  found  in 
the  Trap,  which,  when  polished,  make  very  handsome  spe- 
cimens for  a  cabinet,  and  it  is  possible  that  some  of  them 
have  actually  been  used  as  gems.  The  town  which  is  the 
most  abundantly  su])plied  with  minerals  in  "Western  Mas- 
sachusetts, is,  witliout  doubt,  Chesterfield.  This,  it  will  be 
seen,  by  reference  to  the  geological  map,  lies  upon  granite 
and  mica  slate,  the  minerals  being  found  in  the  fonner. 
There  are  no  less  than  seventeen  different  species  of  well 
characterized,  and  many  of  them  rare  species,  found  here, 


352  GEOLOGY. 

among  Avhicli  are  blue  and  red  tourmaline,  rose  beryl,  gar- 
net, smoky  quartz,  staurotide,  spodumene,  tin  ore,  colum- 
bite,  and  uranite. 

In  Goshen,  also,  wliieli  we  shall  see  lies  geologically  in 
the  same  position  as  the  last  mentioned  place,  we  find  a 
large  number  of  interesting  species,  most  of  which  are  the 
same  as  in  Chesterfield — which  we  should  expect  from  the 
similarity  of  the  geological  position.  And,  from  the  fact 
that  tin  has  been  folind  in  these  two  localities,  and  in  sev- 
eral otiiers  in  the  same  vicinity,  we  do  not  at  all  hesitate  to 
predict  that,  ultimately,  this  valuable  metal  will  be  found 
in  the  mica  slate,  or  granite,  which  compose  the  matrix  in 
many  mines  where  it  is  now  worked.  The  most  noted  tin 
mine  in  the  world — at  Cornwall,  England — is  worked  in 
the  granite. 

At  Southampton,  in  the  workings  carried  on  for' lead,  a 
large  number  of  rare  minerals  have  been  found,  most  of 
which  are  ores  of  lead  or  some  other  metal,  and  the  recent 
discovery  of  quite  good  crystals  of  fluor  spar  seems  to 
give  encouragement  to  pursue  excavations  for  lead  to  a 
still  greater  extent,  since,  in  mines  of  the  older  countries 
of  Europe,  this  mineral  is  found  in  connection  with  lead  in 
many  instances.  In  the  towns  of  Chester  and  Blandford, 
the  chromite  of  iron  is  found  in  considerable  quantities, 
from  which  the  oxyd  of  chrome  can  be  readily  extracted. 
As  this  is  used  very  extensively  as  a  pigment,  these  local- 
ities will  dou])tle8s,  in  the  future,  yield  no  inconsiderable 
amount  of  profit  to  their  owners. 

At  Norwich,  some  minerals  have  been  found  of  excel- 
lence and  rarity,  and  the  locality  is  quite  remarkable,  as 
being  the  only  one  in  the  world  where  certain  minerals  are 
found  crystalized.  These  minerals  are  the  spodumene  and 
triplite.  They  are  not  new  species,  but  their  crystalline 
form,  which  is  a  very  im])ortant  characteristic  of  minerals, 
could  never  before  this  be  made  out.  When  one  of  the 
spodumenes  was  shown  to  the  curator  of  mineralogy  in  the 
British  Museum,  at  London,  he  was  at  first  incredulous  as 
to  its  genuineness,  thinking  that  its  faces  were  fabricated 
by  the  saw,  or  emery  wheel,  though  it  was  given  him  by  a 
gentleman  of  strict  integrity.  These  doubts,  however,  soon 
vanished,  for,  after  giving  it  a  careful  examination,  he  was 
at  once  ready  to  make  an  otfer  of  a  guinea  for  the  single 


GEOLOGY.  853 

crystal  in  the  hands  of  the  Professor.  Both  of  these  min- 
erals are  of  a  very  ordinary  appearance,  and  would  not  at- 
tract in  the  least,  the  eye  of  a  common  observer.  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  the  locality  is  now  nearly  or 
quite  exhausted ;  although  it  is  reasonable  to  hope,  that  as 
the  same  rocks  extend  into  adjoining  towns,  further  exam- 
ination may  yet  bring  to  light  other  localities  of  these  in- 
teresting minerals. 

The  above  mentioned  localities  are  the  most  important 
in  this  portion  of  Massachusetts,  although  in  at  least  one- 
half  of  these  towns,  one  or  more  interesting  species  of 
minerals  have  been  at  one  time  or  another  described,  the 
exact  locality  in  many  instances  being  unknown,  or  forgot- 
ten. But  considering  how  small  an  amount  of  this  terri- 
tory has  been  carefully  examined,  we  can  at  once  imagine 
and  hope  for  the  acquisition,  at  some  time,  of  a  large 
amount  of  mineral  wealth  in  this  part  of  our  State. 

ECONOillCAL    GEOLOGY. 

The  mineral  products  of  Massachusetts  are  mainly 
Granite  and  Sicnitc,  Marble  and  Iron.  Besides  these, 
however.  Gneiss  and  Sandstone  are  quarried  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  Coal  is  dug  in  one  portion  of  the  state.  Lead 
promises  an  abundant  quantity,  Soapstone  exists  very 
alnmdantly,  and  Quartz,  for  lu-c  stones  and  making  glass,  is 
found  in  considerable  quantities.  The  Granite  and  Sienitc 
are,  in  most  instances,  confounded  together,  in  the  popular 
imderstanding  of  them :  as,  for  instance,  the  rock  so  gen- 
erally known  as  Quincy  Granite  is,  in  geological  terms, 
Sienite — diiFering  from  Granite  by  the  absence  of  Horn- 
blende, or  the  presence  of  mica  in  its  place.  These  rocks 
occur,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  Eastern  portions  of  ]Massa- 
chusetts,  although,  as  has  already  been  jnentioncd,  the 
Granite  is  found  on  the  Western  borders  of  the  Connec- 
ticut Valley,  and,  without  doubt,  the  stone  will  be  worked 
as  the  demand  for  it  increases. 

One  of  the  best  quarries  of  Granite  in  Massachusetts  is 
in  Fitchlnirgh,  of  which  the  Fitchburgh  Railroad  Station 
House  at  Boston  is  built.  Another  of  equally  fine  stone  is 
at  Chelmsford,  of  which  the  stone  work  of  the  addition  to 
the  Massachusetts  State  House  is  constructed.  Sienite  is 
quarried  in  many  localities  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  and, 
among  them  all,  exists  pre-eminently  the  quarry,  or  the 
30* 


354  GEOLOGY. 

sienitic  mountains,  of  Quincy.  The  quantity  which  has 
been  taken  from  this  place  is  absolutely  immense,  and  the 
locality  cannot  be  exhausted  for  centuries  to  come.  Ex- 
amples of  this  rock  will  be  found  in  abundance  in  nearly 
all  the  maritime  cities  of  this  country. 

Coming  to  the  Connecticut  Valley,  we  find  the  Gneiss 
abundant,  and  of  great  beauty.  This  gneiss  formation, 
extending  from  Monson  through  Pelham  to  the  northern 
boundaries  of  the  state,  will,  for  an  immense  number  of 
years,  supply  all  the  demands  for  this  building  stone 
throughout  the  whole  country.  And  it  may  well  be  a  mat- 
ter of  discussion  among  connoisseurs  of  architecture  which 
shall  be  styled  the  handsomest  building  stone,  the  Granite 
and  Sienite  of  Chelmsford  and  Quincy,  or  the  Gneiss  of 
Monsou  and  Pelham. 

One  of  the  princii)al  sources  of  mineral  wealth  in  West- 
ern Massachusetts  is  Limestone.  For  it  is  this  rock  which 
produces  the  beautiful  marble  of  Berkshire  county,  which 
is  exported  in  such  immense  quantities,  and  the  Lime,  the 
supply  of  which  can  probably  never  fail. 

The  geological  position^is  the  same  as  the  Limestone  of 
Vermont,  and  a  part  of  Connecticut,  which  extends  from 
this  latter  state  into  Canada.  Upon  the  origin,  however, 
of  the  primary  Limestone — of  which  these  rocks  are  ex- 
amples— much  obscurity  has  always'  existed.  But,  from 
the  fact  tliat  the  skeletons  and  bony  coverings  of  all  class- 
es of  animals  are  composed,  to  a  very  large  extent,  of 
lime  in  some  of  its  forms.  Geologists  are  led  to  believe 
that  this  rock  is  of  organic  origin.  This,  however,  could 
not  be  gained  from  the  skeletons  of  the  vertebrate  animals, 
for  they  had  not  begun  their  existence  at  the  period  when 
Limestone  was  formed,  but  must  have  been  derived  from 
Polyparia,  or  coral  animals,  the  same  as  those  which  now 
live  in  such  infinite  profusion  in  tropical  seas,  and  construct 
the  immense  coral  reefs  in  those  bodies  of  water.  If, 
then,  after  these  immense  coral  islands  and  reefs  were  cov- 
ered with  soil  to  a  great  depth,  or,  by  some  mighty  convul- 
sion,' sunk  again  beneath  a  deep  ocean,  they  should  be  ex- 
posed to  such  an  intense  heat  as  to  most  thoroughly  fuse 
them  without  losing  the  carbonic  acid,  we  could  easily 
account  for  the  destruction  of  all  traces  of  animal  life,  and 
the  production   of  a  perfectly  homogeneous  structure  to 


V 


GEOLOGY.  356 

tlie  rock ;  and  the  crystalline  structure  would  be  produced 
by  the  slow  cooling  under  an  immense  pressure.  These 
causes,  therefore, — an  immense  pressure  by  superincum- 
bent matter,  heat  sufficient  to  produce  perfect  fbsion,  and 
a  gradual  cooling  under  pressure,  are  sufficient  to  change 
the  skeletons  of  all  animals  into  the  beautiful  variety  of 
marble  which  we  find  so  abundant  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  earth. 

Such  being  the  theory,  how  grand  and  how  sublime  are 
the  thoughts  forced  upon  our  attention !  The  lofty  monu- 
mental pile,  the  immense  temple,  the  huge  pyramid,  and 
many  of  the  proudest  structures  of  man's  ingenuity,  have 
not  always  been  the  dull,  motionless  rock  that  they  now 
ai*e,  but  were  once  portions  of  living,  and  active  creatures. 
The  sculptor,  too,  producing  with  his  chisel  forms  of 
beauty,  seeming  almost  superhuman,  and  with  features  and 
expression  of  countenance  that  almost  draw  life  and  ani- 
mation from-the  unfeeling  rock,  does  not,  for  the  first  time 
give  even  an  apparent  vitality  to  these  particles,  for  ages 
before  him  these  same  elements  were  portions  of  living 
beings,  who  enjoyed  life  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  ca- 
pacity. 

The  popular  definition  of  marble,  is  limestone  of  a  crys- 
talline structure,  while  Limestone  is  merely  the  Lime  rock, 
in  a  granular,  or  unerystuUized  state.  This,  however,  is 
only  a  partial  definition :  for  marble  is  always  Limestone, 
but  Limestone  is  not  always  marble;  and  though  almost 
all  kinds  of  marble  are  crystalline  in  their  structure,  yet 
some  of  the  handsomest  ones  want  this  structure.  The 
best  of  Limestones  for  producing  lime  are  generally  tlio 
handsomest  marble,  although  a  quality  which  is  of  but  lit- 
tle value  for  marble,  answers  perfectly  well  in  the  process 
of  burning  for  lime. 

La  the  tbllowing  statistics,  the  amount  of  capital  invest- 
ed in  the  marble  business,  the  amount  of  marble  that  is 
quarried,  and  the  value  realized  from  the  sales,  are  only 
approximate  to  the  truth,  for  the  reason  that  most  of  the 
quai'ries  are  owned  by  a  single  individual,  or  by  two  or 
three,  at  most,  and,  hence,  the  items  of  the  business  are 
not  so  accurately  recorded  as  if  it  were  carried  on  by  a 
joint-stock  company.  The  quantities,  too,  that  are  export- 
ed, vary  considerably,  from  the  fact  that  marble  is  not  kept 


856  GEOLOGY. 

on  hand  to  any  grekt  amount,  but  is  only  quarried  where 
an  actual  demand  exists  for  it,  as  in  the  case  of  a  contract 
for  a  building,  or  a  large  number  of  buildings. 

The  marble  quarry  hi  which  the  largest  amount  of  money 
is  invested  is  in  the  town  of  Lee,  and  belongs  to  the  firm 
known  as  Rice  &  Heebner.  The  capital  invested  by  them 
is  S50,000,  and  the  quarry  has  been  worked  for  two  years 
past,  with  receipts  for  stone  amounting  to  S200,000.  The 
marble  is  all  of  it  sent  away  in  "  the  rough,"  as  it  is  termed, 
or  just  as  it  is  taken  from  the  quarry,  without  labor  ex- 
pended upon  it  by  the  chisel,  or  saw.  The  quantity  that 
has  been  exjwrted  to  gain  these  receipts,  is  150,000  feet, 
or  15,000  tuns,  fifteen  cubic  feet  weighing  a  tun.  The 
market,  for  the  present,  is  chiefly  at  Washington,  D.  C,  of 
which  the  extension  to  the  Capitol  is  being  built,  although 
some  is  sent  no  farther  than  Philadelphia.  This  comj^any 
also  own  another  quarry  in  the  north  part  of  Lee,  whicJi 
has  been  worked  somewhat  extensively,  although  it  is  not 
of  so  good  a  quality  as  that  from  which  the  stone  for  the 
Capitol  is  being  extracted.  The  quarry  lies  very  near  the 
Housatonic  Railway,  so  that  cars  can  be  loaded  from  the 
quarry  at  once,  without  the  trouble  of  loadmg  the  marble 
upon  and  from  the  common  wagons  drawn  by  horses  or 
cattle.  About  seventy  men  were  employed  in  this  quarry 
during  the  last  season. 

In  the  town  of  Lee,  another  company,  called  the  Lee 
Marble  Company,  has  been  organized,  with  a  capital 
of  $30,000.  The  stock  is  owned  mostly  in  New  York, 
and,  in  1854,  the  company  proceeded  to  the  work  of  quar- 
rying with  vigor,  and  cari'ied  it  on  quite  extensively. 
Marl)le,  to  any  very  large  amount,  has  not  yet  been 
quarried,  but  it  has  been  so  examined  and  experimented 
with,  that  it  proves  itself  to  be  a  firm,  enduring  and  pure 
white  marble,  almost  exactly  like  that  of  the  quarry  from 
which  the  addition  to  the  Capitol  is  being  constructed. 

Mr.  Chester  Goodale  of  Egremont,  one  of  the  pioneers 
in  the  marble  business,  still  owns  and  works  three  of  four 
quarries  in  Sheffield,  of  pure  white  marble.  The  money 
invested  in  the  quarry,  mills  and  other  appurtenances,  is 
about  $25,000,  and  the  receipts  for  the  last  year,  as  well 
as  several  years  past,  amounted  to  S8,000.     The  marble  of 


.** 


GEOLOGY.  357 

all  these  quarries  is  very  fine  and  white,  and  is  quite  trans- 
lucent in  thin  pieces,  resembling,  in  this  respect,  the  cheap- 
er varieties  of  alabaster.  It  was  from  these  quarries  that 
the  larger  part  of  the  material  used  in  the  construction  of 
Girard  College,  Philadelphia,  was  obtained,  including  the 
immense  marble  pillars  of  the  middle  edifice,  or  main 
building.  The  marble  from  these  quarries,  as  a  building 
material,  is  still  unsurpassed,  and  the  demand  is  still  con- 
stant, and  slightly  on  the  increase.  Here,  also,  as  in  most 
marble  localities,  the  stone  grows  firmer  as  excavations  are 
carried  deeper  into  the  earth. 

Messrs.  J.  K.  &  N.  Freedley  are  now  carrying  on 
the  marble  business  very  extensively.  Their  quarry  is  in 
the  town  of  West  Stockbridge,  and  directly  upon  the  Hud- 
son and  Berkshire  Railway.  Their  mill  for  sawing  is  also 
upon  the  same  railway,  so  that  the  marble  can,  by  means 
of  derricks,  be  placed  directly  upon  the  rail-cars,  and  by 
the  same  means  taken  from  them  and  placed  in  the  mill 
where  it  is  to  be  sawed.  This  quarry,  as  well  as  the  last 
mentioned  one  in  Sheffield,  has  been  worked  for  more  thaji 
forty  years,  although  the  present  owners  have  carried  on 
the  business  at  this  place  but  nine  years.  During  the  first 
six  years,  the  annual  receipts  were  $10,000,  but  during  the 
last  three  years  they  have  increased  to  823,000.  The 
capital  invested  is  $25,000.  All  the  marble  that  is  export- 
ed from  this  quarry  is  sent  away  as  sawn  marble,  and  not 
in  the  rough.  The  principal  market  is  at  Philadelphia, 
where  the  fronts  of  many  dwellings  are  made  of  it.  In 
quantity,  about  1,400  tuns  are  sent  away  each  year.  This 
is  also  the  pure  white  marble. 

In  the  South  East  part  of  the  town  of  "West  Stockbridge, 
about  two  miles  from  the  "  Freedley  quarry,"  is  the  quaiTy 
which  has  been  worked  for  thirty-nine  years  by  Mr.  An- 
di-ew  Fuarey,  who  is  the  oldest  marble  Avorker  now  living 
in  Berkshire  county.  The  amount  of  money  invested  by 
him  in  the  business  is  SI 5,000,  and  the  annual  receipts 
about  $12,600.  During  the  years  of  1830-7  and  8,  the 
amount  quarried,  sawn  and  sent  to  market  was  thirty  tuns 
the  week,  but,  at  the  present  time,  an  average  of  450  tuns 
per  year,  with  a  jDrice  of  $28  per  tun,  is  sent  from  the 
quarry.     The  principal  market  has  been,  and  still  is,  Phil- 


358  GEOLOGY. 

adelphia,  in  wliich  city  no  less  than  seventy-eight  buildings 
are  faced  with  this  stone.  Of  these,  are  nearly  all  the 
Girard  buildings — the  college  an  exception — and  many 
others  on  Gkard  and  Chestnut  streets.  The  inside  of  the 
Exchange,  in  the  same  city,  is  also  mainly  made  from  this 
stone,  as  well  as  the  monument  to  John  GroufF,  the  archi- 
tect of  the  Fairmount  Water  Works.  Besides  these 
buildings  and  monuments  just  mentioned,  another  monu- 
ment, constructed  of  marble  from  Fuarey's  quarry,  has 
been  erected  in  Mt.  Auburn,  to  the  memory  of  the  four 
officers  who  died  while  connected  with  the  United  States 
Exploring  Expedition,  under  Captam  Wilkes. 

H.  S.  Clark  &  Co.,  in  the  Southwestern  part  of  Pitts- 
field,  own  a  clouded  marble  quai-ry,  in  which  is  invested 
$7,000.  During  the  working  season  of  1853  530  tuns  in 
the  rough  were  quarried,  from  which  were  worked  3,000 
feet.  For  this  year,  and  also  for  two  years  previous,  the 
net  receipts  were  S1G,000  the  year,  more  than  double  the 
amount  of  capital.  This  firm  have  owned  the  quarry  for 
nine  years,  and  the  same  locality  was  worked  ten  years  pre- 
vious to  their  possession  of  it.  The  principal  use  to  which 
this  stone  is  put,  is  the  construction  of  head  stones  and 
monuments,  a  market  for  them  being  readily  found  in  Al- 
bany and  Troy.  Considerable  business  is  also  done  by 
them  in  Connecticut. 

In  the  Northern  part  of  Lanesborough  is  a  marble  quar- 
ry that  has  been  worked  for  forty  years,  and  which  is  now 
known  as  Piatt's  Quarry — capital  S7,000.  The  marble 
is  variegated,  and  is  all  sawn  before  it  is  sent  away  from 
the  place,  the  receipts  for  which  average  $1,000  the  year. 
The  market  is  mainly  Westward,  in  New  York  State,  al- 
though some  of  it  is  sent  to  the  East,  and  especially  to 
Rhode  Island.  In  1842  and  3,  marble  to  the  value  of 
$20,000  each  year  was  sent  from  this  place ;  but  as  now 
the  same  quality  can  be  obtained  in  the  Southern  parts  of 
the  county,  and  nearer  to  a  Railway,  the  demand  is  not  so 
great  for  it  as  formerly.  And  yet,  the  demand  fdr  1854 
was  much  greater  than  that  of  the  previous  year.  A  few 
houses  in  Albany  have  fronts  constructed  of  this  Marble, 
although  its  main  use  is  for  head-stones  and  monuments. 

In  the  town  of  Alfbrd,  near  the  Southwestern  corner  of 


GEOLOGY.  859 

the  state,  are  two  marble  quarries  wlilch  are  worked  at  the 
present  time.  One  of  these  is  worked  by  Mr.  WiUiani 
JMilhgan,  with  a  capital  of  $6,000,  which,  in  1853,  yield- 
ed $1,200.  This  quarry  was  worked  fifty  years  ago,  and 
it  has  been  in  its  present  hands  twenty-three  years.  The 
quality  of  the  marble  is  the  variegated,  and  in  yeai's  past 
has  been  used  very  extensively  for  buildings  and  public 
works.  At  present,  the  principal  market  is  Albany,  where 
examples  of  it  may  be  seen  in  the  Albany  Market,  the 
Law  Buildings,  the  greater  part  of  the  Museum,  and  the 
inside  of  the  State  House.  Owing  to  the  horizontal  posi- 
tion of  the  strata,  very  large  slabs  can  be  quarried  here 
with  great  ease :  for  instance,  the  platforms,  or  large  slabs 
which  constitute  the  dome  of  the  Albany  State  House,  are 
sixteen  and  a  half  feet  by  six  feet ;  and  slabs  twelve  feet 
square,  and  one  foot  in  thickness,  are  very  often  got  out 
by  Mr.  Milligan.  Probably  there  is  no  place  in  Berkshire 
county  where  this  rock  can  be  more  easily  quarried  than 
at  this  place :  for  it  occurs  on  a  high  ridge,  and,  of  course, 
needs  no  excavating  to  remove  the  marble  ;  and,  besides, 
water  cannot  accumulate  to  prevent  or  render  expensive 
the  working. 

The  other  quarry  of  Marble  that  is  worked  in  Alford 
belongs  to  Mr.  Frederick  Fitch.  This  lies  nearly  South 
of  Milligan's  quarry,  and  is  on  the  same  range  of  rock  as 
that  quariy.  The  value  of  this  quarry,  as  estimated  by 
Mr.  Fitch,  is  only  S2,000,  although,  when  compared  with 
other  marble  quarries  in  Berkshire  county,  we  can  see  no 
reason  why  the  amount  should  not  be  trebled.  Tliis  quar- 
ry has  been  worked  for  at  least  fifty  years,  although  only 
eight  years  by  its  present  owner.  During  tliis  period,  as 
nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  the  receipts  have  been  $2,000 
the  year.  The  marble  here  quarried  is  variegated,  and 
may  be  seen  in  the  City  Hall,  New  York,  wliich  is  for  llic 
most  part  built  of  stone  from  this  (|uarry.  The  principal 
market  of  Fiteh's  »[uarry  is  New  York  city,  and  the  stone 
is  only  used  for  building  purposes. 

In  Lenox,  JNIarble  has  been  worked  since  the  year  ISOO. 
At  first,  however,  the  stone  was  not  taken  from  quarries, 
but  from  boulders,  or  loose  rocks#that  were  quite  abundant 
in  that  place.  Tiie  first  mill  for  sawing  marble  was  built 
in  1810,  by  Mr.  Nathan  Barrett,  and  the  business  carried 


360  GEOLOGY. 

on  by  liim  until  1837,  when  his  sons,  James  L.  Barrett  & 
Brothers,  undertook  the  same  business,  and  have  carried 
it  on  quite  extensively  up  to  the  present  time.  Their  cap- 
ital is  $3,000,  and  the  amount  yearly  quai-ried  is  5000  feet, 
or  200  tuns.  The  marble  at  this  quarry  is  of  both  the 
white  and  variegated  quality,  and  is  mainly  used  for  mon- 
uments and  headstones,  and  a  market  for  it  is  readily  found 
at  the  mill.  Considerable  business  is  done  by  these  gen- 
tlemen in  getting  out  building  stone,  caps,  sills,  and  step- 
stones  fi'om  the  variegated  marble,  and  it  answers  admira- 
bly for  these  purposes.  Tliis  quarry  is  situated  within 
one  mile  of  a  station  on  the  Pittsfield  and  Stockbridge 
Railway. 

In  the  town  of  North  Adams,  is  an  incorporated  compa- 
ny known  as  the  North  Adams  Marble  and  Lime  Com- 
pany. The  amount  of  capital  invested  in  this  business  is 
$75,000,  and  the  receipts  for  1853  were  S25,000.  The 
quarry  has  been  worked  since  1837,  and,  in  the  hands  of 
its  present  owners,  since  1838.  In  quality,  this  marble  is 
mainly  pure  white,  although  the  blue  clouded  is  dug  to  a 
considerable  extent.  It  is  all  sawn,  and  generally  cut  and 
finished,  for  building  purposes,  and  fronts  of  dwelling  and 
other  houses  ;  examples  of  which  may  be  seen  in  Hudson 
St.,  N.  Y.,  and  in  a  building  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Bible  House,  in  the  same  city.  Besides  New  York,  a 
market  is  readily  found  in  Philadelphia  for  this  stone,  to 
be  used  for  building  purposes.  This  quarry  is  not  at  pres- 
ent worked  to  its  fullest  capacity,  but  when  the  demand  for 
the  stone  shall  require  it,  the  marble  can  be  quarried  al- 
most to  an  indefinite  extent. 

The  statistics  of  the  Lime  produced  at  this  place  have 
already  been  given  in  another  part  of  this  paper,  althougli 
it  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  quality  of  this  lime  is  decided- 
ly superior ;  and  if  a  Railway  shall  ever  be  constructed 
from  Greenfield  to  Troy  it  will  probably  so  lessen  the 
cost  of  transportation,  that  Lime  from  this  kiln  will  b^ 
in  much  greater  demand  than  it  is  at  the  present  time. 
And  if  this  Railway  be  ever  completed,  it  will  also  greatly 
enhance  the  value  of  all  the  mineral  products  already  men- 
tioned as  occurring  in  this  town,  and  give  them  a  fair  com- 
petition with  those  of  any  other  market. 

The  quarries  that  have  been  enumerated  are  the  only 


GEOLOGY. 


861 


ones  that  were  worked  during  1853,  although  there  are  at 
least  ten  or  twelve  others  which  have  been  worked  in  past 
years,  and  are  now  unworked,  not  because  they  are  ex- 
hausted, but  because  the  owners  of  them  fail  to  secure 
large  contracts,  or  from  a  vague  notion,  in  the  minds  of 
some  purchasers,  that  a  new  quarry  must,  of  necessity — 
like  a  new  hat — be  better  than  an  old  one.  This,  however, 
is  known  to  be  incorrect  to  those  acquainted  with  the  geo- 
logical position,  or  the  quarrying  of  marble ;  and  we  do 
not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  the  quarries  of  Sheffield  are,  at 
this  day,  as  well  able  to  yield  beautiful  marble,  as  when,  in 
1837  and  8,  they  furnished  the  columns  to  the  Girard  col- 
lege at  Philadelphia.  The  same  may  probably  be  said 
with  regard  to  all  the  other  marble  quarries  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  although  it  by  no  means  prevents  us  from 
predicting  that  other  quarries  of  marble,  equally  good,  may 
be  found  and  worked  on  that  great  line  of  Marble  and 
Limestone  which  extends  from  about  New  JVIilford,  Ct.,  into 
the  Canadas. 

The  following  table  is  made  out  in  order  to  ascertain  at 
a  glance  the  capital  invested  in  each  marble  quarry,  and 
the  receipts  of  each  for  the  year  1853,  as  well  as  the  whole 
amount  invested  in  the  marble  business  in  Western  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  the  net  receipts  on  the  same,  during  1853. 


Capital 

Receipts 

Nome  of  quarry. 

Location. 

invested. 

for  1853 

North  Adama  Marble  Co., 

North  Adams, 

•t  78,000 

$25,«I0 

Kice  &  Heebner, 

Lee, 

60,im 

100,000 

l.ee  Marble  Co,, 

Lee, 

aoflw 

•       J   K.  &  N.  Freedley, 

W.  .stockbridge. 

AOOO 

28,000 

Chester  Gociale, 

Sheftiekl, 

S5,000 

8,000 

Andrew  Fuarey, 
H.  S.  Clark  &  Oo , 

W.  stockbridge, 

15,000 

12,000 

Pittsfleld, 

7000 

i«>,ooo 

"  Platt'8  Quarry, 

Lanesborough, 

7,000 

1,000 

Milligan's  Quarry, 

Alford, 

«,000 

l,20(t 

Ba.rrett's  Quarry, 

Lenox, 

3,000    . 

5,000 

Fitch's  Quarry, 

Altbrd, 

2,000 

2,000 

Savage's  Quarry, 

W.  Sheffield. 

2,000 

1,000 

1247,000 


e  199,800 


Showing  that,  in  round  numbers,  there  are  nearly  S250,- 
000  invested  in  the  marble  business  in  Massachusetts,  and 
about  $200,000  was  received  on  this  capital  during  the 
year  1853. 

It  will  be  a  difficult  thing  to  give  a  very  accurate  esti- 
mate of  the  Lime  that  is  procured  from  Berkshire  Lime- 
stone and  Marble,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  made  in  so  many 
places,  and  that  imperfect  accounts  are  kept  of  the  quau- 
31 


362  GEOLOGY. 

tity  produced  at  the  kilns  made  for  burning.  Tlic  theory 
of  obtaining  it  is  very  simple.  All  Limestones,  and  con- 
sequently all  marble,  whether  crystalline  or  gi-anular,  are 
composed  of  carbonic  acid — a  colorless  gas — and  Lime, 
with  often  a  small  per  cent,  of  Magnesia.  Hence,  all  that 
is  necessary  to  obtam  lime,  is  to  separate  the  lime  from  the 
carbonic  acid,  without,  at  the  same  time,  causing  it  to  unite 
with  any  other  substance.  This  is  done  by  burning,  or 
subjecting  the  limestone  to  intense  heat,  which  causes  the 
carbonic  acid  to  escape  into  the  atmosphere,  and  the  lime 
to  remain  behind  as  a  white,  dry  solid.  Although  Lime- 
stones, as  just  stated,  are  composed  of  carbonic  acid  and 
Lime,  yet  they  are  often  contaminated  with  other  substan- 
ces, such  as  Silica  or  pure  sand,  and  magnesia,  which,  of 
course,  add  impurities  to  the  Lime,  and  thus  injure  its 
value.  Therefore,  as  a  general  rule,  the  pure  white  and 
fine  grained  marble  is  the  best  for  producing  Lime,  al- 
though some  Limestones,  which  are  not  thought  fit  to  be 
used  as  marble,  yield  a  very  large  per  cent,  of  Lime. 
But,  as  a  general  thing,  Lime-kilns  are  built  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Marble  quarries,  for  the  reason  that  there 
the  rock  is  the  best  to  obtain  the  Lime  from,  and  especially 
because  the  refuse  stone  of  the  quarry  is  in  perfect  readi- 
ness for  the  kiln,  except  the  larger  pieces,  which  must  be 
somewhat  broken  up  before  they  can  be  well  burned. 

The  following  estimate  of  the  Lime  burned  and  sold  in 
Berkshire  county  for  1853,  has  been  furnished  by  the  kind- 
ness of  J.  L.  Barrett,  Esq.,  of  Lenox,  the  products  of 
whose  quarry  in  1853  for  this  article,  were  $3,000.  In 
the  town  of  Adams,  5,000  bushels;  Hinsdale,  5,000; 
Lanesborough,  5,000;  Lenox,  70,000 ;  Pittsfield,  12,000  j 
Richmond,  30,000  ;  making  a  total  of  127,000  bushels. 
This,  at  the  average  of  ^0,28  the  bushel,  will  give  an 
amount  of  S35,5G0,  which  is  certainly  a  low  estimate,  from 
the  reasons  given  above. 

L'on  is  one  of  the  metals  that  have  been  known  from 
remotest  antiquity.  It  is  recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Genesis,  that  "  Tubal  Cain  Avas  an  instructor  of  every  ar- 
tificer in  Brass  and  Iron."  In  Job,  also,  we  find  these  pas- 
sages: "The  bow  of  steel  shall  strike  him  through;" 
"  Iron  is  taken  out  of  the  earth ;"  "  His  bones  are  like  bars 
of  Iron,"  which,  together  with  many  others  in  the  Old 


GEOLOGY.  363 

Testament,  show  a  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  this  most 
valuable  metal  in  some  of  its  properties,  as  far  as  the  his- 
tory of  man  extends.  In  later  times,  we  find  mention 
made  of  this  metal,  although  only  as  a  rarity,  for,  in 
some  of  the  Grecian  Games  proposed  by  Achilles  in 
honor  of  Patroclus,  an  Iron  Ball  was  the  reward  offered  to 
the  successful  victor.  Later  yet,  we  learn  that  one  of  the 
Roman  Emperors  commanded  money  to  be  made  of  this 
metal,  that  he  might  by  these  means  check  the  covetous 
spirit  of  his  people. 

The  process  of  reducing  the  ores  of  Iron  to  the  metal- 
lic state  was  probably  imperfectly  known  in  the  time  that 
the  Romans  held  }X)ssession  of  England,  although  it  was 
not  until  the  17th  century  that  the  method  of  smelting  by 
mineral  or  pit  coal  was  discovered. 

The  process  of  smelting  the  ores  of  Iron  consists  in  sep- 
arating the  pure  metal  from  the  earthy  substances  witli 
which  it  is  in  combination.  These  substances,  in  tlie  ores 
of  Iron  that  are  generally  worked,  are  Suli)hur  and 
Quartz,  or  their  compounds  with  Oxygen.  Native  Iron 
has  never  been  found,  except  as  a  cabinet  curiosity.  If 
Sulphur  be  the  ingredient  that  must  be  driven  off",  even 
though  it  be  in  very  minute  proj^ortions,  it  is  a  somewhat 
difficult  and  complicated  process.  But  if  it  be  the  Silica, 
as  is  the  case  with  Massachusetts  Iron,  the  process  is  car- 
ried on  by  mixing  in  proper  proportions  with  the  ore,  and 
the  coal,  Lime  or  Limestone,  called  the  '  flux' ;  this  unites 
witli  the  Silica,  forming  the  'slag,'  Avliich  is  a  rude  and 
imperfect  glass,  and  is  always  seen  in  abundance  as  waste 
material,  in  the  vicinity  of  Iron  furnaces,  leaving  the  Iron 
in  its  pure,  metallic  state. 

These  substances — tlie  Ore,  the  Coal,  and  the  Lime — 
are  generally  imperfectly  mixed  together,  about  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  third  of  each,  and  put  in  at  the  Xo\>  of  the 
f  ui'nace,  whicli  very  much  resembles  a  large  and  tall  chim- 
ney, the  capacity  growing  less  at  the  bottom,  and  forming 
what  is  called  the  crucible,  which  receives  the  metal  as 
fast  as  it  is  reduced  from  the  ore,  from  its  high  specific 
gravity.  A  powerful  current  of  air  is  constantly  forced 
into  the  furnace  by  machinery,  just  above  the  crucible, 
which  is  termed  the  blast,  and  this  current  it  is,  wiiich 
keeps  up  this  intense  heat — above  3,200  degrees  Falu'cn- 


o 


64  GEOLOGY. 


heit — witliout  which  it  is  impossible  to  reduce  the  ores  of 
Iron  to  the  metallic  state.  When  the  furnace  is  once  in 
'full  blast,'  it  is  kept  in  this  state  until  some  portion  of  it 
needs  repairing,  or  the  suj^jily  of  coal  fails,  or  something 
equally  important  demands  a  '  blowing  out,'  or  cessation 
of  operations  for  a  while.  Of  course,  such  labor  requires 
two  sets  of  operatives,  one  for  day  and  another  for  night, 
neither  of  them  stopping  their  work  for  the  Sabbath;  for 
if  the  fire  be  allowed  to  go  out,  even  for  a  single  day,  it 
requires  a  whole  week  to  heat  up  the  fui-nace  again  to  the 
point  necessary  for  reducing  the  iron.  The  metal  is  gen- 
erally "  cast,"  or  drawn  off,  by  puncturing  the  crucible  in 
its  lowest  portion,  which  permits  the  iron  to  run  in  a  gut- 
ter to  a  bed  of  sand,  where  are  a  large  number  of  shoi't 
trenches  that  at  once  fill  with  the  melted  metal,  which, 
when  cooled,  makes  what  is  well  known  as  "pig  iron." 
This  opening  is  readily  closed  by  forcing  into  it,,  with  a 
long  iron  rod,  a  lump  of  moistened  clay,  which,  by  the 
heat  is  immediately  hardened  into  a  very  impenetrable 
kind  of  earthern  ware,  that  completely  closes  the  orifice, 
until  it  shall  again  be  necessary  to  open  it  for  a  similar 
purpose.  In  the  same  manner,  all  little  openings  that  are 
constantly  made  by  the  heat  and  pressure,  are  at  once  ef- 
fectually closed.  Most  furnaces  blow  out,  upon  an  aver- 
age, in  about  six  or  eight  months,  and  yet,  occasionally, 
one  runs  from  nine  to  thirteen  months. 

Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  without  doubt,  pro- 
duce a  large  jjortion  of  all  the  iron  that  is  used  in  the 
world,  and,  according  to  Seaman — the  author  of  the  "  Pro- 
gress of  Nations" — England  and  ^Yalos,  at  the  present 
day,  produce  nearly  halt'  of  the  iron  that  is  made  in  the 
world.  According  to  the  returns  of  the  last  census,  the 
amount  of  pig  iron  made  annually  in  the  United  States  is 
564,755  tuns,  of  which  12,287  tuns  are  made  in  Massa- 
chusetts, being  about  one  foity-fifth  of  the  whole  amount. 
The  amount  reduced  in  1837  was  2,617  tuns. 

All  the  furnaces  in  Berkshire  county,  without  exception, 
work  the  ore  known  as  the  Brown  Hematite,  or,  in  chemi- 
cal language,  the  hydrous  peroxyd  of  Iron.  Geologically 
considered,  it  belongs,  in  all  probability,  to  the  Tertiary 
Formation,  which  extends  fi'om  Canada  to  Georgia,  and 
is  accompanied  by  what  is  known  in  Europe  as  tlic  Lig- 


GEOLOGY.  365 

nite,  or  Brown  Coal  Formation.  The  Spathic  Iron,  or 
Carbonate  of  Iron,  occurs  in  small  quantities  in  this  coun- 
ty, but  never  lias  been  worked  to  any  extent,  more  tuan 
for  an  experiment. 

The  Hudson  Iron  Woi-ks,  whose  furnaces  are  in  Hud- 
son, New  York,  own  the  largest  iron  bed  in  Massachu- 
setts. This  is  in  AVest  Stockbridge.  It  lies  in  a  vein  run- 
ning Northeast  and  Southwest,  is  underlaid  hy  the  Ocher, 
resting  on  limestone,  and  is  covered  with  the  variegated 
clays,  conclusively  showing  that  all  the  iron  beds  of  Berk- 
shire belong  to  the  Tertiaiy  deposit.  The  vein  has  been 
traced  for  1,300  feet,  and  varies  in  width  from  40  to  100 
feet.  The  ])resent  excavation  is  more  than  500  feet  in 
length,  and  100  feet  in  depth.  Tlie  whole  capital  of  this 
company  is  6235,000,  of  which  §50,000  are  invested  in 
this  mine,  and  the  receipts  for  ore  during  the  year  1853 
were  $5,000.  The  existence  of  iron  has  been  known  in 
this  place  for  more  than  ten  years,  but  it  has  not  been  con- 
sidered of  sufficient  value  to  allow  much  outlay,  or  to  re- 
quire extensive  working,  until  1851,  when  it  came  into  the 
liands  of  its  present  owners.  During  these  three  years, 
60,000  tuns  of  ore  have  been  sent  to  Hudson.  A  descrip- 
tion of  the  method  of  transportation  of  the  ore  to  the  fur- 
nace deserves  a  moment's  attention.  A  branch  of  the 
Hudson  and  Berkshire  Railway,  five-eighths  of  a  mile  in 
length,  is  built  up  to  the  very  limits  of  the  ore-bed,  and 
by  means  of  an  embankment,  considerably  higher  than 
the  top  of  the  cars,  the  horse  carts,  or  wheelbarrows  load- 
ed with  the  ore  are,  in  the  easiest  manner  possible,  emptied 
at  once  into  the  cars,  so  that,  in  a  few  minutes,  a  hundred 
tuns  are  loaded,  which  is  the  amount  usually  drawn  by  one 
locomotive.  By  means  of  a  switch,  the  ore  is  carried  from 
the  main  trunk  of  the  Railway  directly  to  the  furnace 
yard,  thus  saving  a  great  expense  (to  many  Iron-workers,) 
in  loading  and  unloading  the  ore  several  times.  The  ore 
is  valued  at  §2  50  the  tun  at  the  mine,  and  wlien  reduced 
gives  45  ])er  cent,  of  pure  metal.  Besides  taking  the  ore 
from  the  top  of  the  ground,  or  rather,  at  the  open  pit  al- 
ready mentioned,  a  horizontal  adit  has  been  driven  east- 
erly from  the  pit,  communicating  with  a  ]K'r])cndicuIar 
ishaft  150  feet  in  depth,  in  order  to  drain  the  water  from 
31* 


366  GEOLOGY. 

the  workings,  and  also  that  other  drifts  may  be  sent  in  dif- 
ferent directions  from  it. 

At  Lenox  Furnace — a  village  in  the  Southern  part  of 
Lenox — is  situated  the  furnace  of  the  Lenox  Iron  Works. 
This  comjjany,  incorporated  in  1848,  has  a  capital  of  SlOO,- 
000,  which  is  owned  in  Lenox.  Its  site  has  been  used  for 
a  long  time  for  the  reduction  of  iron  from  its  ores,  since 
hollow  ware  was  cast  at  this  place  nearly  seventy-five  years 
ago. 

Tlie  Stockbridge  Iron  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $125,- 
000,  which  is  mostly  owned  in  Boston,  are  at  the  present 
time  working  two  beds  of  ore,  which  are,  with  the  furnace, 
in  the  town  of  Stockbridge.  During  the  years  1851-2, 
the  amount  of  metal  produced  was  G3  1-4  tuns  per  week, 
Avith  both  of  their  furnaces  in  operation.  Tliis  ore  yields 
50  per  cent,  of  metal,  and  is  made,  (it  is  very  encoura- 
ging to  know,)  to  yield  four  to  five  per  cent,  more  when  an- 
thracite is  used  instead  of  charcoal.  The  average  receipts 
per  tun,  of  the  latest  sales,  is  $35,  the  market  principally 
Boston  and  vicinity.  Three  beds  of  ore  in  Lenox  are  now 
worked  by  this  company,  and  besides  these,  five  more  are 
their  property,  some  of  which  are  in  West  Stockbridge. 
Five  thousand  tuns  of  ore  are  used  here  every  year,  val- 
ued at  82  25  the  tun,  from  which  is  made  2,000  tuns  of 
metal.  This  sold  in  1853  at  S40  the  tun,  making  the  gross 
receipts  $80,000.  The  per  cent,  yield  of  the  ore  is  45. 
The  markets  for  this  furnace  are  chiefly  at  Springfield, 
Holyoke  and  Worcester,  Avhere  it  is  principally  used  for 
machinery. 

North  of  Pittsfield,  in  Lanesborough,  is  the  furnace  of 
the  Briggs  Iron  Company.  Tlieir  capital  is  owned  in  Sa- 
lem, and  amounts  to  $100,000.  The  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1847,  and  works  up  about  4,000 .  tuns  of  ore 
yearly,  making  1,800  tuns  of  metal,  which  readily  sells  at 
$40  per  tun.  During  the  year  1853,  2,000  tuns  of  metal 
were  made,  of  course  increasing  considerably  the  receipts. 
The  per  cent,  of  metal  from  tliis  furnace  averages  45. 

During  the  year  1848,  a  bed  of  iron  ore  in  North  Adams 
was  purchased  and  opened  by  tlie  North  Adams  Iron  Com- 
pany, with  a  capital  of  $64,000.  At  the  same  time,  or 
immediately  afterwards,   beds  were   secured   to  them  in 


>* 


GEOLOGT.  367 

Pittsfielfl,  Cheshire,  and  Copake,  New  York.  During  the 
first  years  of  operation,  the  company  reduced  about  1,200 
tuns  of  metal,  but  in  1853  nearly  1,700  tuns,  which,  at 
the  price  of  S40  the  tun,  makes  a  yearly  receipt  of  ^6S,- 
000.  The  ore  yields  40  per  cent,  of  metal.  The  great 
advantage  which  this  conipany  possesses  for  working  iron, 
consists  in  the  fact  that,  from  North  Adams  to  Brattleboro, 
the  country  is  nearly  an  unbroken  forest,  which,  for  years 
to  come,  will  furnish  all  the  charcoal  necessary  to  reduce 
the  iron.  The  principal,  and  very  ready  market  for  this 
iron  is  at  Albany  and  Troy,  to  which  a  railway  will  proba- 
bly be  completed,  that  will  enhance  the  value  of  this  proper- 
ty, and  render  a  supply  of  the  metal  more  abundant. 

The  Richmond  Iron  Works  have  located  one  furnace  in 
Yan  Deusenville,  a  portion  of  Great  Barrington,  and  an- 
other in  Richmond,  with  a  joint  capital  of  So4,000.  The 
owners  are  John  II.  Coffing,  Charles  and  George  Coffing, 
and  the  heirs  of  Holly  &  Cotling,  of  Salisbuxy,  Ct.,  as 
this  was  formerly  connected  with  the  Salisbury  Iron  Works 
in  Connecticut.  As  early  as  the  year  1829,  this  company 
owned  a  furnace  in  Richmond  ibr  "  blooming"  ii"on,  as  it 
is  termed,  and  in  1834,  the  present  furnace  in  Van  Deusen- 
ville was  built,  and  the  comj)any  incorporated  in  1842. 
The  majority  of  the  beds,  however,  that  are  are  now 
worked,  have  beeu  discovered  since  that  period,  and,  al- 
though fourteen  distinct  localities  of  ore  belong  to  this 
company,  yet  but  seven  are  worked  at  the  present  time. 
These  are  all  situated  in  Richmond  and  West  Stockbridge. 
This  ore  yields  about  40  per  cent,  of  metal,  and  each  fur- 
nace now  produces  42  tuns  per  Aveek.  although,  in  1843-4, 
both  of  them  produced  only  GO  tuns  tlie  Aveek.  The 
amount  of  ore  used  yearly  is  9,000  tuns,  and  the  metal 
procured  from  it  al)out  3,200  tuns.  Its  avei'age  price 
per  tun  is  S43,  which  is  somewhat  higher  than  many  other 
furnaces  in  the  AVestern  part  of  Massachusetts. 

In  the  village  of  AVest  Stockbridge,  a  few  rods  Sonth  of 
the  Railway  Station,  is  an  iron  furnace  which  promises  to 
be  one  of  the  best  and  largest  in  Massachusetts.  The 
company  owning  it  is  known  as  the  Berkshire  Iron  Works. 
The  furnace  has  been  in  operation  only  since  the  last  of 
Februaiy,  1854,  and  is  now  hardly  in  full  working  order, 
although  from  ten  to  eleven  tuns  of  iron  are  made  by  it 


868  GEOLOGY. 

daily,  witli  the  expectation  that  when  in  its  hest  working 
state,  fifteen  tuns  the  day  will  be  the  product.  Sixty  thou- 
sand dollars  have  already  been  invested  in  quarries,  build- 
ings, and  other  outlays,  and  forty  thousand  more  will  be 
laid  out  as  fast  as  time  will  permit.  And  this  addition  will 
be  to  make  the  largest  furnace  in  Massachusetts,  with 
boshes  of  twenty  feet,  the  largest  now  in  existence  being 
from  13  to  14  feet.  The  ore  at  this  furnace  is  reduced  en- 
tirely by  hard  coal,  although  it  was  formerly  thought  to  be 
an  impossibility  to  make  good  iron  without  charcoal.  And 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Robert  Ralston,  a  Scotch 
founder,  the  very  best  of  iron  has  been  sent  from  this  fur- 
nace. An  improvement  has  been  made  in  the  furnace,  by 
which  the  blast  is  heated  about  612  '^ — sufficient  to  melt 
lead — by  conveying  a  portion  of  the  spent  gases  of  the 
chimney,  through  large  chambers,  containing  the  blast,  in 
iron  pipes,  which,  of  course,  greatly  facilitates  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  ore.  The  greater  portion  of  the  ore  yields  40 
per  cent,  of  metal,  and  some  of  it  even  as  high  as  4.5  per 
cent.  Six  beds  have  already  been  opened  by  this  compa- 
ny, and  five  or  six  more  yet  remain  to  be  worked. 

The  annexed  table  gives  us,  at  one  view,  statistics  con- 
cerning the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  the  iron  business 
in  Western  Massachusetts,  the  receipts  for  the  year  or 
working  season  of  1853,  the  per  cent,  of  metal,  and,  as  far 
as  ascertained,  the  average  sales  per  tun  of  the  metal,  or 
ore,  when  the  iron  is  manufactured  out  of  the  State. 

Capital         Receipts    Averace  per    Av.  price 
Name  of  Company.  Location.  invested.       for  ]So3.  cent,  of  metal,    per  tun. 

Stockbridge  Iron  Co.,  Stockbridge,       $12.3,0(10  $72,800  SO  $35,00 

I>enox  Iron  Works,  Lenox,                    ]i)ll,(X10  80,000  40  40,00 

Briggs  Iron  Co.,  Lanesborouah,      lll(l,rK)0  7i',0()0  45  40  (Kl 

N.  Adams  Iron  Works,  North  Adanis,         MOW  (;.S,0<X)  40  40,m 

Berkshire  Iron  Works,  W.  Stockbridge,      01,000  11,-JOO  40  40,00 

Richmond  Iron  Works,  Great  Barrington,  ,')4,(MX)  137,001)  40  4.3JU0 

Hudson  Iron  Works,  W.  Stockbridge,     oO.dOO  6,(100  45  Xi.lMJ 

Union  Iron  Works,  Chesliire.                70,000  ft},S00  42  39,00 

Total,  $(B2,000         $510,400       42  3-4  $39,00 

From  the  Union  Iron  "Works  in  Cheshire,  no  returns 
have  been  made,  and  the  statistics  given  are  made  out  by 
taking  the  average  of  the  seven  other  furnaces  in  Berk- 
shire County,  which,  of  course,  is  only  an  approximate  re- 
sult. 

In  the  Geological  Report  of  Dr.  Hitchcock,  we  find  con- 
siderable said  about  the  existence  and  the  probable  future 
value  of  Soapstone  in  Massachusetts.     This  is  fii'om  the 


X 


GEOLOGY.  369 

fact  that  it  is  quite  abundant  in  Western  Massachusetts, 
that  it  is  so  easily  worked,  and  so  completely  resists  the 
action  of  heat.  If  we  draw  a  line  across  Massachusetts  in 
a  Noiiherly  direction,  commencing  with  Blandlbrd,  and 
passing  through  jNIiddlefield,  and  thence  through  Vermont, 
we  shall  probably  pass  within  ten  miles  of  a  larger  part 
of  the  principal  soajjstone  quarries  West  of  the  Connecti- 
cut river  in  New  England.  These  lie,  for  the  most  part, 
at  the  junction  of  the  Hornblende  and  Talcose,  or  Horn- 
blende and  Mica  Slates,  the  beds  lying  coarsely  stratified 
with  the  same  direction  and  dip  as  the  rock  on  which  they 
recline.  These  beds  are  in  general  of  not  very  gi-eat 
width  and  extent,  a  few  yards  at  most,  but  occurring  fre- 
quently along  the  line  already  mentioned,  perhaps  existing 
rather  as  protuberances,  and  not  as  the  same  continuous 
bed. 

In  some  places,  this  rock  is  quite  hard,  almost  equal  to 
marble  in  hardness,  while,  in  others,  it  is  so  soft  that  it  is 
readily  cut  with  the  knife.  Often  it  is  so  thickly  filled  with 
calcareous  spar,  dolomite,  or  other  minerals,  that  it  is  not 
considered  of  value  suflacient  for  quarrying;  and  in  other 
places  large  blocks  are  taken  out  that  are  almost  entirely 
free  from  foreign  substances.  It  is  heavier  than  the  ma- 
jority of  rocks,  its  specific  gravity  being  2.85,  wliile  mar- 
ble is  from  2  to  2.50.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  pro- 
perties of  this  rock,  is  its  power  to  retain  heat  for  a  great 
length  of  time.  In  this  property,  it  differs  from,  and  ex- 
cels all  other  known  substances.  It  is  also  an  excellent 
substance  to  withstand  the  effects  of  heat,  far  surpassing 
fire-bricks ;  and,  although  much  more  expensive  than 
these,  yet  its  greater  durability  more  than  compensates  lor 
its  high  value.  For  while  fire  bricks,  that  line  Kussia 
iron  stoves,  at  the  most,  last  but  two  seasons,  the  best  soap- 
stones  will  endure  heat  of  this  amount  for  ten  years.  An- 
other instance  of  its  durability  may  be  seen  in  the  furnace 
doors  of  the  Collins  Steamers.  They  wei-e  formerly  made 
of  iron,  and  lasted  l)ut  one  trip,  always  being  destroyed  by 
the  intense  heat.  Recently,  however,  these  doors  were 
made  of  soapstone,  with  an  iron  casing — the  iron  not  meet- 
ing directly  the  strong  heat — and  they  have  lasted  during 
four  trips,  and  yet  seem  just  as  good  as  Avlien  first  put  in. 
The  fact  of  the  power  in  soapstones  to  retam  heat  lor  such 


370  GEOLOGY. 

a  length  of  time,  has  led  to  quite  an  extensive  use  of  them, 
especially  in  the  country,  for  keeping  hands  and  feet 
warm,  when  riding  for  a  considerable  distance  in  a  cold 
day. 

Soapstone  is  used  in  making  registers  to  furnace  open- 
ings, in  the  manufacture  of  porcelain,  as  a  polishing  mate- 
rial, a  substance  that  in  powder  easily  removes  oil  and 
grease  stains  from  cloth,  forms  a  body  for  fancy  soaps,  and 
is  also  used  for  making  fire-proof  paints,  and,  when  mixed 
with  oil,  is  an  excellent  and  economical  substance  for  lubri- 
cating the  axles  and  pivots  of  heavy  machinery.  The  only 
other  use  of  this  rock,  necessary  to  be  mentioned,  is  for 
iacing  the  fronts  of  buildings,  in  the  same  manner  as  mar- 
ble and  sandstone  are  employed.  Although  it  is  so  soft 
that  it  can  be  cut  by  the  knife,  yet  it  is  abundantly  solid," 
and  sutHciently  strong  to  sustain  the  necessary  pressure 
from  above.  It  is  of  a  very  light  gray  color,  and  does  not 
become  tarnished  by  exposure  to  the  action  of  air  or  water. 
One  great  excellence  of  it  is  that  cornices  and  window 
caps  can  be  carved  from  it  to  a  great  extent,  and  yet  with 
very  little  expense.  The  cost  of  this  material  for  building 
purposes,  is  about  the  same  as  of  marble  and  sandstone, 
for,  although  the  expense  of  working  is  very  trifling,  yet 
the  original  cost  of  the  stone  is  nearly  double  that  of  other 
building  materials. 

One  of  the  largest  and  most  important  soapstone  quar- 
ries in  the  United  States,  is  in  Middlcfield.  It  has  been 
known  and  worked  for  several  yeai's  by  several  comj^anies, 
all  with  more  or  less  ])rofit,  and  to  a  considerable  extent. 
During  1853  it  was  purchased  b}^  a  New  York  company, 
chartered  as  the  Metropolitan  Soapstone  Company,  with  a 
capital  of  S300,000.  General  Charles  B.  Stuart  is  the 
Pi-esident  of  the  company.  This  Company  are  now  quarry- 
ing this  rock  in  immense  quantities,  and  conducting  Genera- 
tions in  a  moi'e  systematic  and  scientific  manner,  than  has 
ever  been  done  before  at  this  quarry.  The  bed  is  several 
hundi-ed  feet  in  length,  and  has  an  average  width  of  thirty 
feet,  and,  in  most  parts  of  it,  is  of  an  uniform  gi'ay  color, 
although,  in  some  places,  it  is  slightly  variegated,  which 
is  the  best  and  handsomest  quality  for  building  purposes. 
There  are  two  mills  at  Middlefield  for  sawing  this  stone, 
and  grinding  a  portion  of  it  into  powder,  and  a  vard  in 


.*' 


GEOLOGY.  371 

New  York,  city,  at  No.  260,  West  IStli  Street,  occupying 
an  acre  of  ground,  -with  a  steam  engine,  an  ii'on  building, 
and  machinery  necessary  for  the  working  of  the  stone. 
During  the  year  1853,  1000  tuns  of  tliis  stone  were  quar- 
ried at  Middlefield,  600  tuns  of  which  were  taken  to  the 
New  York  market,  and  there  sold  for  firestones  m  coal  fur- 
naces, at  an  average  price  of  S12  the  tun.  During  1854, 
the  Company  quarried  and  worked  up  at  least  100  tuns  the 
week. 

Farmers  and  other  holders  of  land  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts cannot  ha  too  strongly  urged  to  attend  to  the  mat- 
ter of  ascertaining  whether  soapstone  exists  on  any  part 
of  their  land  ;  for  it  is  now  very  valuable,  and,  without 
doubt,  will  increase  in  value  for  sometime  to  come,  since 
experiments  have  shown  that  the  variety  which  is  abso- 
lutely pure  is  not  the  only  one  that  will  answer  for  build- 
ing and  fire  purposes.  Even  if  it  be  infested,  in  some  de- 
gree, with  dolomite  and  calc  spar,  it  can  be  used  for  a  great 
many  valuable  purposes.  Examples  of  soapstone  used  as 
a  building  material  can  be  seen  in  a  house  on  Concord 
street,  and  another  on  Clarke  street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Also  one  in  15th  street.  New  York. 

Soapstone  has  also  been  found'  and  quarried  to  some  ex- 
tent in  the  towns  of  Blandford,  Chester,  Windsor,  New 
Lebanon,  Hinsdale,  Savoy,  Granville  and  Rowe,  and  prob- 
ably will  be  found  in  as  many  more  towns  in  the  Western 
part' of  Massachusetts. 

Closely  connected  with  soapstone  is  the  granular  quartz 
rock,  known  as  Firestone.  Tlie  only  locality  of  this  that 
is  worked  to  any  considerable  extent,  is  in  the  Southeast 
y)art  of  Great  Barrington,  near  Tyringham.  It  is  o^^'ned 
by  Jolui  Devenney,  Esq.,  and  the  stone  is  used  in  making 
hearths  for  iron  furnaces.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  sold  at 
SI  the  cubic  foot,  unless  very  large  blocks  are  required, 
when  the  price  is  somewhat  increased.  During  1853  the 
receipts  of  this  quarry  were  S3,000.  This  locality  has 
been  worked  for  the  last  eight  years,  and  was  at  first  owned 
and  worked  by  John  C  Briggs,  Esq.,  and  the  stone  known 
as  "  Briggs'  stone." 

The  manufacture  of  glass  has  been  carried  on  quite  ex- 
tensively for  a  few  years  past  in  Bei'kshire  County.     This 


872  GEOLOGY. 

is  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  such  an  abundance 
of  pure  quartz,  or  glass  sand,  the  most  essential  constituent 
of  glass,  in  this  section  of  country.  Quartz  rock,  howev- 
er, is  a  very  abundant  rock  in  New  England  ;  but  it  will 
not  in  all  instances  answer  for  glass  manufacture,  because 
it  contains  coloring  matter,  or  other  impurities,  which  will 
not  produce  transparent  and  colorless  glass.  Glass  is  a 
variable  compound  of  the  silicates  of  potash,  soda,  alumi- 
na, or  lime,  with  some  metallic  oxyd  for  a  coloring  mate- 
rial, according  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  needed.  Win- 
dow glass,  and  all  other  kinds  of  glass  that  are  simply 
intended  for  the  ready  transmission  of  the  rays  of  light, 
and  no  exposure  to  intense  heat,  are  made  of  the  whitest 
of  lime,  the  purest  soda-ash,  and  the  most  transparent  of 
silica  or  glass  sand,  in  the  j^roportions  (average)  of  3  of 
sand,  1  of  soda-ash,  and  nearly  1  of  lime,  although  the 
proportion  varies  according  to  the  purity  of  the  ingredi- 
ents. At  present,  there  are  three  manufactories  of  glass 
in  Berkshire  County :  one  in  Cheshire,  one  in  Lanesbo- 
rough,  and  another  in  Lenox. 

The  Cheshire  Glass  Works  carry  on  their  business  with 
a  capital  of  S80,000,  which  is  mostly  owned  in  New  York, 
and  have  now  been  in  operation  two  years.  During  the 
first  part  of  1854,  they  manufactured  window  glass  only, 
but  they  have  since  made  rough  plate-glass  for  floors 
and  roofs.  For  this  purpose,  the  glass  is  cast  instead  of 
blown,  and  rolled  out  under  immense  pressure,  and  when 
finished,  is  about  one-half  an  inch  in  thickness,  although 
some  of  it  is,  for  a  few  particular  uses,  made  an  inch  thick. 
The  amount  of  sand  used  daily  is  2,800  pounds,  of  soda- 
ash  500  pounds,  and  lime  800  pounds,  and  from  this  is 
made  600  feet  of  half-inch  glass  each  da3\  This,  at  the 
factory,  will  readily  sell  for  50  cents  per  foot,  yielding 
about  !S300  the  day  for  nine  months  in  the  year.  The  re- 
maining three  months  are  necessary  for  renewing  the  ma- 
terials of  the  furnace. 

This  company  are  now  making  experiments  upon  pol- 
ished plate  glass,  and  are  confident  of  soon  being  able  to 
furnish  a  good  article  for  the  market,  in  abundance,  since 
the  sand  is  of  such  an  admirable  quality,  and  can  be  so 
cheaply  furnished,  the  locality  being  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  manufactory. 


.** 


GEOLOGY.  373 

Li  the  town  of  Lenox,  within  a  few  rods  of  the  Lenox 
Iron  Works,  are  located  the  Lenox  Glass  Works.  The 
amount  at  present  invested  in  this  branch  of  manufacture 
is  $40,000,  ahhough,  as  soon  as  the  second  furnace  is  con- 
structed, the  amount  invested  will  be  600,000.  This  stock 
is  principally  owned  by  the  same  persons  that  own  the 
Lenox  Iron  Works.  The  sand  that  is  used  here  is  from 
Cheshire,  although  it  occurs  in  Lenox  of  as  good  a  quality 
as  that  in  Cheshire,  and  will  soon  be  dug  there,  instead  of 
importing  it  from  other  parts  of  the  county.  At  present, 
Avindow  glass  is  the  sole  product  of  the  furnace,  although 
experiments  are  soon  to  be  made  on  rough  and  smootli 
plate  glass.  The  amount  of  glass  daily  made  is  4,500 
feet,  bringing  from  $5  to  SG  the  100  feet,  in  the  market. 
About  one  tun  and  a  half  of  sand  is  daily  used  here, 
which  costs  at  the  Cheshire  bed  $2  50  the  tun ;  1000 
pounds  of  soda-ash  at  2  7-8  cents  the  pound,  and  900 
pounds  of  lime,  at  four  cents  the  pound.  The  heating  ma- 
terial is  the  softer  kinds  of  wood,  hemlock  and  spruce, 
which  are  partially  charred  before  heating  the  glass,  and 
can  be  obtained  in  this  section  of  country  in  great  quanti- 
ties, since  it  is  the  luird  and  not  soft  wood  which  furnishes 
the  best  charcoal  for  smelting  iron. 

A  Glass  Furnace  is  established  at  Lanesborough,  with 
Albert  R.  Fox,  as  superintendent.  The  stock  of  this 
company,  known  as  the  Berkshire  Glass  Company,  is  val- 
ued at  880,000.  This  corporation  was  chartered  in  1847, 
although  it  Avas  not  until  the  spring  of  1853  that  active 
operations  were  conunenced.  About  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  same  year,  the  first  products  were  manufactured 
lor  the  market,  and  t8.000  wortli  were  disposed  of  ])revious 
to  January,  1854.  White  cylinder  glass  is  the  sole  pro- 
duct of  this  furnace,  of  which  3,000  feet  are  manufactured 
daily.  The  sand  beds  from  which  the  glass  sand  is  pro- 
cured, are  in  the  town  of  Lanesborough,  being  on  the  same 
range  of  quartz  rock  as  the  Clicshire  beds.  The  erection 
of  this  furnace  has  led  to  the  building  up  of  an  enterpris- 
ing village,  and  the  establishment  of  a  new  Post  Otfice, 
known  as  Berkshire,  situated  upon  the  North  Adams  and 
Pittsfield  railway. 

At  Cheshire,  in  the  inunediate  vicinity  of  the  Cheshire 
32 


374  GEOLOGY. 

Glass  Works,  is  the  bed  from  -which  is  dug  an  immense 
amount  of  sand,  that  is  sent  to  different  parts  of  this  coun- 
try, and  also  exported  in  considerable  quantities  to  Eng- 
land and  France.  The  price  of  the  sand,  when  laden  in 
the  cars  at  Cheshire,  is  So  50  the  tun,  and  the  amount 
shipped  in  1853  was  4,300  tuns,  yielding  receipts  to  the 
amount  of  S23,650.  This  locality  will  probably  remain 
unexhausted  for  a  great  length  of  time,  even  if  worked  at 
its  present  rate,  and  should  this  particular  bed  give  out,  an 
abundance  of  others  can  be  found  in  the  range  of  tlie 
quartz  rock  extending  in  a  Northerly  and  Southerly  direc- 
tion throujih  Berkshire  Coiuitv. 

The  localities  of  Lead  in  Massachusetts,  that  are  of  any 
importance,  are  all  situated  in  the  Connecticut  Valley. 
They  are  not,  as  yet,  productive,  but  a  few  of  them 
have  been  worked,  with  the  hope  that  the  vein  would  be 
reached,  and  the  mines  made  to  yield  a  large  amount  of 
ore.  In  the  nine  diflerent  towns  in  this  valley  in  which 
lead  is  found,  it  is  either  in  the  granite  or  mica  slate,  or  at 
their  junction  with  each  other ;  but  the  only  localities 
which  are  expected  ever  to  be  profitable  are  in  granite. 
The  ore  in  these  localities  is  invariably  the  sulphuret,  or 
galena,  and  is  associated  with  blende,  or  an  ore  of  zinc, 
called  "  black  jack"  by  the  miners.  This  ore,  the  galena, 
is  reduced  to  the  metallic  state  by  heat  alone,  the  heat 
driving  off  the  sulphur  in  the  form  of  sulphurous  acid. 
At  present,  there  is  no  locality  of  lead  in  Massachusetts 
where  the  ore  is  raised  and  tlie  metal  smelted,  altliough  it 
Avas  known  to  exist  in  Northampton  as  early  as  1767,  and 
bullets  were  made  at  that  place  during  the  American  Rev- 
olution. This  locality,  since  that  period,  has  been  un- 
opened and  unworked  until  when,  quite  recently,  a  compa- 
ny known  as  the  Northampton  Silver  Lead  Company  was 
started,  who  liave  excavated  quite  extensively,  23re])ai- 
atory  to  working  the  ore.  The  vein  has  been  struck 
by  a  perpendicular  shaft,  and  a  horizontal  adit  has  been 
forced  into  the  vein  for  the  purpose  of  drainage,  &c.  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  C.  T.  Jackson,  who  has  examined  the  local- 
ity, appearances  indicate  a  productive  mine,  as  he  says : 
"  The  whole  character  of  the  lode  is  such  as  to  impress  all 
muiers  who  visit  it,  with  the  fact  that  the  vein  is  a  true 


GEOLOGY.  875 

one,  and  that  it  will  become  rich  as  it  penetrates  down- 
ward." It  is  quite  probable  that  copper  will  also  be  ex- 
tensively mined  in  the  same  spot,  since  it  increases  in 
abundance  very  fast,  as  the  perpendicular  shaft  is  sunk, 
and  to  such  an  extent  that  Dr.  Jackson  is  not  decided  in 
his  own  mind  which  will  ultimately  predominate,  the  lead 
or  the  copper.  The  vein,  as  at  present  known,  is  about  six 
feet  wide,  which  is  the  width  of  the  shaft ;  and,  as  only 
one  of  the  walls  of  it  has  been  found,  it  is  believed  that 
the  vein  is  much  wider  than  where  it  is  now  partly  seen. 
The  ore  when  washed  Avill  yield  70  per  cent,  of  metallic 
lead,  and,  according  to  an  analysis  made  by  Di\  Chilton  of 
New  York,  silver  also,  to  the  amount  of  30  oz.  2  diots.  to  the 
tun,  from  which  the  name  of  the  company  is  derived. 

At  Southampton,  mining  operations  for  lead  have  been 
cari'ied  on,  though  somewhat  intermit tingly,  for  the  last 
twenty  years.  About  the  year  1830,  a  perpendicular  shaft 
was  sunk  sixty  feet,  dii-ectly  upon  the  vein,  which  was  6 
or  8  feet  wide ;  but,  as  the  water  ran  in  very  fast,  it  was 
determined  to  strike  the  vein  by  a  horizontal  adit  from  the 
hill  below,  a  distance  of  180  rods.  This  was  commenced, 
and  the  vein  nearly  reached,  when  the  discovery  of  lead 
in  Missouri  caused  a  fall  of  more  than  one  hundred  per 
cent,  in  its  value,  so  that  all  operations  at  this  place  were 
at  that  time  discontinued.  AVithin  a  few  years,  operations 
have  been  renewed,  and  the  horizontal  drift  carried  on  still 
farther,  nearly  to  the  vein.  Both  of  these  localities  men- 
tioned, as  well  as  two  otliers  on  the  same  vein,  are  owned 
by  the  Hampshire  Consolidated  Mining  Co.  The  latest 
intelligence  from  this  company  is  a  total  suspension  of  op- 
erations. Tliis  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  assistance  has  been 
expected  from  English  ca^jitalists  ;  but  now  all  the  surplus 
capital  is  turned  towards  another  direction  than  American 
mines. 

Ujion  the  comparative  value  of  this  mine  with  the  one 
just  mentioned,  in  Northampton,  nothing  can  be  said,  since, 
in  all  probability,  they  are  both  upon  the  same  great  vein, 
which  may  be  traced  in  a  Northeast  direction,  from  Mont- 
gomery to  Hatfield,  although  there  may  be  local  circum- 
stances to  favor  the  one  rather  than  the  other.  i\lany  inter- 
esting minerals  have  been  found  in  botli  these  localities, 
which  lead  the  mineralogist,  at  least,  to  hope  that  opera- 


376  GEOLOGY. 

tions  will  be  carried  on  to  a  very  considerable  extent. 
And  the  recent  discovery  of  fluor  spar  lea'ds  all  acquainted 
with  the  matter  to  expect  a  large  supply  of  lead,  since,  in 
all  the  lead-bearing  countries  of  Europe,  this  mineral,  dis- 
tinctly crystallized,  occurs  in  considerable  quantities.  And 
if  this  vein  be  indeed  a  "  leader,"  then  Ave  may  confidently 
expect  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  many  mines  will 
be  discovered  and  worked  along  the  course  already  indi- 
cated. 

Table  showing  the  amount  of  capital  in  Western  Mas- 
sachusetts invested  in  mineral  products,  and  the  net  receipts 
for  1853,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained : 

Capital.  Receipts  for  1853. 

Iron,          •  $032,000                  $510,400 

Marble,  247,000                    199,800 

Soapstone,  300,000                      12,000 

Glass,  200,000                    161,900 

Firestone,  3,000 

Lime,  35,560 

Glass  Sand,  23,650 

$1,379,000  $1,146,310 

The  mineral  products  which  have  just  been  described 
are  the  only  kinds  which  are,  at  present,  of  any  pecuniary 
value.  Since  this  part  of  the.  State  has  been  settled,  how- 
ever, several  other  sonrces  of  mineral  wealth  have  yielded 
no  inconsiderable  amounts  of  profit  to  their  owners.  In 
Hatfield,  within  a  few  years.  Sulphate  of  Baryta,  or  Bary- 
tes,  has  been  dug  and  carried  away  in  immense  quantities, 
as  a  substance  for  adulterating  white  lead,  as  well  as  an 
independent  pigment,  which  is  used  where  painted  surfa- 
Qgs  are  exposed  to  acid  vapors,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and 
other  corrosive  gasses,  since  they  produce  no  elfect  at  all 
upon  it.  It,  however,  only  answers  for  such  places,  and  is 
not  an  economical  or  enduring  pigment.  The  same  sub- 
stance is  now  dug  at  Cheshire,  Ct. 

In  several  places  in  the  Western  part  of  Massachusetts, 
Serpentine  or  Ilagnesian  Marble  has  been  quarried  and 
worked  to  some  extent,  as  a  beautiful  ornamental  stone,  in 
the  place  of  marble.  AVhen  this  is  associated  and  mingled 
with  limestone,  it   constitutes   verd-antique  mai-ble,    and 


GEOLOor.  377 

when  worked  in  its  pure  state,  it  makes  a  most  beautiful 
green,  clouded  stone,  that  answers  admirably  for  table  tops, 
mantles,  vases,  &c.  And  it  is  not  a  little  surprising  that 
Americans,  who,  of  late,  seem. so  anxious  to  follow  the  cus- 
toms of  Europe,  should  allow  a  rock  equally  handsome 
with  European  varieties  to  lie  in  the  quarries,  while  in 
Spain,  and  other  parts  of  Continental  Europe,  churches 
and  private  dwellings  are  decorated  with  it  to  a  very  con- 
siderable extent.  The  most  extensive  quarry  in  New  Eng- 
land is  in  Middlefield,  while  the  handsomest  variety  is  from 
Newbury  in  this  State. 

If,  now,  Ave  turn  our  attention  to  the  mineral  resources 
which  as  yet  lie  useless,  and  almost  unknown,  Ave  have  an 
immense  held  before  us.  For,  without  doubt,  in  variety, 
Massachusetts  takes  the  lead  of  all  the  New  England 
States.  In  the  first  place,  every  source  of  mineral  wealth 
that  is  now  known  and  worked,  can  be  made  to  yield  double 
its  present  amount,  if  the  capital  be  only  invested  in  it, 
and  the  business  be  properly  managed.  For  example,  not 
one  half  of  the  iron  betls  that  have  been  discovered  are 
now  worked,  and  but  a  very  little  labor  and  expense  have 
been  laid  out  in  searching  lor  new  localities.  And  should 
evei-y  other  marble  quarry,  save  those  in  Massachusetts, 
fail,  Berkshire  alone  would  satisfy  the  wants  of  American 
marl)le  tor  many  years  to  come.  Soapstone,  too,  which  is 
gradually,  but  surely,  coming  into  the  market,  lies  in  im- 
mense but  unknown  quantities  in  Western  Massachusetts, 
needing  only  to  liave  its  beds  exposed  to  the  sunlight,  to 
give  a  most  excellent  quality,  and  abuuthuit  (puuUity  to  the 
whole  world.  Sand  for  the  manufacture  of  glass,  is  now 
exported  in  no  inconsiderable  quantities  to  France  and 
Enghuid,  but  were  pains  only  taken  to  show  its  beauty  and 
abundance,  the  demand  would  be  much  beyond  the  present. 
But  another  reason  why  the  mineral  Avealth  of  Massachu- 
setts yields  so  small  a  revenue,  is  the  ignorance  of  its  citi- 
zens as  to  what  her  territory  contains,  and  the  little  pains 
taken  to  know  it.  "Within  four  miles  of  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  and  gi-owing  cities  in  this  CommonAvealth,  arc 
two  localities  oi'  /\o/iian  Cement,  ov  hydraulic  lime.  These 
two  localities  are  Chicopee  and  "West  Springfield,  where 
the  substance  is  found  as  concretions  in  the  new  sandstone. 
Some  years  since,  a  manufactory  of  this  cement  was  estab- 
32* 


378  GEOLOGY. 

lished  in  the  Northern  part  of  West  Springfield,  and  a  very- 
good  article  made,  although  the  operation  is  at  present 
given  up. 

In  the  West  part  of  Chester  is  a  locality  of  Ghromite 
of  Iron,  which  is  the  ore  that  very  readily  produces  chro- 
mic acid,  the  basis  of  valuable  pigments,  such  as  chrome 
green,  and  chrome  yello\y.  This  is  the  same  ore  that  is 
found  in  Maryland,  and  from  which  these  pigments  are  at 
the  present  time  manufactured. 

Magnetic  Iron  Ore  is  described  in  Dr.  Hitchcock's  Geo- 
logical report  as  occurring  in  considerable  abundance  in 
the  Northern  part  of  Franklin  County.  This  is  a  very 
rich  ore,  yielding  from  50  to  90  per  cent,  of  pure  metal, 
and  is  the  same  as  the  iron  mountain  of  Missouri,  and  the 
iron  mines  on  the  South  coast  of  Lake  Superior. 

The  Oxyd  of  Manganese  has  been  found  in  Sheffield, 
and  some  other  places  in  Berkshire  County.  In  Ver- 
mont, it  has  been  worked,  on  a  continuation  of  the  same 


range. 


Tin  will  ultimately  be  found  in  a  workable  quantity  in 
Western  Massachusetts.  The  reasons  for  such  a  statement 
are,  that  the  rocks  are  of  the  proper  character,  (the  oldest,) 
and  the  oxyd  of  this  metal  has  been  found  crystallized  in 
several  places  ;  and  according  to  an  English  Geologist,  "  it 
is  generally  in  the  vicinity  of  a  vein  of  tin  ore,  that  dis- 
seminated grains  of  tinstone  are  found  in  the  rock."  Be- 
sides this,  veins  of  tin  are  always  quite  small,  and  conse- 
quently easily  overlooked,  and  especially  so,  since  the  rocks 
in  which  they  are  to  be  found,  are  in  those  portions  of  the 
State  that  are  very  thinly  settled. 

SCENOGRAPHICAL    GEOLOGY. 

In  the  three  precediug  sections  of  the  Geology  of  West- 
ern Massachusetts,  the  labor  has  been  comparatively  easy, 
— merely  to  collect  facts  and  state  them,  or,  at  most,  to  give 
theories  to  account  for  the  geological  condition  of  this  por- 
tion of  Massachusetts.  But  when  an  attempt  is  made  to 
describe  scenery,  and  that  of  so  enchanting  a  spot  as  the 
one  before  us,  the  mind  almost  shrinks  from  the  task.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  only  end  of  this  effort  will  be  a  simple  set- 
ting forth  of  the  facts,  and,  very  possibly,  inciting  in  the 
mind  of  the  reader  a  desire  to  visit  the  localities  men- 


>• 


GEOLOGY.  879 

tioned,  so  that  these  beauties  of  nature  may  be  most  fully 
appreciated. 

For  a  starting  point,  let  us  place  ourselves  in  imagina- 
tion upon  the  highest  portion  of  land  in  Massachusetts, — 
Saddle  Mountain,  or  Greylock.  This  towei's  above  all  the 
other  mountains  in  Western  Massachusetts,  at  least  200 
feet,  being  3,600  feet  above  tide-water.  Nowhere  in  this 
whole  State  do  we  gain  such  ideas  of  vastness  and  immen- 
sity, as  we  may  derive  from  tliis  spot.  Here  the  eye  rests 
upon  the  lofty  summits  of  the  Taghconic  and  Iloosac  moun- 
tains, with  the  green  valleys  intervening,  and  finally  gazes 
on  the  peaks  of  the  distant  mountain  tops  in  New  York 
and  Vermont,  until  they  are  blended  Avith  the  blue  horizon 
of  the  distant  sky.  Tlien  the  attention  is  drawn  to  objects 
lying  nearer  the  mountain,  the  first  of  which  is  the  village 
of  Williamstown,  reposing  in  a  beautiful  valley,  Avith  a 
Southeastern  slope,  and  handsomely  adorned  with  the  Col- 
lege buildings  and  Observatory.  From  this  the  eye  is  in- 
sensibly drawn  upwards  and  beyond,  to  the  vast  slope  of 
the  Hoosac  range,  stretching  away  into  Vermont ;  while 
the  next  objects  that  attract  the  attention  are  the  mountains 
of  Northern  New  York,  upon  the  AVestern  shore  of  Lake 
Champlain. 

The  "  Hopper"  is  what  no  one  can  forget  who  has 
climbed  Greylock.  This  is  an  immense  gulf  upon  the 
Southwestern  portion  of  the  mountain,  wliich  does,  indeed, 
bear  some  resemblance  to  the  article  designated  by  the 
name,  the  bottom  of  it  seeming  to  be  a  mere  point,  although 
a  near  approach  shows  it  to  be  far  otherwise.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  chasm  at  least  1,000  feet  deep,  and,  as  one  ap- 
proaches to  its  edge  upon  the  naked  summit  of  r>ald  jNIoun- 
tain — a  })ortion  of  Greylock — the  siglit  at  once  makes  him 
grow  dizzy,  and  he  willingly  shrinks  from  so  dangerous  a 
precipice. 

Of  late  years,  the  ascent  of  this  mountain  has  become 
quite  popular,  owing  to  the  construction  of  a  tolerably 
good  road  for  a  large  part  of  the  distance  upon  its  side, 
which  can  be  readily  reached  from  the  village  of  North 
Adams.  Any  one,  however,,  who  intends  making  this  as- 
cent, cannot  expect  to  do  it  in  less  time  than  one  day,  or 
reach  the  foot  of  the  mountain  at  niglit  witliout  such  a 
condition  of  body,  as  will  readily  induce  sound  and  heaiihy 


380  GEOLOGY. 

sleep.  Several  years  since,  an  Observatory  was  built 
upon  Greylock,  and  well  fitted  up  with  instruments,  de- 
signed for  making  accurate  astronomical  observations. 
But,  either  from  malice,  or  utter  wantonness,  the  building 
was  broken  open,  and  the  apparatus  most  shamefully  de- 
stroyed. And,  still  later,  this  same  outrage  has  been  per- 
petrated upon  another  set  of  instruments,  furnished  by  the 
inhabitants  and  students  of  Williamstown,  reflecting  most 
sadly  upon  the  character  of  some  human  beings,  and  ex- 
hibiting, to  say  the  least,  a  most  striking  exemplification  of 
moral  depravity,  if  not  of  barbaiity. 

Almost  directly  South  of  the'  mountain,  in  the  adjoining 
Southwest  corner  of  Massachusetts,  stands  another  grand 
and  imposing  pile, — Mt.  Washington,  the  highest  peak  of 
Avhich  is  named  Mt.  Everett.  Nearly  2,000  feet  above  the 
base  of  this  mountain  is  situated  the  township  and  village 
of  Mt.  Washington,  liaving,  probably,  the  highest  location 
of  any  town  in  the  state,  while  600  feet  higher  towers  the 
eminence  Mt.  Everett,  named  in  honor  of  the  Ex-Govern- 
or, and  late  United  States  Senator,  Hon.  Edward  Everett. 
The  effect  produced  on  the  mind,  in  approaching  this  moun- 
tain from  a  distance,  is  much  more  grand  and  imposing 
than  when  coming  in  sight  of  Greylock.  For  Mt.  Everett 
seems  to  rise  more  abruptly  from  the  valley  below,  and  is 
not  placed  in  the  midst  of  so  many  surrounding  mountains. 
And  when  one,  riding  in  the  Housatonic  cars,  has  once 
fixed  his  eyes  upon  this  most  grand  and  noble  of  Massa- 
chusetts' mountains,  he  seems  compelled,  by  an  irresistible 
attraction,  to  gaze,  and  fill  his  soul  with  its  grandeur  and 
magnificence,  until  some  intervening  object  suddenly  cuts 
oli"  his  view,  and  he  can  only  enjoy  the  lesser  mountains 
and  the  meadows  of  the  Housatonic  valley.  Probably  the 
easiest  ascent  of  this  mountain  is  made  from  Egremont, 
upon  the  Northern  side  of  the  mountain,  although  the  way 
is  somewhat  traveled  upon  the  Southern  side,  from  North- 
east, New  York.  This  latter  journey  carries  one  by  the 
very  romantic  spot  known  as  Bashpish  Falls.  In  ascend- 
ing from  Egremont,  the  traveler  passes  up  a  rather  dreary 
slope,  for  the  most  part  untenanted,  either  by  plant  or  ani- 
mal, to  the  bight  of  2,000  feet,  when  he  reaches  the  vil- 
lage of  Mt.  Washington,  lying  in  the  broad  and  shallow 
valley,  bounded  on  the  West  by  the  Taghconic  range,  and 


GEOLOGY.  381 

on  the  East  by  Mt.  Everett,  with  its  lower  connecting 
peaks.  When  the  traveller  has  at  length  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  Mt.  Evei'ett,  he  then  has  a  view  spread  before  him, 
perhajis  not  the  most  beautiful,  but  certainly  the  grandest 
and  noblest  in  all  Massachusetts.  For  "  you  feel  yourself 
to  be  standing  above  everything  around  you  ;  and  feel  the 
proud  consciousness  of  literally  looking  down  upon  all  ter- 
restrial scenes.  Before,  on  the  East,  the  valley  through 
which  the  Housatonic  meanders,  stretches  far  Northward 
in  Massachusetts,  and  Southward  into  Connecticut;  sprinkled 
over  with  copse  and  glebe,  witli  small  sheets  of  water,  and 
beautiful  villages.  To  the  Southeast,  especially,  a  large 
sheet  of  water  appears,  I  believe  in  Canaan,  of  sui'passing 
beauty.  In  the  Southwest,  the  gigantic  Alender,  Riga, 
and  other  mountains  more  remote,  seem  to  bear  the  blue 
heavens  on  their  heads  in  calm  majesty ;  while,  stretching 
across  the  far  distant  West,  the  Catskills  hang,  like  cur- 
tains of  the  sky.  0,  what  a  glorious  display  of  mountains 
all  around  you !  and  how  does  one  in  such  a  spot  turn 
round  and  round,  and  drink  in  new  glories,  and  feel  his 
heart  swelling  more  and  more  with  emotions  of  sublimity, 
until  the  tired  optic  nerve  shrinks  from  its  office. 

'Ah,  that  such  beauty,  varying  in  the  light 
Of  living  nature,  cannot  be  portrayed 
By  words,  nor  by  the  pencil's  silent  skill, 
But  is  the  property  of  him  alone 
Who  hath  beheld  it,  noted  it  with  care, 
And  in  his  mind  recorded  it  with  love !' 

"  This  certainly  is  the  grandest  prospect  in  Massachu- 
setts ;  though  others  are  more  beautiful.  And  the  first 
hour  that  one  spends  in  such  a  si)ot,  is  among  the  richest 
treasures  that  memory  lays  up  in  her  storehouse." 

The  lover  of  nature  will  not  leave  Berkshire  County 
without  bestowing  a  glance  upon,  if  not  actually  visiting, 
one  other  remarkable  eminence,  "  Monument  Mountain," 
in  Great  Barrington.  It  stands  in  the  Northeast  part  of 
this  town,  on  the  highway  leading  to  Stockbridge,  and  rises 
only  500  feet  above  the  plain,  although  its  Eastern  side  is 
mainly  a  perpendicular  Avail  of  White  Quartz  Rock.  The 
chief  objects  of  interest  in  ascending  this  mountain,  are,  a 
very  beautiful  view  of  the  villages  of  Stockbridge  and  Cur- 


382  GEOLOGY. 

tisville,  with,  two  ponds  of  water,  and,  on  all  sides,  mountain 
rising  above  mountain  to  meet  the  dim  and  distant  horizon. 
Among  these  may  be  distinctly  recognized  on  the  North, 
Saddle  and  the  Green  Mountains,  and,  on  the  South,  Mt. 
Washington  and  the  Catskill  range,  together  with  the  de- 
lightful village  of  Great  Barrington.  Another  object  of 
thrilling  interest  on  this  mountain,  is  to  walk,  or  creep  to 
the  edge  of  one  of  the  precipices,  and  there  to  try  the 
nerves  by  looking  into  the  chasm  200  feet  below.  This, 
every  person  is  not  able  to  perform.  For,  as  he  sees  the 
immense  number  of  fragments  lying  below,  which  have,  in 
past  time,  fallen  from  the  cliffs,  and  also  sees  cracks  and 
crevices  almost  directly  underneath  the  rock  on  which  he 
lies,  the  thought  cannot  be  driven  from  his  mind  that  pos- 
sibly the  mass  on  which  he  rests  may  be  ready  to  fall,  and 
needs  but  his  weight  to  give  it  a  sufficient  starting  force, 
and  with  it,  hurl  him  with  terrific  violence  upon  the  sharp 
rocks  below.  Upon  the  highest  part  of  this  clitf,  a  portion 
has  been  separated  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  by  some 
violent  agency,  and  now  stands  insulated  from  the  parent 
rock,  80  to  100  feet  in  hight.  This,  from  its  peculiar 
shape,  isNcalled  the  "  pulpit  rock." 

If,  in  imagination,  we  now  take  to  ourselves  wings,  and 
fly  across  the  high  ranges  of  the  "  hill  towns"  in  Western 
Hampshire  County,  we  shall  find  the  mountains  to  be  much 
inferior  in  hight  to  those  in  Berkshire  County,  but  not  in 
beauty  of  prospect ;  for,  although,  from  these  summits  the 
eye  cannot  gain  such  extensive  views,  yet  all  this  is  mainly 
compensated  for,  by  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River  landscapes.  And  first,  let  us  perch  upon  the 
highest  pile  of  Sandstones  in  all  Massachusetts — INIt.  Met- 
tawampe,  or,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  Mt.  Toby,  which  is 
upon  the  boundary  between  the  towns  of  Sunderland  and 
Leverett.  Here  we  rest  our  feet  upon  the  highest  moun- 
tain in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  1,100  feet  above  the  river, 
and  1,200  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  and  gain  a 
view  from  30  to  50  miles  in  all  direction's,  overlooking  all 
mountains  lying  near.  We  also  have  a  distinct  view  of  no 
less  than  seven  villages :  Sunderland,  Amherst,  Northamp- 
ton, Hadley,  Easthampton,  Platfield  and  Whately,  while,  in 
a  very  clear  day,  we  can  recognize  the  village  of  Belcher- 
town.     It  is,  indeed,  a  pity,  that  to  gain  the  whole  of  this 


GEOLOGY.  383 

view  at  once,  it  is  necessary  to  climb  a  large  tree,  wliicli 
has  been  made  into  a  stairway  ladder ;  but  we  trust  that 
the  same  spirit  which  led  one  class  in  Amherst  College  to 
build  a  road  to  its  summit,  and  there  construct  a  tree  lad- 
der, will  induce  another  class  of  that  same  institution,  or 
some  other  body  of  jieople  in  that  vicinity  equally  public 
spirited,  to  clear  away  a  portion  of  trees  on  its  summit, 
and  repair  and  improve  the  road  by  which  the  ascent  is 
made.  The  ascent  of  this  mountain  can  be  made  either 
through  Sunderland  or  Leverett ;  and  visitors  can  ascend 
the  first  half  of  the  mountain  in  a  carriage,  and  the  latter 
half  upon  horseback,  to  its  very  summit. 

Norwottuck  is  the  name  given  to  a  peak  of  the  Ilolyoke 
range,  about  four  miles  South  of  the  village  of  Amherst. 
It  is  a  summit  very  easily  reached  on  horseback,  and,  when 
reached,  gives  a  charming  view,  although  of  no  very  great 
extent,  nor  by  any  means  of  the  beauty  of  Ilolyoke.  But 
from  this  summit,  the  visitor  gains  a  near  prospect  of  very 
wild  scenery,  while  the  villages  of  South  Deerfield,  Sun- 
derland, Amherst,  Whately,  Hatfield,  Northampton,  South 
Hadley,  Hadley,  and  Granby,  seem  to  lie  only  a  little  be- 
low his  feet.  A  good  ])ath  was  made,  some  years  since,  up 
the  side  of  this  mountain,  but  lately  it  lias  become  over- 
grown with  bushes,  which  somewhat  obscure  the  direction 
of  the  path ;  but  with  a  little  perseverance  and  hard  laljor, 
the  top  can  readily  be  readied.  And  to  those  who  love  to 
see  flowers  or  vegetation  in  tlieir  native  state,  we  would 
offer  the  advice,  to  visit  this  mountain  in  May  or  June, 
when  they  ai'e  in  their  most  perfect  vigor. 

Mt.  Tom,  a  Greenstone  summit,  bursting  up  through  the 
Sandstone  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  will  also  well  repay 
a  visit,  to  every  lover  of  nature.  It  constitutes  a  portion 
of  the  boundary  between  Northampton  and  Easthanipton, 
running  in  a  Northerly  and  Southerly  direction,  the  South- 
ern peak  being  the  highest,  about  1,000  feet  above  the  Con- 
necticut at  its  base.  The  view  from  tiiis  summit  is  con- 
siderably more  extensive  than  from  Mt.  Ilolyoke,  although 
by  no  means  so  beautiful,  since  the  main  objects  of  interest 
are  the  abundance  of  hills  and  mountains  on  the  West, 
with  the  village  of  Eastliamplon  and  its  Seminary  build- 
ings almost  directly  .under  the  feet,  and  the  Avinding  course 
of  the  Connecticut  upon  the  South,  together  with  the  vil- 


384  GEOLOGY. 

lages  of  Soutli  Hadley,  Holyoke  and  Granby  on  the  East. 
An  ascent  of  this  mountain  is  now  very  easily  made,  since 
the  county  road  leading  from  Holyoke  to  Easthampton 
will  take  the  traveler  on  his  riofht  course  for  ascendinoj  the 
mountain,  nearly  one  half  of  its  perpendicular  hight.  The 
other  portion  may  easily  be  accomplished,  either  on  foot  or 
on  horseback. 

But  the  gem  of  Massachusetts  mountains,  the  one  Avhich 
affords  the  most  splendid  view,  and  the  one  more  frequent- 
ly visited  than  all  the  others  in  the  state,  is  Mt.  Holyoke, 
on  the  boundary  line  between  Hadley  and  South  Hadley, 
and  rising  830  feet  above  the  Connecticut,  flowing  between 
it  and  Mt.  Tom  on  the  West.  The  rock  of  this  mountain 
is  the  same  as  that  of  Tom,  being  the  commencement  of 
the  Holyoke  range  which  runs  Southward  as  far  as  Long 
Island  Sound.  The  view  from  Holyoke  is  indeed  splendid 
and  captivating.  By  the  construction  of  the  road  to  its 
summit,  and  the  thickly  branched  trees  which  cover  its 
side,  one  does  not  catch  anything  but  mere  glimpses  of  the 
scenery  until  he  fairly  reaches  the  top,  when  the  view  is 
all  at  once  at  his  feet.  The  placid  and  beautiful  Connec- 
ticut will,  to  most  people,  present  itself  as  the  first  object 
of  attraction.  Immediately  we  trace  the  course  of  the 
river  as  it  first  appears  between  Mettawampe  and  Sugar ' 
Loaf,  until  it  disappeai's,  where  it  has  cut  its  way  through 
the  trap  of  the  Holyoke  range,  and  as  soon  as  it  again  ap- 
pears, we  follow  it  in  the  dim  horizon  of  Springfield  and 
its  vicinity.  While  we  are  attempting  to  trace  the  course 
in  the  extreme  Southei'n  hoi'izon,  the  question  is  very  nat- 
urally asked,  "  what  are  those  two  curious  looking  moun- 
tains with  so  steep  a  Western  declivity  ?"  These  are  East 
and  West  Rock,  near  New  Haven — no  cousins  german,  but 
hona  fide  sisters  to  Holyoke  and  Tom,  of  the  same  geolog- 
ical age  and  of  the  same  mother  earth. 

Northampton,  perhaps,  will  impress  us  with  its  beauty 
next,  seeming  so  delightful  for  a  home  or  a  summer  resi- 
dence, its  streets  so  beautifully  shaded  with  grand  elms,  and 
the  whole  village  environed  with  green  meadows  and  for- 
est trees.  Then  the  cai'pet  of  nature's  own  coloring,  in 
the  meadows  of  Northampton  and  Hadley,  seem  to  us  not 
like  any  manufacture  of  velvet,  or  ingrain  tapestry  of 
Brussels,  and  almost  impress  us  with  the  belief  that  we  are 


GEOLOGY.  385 

fairies  ourselves,  and  inhabitants  of  an  enchanted  land. 
The  distant  mountains  of  Greylock  and  Monadnock,  how- 
ever, soon  fill  the  soul  with  more  purely  sublime  and  glo- 
rious thoughts,  so  that  involuntarily  the  lips  repeat : 

"  Oh,  Nature  !  how  in  all  thy  charms,  supreme  ! 
Whose  votaries  feast  on  raptures  ever  new  ! 
Oh  for  the  voice  and  fire  of  seraphim, 
To  sing  thy  glories  with  devotion  due  !" 

The  last  objects  deserving  of  particular  attention,  to  be 
noticed  from  this  eminence,  are  the  smaller  villages  scat- 
tered through  the  valley,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
Plolyoke  with  its  immense  mills.  South  Iladley  with  its 
world-known  Female  Seminary,  Easthamptun  with  its  Wil- 
liston  Seminary,  and  Amherst  with  its  Cabinet,  Library, 
and  other  College  buildings,  standing  high  on  its  eminence 
on  the  Eastern  shore  of  the  Connecticut  Valley. 

There  is,  however,  one  fact,  which  deserves  a  brief  no- 
tice, and  one  which  forms  a  sad  contrast  to  the  ]>urity  and 
loveliness  of  this  enchanting  spot.  This  is,  the  fencing  oil' 
the  summit,  where  the  finest  view  may  be  obtained,  and, 
■vvith  no  outlay  of  money  save  the  construction  of  the  picket 
fence  and  the  original  price  of  the  land,  to  exact  the  pal- 
try sum  of  twenty-five  cents  from  every  mortal  who  treads 
the  treasured  inclosure.  This  is  unexampled  in  this  coun- 
try, and  we  feel  quite  confident  that  it  is  equally  so  in  Europe. 
This  objection  does  not,  however,  apply  to  the  building 
of  the  house,  or  the  charge  for  using  the  appurtenances  of 
it — for  the  charges  for  these  luxuries  might  be  greater,  and 
then  reasonable — but  only  the  consccnitiou  of  a  portion  of 
Mother  Earth  (in  precisely  the  same  condition  that  she 
was  left  by  violent  geological  changes,)  to  that  insatiable 
and  heartless  God — Mammon. 

From  this  description,  let  no  one  suppose  that  these  are 
the  only  eminences  that  deserve  attention,  or  a  visit  from 
lovers  of  nature,  for  tliese  are  only  the  leading  i)oints,  the 
ones  that  arc  popular  places  of  resort,  and  not  the  only 
ones  where  the  soul  and  body  can  gain  refreshing  recrea- 
tion by  the  purity  and  loveliness  of  the  objects  of  contem- 
plation. 

But  let  him  Avho  really  loves  nature,  who  loves  rural 
scenery,  and  would  sec  natural  objects  in  their  simplest 

It'o 


386  GEOLOGY. 

state,  excnaiige  a  visit  on  one  of  tliose  mountains  so  uni- 
versally known  as  places  of  resort,  upon  Avhose  sides  are 
well  constructed  roads,  and  on  whose  summits  are  comfort- 
able houses,  for  a  mountain  where  he  must  clamber  up  the 
sides,  with  no  j^ath  but  the  one  found  by  the  sun  or  com- 
pass, through  ibrest  trees  and  moss  grown  rocks,  and  per- 
chance, at  the  last,  climb  a  tree  to  gain  the  prospect ! 
Such  an  excursion  is  heartily  enjoying  nature,  and  gaining 
real — if  not  too  exhausting — recreation  of  both  body  and 
mind.  A  few  such  places,  however,  are  only  left  now  in 
all  Massachusetts,  for  the  demands  of  railroads  and  iron  fur- 
naces, and  the  growing  ^jrosperity  of  the  commonwealtli, 
are,  to  the  lower  of  nature,  making  sad  havoc  ujjon  the 
wild  forest  trees,  and,  in  one  case,  at  least,  expect  to  assail 
the  vitals  of  the  everlastino;  hills  themselves. 

There  are  other  places  from  which  magnificent  views 
can  be  obtained,  and  that,  when  merely  riding  in  a  car- 
riage upon  the  highway  path,  without  alighting  or  climbing 
up  any  hillside.  From  the  villages  of  Pelham  and  Shutes- 
bury,  towns  not  especially  noted  in  the  State,  are  some  of 
the  most  magniticent  views  in  all  Massachusetts.  For  here 
the  traveler  stands  nearly  on  the  same  level  with  all  emi- 
nences within  fifty  miles,  and  gains  a  moi'e  comprehensive 
view  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  than  can  be  obtained  on 
any  other  mountains  in  the  vicinity.  In  Chesterfield,  Con- 
way, Blandford  and  many  other  towns  on  the  hills  of 
Western  Hampshire,  Franklin  and  Hampden  Counties, 
similar  views  may  be  obtained,  and,  in  some  respects,  su- 
perior to  those  derived  from  higher  mountain  tops,  at  a 
much  less  expense  of  time  and  labor,  giving  thereby  to  the 
invalid  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  natural  scenery  to  a  great 
extent. 

But  time  and  space  forbid  us  to  do  anything  more  with 
the  waterfalls  and  gorges  of  Western  Massachusetts,  than 
merely  to  give  their  localities,  and  then  leave  the  reader  to 
gain  further  information  by  an  actual  visit  to  the  places 
themselves. 

When  the  traveler  visits  Mt.  Washington,  he  should,  by 
no  means,  fail  to  go  to  the  Southwest  part  of  that  town, 
and  there  visit  Basbpish  Falls,  Avhich,  though  only  upon  a 
small  stream  of  water,  are  in  a  very  wild  and  romantic 


GEOLOGY.  387 

spot,  and  make  a  doliglitful  excursion  to  those  who  love 
the  wild  and  romantic  in  nature.  Mittcneaque  Falls,  upon 
the  Westfield  River,  Shelburne  Falls  on  the  Deerfield,  and 
the  falls  on  the-  Chicopee  at  Indian  Orchard,  together  with 
the  most  splendid  falls  on  the  Connecticut,  at  Ilolyoke  and 
Montague,  ai^e  places  that  will  be  visited  by  those  who  love 
the  wild  and  the  grand  in  nature.  The  gorge,  or  glen,  at 
Leyden,  the  cave  at  Sunderland,  the  purgatory  at  Great 
iJarrington,  the  ghor  at  Shelburne,  on  the  Deerfield  river, 
and  the  many  limestone  caverns  in  Berkshire  county  are, 
by  no  means,  objects  that  will  be  slighted  by  those  who  are 
fond  of  sight-seeing. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Agriculture  and  Agricultural  Societies  of 
Western  Massachusetts. 

As  an  agricultural  district,  Western  Massachusetts  pos- 
sesses many  marked  characteristics.  The  geological  for- 
mations, in  which  are  blended  many  of  the  rocks  whose 
disintegration  contributes,  largely  to  the  fertility  of  the 
soil ;  ail  her  mountains  yielding  timber,  adapted  to  all  the 
wants  wliich  attend  civilized  life,  and,  at  the  same  time 
pouring  out  their  ten  thousand  streams  of  pure  and  health- 
ful waters,  to  supply  the  hill-sides  and  enrich  the  valleys ; 
her  sloping  hills,  yielding  abundant  harvests  under  the 
influence  of  cultivation,  or  furnishing  substantial  and 
healthful  pasturage  to  the  beautiful  flocks  and  herds  that 
roam  over  them ;  her  valleys  opening  to  the  genial  influ- 
ence of  "  the  warm  Southwest" ;  her  veriest  swamps  and 
lowlands — once  so  fertile  in  miasma,  now  turned  to  a  val- 
uable account, — all  these  show  conclusively  that,  in  the 
getting  up  of  this  beautiful  region,  of  varied  landscape,  un- 
told varieties  of  soil  scattered  to  meet  the  conveniences  of 
cultivation,  and  elevations,  varying  from  60  to  3.500  feet 
above  tlie  level  of  the  ocean,  the  Creator  worked  on  a 
stupendous  and  magnificent  scale,  uniting  these  and  many 
more  attractive  features  on  a  smaller  area  of  territory  than 
in  almost  any  other  region ;  as  if  He  designed  it  as  the 
ground  work  on  which  man,  in  his  most  enlightened  and 
exalted  state,  could  concentrate  his  happiest  efforts,  to  ren- 
der it  the  beautiful,  attractive,  and  productive  garden  of 
the  North. 

In  the  first  essays  of  rural  improvement  in  this  district, 
obstacles  unknown,  even  in  the  most  remote  regions  of  the 
unsettled  portions  of  our  country,  at  the  present  day,  ai'ose 
to  damp  the  ardor  and  check  the  progress  of  the  pioneers. 
They  were  on  a  new  and  unexplored  continent,  where  the 
settlements  were  confined  mainly  to  the  coast  that  belts  its 
Eastern  boundary,  or  scattered  with  sparseness  along  a 
few  of  the  streams  whose  richer  soil  attracted  the  more 


AGRICULTURE.  389 

daring  settler  to  their  banks.  To  tlic  inhabitants  of  East- 
ern Massachusetts,  he  who  saw  fit  to  locate  himself  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Connecticut,  was  looked  upon  as  one  whose 
doom  Avas  almost  sealed,  by  casting  himself  into  the  forests 
and  among  the  dangers  of  the  "  far  west,"  while  the  equally 
daring  son  of  Connecticut,  who  pushetl  his  progress  into 
the  same  valley,  or  into  the  more  remote  forests  of  Berk- 
shire, was  regarded  as  an  adventurer  to  the  chill  and  icy 
regions  of  a  too  far-off  northern  home ;  and  so  great  were 
the  supposed  dangers  of  these  earliest  settlers,  from  the 
natives  of  the  forest,  and  the  wild  beasts  that  dwelt  among 
them,  that  but  few  of  the  spai'se  populations  from  which 
they  came,  were  willing  to  risk  their  destiny  in  so  fearful 
an  enterprise. 

The  sparsencss  of  population  hindered  the  introduction 
of  the  arts  allied  to  agriculture ;  consequently,  the  first 
implements  used  in  clearing  the  forest,  and  subduing  the 
soil,  had  to  be  procured  mainly  from  the  older  settlements. 
Those  thus  obtained,  owing  to  the  then  existing  state  of 
manufactures,  were  of  a  rude,  inefficient  character,  requii'- 
inof  a  erreat  amount  of  animal  strcnszth  to  give  them  even 
passable  operation.  The  skill  and  ingenuity  of  the  farmer 
sometimes  prompted  him  to  the  bitter  necessity  of  making 
or  repairing  his  own  implements  of  husbandry,  and  these, 
from  his  want  of  proper  tools  and  ex2)erienced  skill,  may 
be  supposed  to  have  been  still  more  rude  and  cumbersome 
than  those  that  came  from  the  hand  of  the  almost  untrained 
and  inexperienced  artizan.  One  great  advantage,  howev- 
er, attended  their  labors.  Whenever  the  sun  sent  its  warm 
rays  upon  the  stirred  earth,  or  the  seed  was  cast  upon  its 
generous  bosom,  abundant  harvests  sprang  up  and  ma- 
tured, to  I'eward  the  excessive  toil  of  the  cultivator. 
"Wheat,  oats,  barley,  and  Indian  corn,  produced  highly  re- 
munerative crops,  while  the  grasses  came  in  almost  spon- 
taneously. Flax,  too,  was  soon  found  to  be  a  remunerative 
crop,  and  was  raised  in  quantities  sufficient  to  clothe  the 
population  with  linen,  fill  the  stout  chests  of  the  matrons 
of  those  early  days  with  ample  supplies  for  all  household 
comfort,  and  furnish  a  liberal  surplus  for  market. 

The  cultivation  of  fruit  was  early  attended  to,  though 
confined  principally  to  the  apple,  and  was  introduced,  in 
most  instances,  by  the  emigrants  bringing  the  seeds  with 
33* 


390  AGRICULTURE. 

them  from  the  for-off  hills  of  Connecticut,  or  the  equally 
distant  regions  of  Eastern  Massachusetts.  Tliese  were 
sown  with  great  care,  and  the  climate  and  soil  favorable  to 
their  growth  brought  them  into  early  maturity.  Many  of 
the  trees  thus  originated,  and  others  introduced  from  the 
same  source  in  the^earliest  part  of  the  settlement,  are  yet 
living  in  various  sections  of  the  territory,  and  exhibit  strong 
and  enduring  constitutional  habits ;  and  though,  for  the 
most  part,  they  produce  only  natural  fruit,  unimproved  by 
grafting  on  choice  varieties,  many  of  them  give  annual 
specimens  that  would  in  no  way  disgrace  a  horticultural  ex- 
hiljition. 

The  ajiple  and  the  currant  appear  to  have  been  the 
principal  fruits  of  those  early  days,  though  the  peach,  the 
pear,  the  quince,  and  the  grape,  were  soon  introduced,  in 
very  modest  numbers,  into  the  gardens  of  the  more  aspir- 

The  earliest  animals  were  such  as  could  conveniently  be 
obtained  from  the  then  settled  portions  of  the  continent. 
They  traced  their  origin  through  no  aristocratic  pedigree, 
nor  answered  to  the  call  of  their  owners  through  any  of 
those  euphonious  names  so  liberally  dispensed  to  their 
species  in  the  present  age.  They  Avere  just  such  animals 
as  an  infant  country  atforded, — the  very  best  that  could 
then  be  obtained,  and  if  we  may  judge  from  some  of  their 
repi-esentatives  which  descended  to  grace  the  early  part  of 
the  present  century,  they  were  ring-streaked,  speckled, 
grizzled, — of  nearly  every  variety  of  form  and  color  that 
the  imagination  can  picture.  Yet  they  were  a  hardy,  en- 
during race,  or  they  never  could  have  survived  the  expos- 
ures wliich  they  suffered  from  the  almost  universal  want 
of  shelter,  the  searching  winds  and  pitiless  storms.  Then, 
too,  in  the  earliest  times,  they  were  often  pinched  for  food, 
and  were  driven,  to  supply  the  deficiency,  to  feed  upon  the 
browse  of  the  forests. 

The  early  agriculture  of  this  region  had  other  difficul- 
ties to  meet  than  those  we  have  mentioned.  The  natives 
of  the  forest,  jealous  of  the  encroachments  of  the  white  man, 
looked  with  suspicious,  and  often  malignant  eyes  on  his 
advances,  and  frequently  encroached  upon  his  premises,  and 
bore  away  the  result  of  his  labors.  The  settlers  could  not 
then,  as  now,  look  to  a  powerful  government  for  protection, 


AGKICULTURE.  891 

for  the  Btronj;  arm  of  civil  power,  as  it  now  exists,  was  in 
embryo.  Then,  at  last,  came  the  long  and  trying  period 
of  the  revolution,  when  the  battles  of  freedom  must  be 
fought,  or  all  be  forever  lost.  And  who  could  fight  them 
but  the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  whom  their  result  would  en- 
slave, or  forever  emancipate?  During  those  long  and 
gloomy  years,  the  plough  was  often  left  to  rot  in  the  furrow, 
and  faint  and  few  were  the  encroachments  made  upon  the 
forest.  The  fattest  of  the  herd  and  tlie  finest  of  the  wheat 
were  brought  forth,  too  often  without  expectation  of  jiecu- 
niary  recompense,  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  political 
liberty. 

There  were  many  other  incidents  to  retard  the  progress 
of  the  rural  arts  in  those  early  days,  but  history  has  rela- 
ted them  in  their  more  appropriate  places.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  century,  we  find  unwieldly  tools 
in  use  upon  the  farm  and  around  the  homestead,  l)ut  slight- 
ly improved  from  the  primitive  type.  Many  of  the  fields 
whicli,  in  early  cultivation,  yielded  heavy  harvests,  began 
to  show  tokens  of  exhaustion,  and  where  wheat  once  grew 
luxuriantly,  rye  was  considered  tlie  only  safe  and  remune- 
rative winter  crop.  Spring  wheat  was  introduced  to  take 
the  place  of  winter,  but  refused  to  yield  acceptable  har- 
vests, unless  the  land  was  earefully  prei)ared  lor  its  recep- 
tion. Corn,  which  hud  flourished  in  luxuriance  on  the 
natural  food  provided  by  the  soil,  required  the  stimulating 
aid  of  manures  and  more  thorough  tillage,  in  order  to  fill 
the  golden  ear  to  fullness ;  and  grass,  once  the  almost  nat- 
ural product  of  the  soil,  soon  ran  out,  and  brought  ui)()n 
the  farmer  the  necessity  of  ploughing  and  new  seeding  the 
old  meadows. 

There  were  exceptions  to  this  deplorable  state  of  tilings. 
There  were  farmers,  from  the  begiiuiing,  who  carefully 
saved  and  applied  their  manures  to  the  suil,  and  whose 
whole  course  of  tillage  showed  a  provident  care  for  the 
future.  Then,  again,  there  were  soils  so  richly  endowed 
by  nature,  that,  in  spite  of  the  system  of  severe  cropping 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  "  held  their  own,"  as  though 
they  were  determined  not  to  be  injured  by  the  wrongs  of 
mismanagement.  But  these  were  exceptions  to  the  gene- 
ral features  which  the  country  presented. 

But  the  present  century  had  scarcely  commenced,  before 


\ 

o92  AGRICULTURE. 

the  evils  of  the  previous  system  of  farming,  and  tlie  de- 
fects in  the  tools  employed  to  carry  on  the  system  in  tlie 
manner  it  had  been  pursued,  "vvere  discovered,  and  noble 
efforts  Avere  made  to  provide  the  remedy.  The  old  plough, 
composed  almost  entirely  of  wood,  and  of  clumsy  construc- 
tion— of  itself  almost  heavy  enough  for  a  single  team,  and 
admirably  adapted  to  load  itself  with  earth,  until  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  soil  was  but  little  more  than  Avould  result 
from  drawing  a  log  across  it,  unless  it  was  frequently  re- 
lieved of  its  load  by  the  wooden  shovel  which  the  ]ilough- 
man  always  had  at  hand  for  the  purpose,  became  the  sub- 
ject of  remodeling.  The  mould-board,  at  first  almost  with- 
out curve  or  wind,  was  brought  into  more  suitable  shape 
for  raising  the  furrow  with  ease,  and  depositing  it  in  its 
lu'oper  position,  the  cumbersome  "  chip,"  as  it  was  called, 
also  of  wood,  and  answering  to  the  present  "  land-side,"  was 
reduced  from  its  stately  dimensions  to  a  more  convenient 
size,  and  secured  from  wear  by  an  iron  plate  provided  for 
its  protection,  and,  finally,  as  the  acme  of  perfection  of  the 
Avooden  plough,  the  bulk  of  timber  was  eminently  reduced, 
the  mould-board  took  a  scientific  form,  and  iron  plates  were 
stretched  across  it  for  the  double  purpose  of  saving  wear, 
and  preventing  the  continual  clogging  to  which  it  had  been 
forever  subject.  The  result  of  these  improvements  in  the 
old,  wooden  plough,  led  to  deeper  ploughings,  with  less 
amount  of  team,  and  these  ploughings  resulted,  as  deeper 
plougliings  always  must,  in  an  increased  fertility  of  the 
soil. 

Another  improvement  of  the  times,  was  the  introduction 
of  plaster,  which  was  found  to  be  higlily  beneficial  on  cer- 
tain soils  and  to  particular  crops — the  grain  crops  in  gen- 
eral. But  the  high  price  it  bore,  and  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation, prevented  its  being  extensively  used. 

The  animals  of  the  farm,  up  to  this  time,  had  not  been 
subject  to  any  material  improvement.  Many  choice  ones 
were  raised,  and  early  disposed  of,  the  farmer  permitting 
his  farm  to  be  deprived  of  such  as  would  command  the 
best  prices  in  mai'ket,  and  contenting  himself  with  keeping 
and  breeding  from  ordinary  animals — an  evil  which  has 
not  been  entirely  overcome  at  the  present  day. 

The  country  was  abundantly  stocked  with  orchards  of 
the  apple,  mainly  of  ungrafted  varieties,  and  many  of  them 


AGRICULTURE.  393 

worthless  for  all  purposes  excepting  tlie  manufacture  of 
cider,  and  of  an  ordinary  quality  for  that.  Other  fruits 
received  but  little  attention,  g,nd  the  garden,  especially  the 
farmer's  garden,  if  it  contained  anything  vegetable  beyond 
potatoes,  beans,  and  pei-haps  a  few  carrots,  onions,  and 
such  common  essentials  for  the  table,  was  looked  upon  as 
the  repository  of  superfluities,  and  the  time  spent  in  its 
cultivation  as  foolishly  thro^\Ti  away. 

Before  the  close  of'  the  first  decade  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, a  new  and  more  progressive  spirit  began  to  manifest 
itself  among  the  people  of  Berkshire,  and  some    of  the 
master  spirits  of  the  time  Avere  aroused  to  see  the  neglect- 
ed  condition   of  agriculture,   and   devise   means   for   its 
advancement  and  elevation.     In  1807,  Hon.  Elkanah  Wat- 
son, then  a  resident  of  Pittsfield,  obtained  for  his  farm  a 
pair  of  Merino  sheep,  the  first  introduced  into  Berkshire, 
and  so  great  was  the  curiosity  excited  by  these  animals, 
that  he  was  induced  to  exhibit  them  for  a  day,  under  the 
great  elm  tree  on  the  public  square  in  that  town.     The 
novelty   of  the  thing  attracted  many  spectators  of  both- 
sexes,  ft-om  that  and  some  of  the  neighboring  towns,  and, 
from  this  exhibition  is  said  to  have  originated  the  idea  of 
our  annual  cattle  shows  and  fairs  that  have  attracted,  with 
unimpaired  interest,  the  attention  of  the  vast  crowds  which 
have  yearly  attended  those  anniversaries,  for  almost  half  a 
century.     It  does  not  appear,  however,  from  any  authority 
within  our  reach,  that   any  effectual  measures  were  taken 
in  the  formation  of  this  society,  until  1810.     Li  August  of 
that  5'ear,  Samuel  H.  Wheeler,  an  intelligent  and  independ- 
ent farmer  of  Lanesborough,  with  twenty-six  other  farmers 
of  the  County,  issued  an  invitation  to  farmers  in  general  to 
an  exhibition  of  stock,  in  the  village  of  Pittsfield,  on  the 
first  of  October,  from  9  to  3  o'clock.     With  regard  to  this 
exhibition,  the   Pittsfield  Sun,  of  a  subsequent  date,  says  : 
"  The  display  of  line  animals,  and  the  numbers,  exceeded 
the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  its  promoters,  and  a  lai'ge  col- 
lection of  people  participated  in  the  display." 

February  2o,  1811,  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was  passed, 
incorporating  the  association  as  "  The  Berkshire  Agricul- 
tural Society,  for  the  promotion  of  Agriculture  and  ]Mun- 
ufacturcs."  Tlie  petitioners  named  in  this  act,  were  Elka- 
nah Watson,   Ezekiel   Bacon,   John   B.   Boot  and  John 


394  AGRICULTURE. 

Churchill  of  Pittsfielcl ;  Caleb  Hyde  of  Lenox,  and  Sam- 
uel H.  "Wheeler  of  Lanesborough,  who  was  authorized  by 
the  act  to  appoint  the  time  apd  place  of  the  first  meeting 
in  Pittsfield.     At  this  meeting,  Hon.  Elkanah  Watson,  who 
had  exerted  much  intluence  in  bringing  the  Society  into 
existence,   was    elected   President.     In    October,   of  that 
year,  another  exhibition  was  held  on  the  public  square  in 
Pittsfield,  and  premiums  were  paid  to  the  amount  of  thirty- 
one  dollars.     At  this  gathering,  says  Mr.  AYatson,  in  his 
history  of  the  Society,  "  the  number  assembled  was  estima- 
ted at  three  or  four  thousand."     An  address  was  given  by 
the   President,  after  which  a  pi'ocession  was  formed,   con- 
sisting of  a  team  "  of  sixty  yoke  of  prime  oxen,  drawing 
a  plough,  which  was  held  by  Charles  Goodrich,   Esq.,  Mr. 
Katlianiel  Fairfield  and  Mr.  Sackett,  three  of  the  oldest 
and  earliest  settlers  of  Pittsfield ;  a  band  of  music,  mem- 
bers of  the  Society,  each  with  a  badge  of  wheat  in  his  hat ; 
a  stage,  drawn  by  oxen,  having  a  broadcloth  loom  and  spin- 
ning jenny,  both  in  operation  by  English  artists ;  mechan- 
ics with   appropriate  flags,  and  another  stage  filled  with 
American   manufactures."     This  procession  was   led   by 
four  marshals,  headed  by  Simon   Earned,  Sheriff  of  the 
County.     It  ajopears  from  the  records  of  the  Society,  that 
another  meeting  was  held  in  January,  1812,  at  which  pre- 
miums  to   the   amount   of  thirty   dollars  were   awarded, 
making  the  whole  amount  awarded  by  it,  in  the  first  year 
of  its  corporate  existence,  sixty-one  dollars.     This  winter 
exliibition,  it  appears,  was  the  first  on  which  the  ladies  of 
Berkshire,  Avho  had  long  been  eminent  for  their  industry 
and  thrift,  had  ever  assembled  to  display  the   triumphs  of 
their  ingenuity  and  skill ;  and  so  reluctant  were  they  to 
contribute  to  this  display,  as  an  intelligent  lady  now  living, 
who,  at  the  time,  resided  in  Pittsfield,  testifies,  that  the 
President,  Mr.  Watson,  actually  went  around  the  village, 
after  tlie  hour  of  meeting  had  arrived,  and  urged  many  to 
come  in  and  bring  such  articles   of  home   production  as 
they  saw  fit ;  but  by  all  means  to  bring  something.     Under 
such  laborious  and  discouraging  circumstances  passed  the 
first  year  of  the  existence  of  the  Berkshire  Agricultural 
Society. 

In  1812,  an  important  acquisition  was  made  to  the  asso- 
ciation by  the  arrival  of  Major  Thomas  Melville,  a  native. 


AGRICULTURE.  395 

we  believe,  of  Boston,  but  more  recently  a  resident  of 
France,  in  Pittsiielcl.     Maj.  Melville,  during  bis  residence 
in  France,  had  become  acquainted  with  the  operations  of 
similar   institutions  in  that  country,  and,   fully   impressed 
Avith  the  valuable  eifects  which  were  resulting  from  them 
there,  and  must  attend  their  existence   everywhere,  when 
proj^crly   conducted,   came  at  the  very  moment  when  his 
services  were  needed  to  give  new  life  and  energy  to  this 
infant  and  feeble  institution.     In  that  year,  a  sul)scrii)tion 
was  circulated  in  Boston,  on  which,  through  his  influence, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  were  realized  to  the  benefit 
of  the  Society,  and  which  so  for  augmented  their  fiuuls 
that  premiums  to  the  amount  of  S2-i3   were  awarded  in 
October  of  that  year,  and  seventy-one  dollars  in  the  Janu- 
ary following.     In  October,   1813,  the  exhibition  of  the 
Society  Avas  open  two  days.     The  animals  Avere  arranged 
ill  pens  around  the  great  elm,  from  Avliich  an  appropriate 
11a"'  waved  in  the  Autumn  breeze,  while  articles  of  doraes- 
tic'manufacture  Avere  arranged  for  exhibition  in  the  upper 
room  of  tlie  toAvn  house — a  room  of  modest  dimensions, 
compared  with  the  spacious  hall  now  occupied  by  the  So- 
ciety— but  amply  sutlicient  for  those   days.     Agricultural 
implements  Avere  deposited  in  the  East,  and  vegetable  pro- 
ductions  in  the  West,  lower  rooms  of  the   same  building. 
That  year  the  Society  received  additional  aid  from  Boston, 
through  the  agency  of  Allen  IMcdville,  to   the  amount  of 
SlSB.^'and  a  donation  from  T.  Storm,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
of  SoO,  Avhich  enabled  them  to  award  premiums   on   the 
second  day  to  the  amount  of  S3G6.     These  premiums  were 
awarded  and  delivered  to  successful  candidates  in  tlie  first 
congregational  church,  after  approi)riate  religious  exercises, 
and  the  President's  address,  all  Avhich  tended  to  give  in- 
terest to  the  occasion,  and  introduce  it  to  more  fovor  Avith 
all  classes. 

In  1814,  the  Society,  through  the  agency  of  T.  Melville, 
Jr.,  was  again  favored  with  a  liberal  donation,  amounting 
to  $125,  from  citizens  of  Boston,  Avhich,  Avith  the  increasing 
funds  from  membership,  enabled  the  Society  to  aAvard  pre- 
miums on  an  increased  luunbcr  of  articles  that  ycai*,  to 
the  amount  of  five  hui Hired  and  tAvcnty-threc  dollars. 

The  Society  Avas  now  out  of  shoal  water,  and  under  en- 
couraging headway  on  the  sea  of  usefulness.     Although 


S96  AGRICULTURE. 

many  of  the  farmers  still  looked  upon  its  operations  witli 
jealous  eyes,  and  stood  apart  from  its  general  proceedings, 
the  increasing  numbers  which,  from  year  to  year,  attended 
its  anniversaries,  showed  conclusively  that  it  was  attracting 
more  general  favor,  while  the  improved  animals,  imple- 
ments of  husbandry,  and  better  system  of  cultivation, 
which  were  distributed  through  the  county,  placed  their 
utility  within  the  inspection  of  all  observers.  And  how- 
ever little  the  prejudiced  part  of  the  community  might  be 
willing  to  attribute  them  to  the  influence  of  the  associa- 
tion, they  were  each  and  all  coming  within  the  sphere  of 
its  benefits. 

Encouraged  by  the  increasing  success  attending  their 
labors,  the  Society,  in  addition  to  their  usual  premium  list, 
offered  the  following  prizes,  to  be  awarded  in  1819  :  For 
the  best  and  second  best  young  Apple  Orchard  of  grafted 
fruit,  $30 ;  for  the  best  and  2d  best  young  Maple  Orchard, 
$30  ;  for  the  best  Grasses,  $30  ;  for  the  best  Farm,  $35  ; 
for  the  best  and  most  economical  method  of  recovering 
worn  out  fields,  $30— Total,  $155. 

In  1817  and  1818,  the  Society  received  a  grant  from  the 
Legislature  of  $200  each  year,  amounting  to  $400.  The 
latter  year,  the  anniversary  in  October  was  rendered  mem- 
orable by  the  first  ploughing  match  that  was  ever  witnessed 
in  Berkshire.  Tlie  brightness  of  the  morning  and  the 
novelty  of  the  scene  brought  thousands,  many  of  them 
from  a  distance,  at  an  early  hour,  to  witness  the  spirit  and 
rivalry  of  the  occasion.  There  were  but  two  premiums 
offered,  and  only  four  competitors,  three  of  whom  resided 
in  Pittsfield.  There  was  but  one  cast  iron  plough,  three 
with  wooden  mould-boards, — wrought  iron  shares  with 
steel  points.  In  December  of  that  year,  a  committee  was 
appointed  in  each  town  in  the  county,  to  solicit,  in  their 
respective  towns,  aid  for  the  Society,  and  in  January,  1819, 
a  memorial  was  presented  to  the  Legislature,  asking  for, 
additional  aid  to  its  funds.  Up  to  this  time,  it  appears  the 
Society  had  dispensed  $3,G47  92,  to  advance  its  objects, 
and  were  then  indebted  to  the  amount  of  $600.  Tl^ere 
were,  of  original  subscribers,  who  yearly  paid  $5  each,  56  ; 
of  those  who  paid  $2  each,  12 — making  the  number  of 
actual  members  only  68,  and  the  amount  received  from 
them  $201.     The  whole  number  of  applicants  for  premi- 


AGRICULTURE.  397 

ums  on  crops  that  year  was  only  24;  of  these  15  were  in 
Pittsliekl,  4  in  Lanesboro,  2  in  Richmond,  1  in  Dalton,  1 
in  Leo,  and  1  in  Great  Barrington.  The  crops  entered 
were  as  follows: — on  corn  17  entries,  winter  wheat  2,  on 
spring  wheat  10,  on  rye  8,  on  peas  5,  on  potatoes  2,  maple 
orchard  1.  As  an  inducement  to  fai'mers  from  more  re- 
mote parts  of  the  county  to  bring  in  their  animals  for  ex- 
hibition, Mr.  Melville,  the  President  of  the  Society,  an- 
nounced through  the  papers,  some  days  previous  to  the 
exhibition,  that  he  would  furnish  good  jjasturage,  gratis,  on 
the  day  previous,  and  the  two  days  of  the  fair,  at  his  farm, 
near  the  village,  for  all  animals  intended  for  show,  premi- 
um, or  ploughing  match. 

At  this  early  period,  a  decline  in  the  potato  crop  was 
noticed  in  the  report  on  agriculture,  and  the  committee 
called  the  attention  of  farmei-s  to  raising  "  other  roots." 
Improvements  in  the  condition  of  barns,  yards,  &c.,  were 
spoken  of,  as  also  increasing  eiforts  in  the  saving  and  apjni- 
cation  of  manures,  and  the  more  general  and  successful  use 
of  plaster.  At  this  year's  anniversary,  only  three  competitors 
entered  for  the  ploughing  match,  and  the  ploughs  used  were, 
"  one  made  after  the  model  of  Mr.  Melville's  celebrated 
Berkshire  plough,"  one  "  an  imported  iron  plough,"  (called 
the  Scotch  plough  we  think,)  and  the  third,  "  the  common 
Shaker  plough."  The  time  occupied  in  ploughing  one 
quarter  acre  was,  32  minutes  by  the  first,  34  by  the  sec- 
ond, and  36  minutes  by  the  third  team,  "each  with  one 
yoke  of  oxen ;  the  latter  only  had  a  driver."  The  funds 
appropriated  for  maple  and  apple  orchards  met,  in  the  for- 
mer but  one,  and  in  the  latter  no  applicant.  The  one  entry 
for  maples,  was  for  those  set  by  the  wayside,  a  veiy  com- 
mendable practice,  but  as  the  committee  did  not  consider 
the  trees  thus  set  as  "  an  orchard,"  no  premium  was  given. 
Of  the  fifteen  premiums  awarded  on  domestic  animals, 
eighteen  were  from  Pittsfield,  and  one  each  from  Dalton, 
Lanesboro,  Lenox,  Becket  and  Eichmond — the  latter  for 
tlie  then  celebrated  ox  "  Berkshire,"  fattened  by  Warren 
Beebe  of  Richmond,  the  ox  weighing  2,o48  lbs  ! 

The  premiums  on  domestic  manufactures  were  destined  to 
a  wider  circulation,  and  that  for  the  largest  quantity  of  man- 
ufactured articles  in  her  family  made  witliin  the  year,  ^\•as 
awarded  to  JNIrs.  Sarah  Perkins  of  Becket,  for  tiie  fuurlh 
34 


398  AGRICULTURE. 

time.  As  it  may  interest  the  ladies  of  this  age  to  know 
the  extent  to  Avhich  this  ai't  was  carried  in  families  at  that 
eai'ly  day,  we  subjoin  the  amount  manufactured  by  Mrs. 
Perkins'  household,  consisting  of  herself  and  four  girls,  in 
1818,  which  is  as  follows  :  "  four  hundred  and  forty-eight 
yards  of  fulled  cloth,  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  and 
one-fourth  yards  of  flannel,  fifty-three  yards  of  carpeting, 
one  hundred  and  forty-two  and  three-fourthS  yards  of  table 
linens  and  linen  cloths,  making  in  all  eight  hundred  and 
four  and  one-half  yards  of  cloth."  In  1820,  the  Society 
invited  the  plough-makers  to  an  exhibition  and  trial  of 
ploughs,  but  we  do  not  learn  from  the  record  that  any 
ploughs  were  exhibited,  or  the  invitation  in  any  way  heed- 
ed. This  year,  also,  the  committees  on  agriculture  recom- 
mended the  cultivation  of  hops,  and  the  use  of  home 
brewed  beer  for  the  driidi  of  the  farm,  instead  of  "  perni- 
cious, poison,  ardent  spirits."  In  1822,  we  find  the  num- 
ber of  members  of  the  Society  increased  to  165,  inhabitmg 
the  extreme  North  and  Soutli  ends,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  some  of  the  mountain  towns,  the  intervening  por- 
tions of  the  county.  Better  animals  are  spread  over  its 
surface,  both  in  herds  and  flocks, — the  latter  having  been 
essentially  improved  by  the  enterprise  of  Messrs.  Merrick 
&  Colts,  and  J.  Allen  of  Pittsfield,  with  many  in  other 
towns.  We  find  the  premium  list  on  animals  extended  to 
thirty-four  specifications ;  that  on  crops  to  thirty-one  ;  and 
on  domestic  manufactures  to  seventeen,  the  proposed  awards 
amounting  to  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars. 

Leaving  the  Society  in  this  flourishing  condition,  enjoy- 
ing the  patronage  of  the  State,  the  co-operation  of  the 
intelligent  and  enterprising  of  both  sexes  throughout  the 
county,  and  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  its  labors,  we  now 
pass  over  the  glorious  results  of  its  annual  labors  and  fest- 
ive joys  for  ten  years,  to  compare  the  results  which 
show  its  triumph.  We  here  find  an  extended  premium 
list,  embracmg  among  its  novelties  the  offers  of  premiums 
on  the  kitchen  garden,  the  mulberiy  orchard  and  sewing 
silk  and  cocoons,  while  for  the  ploughing  match  six  premiums 
of  $35  are  offered,  when  at  our  last  glance  only  tliree  com- 
petitors entered  the  arena  of  contest ;  and  eight  ox  and 
four  horse  teams  enter  and  contend  for  the  prizes,  in  a 
damp,  uncomfortable  day.  and  at  an  early  hour.     We  find 


AGRICULTUBE.  399 

too,  in  the  hall  of  manufactures,  that  the  useful  does  not 
occupy  the  whole  tune  and  skill  of  the  daughters  of  Berk- 
shire, but,  that  improving  taste  and  growing  skill  invite 
them  to  the  ornamental  arts  which  are  brought  forth  to 
grace  the  festivities  of  the  farmer's  holiday. 

Ten  years  more — 1842.  Wliat  changes  it  exhibits,  what 
triumphs  it  proclaims,  what  hopes  it  encourages!  The 
farmers'  granaries  are  all  filled,  so  that  there  can  be  no  lack 
of  bread  in  the  land.  New  and  more  convenient  buildings 
have  arisen,  and  refreshing  shades  protect  them  from  the 
suns  of  summer  and  the  wiutiy  blast.  Pharaoh's  lean  kine 
no  longer  devour  the  land,  but  have  given  place  to  trim, 
sleek,  docile  animals,  which  feed  to  the  full,  and  gambol  in 
luxuriant  pastures.  Flocks  of  the  finest  fleece  range  in 
fatness  upon  all  the  hills.  The  church  and  the  school  room 
assume  new  and  attractive  features,  and  every  thing  de- 
monstrates the  upward  and  onward  tendency  of  man.  Go 
with  us  to  the  farmers'  holiday.  Those  pens  which  once 
occupied  a  small  position  around  the  "big  elm"  are  no 
longer  to  be  found,  but  have  increased  in  number  and  cap- 
acity until  they  cover  a  broad  field !  The  old  town  hall 
has  passed  away,  and  a  new  and  spacious  structure  covers 
its  site,  and  its  high,  broad  and  noble  hall  is  filled  to  over- 
flowing with  the  workings  of  art  and  oflTeriugs  of  nature. 
The  plowing  match  !  Twenty-one  teams  enter  in  compe- 
tition, and  thousands,  embracing  those  who  attended  at  the 
first  similar  occasion,  the  young  and  the  fair,  all  with  buoy- 
ant hopes  and  joyful  reminiscences — all  are  there  to  witness 
the  struggle  and  the  triumphs.  The  old  church  !  It  stands 
— crowds  gather  round  its  portals,  its  bell  sends  forth  its 
merry  peals,  soft  music  floats  upon  the  breeze,  and  the  ban- 
ners of  peace  and  rural  festivity  unfurl  in  the  mellow  air. 
The  old  church  di-inks  in  from  the  multitude  until  its  ca- 
pacity is  filled  to  overflowing,  and  thousands  ha\'e  been 
obliged  to  turn  away  in  disappointment,  from  the  scenes  to 
be  enacted  there.  The  organ  swells  forth  its  sweet  anthem, 
and  responsive  voices  catch  its  thrilling  notes.  The  voice 
of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  is  heard  there,  and  all  the  sci'- 
vices  go  on  as  of  yore,  only  that  hearts  now  made  strong 
by  success  engage  in  more  decisive  action. 

The  Berkshire  Agricultural  Society,  at  its  annivcrsaiy 
in  lSo3,  consisted  of  about  400  members  who  were  cnti- 


400  AGRICULTURE. 

tied  to  tliG  privileges  of  the  association  by  the  payment  of 
one  dollar  a  year.  Persons  not  members,  have,  from  the 
commencement,  been  required  to  pay  two  dollars  to  enable 
them  to  compete  for  premiums.  Ladies,  however,  are  ex- 
cepted. Any  one  can  compete  in  domestic  manufactures 
without  cost,  and  this  is  a  wise  arrangement,  for  the  inter- 
est they  give  to  the  exhibitions  is  more  than  equivalent  to 
all  they  receive.  The  Society  has  a  respectable  fund,  and 
draws  annually  from  the  State  S600,  Avhich  is  applied  for 
premiums.  In  1853,  there  were  twelve  e*itries  of  winter 
wheat;  nineteen  of  spring  wheat;  twenty-three  of  rye; 
thirty-seven  of  corn ;  forty-one  of  oats ;  ten  of  meslins, 
and  a  creditable  number  of  barley,  peas,  buckwheat,  pota- 
toes, carrots,  rutabagas  and  apple  orchards,  and  the  amount 
of  premiums  awarded  on  them  Avas  S207.  Twelve  dollars 
were  awarded  on  fruit,  and  nine  dollars  on  garden  vegeta- 
bles. There  w-ere  forty  lots  of  butter  and  eleven  of  cheese, 
on  which  S28  were  awarded.  Sixteen  dollars  were  given 
on  agricultural  implements.  There  were  more  than  twenty 
entries  for  ploughing,  and  premiums  awarded  to  the  amount 
of  $54.  The  exhibition  of  domestic  animals  was  large, 
and  drew  premiums  to  the  amount  of  S389,  wdiile  the 
countless  array  of  domestic  manufactures  drew  $94,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  S809,  which,  according  to  ancient  usage,  w^as 
mostly  paid  in  silver  plate. 

We  have  devoted  a  large  space  to  the  origin  and  pro- 
gress of  this  Society,  from  the  fact  of  its  being  one  of  the 
earliest  and  oldest  institutions  of  the  kind  in  our  country. 
Altliough  this  Society  claims  date  among  the  earliest  of 
the  kind — with  fearful  prejudices  to  contend  with,  and  many 
other  serious  obstacles  to  meet — it  was  not  long  pursuin<T  its 
wearisome  course  alone.  The  enterprise,  intelligence  and 
wefilth  Avhich  had  been  accumulating  in  the  fertile  valley 
of  the  Connecticut  from  its  earliest  settlement,  saw  the 
beautiful  tree  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  more  unpropi- 
tious  soil  of  Berkshire,  and  admired  its  spreading  branches 
and  the  fair  fruit  it  had  already  begun  to  mature ;  and 
sought  to  see  so  graceful  and  good  a  tree  casting  its  shadow- 
over  their  own  favored  territory.  Accordingly,  an  associ- 
ation was  formed  and  incorporated  in  1818,  as  "The 
Hampshire,  Hampden,  and  Franklin  Agricultural  Society," 
covering  the  territory  of  those  three  counties.     Since  the 


AGRICULTUKE.  401 

the  formation  of  the  hatter  Society,  the  two  have  derived 
benefits  from  each  other's  experience,  and,  for  the  earlier 
period  of  their  existence,  each  was  discouraged  by  similar 
difficulties.  But  enterprising  men  East  of  the  Greeu 
JMountains  were  as  numerous,  and  as  stout  hearted  as  those 
of  Berkshire,  and  for  the  thu-ty  years  succeeduig  its  form- 
ation, the  Society  East  of  the  mountains  probably  accom- 
plished more  than  did  that  on  the  West.  Thei-e  was  a 
larger  population  to  sustain  it,  and  consequently,  more 
wealth.  The  fine  valley  that  lies  across  their  territory 
from  North  to  South,  gave  them  a  precedence  in  soil  which 
must  have  operated  to  their  advantage.  Especially  in 
grazing,  and  in  the  fattening  of  animals,  they  became  pre- 
eminent. More  general  attention  was  paid  to  the  culture 
of  the  finer  fruits  there  than  in  the  Western  county. 

The  growing  of  the  mulberry  and  feeding  of  silkworms 
were  commended  to  more  general  attention  in  the  four 
Western  Counties  as  early  as  1835,  and,  although  much 
ground  was  sown  to  these  trees  in  Berkshire,  the  principal 
transactions  in  the  business  v/ere  in  the  river  towns  of  the 
Connecticut.  From  climatic  difficulties  and  other  causes, 
the  excitement  soon  passed  away.  In  1847,  the  exhibition 
was  manifestly  a  great  improvement  on  that  of  former 
years.  There  were  300  head  of  horned  cattle  exhibited, 
very  many  of  them  of  the  choicest  and  best  varieties. 

In  this  region,  earlier  attention  was  given  to  rearing  fine 
horses  than  in  any  other  section  of  the  Commonwealth,  so 
that  when  the  young  "  Justin  Morgan  "  emigrated  to  Ver- 
mont in  1798,  the  valley  was  in  no  way  deficient  in  fine 
horses.  At  the  Society's  Exhibition  in  1847,  there  were 
ninety-six  hoi'ses  on  exhibition,  or  nearly  one-fifth  as  many 
as  there  were  of  horned  animals,  while  the  yokes  of  work- 
ing oxen  present  numbered  172.  The  exhibition  of  fruit 
this  year  appears  to  have  been  of  an  increased  quantity  and 
supe)-ior  quality.  Grapes,  peaches  and  pears  were  pre- 
sented in  such  numbers  as  to  give  assurance  of  the 
adaptation  of  the  soil  and  climate  to  their  growth,  in  suf- 
ficient quantities,  at  least,  for  home  consumption,  while  ap- 
ples "  as  plenty  as  blackberries,"  graced  the  festival. 

In  1848,  the  exliibition  was  pronounced  as  in  some 
things  falling  short,  while,  in  others,  it  was  ahead  of  all 
former  shows.  The  number  of  fine  horses  exceeded  loO, 
34* 


402  AGRICULTURE. 

while  the  show  of  fine  fruits  was  magnificent.  All  subse- 
quent exliibitions  of  the  Society  up  to  the  present  time,  go 
to  sliow  the  increasing  interest  in  behalf  of  the  objects  it 
was  designed  to  promote.  Each  year  extends  the  sphere 
of  aid  and  encouragement,  by  liberal  offers  of  premiums 
on  new  and  necessary  articles,  calculated  to  promote  the 
general  thrift  and  prosperity  of  the  circle  of  its  labors. 
Tliis  Society  was  the  earliest  in  "Western  Massachusetts 
that  distributed  any  portion  of  its  premiums  in  agricultural 
publications,  a  practice  which  cannot  be  too  soon  or  too 
generally  adojjted  by  all  similar  institutions. 

This  Society  and  the  Berkshire  covered  too  large  and  in- 
convenient a  tract  of  territory,  successfully  to  bring  in  all 
the  population  they  contained,  and  the  various  products  with 
which  they  abounded.  Especially,  farmers  remote  from  the 
exhibition,  found  it  both  difficult  and  expensive  to  exhibit 
their  fine  animals,  which,  in  many  instances,  would  occupy 
four  days,  including  those  of  shows,  to  effect  the  object. 
Consequently,  Avhen  the  utility  of  the  thing  was  fairly  test- 
ed beyond  a  doubt,  it  was  very  natural  that  similar  institu- 
tions should  spring  up  within  the  territory  over  which  those 
societies  extended  their  patronage. 

Southern  Berkshire,  with  a  large  population,  and  a  ter- 
ritory whose  productive  resources  were  rapidly  advancing, 
whose  herds  exhibited  the  most  successful  results  from 
thorough  breeding,  and  whose  flocks  were  clothed  in  gar- 
ments of  delicate  fineness,  as  early  as  1841  felt  the  incon- 
venience from  which  they  sufl^ered  by  their  distance  from 
the  County  Show,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  Josluia 
B.  Lawton,  Hon.  Increase  Sumner  and  others  in  Great 
Barrington,  considered  the  propriety  of  forming  a  society 
in  that  section,  not  with  a  view  to  interfere,  in  any  way, 
with  the  parent  society,  but  to  point  out  its  objects,  and  se- 
cure its  benefits,  by  a  more  genei'al  development  of  its  sys- 
tem of  operation. 

Such  were  some  of  the  arguments  which  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Housatonic  Agricultural  Society.  The 
following  winter  a  meeting  was  called,  a  constitution  adopt- 
ed, and  two  hundred  and  fifty  members,  at  an  annual  tax 
of  SI  each,  enrolled  their  names,  and  the  "Housatonic 
Agricultural  Society  "  had  entered  upon  a  promising  exist- 
ence.    The  first  exlaibition  was,  throughout,  such  as  would 


AGRICULTURE.  403 

have  honored  an  older  and  more  mature  institution.  Some 
slight  feelings  of  jealousy  for  a  Avliile  existed,  and  fears 
were  indulged  tiiat  this  Society  would  operate  to 
the  inj-ury  of  the  parent  one,  but  these  doubts  wei"e 
groundless  and  were  soon  buried ;  and  the  two  societies 
noAV  advance  in  harmonious  brotherhood,  tlie  younger  hav- 
ing increased  the  number  of  members  and  funds  of  the 
elder,  which,  in  turn,  furnishes  members  from  central  Berk- 
shire to  aid  the  other.  This  Society  Avas  incorporated  in 
1848,  since  which  its  course  has  been  prosperous,  making 
glad  all  that  come  within  its  influence.  It  has  a  fund  of 
SpGjOOO,  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  members,  and  an- 
nually pays  out  premiums  to  the  amount  of  nearly  $900. 

The  Hampden  County  Agricultural  Society,  was  incor- 
porated in  1844,  and  the  first  meeting  was  called  by  Hon. 
W.  B.  Calhoun,  to  be  held  on  tlie  9th  of  April  that  year. 
This  meeting  was  numerously  attended  by  people  from  all 
sections  of  the  county.  The  following  persons  wei'e  cho- 
sen officers  of  the  Society  under  the  Constitution :  Hon. 
Wm,  B.  Calhoun,  President :  thirteen  Vice  Presidents ; 
James  R.  Crooks,  Treasurer ;  and  D.  M.  Bryant,  Secreta- 
•  ry.  At  a  meeting  of  the  society  the  following  June,  it  Avas 
voted  to  hold  the  first  cattle  sIioav  and  fair  in  Springfield, 
the  IGth  and  17th  days  of  the  following  October,  provided 
the  citizens  of  Springfield  should  before  that  time  contrib- 
ute SGOO  to  the  Society's  funds.  The  fii'st  exhibition  drew 
together  a  large  concourse,  and  the  number  of  beautiful 
animals  fully  shoAved  forth  its  promise  of  future  usefulness. 
In  1845,  the  amount  paid  in  premiums  Avas  S269.  In 
1852,  it  Avas  §485,  though  about  double  that  sum  Avas  of- 
fered. The  Society  has  noAV  more  than  five  hundred 
members,  and  a  permanent  fund  of  S4,8G0.  The 
folloAving  persons  have  pi-esided  over  this  Society :  "Wm. 
B.  Callioun,  John  Mills,  Josiah  Hooker,  Thomas  J.  Shep- 
ard,  and  Francis  BrcAA'cr.  Secretaries :  D.  M.  Bryant,  S. 
L.  Parsons,  Henry  Vose  and  A.  A.  Allen.  Its  present 
prospects  are  of  a  flattering  nature. 

Some  eight  or  ten  years  since,  a  few  spirited  individuals 
in  Amherst  got  up  a  Society,  and  held  a  shoAV  and  fair 
which  Avas  then  designated  as  the  Amherst  Cattle  Show. 
Not  likmg  that  the  good  people  of  that  tOAvn  should  have 
all  the  glory  of  the  enterprise,  the  farmers  of  the  neigh- 


401  AGRICULTURE. 

boring  towns  soon  came  in,  bringing  their  herds,  their 
flocks,  and  manufactures.  Committees  of  inspection  and 
award  were  appointed,  thougli  no  premiums  were  paid  in 
the  early  history  of  the  Society.  This  state  of  things, 
however,  did  not  long  continue.  The  funds  of  the  Society 
increased  liberally,  and  so  did  its  ranks,  until  it  numbered 
its  adjuncts  in  all  parts  of  the  County,  and  took  the  name 
of,  and  was  incorporated  in  1850,  as  '•  The  Hampshire  Ag- 
ricultural Society."  The  amount  of  premiums  given  out 
by  it  the  first  year  of  its  corporate  existence  was  about 
35350.  The  amount  now  paid  is  something  over  ??500. 
This  Society's  premiums  cover  a  large  variety  of  articles, 
and  its  encourasrement  has  brought  out  new  efforts  in  all 
branches  of  rural  industry  and  economy,  especially  in 
raising  fruits,  composting  manures,  and  declaiming  swamps. 

The  Hampshire  Agricultural  Society  has  thus  far  nobly 
realized  the  expectations  of  its  founders.  They  earnestly 
sought  to  increase  the  surplus  products  of  the  farms,  and  to 
improve  the  stock  of  Hampshire  County.  They  estab- 
lished this  Society  as  an  eiiicient  means  to  this  end.  They 
had  not  failed  to  observe  that  the  Massachusetts  farmers 
might  sell  all  they  could  raise,  under  the  old  methods  of 
farming.  Yet  the  markets  of  the  State,  made  easy  of  ac- 
cess by  railroads,  could  not  be  supplied  by  Massachusetts 
farmers  alone.  So  rapid  was  the  increase  of  population, 
that  vast  quantities  of  corn,  wheat,  rye,  cattle  and  horses 
-were  annually  brought  to  Massachusetts  markets  from  oth- 
er States.  Massachusetts  farmers  might  increase  their 
products  by  improved  methods  of  cultivating  the  soil. 
They  might  raise  and  sell  better  stock.  Science  and  ex- 
periment would  slowly  determine  the  most  gainful  meth- 
ods. Any  considerable  increase  in  surplus  farm  products 
and  in  tlie  number  and  value  of  cattle,  Avould  add  to  the 
wealth  of  the  State.  Hampshire  County  might  largely 
share 'in  this  increase  of  wealth. 

To  increase  the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  County  much 
new  information  was  indispensible.  Addresses,  lectures 
and  books  on  farming,  manures,  stock  and  kindred  topics, 
must  be  procured.  That  which  was  beyond  the  power  of 
individual  enterprise,  was  within  the  means  of  an  agricul- 
tural association,  co-operating  with  other  associations  of  a 
kindred   character.     A   society   with  annual   exhibitions 


AGRICULTURE.  405 

might  encourage  skillful  farming  and  stock  raising  by  pre- 
miums. Sucli  were  some  of  the  leading  views  of  the 
founders  of  the  Hampshire  Agricultural  Society.  To  Al- 
fred Baker  of  Amherst  belonii-s  the  honor  of  heading  the 
petition  for  the  act  of  incorporation,  and  of  being  foremost 
in  procuring  permanent  funds  by  enlisting  life  members. 
He  has  served  as  Pi-esident  since  its  organization.  J.  W. 
Boyden  of  Amherst  has,  from  the  start,  given  his  best  ef- 
forts as  Secretary,  to  promote  the  success  of  the  exhibi- 
tions, and  enhance  the  value  of  the  publications  of  the  So- 
ciety. The  permanent  fund  is  S3,522,  and  the  number  of 
life  members  800.  The  annual  addresses  have  been  deliv- 
ered by  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder  of  Dorchester,  Prof.  W.  C. 
Fowler  of  Amherst,  W.  C.  Goldthwait  of  Westfield,  and 
Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington  of  Boston.  An  admirable  course 
of  lectures  before  the  Society  was  delivered  in  the  winter 
of  1850-1,  by  Prof.  J.  A.  Nash  of  Amherst,  editor  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley  Farmer.  The  publications  of  the  So- 
ciety have  been  extensively  useful. 

The  Franklin  County  Agricultural  Society  was  incorpo- 
rated March  20,  1850,  and  the  Society  Avas  organized  un- 
der the  act,  on  the  22d  of  May,  in  that  year.  The  persons 
named  in  the  act  of  incorporation  were  H.  G.  Newcomb, 
Daniel  11.  Waite  and  W.  T.  Davis.  Henry  W.  Clapp  was 
chosen  President  fur  that  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  Hon. 
Henry  W.  Cushman,  who  held  the  office  in  1851,  1852 
and  1853.  This  Society  commenced  in  1850  with  about 
2i)0  members,  and,  at  the  present  time,  numbers  nearly 
700,  about  30  of  Avhom  are  females.  They  are  all  life 
members,  and,  taking  the  two  latter  facts  into  account,  we 
have  no  doubt  that  the  Society  is  well  based,  and  will  go 
on  prospering  and  to  prosper,  vmtil  it  has  remodeled  that 
beautiful  and  productive  county.  At  its  last  anniversai-y, 
the  Society  distributed  over  two  hundred  and  twenty  i)re- 
miums  upon  the  various  articles  exhibited,  among  wiiich 
were  a  large  number  of  fruits.  The  terms  of  life  m'ember- 
ship  in  this  Society  are  the  payment  of  five  dollars  by 
males,  and  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  by  females,  at  the 
time  of  joining  the  Society.  The  payment  of  ten  dollars 
at  one  time  constitutes  an  honorary  life  member,  and 
twenty-five  dollars  an  honorary  life  trustee,  with  a  i'ree 
ticket  to  the  annual  dinner.     These  arrangements  may  ap- 


406  AGRICULTUllE. 

pear  to  the  reader  ratlier  novel,  but  tliey  are  most  com- 
mendable. Some  ■will  think  it  an  innovation  unheard  of 
and  unjust  to  tax  the  ladies,  but  in  these  days  of  women's 
rights,  what  can  be  more  appropriate,  or  better  calculated 
to  promote  success  ?  If  some  of  our  older  sister  societies 
will  adopt  the  same  course,  they  will  lose  nothing  in  suc- 
cess by  the  operation. 

In  1852,  a  number  of  spirited  individuals  in  Worthing- 
ton  formed  an  association  called  the  Worthington  Agricul- 
tural Society,  of  which  E.  H.  Brewster  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  John  Adams,  Secretary.  There  were  five  vice 
presidents  and  five  directors.  The  Society  numbered 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  the  first  year  of  its 
existence,  and  the  Show  and  Fair  of  that  year  gave  full 
assurance  of  triumphant  success.  In  March,  1853,  the 
limits  of  the  Society  were  extended  to  the  neighboring 
towns,  and  the  name  changed  to  that  of  the  "  Green  Moun- 
tain Agricultural  Society,"  and  its  members  are  found  in 
Cummington,  Peru,  Middlefield,  Chester,  Korwich,  Ches- 
terfield and  Worthington,  and  it  at  present  numbers  two 
hundred  and  fifty  members.  Although  the  Society,  thus 
fiir,  has  awarded  no  premiums,  it  is  evident  from  the  ex- 
tension of  its  limits  and  increase  of  its  members,  that  it  is 
a  favorite  with  the  intelligent  farmei's  in  that  region,  and 
is  accomplishing  desirable  and  satisfactory  results.  AVeekly 
meetings  of  the  members  are  held  at  some  seasons  of  the 
year,  for  the  discussion  of  the  subjects  connected  with  its 
prosperity. 

A  similar  association  exists  in  Westfield,  known  as  the 
"  West  Hampden  Agricultural  Society,"  which,  it  appears, 
originated  in  that  town  some  ten  years  since,  as  simply  a 
cattle  show,  when  the  farmers  brought  in  their  fine  animals 
fottexhibition,  had  a  dinner  and  good  cheer,  and  went  home 
happier  and  wiser  for  the  gathering.  For  the  last  six 
years,  the  exhibition  has  been  extended  to  the  products  of 
the  farm,  mechanical  skill,  works  of  art,  &c.  The  associ- 
ation is  said  to  have  arisen  under  the  direct  influence  of 
Silas  Root,  Esq.,  and  the  members  meet  occasionally  dur- 
ing the  winter,  for  discussion. 

A  similar  Society  has  Palmer  for  its  nucleus,  and  it  is 
called   the  East   Hampden   Agricultural  Society,  which, 


>' 


AGRICULTURE.  407 

based  on  similar  grounds  with  the  last  named,  is  accom- 
plishing much  for  the  interests  of  all  classes. 

Intimately  connected  with  Agricultural  Societies,  and 
operating  to  produce  the  most  successful  results,  we  find 
the  "  Farmers'  Clubs."  The  earliest  of  these  was  organ- 
ized in  Stockbridge  and  Lenox,  in  184G,  and  is  denomina- 
ted the  North  Stockbridge  Farmers'  Club.  It  commenced 
by  holding  meetings  once  in  tAvo  weeks,  at  the  houses  of 
the  members,  for  the  discussion  of  subjects  relating  to  the 
iarm  and  the  garden.  As  early  as  1849,  committees  were 
api)oiutcd  to  view  crops  and  report  thereon,  and  a  day  was 
set  apart  in  October  for  the  exhibition  of  animals,  fruit, 
vegetables  and  domestic  manufactures.  These  meetings 
ha\'c  been  annually  held  in  October,  since  that  tune,  and 
in  each  year  the  meetings  for  discussion  are  kept  up  from 
October  to  April.  The  results  of  the  club  have  thus  far 
I'ully  realized  the  expectations  of  its  warmest  friends. 

A  similar  association  was  organized  in  Sunderland,  in 
the  County  of  Franklin,  in  January,  1833.  We  cannot 
better  illustrate  its  object  than  by  quoting  from  its  consti- 
tution : 

'<Art.  2.  The  object  of  the  club  shall  be  the  circulation 
of  general  intelli^^once  and  practical  instruction  in  all  the 
branches  of  agriculture,  horticulture  and  floriculture: 

"  1st.  By  the  establishment  of  discussions,  lectures,  exhibi- 
tions, experiments  and  other  means,  for  the  general  cultiva- 
tion of  knowledge  on  subjects  embraced  by  the  club. 

"  2d.  By  procuring  the  most  rare  and  valuable  kinds  of  seeds, 
scions,  plants,  shrubs  and  trees. 

"  3d.  Hy  the  establishment  of  a  correspondence  and  ex- 
chan,2:e  with  other  bodies  interested  in  the  same  object. 

"  4lh.  By  planting  shade  trees  on  all  the  avenues  of  the 
town." 

This  association  was  formed  with  twenty-four  members, 
yel  the  number,  as  we  may  well  suppose,  is  rapidly  increas- 
ing. 

As  early  as  1840,  an  association  was  formed  in  North- 
ampton, called  the  Ornamental  Tree  Society,  which  has 
done  much  to  beautify  the  spacious  streets  of  that  town. 
AVith  its  progress  in  late  years  Ave  are  unacijuainted,  but 
suppose  it  is  incorporated  with  the  Horticultural  Society 


408  AGRICULTURE. 

.    of  that  place,  whose  widening  influence  has  accomplished 
so  much  in  the  last  few  years. 

The  Berkshire  Horticultural  Society  was  formed  in 
1847,  and  at  present  consists  of  about  120  members  :  one- 
third,  at  least,  ladies.  The  exhibitions  have  thus  far  been 
of  a  creditable  character,  and  have  fully  attested  the 
adaptation  of  our  soil  and  climate,  not  only  to  the  most 
delicious  fruits,  but  to  fine  vegetables  and  beautiful  flow- 
ers. 

In  the  pursuit  of  other  objects,  the  improvement  in  the 
breeds  of  the  useful  and  beautiful  horse  had  met  with  un- 
due neglect  from  the  mass,  even  of  our  more  enterprising 
farmers,  until  the  Spring  of  1853,  when  public  attention 
was  called  up  in  its  behalf.  In  May  of  that  year,  George 
M.  Atwater  and  others  of  Springfield,  took  the  merits  and 
neglects  of  this  animal  into  more  earnest  consideration, 
and  formed  an  association  whose  fruits  were  realized  in 
the  "  First  National  Exhibition  of  Horses,"  in  that  city, 
on  the  19th,  20th  and  21st  days  of  the  following  October. 
As  Herculean  as  were  the  labors  of  getting  up  this  splen- 
did fete,  every  obstacle  was  removed  almost  as  soon  as  it 
appeared,  and  the  whole  affair,  to  its  minutest  arrange- 
ment, succeeded  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  public,  and 
the  lionorable  triumph  of  the  association.  More  than  four 
hundred  horses,  from  eleven  difterent  States  of  the  Union, 
and  from  the  provinces  of  Canada,  were  on  exhibition,  and 
a  finer  display  of  fine  animals  was  never  witnessed  in  our 
country,  if  m  the  world.  It  of  course  follows  that  the 
merits  of  this  exhibition  created  a  sensation  through  the 
nation,  and,  in  consequence,  among  the  large  concourse 
Avho  assembled  to  witness  the  pleasing  spectacle,  people 
iTom  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union  were  found;  and 
tliere  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  advantages  of  this  show 
will  continue  to  develop  themselves  more  fully  as  long  as 
the  merits  of  the  animal  whose  improvement  it  was  de- 
signed to  promote,  are  known  and  appreciated  by  our 
I'ace. 

We  have  thus  noticed  some  of  the  associations  which 

,  have  arisen  and  are  to-day  in  vigorous  operation  in  Yv\>st- 
ern  Massachusetts,  for  tlie  advancement  of  agriculture  and 
its  associate  arts.  May  their  number  and  influence  nobly 
increase  until  their  oltjcct  is  fully  realized! 


AGRICULTURE.  409 

The  changes  which  have  arisen,  giving  present  agricul- 
tural prospects  au  entirely  dilFerent  aspect  from  those  of 
early  times,  are  such  as  to  entitle  them  to  notice  in  this 
])hice.  In  our  early  history,  the  markets  were  distant,  dif- 
licult  to  approach,  and,  compared  with  those  of  our  day, 
unremunerative  when  reached.  From  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut,  the  surplus  of  produce, — wheat,  rye,  corn  and 
beef — which  constitute  the  principal  products  for  sale,  were 
taken  to  Connecticut  River,  thence  to  Hartford,  and  there 
shipped  for  the  Boston,  sometimes  for  the  New  York,  mar- 
ket. In  Berkshire  no  better  state  of  things  existed.  There 
the  produce  of  the  grain  lield,  and  the  beef  and  pork,  were 
drawn  over  the  high  hills  and  ill-wrought  roads  to  the  Hud- 
son, and  thence  shipped  to  New  York,  from  which  distant 
port,  now  reached  in  a  i\iw  hours,  no  returns  were  expected 
under  from  five  to  six  weeks.  The  railroads  which  now 
extend  through  almost  every  town  give  to  every  fai-mer  a 
proximity  to  these  markets,  while  the  numerous  manufac- 
turing villages,  springing  up  by  every  Avaterfall,  or  where 
steam  offers  its  aid  in  competition  with  water  power,  give 
to  many  a  better  market  than  cities  or  seaports  can  afford, 
at  their  own  doors.  "With  these  facilities,  who  can  wonder 
that  our  farmers  are  becoming  a  successful  and  an  inde- 
j)endent  class  of  people  ? 

In  the  changes  which  have  taken,  and  are  taking  place, 
we  find  that  wheat,  once  a  staple,  is  raised  by  comparatively 
few  farmers,  and  that  rye  is  much  less  sown  that  formerly, 
while  corn,  always  a  favorite  crop,  promises  lor  a  long 
time  to  retain  the  confidence  of  the  cultivator.  Oats,  from 
the  ever  ready  market,  are  largely  sown,  too  often  to  the 
injury  of  the  farm,  if  not  the  farmer.  Buckwheat,  from 
the  increasing  demand  for  it,  as  a  breadstuff",  is  receiving 
increasing  attention,  especially  in  the  mountain  towns,  and 
those  West  of  them.  A  rotation  of  crops,  attended  by 
deeper  ploughiugs,  is  doing  for  the  earth  what  shallow 
ploughings  and  continued  croppings  of  the  same  crop  had 
undone,  giving  it  new  strength  and  greater  productiveness. 
Swamp  lands  are  being  reclaimed  into  beautiful  and  pro- 
ductive meadows  and  cornfields.  The  compost  heap,  on 
many  farms,  is  aiding  the  scanty  manure  heap  in  its  fertil- 
izing infiuence.  New  articles  of  cultivation  are  being  in- 
troduced, and  giving  assurance  of  success  which  wiU  lead 
30 


410  AGRICULTtJRE. 

to  their  more  general  adoption.  Tobacco,  once  the  crop 
of  the  South,  is  now  successfully  cultivated  all  along  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  its  range  of  climate  is  each 
year  extending,  Avhile  the  broom  corn,  so  important  in 
household  matters,  is  a  profitable  and  very  successful 
crop. 

The  increasing  attention  paid  to  fruit  growing,  and  the 
success  attending  it,  give  assurance  that  it  will  ere  long  be 
one  of  the  main  occupations  of  the  farmer.  With  a  soil 
easily  made  favorable,  and  a  climate  just  the  thing,  success 
must  ultimately  give  it  a  high  position  in  the  catalogue  of 
our  products. 

This  paper  cannot  be  more  fitly  closed  than  by  an  exhi- 
bition of  the  agricultural  wealth  and  resources  of  Western 
Massachusetts,  as  given  by  the  State  valuation  tables  of 
1850.  The  facts  here  given  will  furnish  a  standing  point 
from  which  to  view  tlie  past,  and  a  landmark  for  reference 
in  the  prom.ising  future,  as  well  as  a  general  standard  of 
compai'ison  between  the  several  counties.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  these  tables  are  annual  averages,  and  not 
the  records  of  a  definite  year.  Hampden  County  had 
13,151  acres  of  meadow  land,  and  cut  from  the  same 
11,830  tuns  of  hay;  87,588  acres  of  pasturage,  capable, 
with  the  after-feed  of  the  farm,  of  keeping  21,917  cows; 
48,386  acres  of  woodland  exclusive  of  pasture  land  in- 
closed ;  70,854  acres  of  unimproved  land,  39,440  acres 
unimprovable;  70,017  acres  of  tillage  land ;  7,931  acres 
of  land  in  roads  ;  5,120  horses,  4,005  oxen  4  years  old 
and  upwards,  10,319  cows,  8,149  steers  and  heifers,  13,700 
sheep,  5,058  swine.  The  county  produced  2.264  bitshels 
of  wheat,  101,487  bushels  of  rye,  121,572  bushels  of  oats, 
222,530  bushels  of  Lidian  corn,  2,422  Ibushels  of  barley, 
23  tuns  of  broom  corn,  and  33,404  tuns  of  hay  from  31,- 
675  aci-es  of  upland  mowing. 

The  County  of  Hampshire  possessed  4,790  horses,  3,555 
oxen,  10,495  cows,  8,345  steers  and  heifers,  29,700  sheep, 
5,068  swine,  10,988  acres  of  meadow  land,  from  which 
were  cut  10,195  tuns  of  hay,  105,900  acres  of  pasturage 
capable  of  pasturing  22,100  cows,  52,539  acres  of  wood- 
land, 45,098  acres  of  unimproved  land,  25,030  acres  un- 
improvable, 8,491  acres  of  land  used  for  roads,  and  20,978 
acres  of  tillage  land.     The  annual  production  of  the  land 


AGRICULTURE.^  411 

was  4,083  bushels  of  wheat,  61,855  bushels  of  rye,  229,- 
02U  bushels  of  Indian  corn,  4,576  bushels  of  barley,  1,512 
lbs.  of  hops,  10  5-8  tuns  of  tobacco,  622  tuns  of  broom 
corn,  and  39,437  tuns  of  hay,  from  40,308  acres  of  upland 
mowing. 

Franklin  County  possessed  4,377  horses,  4,715  oxen, 
10,764  cows,  11,461  steers  and  heifers,  24,973  sheep,  4,216 
swine,  13,591  acres  of  meadow  land,  yieklino-  12,270  tuns 
of  hay,  13,753  acres  of  pasturage,  capable  (with  the  after- 
feed  of  the  whole  farm,)  of  supporting  25.818  cows;  72,- 
959  acres  of  woodhmd,  67,415  acres  of  unimproved  land, 
and  47,214  acres  unimprovable  ;  7,662  acres  used  for  roads, 
20,493  acres  of  tillage  land,  including  orchards  tilled. 
The  production  Avas  3,099  bushels  of  wlieat,  43,304  bush- 
els of  rye,  99,296  bushels  of  oats,  242,245  bushels  of  In- 
dian corn,  7,691  bushels  of  barley,  40,100  pounds  of  hops, 
330  tuns  of  broom  corn,  and  38,336  tuns  of  hay  from  36,- 
780  acres  of  upland  mowing. 

Berkshire  County  hud  7,031  horses,  4,084  oxen,  18,142 
cows,  11,970  steers  and  heifers,  74,042  sheep,  6,150  swine, 
9,321  acres  of  meadow,  producing  10,880  tuns  of  hay, 
151,522  acres  of  jiastura^je,  capable  of  supporting,  witli 
the  after-feed  of  the  farm,  39,242  cows ;  104,397  acres  of 
woodland,  113,068  acres  of  unimproved  land,  of  which 
63,321  acres  are  unimprovable  ;  10,668  acres  of  land  in 
roads,  and  68,993  acres  of  upland  mowing,  which  produced 
a  yearly  amount  of  69,115  tuns  of  hay."  The  product  of 
30,945  acres  of  tillage  land  was  5,874  bushels  of  wheat, 
53,548  bushels  of  rye,  312.611  bushels  of  oats,  219,948 
bushels  of  Indian  corn,  10,868  bushels  of  barley,  and  20 
tuns  of  broom  corn. 


CHAPTEK    III. 

The  Railkoads  of  Western  Massachusetts. 

No  agency  has  tended  so  generally  and  so  powerfully  to 
the  development  of  the  resources  and  prosperity  of  West- 
ern Massachusetts  as  railroads.  They  have  opened  mar- 
kets to  the  fanner,  easy  transportation  to  the  manufactur- 
er, and  facilities  of  communication  to  men  of  business. 
Every  producing  and  business  interest  has  felt  their  influ- 
ence  for  good,  and  now  leans  upon  them  as  the  right  arm 
of  its  strength.  Were  all  that  has  been  done  for  AVestern 
Massachusetts  by  railroads  struck  out  of  existence,  the 
section  v/ould  relatively  be  thrown  back  a  century  in  the 
path  of  its  progress.  The  necessity  for  a  channel  of  com- 
munication between  Boston  and  the  opening  West,  was 
fully  appreciated  many  years  ago,  and  many  years  before 
that  channel  was  completed,  lu  is  sixty-four  years  since 
the  project  was  broached  of  connecting  the  Eastern  coast 
of  Massachusetts  with  the  waters  of  the  Hudson,  by  means 
of  a  canal.  During  the  same  year  of  the  incorporation  of 
the  Proprietors  of  the  Locks  and  Canals  on  Connecticut 
Elver,  1792,  Henry  Knox  and  his  associates  were  incorpo- 
rated for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  canal  from  Boston 
Harbor  to  Connecticut  River,  but  the  people  were  exhaust- 
ed by  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  the  State  was  indebted 
and  would  not  aid  in  the  undertaking,  and,  after  the  neces- 
sarily unavailing  efforts  of  the  projectors,  the  scheme  was 
abandoned,  not  to  be  revived  again  until  the  passage  of 
nearly  a  third  of  a  century.  In  February,  1825,  the  Le- 
gislature adopted  Resolves  for  ascertaining  the  practica- 
bility of  constructing  a  canal  from  Boston  to  the  Connec- 
ticut River,  and  for  extending  an  avenue  of  trade  in  some 
form  from  that  point  to  the  Hudson.  A  Board  of  Com- 
missioners was  appointed,  and  Loammi  Baldwin  employed 
as  engineer.  After  a  survey,  the  project  Avas  declared 
feasible,  and  a  report  was  made,  strongly  ui'ging  the  con- 
struction of  the  work  upon  the  State.  But  the  State  again 
flowed  the  matter  to  drop — very  fortunately  as  the  result 


RAILROADS.  413 

has  proved — ^for,  soon  ^fterwards,  the  advantage  of  the 
railway  over  the  canal  became  obvious,  and  measures  were 
instituted  that  resulted,  after  a  long  period  of  struggle  and 
discouragement,  in  the  construction  of  the  Western  Rail- 
road, two  hundred  miles  in  length,  uniting  the  cities  of 
Boston  and  Albany,  and  now  constituting  one  of  the  most 
important  lines  of  travel  and  transportation  in  the  United 
States. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1827,  a  Board  of  Commissioners 
was  appointed,  for  the  survey  of  one  or  more  routes  for  a 
railway  between  the  points  last  named.  The  Board  had 
comparatively  a  short  space  of  time  to  perform  so  large  a 
work,  before  the  meeting  of  the  succeeding  Legislature, 
but  they  Avorked  diligently,  and  were  able  in  their  report, 
made  on  the  29th  of  January,  1828,  to  give  the  project  a 
form,  decide  on  its  feasibility,  roughly  estimate  its  cost,  and 
review  the  exigencies  and  interests  which  demanded  its 
completion.  The  Board  examined  two  routes — denomina- 
ted respectively  the  IS^orthern  and  the  Southern — the  for- 
mer crossing  the  Connecticut  at  Northampton  ;  the  latter 
at  Springheld.  While  both  routes  were  examined,  a  sur- 
vey of  the  Southern  .route  was  alone  attempted,  and  with 
the  exception  of  two  short  sections,  the  attempt  was  con- 
fined to  the  West  side  of  the  Connecticut.  On  that  side 
the  survey  was  perfected  from  West  Springfield  to  Green- 
bush.  The  Commissioners  presented  a  table  of  inclina- 
tions, being  at  no  point  more  than  80  feet  to  the  mile,  and 
then  went  on  to  discuss  the  capacities  of  horse  power,  for 
steam  was  then  only  in  the  stage  of  early  development. 
By  a  careful  collection  of  statistics,  it  was  estimated  that 
for  4  3-4  miles  of  the  road  from  the  Connecticut  to  the 
Hudson,  it  would  recpiire  either  two  horses,  or  the  full  ex- 
ertion of  one,  to  draw  eight  tuns,  while  for  8  miles  it 
vould  require  the  exertion  which  one  horse  is  capable  of 
making  during  half  of  his  working  hours.  Twenty-seven 
miles  were  within  the  limits  of  easy  exertion  for  a  horse, 
and  the  remaining  G2  1-2  miles  would  require  only  a  frac- 
tion varying  from  nothing  to  80  pounds.  One  imporlimt 
item  embraced  in  the  report  is  the  amount  of  transporta- 
tion between  several  towns  on  the  route,  and  the  several 
markets  of  Boston,  Albany  and  Hartford.  Becket  had 
270  tuns  at  an  average  cost  for  transportation  of  SIO; 
35* 


414  RAILROADS. 

Dalton  114  tuns,  at  $7,50;  Qiester  290  tuns  at  S20; 
Springfield  12,000  tuns;  Northampton  9,200  tuns,  the  cost 
of  transportation  between  both  towns  and  Boston  being 
$17  50  to  $18  per  tun.  The  conclusion,  in  a  rough  esti- 
mate, is,  that  the  way-freight  business  of  a  road  from  Bos- 
ton to  Albany  would  be  84,360  tuns  annually.  The  num- 
ber of  stage  coach  passengers  on  the  route  is  given  at 
30,000  annually,  which  the  Commissionei'S  thought  would 
be  very  much  increased  on  the  railroad.  The  report  is 
very  favorable  on  the  whole,  and  is  signed  by  Nahum 
Mitchell  and  Samuel  McKay,  Commissioners ;  and  James 
F.  Baldwin,  Engineer. 

The  Legislature  seems  to  have  done  nothing  more  with 
the  subject  than  to  submit  it  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
Internal  Improvements,  consisting  of  Levi  Lincoln,  Na- 
than Hale,  Stephen  White,  David  Henshaw,  Thomas  W. 
Ward,  Royal  Makepeace,  George  Bond,  William  Foster 
and  Edward  H.  Eoljbins,  Jr.,  who  submitted  a  full  report 
to  the  Legislature  on  the  16th  of  January,  1829.  Their 
ideas  of  the  proper  construction  of  a  railway  may  be  giv- 
en in  their  OAvn  words :  "  It  is  found  that  the  cost  of  a  con- 
tinuous stone  wall,  laid  so  deep  in  tlie  ground  as  not  to  be 
moved  by  the  effect  of  frost,  and  surmounted  by  a  rail  of 
split  granite  of  about  a  foot  in  thickness  and  depth,  with  a 
bar  of  iron  placed  on  the  top  of  it,  of  sufficient  thickness 
to  form  the  track  on  which  the  carriage  wheels  shall  run, 
is  much  less  than  that  of  the  English  iron  rail,  and  that 
rails  of  this  construction,  so  far  as  can  be  judged  by  exper- 
iments which  have  yet  been  made,  possess  all  the  advan- 
tages of  durability,  solidity  and  strength."  This  board 
also  went  into  a  discussion  and  measurement  of  horse 
power,  and  having  examined  the  routes  proposed,  declared 
that  passing  through  Worcester  and  Springfield  to  be  the 
one  which  could  be  constructed  at  the  smallest  cost,  be 
traveled  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  would  accommodate 
the  largest  population.  The  estimated  average  cost  per 
mile  "  under  all  probable  contingencies"  was  $16,434  77, 
at  which  rate  the  whole  road  from  Boston  to  Albany  would 
cost  $3,254,876  46.  The  cost  for  the  transportation  of  a 
tun  of  freight  from  Boston  to  Albany  was  figured  at  $1  97, 
"which  was  declared  to  be  lower  tlian  the  rates  of  any  canals 
in  the  country,  and  which  would  effectually  take  the  transpor- 


RAILROADS.  415 

tation  of  flour,  from  Albany  to  Boston,  out  of  the  hands 
of  sloop  navigation.  The  cost  of  taking  20  passengers 
from  Boston,  the  road  being  provided  with  stationary  pow- 
ers, was  estimated  at  SIG  50  or  82  1-2  cents  apiece  ;  with- 
out stationary  powers,  S21,  or  SI  05  apiece.  Adding  S2 
for  toll  it  would  make  $2  82  or  $3  05  apiece,  "  for  con- 
veyance from  Boston  to  Albany  in  22  hours."  The  Board 
also  took  up  the  discussion  of  steam,  which  had  then  been 
introduced  into  England  to  some  extent,  and,  basing  their 
reasoning  on  the  relative  cost  of  coal  in  that  country  and 
this  locality,  decided  in  favor  of  the  horses. 

In  1827,  the  amount  exported  from  Albany  to  Boston 
was  1G,861  tuns;  from  Troy  3,850  tuns;  imported  at  Al- 
bany from  Boston,  fi,001  tuns  ;  at  Troy,  2,100  tuns,  making 
an  amount  of  28,902  tuns.  In  giving  an  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  travel  on  the  line,  the  Board  say  that  there  are 
six  lines  of  stages  running  between  Boston  and  Albany, 
on  which  eighteen  stages,  exclusive  of  extra  coaches,  gen- 
erally well  loaded,  i"un  through  from  Boston  to  Albany  and 
return  the  same  number  of  times  weekly.  Forty-five  pas- 
sengers per  day  traveled  on  the  route,  who  would  probably 
take  the  railway  when  built,  while  the  way  passengers 
numbered  30.  This  would  raise  the  daily  number  to  75, 
or  23,475  per  annum.  These,  at  a  toll  of  one  cent  j)er 
mile,  or  $2  for  the  whole  distance,  would  pay  towards  the 
support  of  the  road  $40,950.  On  this  amount,  however, 
the  Board  calculated  a  large  increase.  The  grand  sum  of 
the  annual  receipts  of  the  road  was  estimated  at  $203,000. 
This  embraces  the  estimated  amount  of  increase  that  would 
follow  the  introduction  of  railway  travel  and  transporta- 
tion, although  the  Board  acknowledge  that  "  these  amounts 
are  not  assumed  with  entire  confi{lence^"  One  result  of. 
the  building  of  the  road  was  foreseen  and  foretold  with  en- 
tire correctness,  viz :  the  increase  of  the  value  of  real  es- 
tate along  the  line  of  the  road,  suilicient  to  cover  its  cost. 
In  deciding  upon  the  Southern  route  as  the  best,  the  Board 
had  three  lines  in  consideration,  instead  of  two.  By  the 
Southern  route,  the  distance  from  Boston  to  Albany  was 
198  miles,  the  elevation  of  the  AVorcester  ridge  being  918 
feet,  that  of  the  Berkshire  ridge  1,410  feet,  and  that  West 
of  the  Ilousalonic  IGG  feet.  By  the  middle  route,  which 
had  Troy  for  its  AVestern  terminus,  the  distance  from  Bos- 


416  .  KAILROADS. 

ton  wus  210  miles,  the  liiglit  of  the  "Worcester  ridge  being 
967  feet,  the  Berkshire  ridge  at  Savoy  1,903  feet,  and  the 
New  York  ridge,  414.  By  tlie  Northern  route  the  dis- 
tance was  190  miles,  the  elevation  of  the  WorcesJ;er  ridge 
being  1,051  feet,  the  Berkshire  ridge,  at  Florida  or  Savoy, 
1,886  feet,  and  the  New  York  ridge  414  feet.  The  amount 
of  these  several  elevations  doubled,  so  as  to  include  the 
descent,  shows  that  the  Southern  route  would  embrace  a 
change  of  level  1,520  feet  less  than  the  middle  route,  and 
1,654  less  than  the  Northern.  This  Board  also  closed  with 
a  recommendatit)n  to  the  Legislature  to  build  the  road  with 
funds  raised  by  loans  in  the  name  of  the  State,  on  stocks 
bearing  4  1-2  i^er  cent,  interest,  payable  quarterly,  and  re- 
imbursable at  any  time  that  might  be  decided  upon.  Ap- 
pended to  their  report  was  a  very  full  report,  with  maps, 
by  the  engineer,  James  F.  Baldwin,  embracing,  in  detail, 
the  items  of  the  several  surveys. 

The  policy  of  constructing  railways  under  the  du-ection 
and  with  the  money  of  the  State,  became,  of  course,  a 
prominent  topic  of  discussion.  One  of  the  foremost  cham- 
pions of  this  policy  was  Theodore  Sedgwick  of  Stockbridge. 
A  pamphlet  appeared  from  his  pen,  covering  twenty-one 
pages,  in  Avhich  his  views  were  strongly  set  forth.  The 
following  is  a  quotation  from  that  document : 

"  The  question  is,  whether  such  a  road  shall  become  private 
or  public  property,  antl  no  question  can  be  plainer.  The  pres- 
ent is  a  crisis  in  the  fortunes  of  our  State.  Let  us  not  take  a 
false  course.  It  is  the  first  step  that  too  often  directs  the  last. 
What  is  there  worse  in  monopoly,  than  giving  things  to  people 
to  whom  they  do  not  belong  ?  What  right  have  individuals 
to  arms  of  the  sea,  great  rivers,  bridges  intended  for  general 
use,  long  lines  of  canal,  and  roads  which  every  body  must 
pass  over?  What  would  be  worse  than  for  the  State  to  mo- 
nopolize its  mines  of  coal,  the  steam  engine  or  the  magnet? 
Individuals  make  the  best  use  of  these.  Roads,  however, 
belong  to  the  community,  and  the  railroad,  so  far  as  public  use 
is  designed  by  it,  is  a  gift  of  the  arts  to  States.  It  is  among 
the  few  improvements  that  a  State  can  most  successfully  man- 
age. What  is  intended  for  the  beneficent  use  of  the  great 
public  should  7iever  be  placed  in  private  hands.  This  is  indeed 
half  the  essence  of  our  Republican  government." 

But  the  Legislature  did  not  agree  with  Mi-.  Sedgwick, 
and  that  class  of  economists  whom   he  represented,  and 


..*• 


RAILROADS.  417 

took  no  measures  beyond  the  early  incorporation  of  the 
Boston  and  "Worcester  Raih-oad  Company,  to  eifect  the 
object  contemplated  in  the  surveys  it  had  completed.  On 
the  loth  of  March,  1833,  Nathan  Hale,  David  Henshaw, 
George  Bond,  Henry  Williams,  Daniel  Denny,  Joshua 
Clappand  Eliphalet  Williams  and  their  associates,  received 
a  charter  with  the  name  of  the  Western  Railroad 
Corporation,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  road  from 
Worcester,  the  terminus  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road, to  the  line  of  the  State  of  New  York,  with  a  capital 
limited  to  S2,000,000.  The  stock  was  taken  by  over  2,200 
snbscribei's,  averaging  less  than  S1,000  each,  with  the  con- 
dition tluit  a  part  of  tlie  Eastern  and  Western  portions  of 
the  road  should  be  finished  at  the  same  time.  The  corpo- 
ration was  not  organized  until  January,  1836,  when  the 
following  gentlemen  were  elected  Directors :  John  B. 
Wales,  Edmund  D  wight,  George  Bliss,  William  Lawrence, 
Henry  Rice,  John  Henshaw,  Francis  Jackson,  Josiah 
Quincy,  Jr.,  and  Justice  Willard.  Major  William  Gibbs 
McNeil  was  engaged  as  chief  engineer,  and  Capt.  Wm. 
H.  Swift  as  resident  engineer  of  the  company.  George 
Bliss  of  Springfield  was  appointed  General  Agent  of  the 
Corporation.'  The  organization  of  the  Directors  was : 
President,  Thomas  B.  Wales ;  Treasurer,  Josiah  Quincy, 
Jr. ;  and  Ellis  Gray  Loring  was  appointed  Clerk.  On  the 
IGth  of  January  we  find  these  gentlemen  before  the  Leg- 
islature in  a  petition  for  an  increase  of  capital,  and  aid 
from  the  State.  They  assert  that  another  million  of  dol- 
lars will  be  necessary  to  complete  the  work,  that  the  stock 
had  been  taken  with  a  certainty  of  no  direct  profit  to  the 
stockholders,  and  had  been  procured  only  after  great  labor 
and  repeated  efforts,  and  that  "  no  hope  now  remains  but 
by  an  ai)peal  to  tiie  liberality,  justice  and  i)atrioti6m  of  the 
Legislature."  They  plead  the  policy  and  example  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  but,  without  pi'oposing  that 
Massacluisetts  should  ibllOw  in  the  same  track,  they  pray 
for  an  act  of  incorporation  as  a  bank,  to  be  called  "  The 
Western  Railroad  Bank,"  to  be  located  in  Boston,  with  a 
capital  of  five  millions  of  dollars,  the  usual  bank  tax  of 
which  should  be  paid  to  the  Western  Railroad  Corporation 
for  twenty  years.  This  plan,  they  say,  will  require  no 
grant  from  the  treasury,  and  furnish  to  the  community 


418  RAILROADS. 

bank  capital  which  it  needs.  The  new  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  the  road,  from  Worcester  to  the  State  line,  was 
$30,0(X)  a  mile,  including  all  appendages,  fit  for  use.  The 
Legislature  did  not  grant  the  bank,  but  it  passed  an  act  in- 
creasing the  capital  of  the  road  to  S3,000,000,  and  direct- 
ing the  Treasurer  of  the  State  to  subscribe  $1,000,000  to 
the  stock  of  the  road.  The  act  also  embraced  a  provision 
for  the  choice  of  nine  Directors,  of  which  number  three 
should  be  annually  chosen  by  the  Legislature,  by  joint  bal- 
lot of  the  two  Houses,  and  the  residue  by  the  stockholders 
at  their  annual  meeting. 

The  surveys  of  the  corporation  commenced  in  April, 
1836.  Twenty  miles  of  the  road,  commencing  at  Worces- 
ter, were  put  under  contract  in  January,  1837,  and  work 
was  commenced  on  that  section  in  the  month  following. 
In  June  of  the  same  year,  the  road  from  East  Brookfield 
to  Springfield  was  put  under  contract,  and  work  commenced 
upon  the  section  in  July.  The  length  of  road  from  Wor- 
cester was  5-4  miles,  and  the  highest  grade  (for  a  short  dis- 
tance only,)  50  feet  per  mile.  On  the  first  of  January, 
1838,  twenty-seven  miles  had  been  fully  graded,  and  stood 
ready  for  the  superstructure,  and  the  contracts  had  thus 
far  been  executed  within  the  estimates.  The  route  decided 
upon.  West  of  the  Connecticut,  was  62  1-2  miles  in  length, 
the  highest  grade  being  79  to  80  feet  to  the  mile,  making 
the  whole  distance  116  1-2  miles.  The  entire  route  was 
pronounced  feasible  for  locomotive  power,  for  the  horse 
power  project  had  for  some  years  been  counted  among  the 
things  of  the  past.  At  the  commencement  of  1838,  the 
Hartford  and  New  Haven  Railroad  was  in  process  of  con- 
struction, and  a  chai-ter  had  been  granted  to  extend  it  to  a 
connection  with  the  Western  Railroad  at  Springfield.  The 
first  two  assessments  on  the  stock  of  the  Western  Railroad 
were  collected  before  the  work  commenced,  and  in  1837, 
the  greater  part  of  the  third  assessment  was  collected. 
The  fourth  assessment  was  due  April  16,  1837,  but  the 
pressures  of  that  disastrous  year  were  such  that  it  was  sus- 
pended until  the  following  September,  and  the  three-quar- 
ters of  the  assessments  on  private  stockholders,  necessary 
to  secure  that  of  the  State,  Avas  only  secured  then,^  after 
great  and  persevering  labor.  It  was  deemed  impossible  to 
follect  the  necessaiy  amount  from  private  stockholders,  on 


RAILROADS.  419 

the  next  assessment,  and  the  directors  resolved  that  unless 
they  could  get  further  aid  from  the  State,  they  -would 
suspend  the  work.  Under  these  circumstances,  they 
came  again  before  the  Legislature,  declaring  that  if  the 
work  should  be  suspended  for  the  lack  of  funds,  it  would 
result  in  the  virtual  annihilation  of  the  S600,000  capital 
already  expended,  and,  "  in  accordance  with  the  voice  of  a 
special  meeting  of  the  stockholders  held  on  the  23d  of  the 
previous  November,"  praying  for  a  loan  of  the  credit  of 
the  State  to  the  corporation  "  for  eighty  per  cent,  of  the 
stock,  by  a  State  scrip  liaving  30  years  to  run,  bearing  in- 
terest at  o  per  cent,  per  annum,  semi-annually,  principal 
and  interest  payable  in  London  to  bearer,  with  warrants 
for  the  interest,"  and  pledging  for  security  the  franchise 
of  the  road,  together  with  the  road  and  its  appurtenances. 
On  the  21st  of  February,  1838,  their  prayer  was  granted, 
by  an  act  authorizing  the  issue  of  the  scrip  of  the  State  to 
the  amount  of  two  millions  one  lumdred  thousand  dollars. 
In  the  third  annual  report  of  the  directors,  made  January 
1,  1839,  the  estimated  cost  of  the  whole  work  had  risen  to 
$4,191,171  73.  The  crippled  condition  of  tlie  private 
stockholders  rendered  it  impossible  to  collect  of  them  any 
large  proportion  of  their  indebtedness,  and  there  remained 
a  sum,  to  be  provided  for,  of  nearly  a  million  and  a  half. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  corporation,  in  1839,  came 
before  the  Legislature  for  still  further  aid,  the  sum  speci- 
fied being  $1,'200,000.  The  aid  was  granted,  with  a  pro- 
vision tliat  therealter  four  of  the  directors  of  tlie  corpora- 
tion should  be  chosen  by  the  Legislature. 

On  the  first  day  of  October,  1839,  the  road  was  opened 
to  travel  between  Worcester  and  Springfield,  and,  on  the 
23d  of  that  itionth,  regular  merchandise  trains  were  estab- 
lished. The  total  cost  of  this  part  of  the  road,  as  stated  ia 
the  Fourth  Annual  Report,  was  $l,972,98iJ,  or  S3G,135 
per  mile.  The  Fifth  Amuial  lieport,  made  after  running 
the  cai's  upon  this  par-t  of  the  road  during  the  season,  and 
after  experience  had  pointed  out  and  secured  other  neces- 
saiy  expenditures,  gave  the  whole  actual  cost  as  $2,01 6,- 
970 — a  considerable  advance.  Meanwhile,  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Western  portion  of  the  road  Avas  in  progress, 
and  here,  too,  the  expenditures  were  outgrowing  the  esti- 
mates, so  that,  in  18il^  the  corporation  was  again  before 


420  KAILROADS. 

the  Legislature  for  a  loan  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The 
estimated  balance  wanting  was  ^1,247,830  77,  and  the  odd 
figures  were  to  be  filled  by  the  stockholders.  Again  the 
Legislature  answered  the  call,  by  the  passage  of  an  act 
authorizing  the  issue  of  the  scrip  of  the  State  to  the 
amount  of  S700,000,  secured  by  a  mortgage  on  the  road, 
as  in  the  previous  loans. 

At  the  commencement  of  1842,  the  whole   line,  of  the 
road  between  Worcester  and  the  Hudson  River  had  been 
so  far  completed  as  to  be  opened  for  use,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  15  miles  within  the  State  of  New  York,  which  was 
run  on  the  track  of  the  Hudson  and  Berkshire  Railroad. 
From  the  State  line  to  Albany  the  road  was  nominally,  at 
least,  under  the  conduct  of  a  New  York   corporation,  with 
the  name  of  the  Albany  and  West  Stockbridge  Railway. 
This  section  was  finished  and  opened  for  travel  on  the  12th 
of  September  of  that  year,  and  on  that  day  the  struggle 
and  the  toil  of  years  had  accomplished  the  long-sought  ob- 
ject.    In  the  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  directors,  the 
statistics  of  construction  were  given  in  detail.     From  the 
point  of  the  junction  of  the  road  with  the  Boston  and  Wor- 
cester Road  to  the  East  abutment  of  the  Connecticut  Riv- 
er Bridge,  the  distance  was  54  miles  and  3,680  feet ;  from 
thence   to  the  line  of  New  York,  63  miles   and  568  feet; 
from  the  State  line  to  Greenbush  dock,  38  miles  and  1,180 
feet,  making  the  total  of  both  roads  156  miles,  and  148 
feet.     From  the   Boston  depot  to  the  Albany  shore,  the 
distance  was  200  miles  and   1,883  feet.     Assuming  that 
portion  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  road  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  Boston,  as  the  base  line,  the  following  are 
the  principal  elevations,  the  fractions  of  a  foot  being  omit- 
ted:— Charlton  summit,  906  feet;  the  depot  at  Springfield, 
71 ;  Washington   summit,   1,456  ;  the  track  at  the   State 
line,   916.     The  road   embraced  142   planes,  of  which  12 
were  level,   83  ascending  West,  and  47  descending  West. 
The  Avhole  length  of  bridges  on  the  road  was  one  mile  and 
812  feet,  the  bridge  over  the  Connecticut — the  longest  on 
the  route — being  1,264  feet  long,  of  7  spans,  and  of  the 
structure  of  Howe's  patent.     The  total  cost  of  the  road, 
Aviththe  amovmt  estimated  for  future  additions,  was  S5,814,- 
807  52 ;  that  of  the  Albany  and  West  Stockbridge  Road 
$1,751,984  05,  making  a  grand  total  of  $7,566,791  57. 


J 


RAILROADS.  421 

The  report  of  the  business  of  the  road  will  do  well  to  com- 
jjare  with  the  early  estimates.  The  through  passengers 
amounted  to  18,570;  way  passengers  171,8G6;  total,  190,- 
436.  The  amount  of  merchandise  was  equal  to  39,820 
tuns.  The  total  receipts  of  the  year  for  freight  and  pas- 
sengers, were  Sol 2,688.   • 

Only  twelve  years  have  passed  since  the  report  was 
made,  and  the  revolution  which  has  been  Avrought  in  the 
entire  business  interests  of  the  line  through  which  it  pass- 
es, is  apparent  to  every  one,  and  justifies  the  anticipations 
and  predictions  of  its  early  friends. 

The  foUowinc  table  will  represent  the  to-  The  followinpr  table  represents  the  nuni- 

tal  receipts  and  expenses  and  totul  number  her  of  barrels  of  flour  transported  from   Al- 

of  passengers  of  the  Western  and  Albany  bany  and  Troy  to  Boston  and  iutermediato 

and    West  Stockbridge  Ilailroads,  from  1S42  points,  from  1S42  to  1853  inclusive  : 
to  1S5Z  inclusive : 

Keccipts.    Expenses.  Passengers.  To  Boston.  Other  points.  Total. 


1842 

$5I2,(iS8 

266,619 

190  436 

1842 

85.986 

86,124 

172,110 

1.843 

573,aS2 

303.973 

200.965 

1S43 

]23,3(;6 

120,873 

244,2.39 

1844 

753,752 

814,074 

220,257 

1844 

154,413 

142,<)90 

297,403 

l»t5 

813,480 

370,621 

223,633 

1845 

181,797 

146,380 

328,183 

.1  months 

in 

11  months  in 

]«<! 

878,417 

412,679 

265,064 

18-10 

209.6.^4 

1,51,711 

361,345 

iwr 

],32.5,.'i;!6 

676.689 

388.su 

1847 

51,3,8.51 

188  049 

702,500 

vm 

l,3.'52,llti8 

R'i2,357 

405.614 

1818 

,'!71,2:39 

206,776 

578,015 

3849 

1.34-},810 

588.323 

4-S5,8(l4 

1849 

327,6m 

262.471 

690,16.5 

1850 

l,3fi6.2.52 

GOTMQ 

531,317 

1850 

362.275 

236,318 

6y8,.-)9.'J 

1851 

1,355,894 

6!)7,7a(i 

479.9a'; 

1851 

267,073 

189,,570 

456,6(3 

18i52 

i;?3i),.-i7;i 

6.i6  (W 

497  293 

1852 

231,5-16 

254,79.3 

486,3.19 

1853 

1,525,223 

778,437 

656,194 

18,« 

264,474 

207,330 

471,804 

The  19th  annual  report  of  the  Directors  represents  that 
the  cost  of  the  whole  line  from  AYorcester  to  Greenbush  up 
to  Nov.  30,  1853,  was  S9,953,7o8  84.  The  equipment  of 
the  road  consisted  of  59  engines,  43  passenger  cars,  9  bag- 
gage cars,  618  eight-wheel  covered  freight  cars,  162  eight- 
wheel  platform  cars,  86  four-wheel  covered  freight  cars,  20 
gravel  cars,  and  46  hand-cars. 

There  are  two  sinking  funds  connected  with  the  Western 
Railroad :  The  Westcfii  llailroad  Stock  Sinking  Fund,  and 
the  Western  Railroad  Loan  Sinkiiig  Fund.  The  first  is 
the  property  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  is  for  the  future 
purchase,  or  final  redemption,  of  the  scrip  issued  by  the 
State  for  the  payment  of  its  original  subscription  of  Si, 000,- 
000  to  the  stock  of  the  ixjad,  and  for  meeting  the  accruing 
interest  on  that  stock.  The  sources  of  this  fund  are  the 
bonus  originally  paid  on  the  scrip  Avhich  was  .<old  in  Lon- 
don, the  dividends  of  the  road,  and  one-half  of  all  moneys 
received  for  .sales  of  the  State's  lands  in  Maine.  In  1814, 
$75,000  of  the  moneys  received  under  the  provisions  of 
oh 


422  KAILROADS. 

tlie  Treaty  of  Wasliington  was  added  to  the  fund.  The 
"Western  llaih'oad  Loan  Sinking  Fund  is  the  property  of 
the  Western  Raih-oad  Corporation,  and  is  deposited  with 
the  Commonweakh  as  coUateral  security  for  the  ultimate 
payment,  by  the  corporation,  of  the  $4,000,000  of  State 
scrip  issued  to  aid  its  operations.  This  fund  is  based  on 
the  amount  of  the  premiums  on  the  sales  of  the  scrip,  and 
one  per  cent,  annually  on  the  amount  of  the  scrip,  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  earnings  of  the  road,  or,  $40,000  a  year. 
At  the  same  time,  the  corporation  pays  annually  the  inter- 
est on  the  scrip.  Both  these  funds,  it  is  calculated,  will 
fully  answer  their  end  in  the  accumulation  of  such  an 
amount  as  shall  redeem  the  respective  orders  of  scrip  to 
which  they  belong,  at  matuiity. 

The  road  was  originally  laid  with  one  track,  provision 
being  made  in  the  cuts  and  smaller  bridges  for  two.  The 
second  track  has  been  laid  down  the  entire  distance  fi'om 
"Worcester  to  Springfield,  with  the  exception  of  the  section 
between  Palmer  and  Warren. 

It  is  but  justice  to  preserve  the  names  of  those  who 
were  most  efficient  in  carrying  forward  the  road  in  the  va- 
rious early  stages  of  the  enterprise,  and  to  whose  efforts  is 
now  owed  the  incalculable  good  which  the  road  has  be- 
stowed upon  this  portion  of  the  State.  The  more  promi- 
nent among  these  were  George  Bliss,  Charles  Steams  and 
Justice  Willard  of  Springfield,  Theodore  Sedgwick  of 
Stockbridge,  Lemuel  Pomcroy  of  Pittsfield,  Nathan  Hale, 
P.  P.  F.  Degrand  and  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  of  Boston. 

The  Connecticut  River  Railroad  divides  the  State 
from  North  to  South,  as  the  Western  does  from  West  to 
East.  On  the  1st  of  JNIarch,  1842,  John  Clarke,  Samuel 
L.  Hinckley,  Stephen  Brewer,  Jonathan  H.  Butler,  Win- 
throp  Hillyer  and  their  associates,  received  a  charter  as 
the  Northampton  axd  Springfield  Railroad  Cor- 
poration, for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  "  commenc- 
ing within  one  mile  of  the  Court  House,  (Northampton), 
crossing  Connecticut  River  near  Mt.  Holyoke,  and  passing 
down  the  valley  of  said  n^er  on  the  East  side  thereot!, 
through  a  portion  of  Iladley,  South  Hadley  and  Spring- 
field, to  meet  the  track  of  the  Hartford  and  Springfield 
corf)oration  at  Cabotville,  or  diverging  from  said  line,  at 
or  near  Stony  Brook  in  South  Hadley,  and  passing  over 


EAILKOADS.  423 

the  plain,  and  crossing  the  Cliicopec  Elver  near  the  Falls, 
uniting  with  the  Western  Raih-oad,  Easterly  of  the  depot 
in  Springfield."  Tlie  capital  stock  was  limited  to  8100,- 
000.  On  the  23d  of  Feljruary,  1844,  tlie  capital  stock  was 
increased  by  act  of  the  Legislature  to  §500,000.  On  the 
25th  of  January,  1845,  Henry  W.  Clapp,  Ralph  Williams, 
Henry  W.  Cuslaman  and  their  associates,  were  incorpora- 
ted as  the  Greenfield  and  Northampton  Railroad 
Company,  and  were  authorized  to  build  a  road  over  the 
route  now  tra\'y3rsed  by  the  Connecticut  River  Raih-oad, 
North  of  Northampton.  The  capital  stock  was  limited  to 
lialf  a  milHon  of  dollars.  The  8th  section  of  the  act  of 
incorporation  authorized  the  two  corporations  to  unite  in 
such  a  manner  as  could  be  agreed  upon  between  them,  and 
when  united,  to  take  the  name  of  the  Connecticut  Riv- 
er Railroad  Company.  The  two  companies  were  ac- 
cordingly united  on  equal  terms,  in  the  following  July,  and 
thus  was  formed  the  Connecticut  River  Railroad  Compa- 
ny. On  tlie  21st  of  IMarch,  1845,  an  act  w;\s  passed,  au- 
thorizing the  Northampton  and  Springfield  Company  to 
change  their  route  to  its  present  location,  viz  :  through 
jiarts  of  Easthampton,  Northani])ton,  (South  Farms),  and 
West  Springfield,  crossing  the  Connecticut  at  Williman- 
sett  On  the  IGthof  April,  1846,  the  Connecticut  River 
Railroad  Company  were  authorized  to  extend  their  road 
northward  from  Gi'eenlield,  to  the  Vermont  State  line. 
The  Company  was  also  authorized  to  increase  its  stock  by 
an  amount  not  exceeding  $500,000. 

The  Connecticut  River  Road  was  opened  from  Spring- 
field to  Cabotville,  four  miles,  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1845,  and,  from  Springfield  to  Northampton,  December 
1 3,  of  the  same  year.  The  total  receijits  of  the  road,  from 
freight  and  passengers,  up  to  Jan.  1,  1846,  were  $13,521  ; 
expenditures,  $5,519  ;  net  receipts,  $8,001.  On  the  17th 
day  of  August,  1846,  the  road  was  opened  from  North- 
ampton to  South  Deerfield,  and  on  tlie  23d  of  the  succeed- 
ing November,  csirs  ran  through  from  Springiield  to 
Greenfield.  The  branch  road  from  Cabotville  to  Chicopee 
Falls  was  comi)le(ed  and  opened  for  use  on  the  8th  of 
September,  of  tlie  same  year.  The  total  receipts  of  the 
road  for  1846  were  $58,246  99;  expenses,  $21,752  43; 
net  receipts,  $36,494  56.     The  gross  receipts  of  the  year 


424  RAILROADS. 

1847,  from  January  1st  to  December  31st,  -were  S12o,- 
951  Gl.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1849,  the  road  was 
completed  to  the  South  hue  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  a 
distance   of  52  miles  from  Springfield.     During  the  year 

1848,  the  entire  receipts  of  the  road  were  $165,242  13 — 
an  increase  over  those  of  the  preceding  year  of  $41,290  52, 
The  number  of  passengers  carried  was  299,805,  and  the 
number  of  tuns  of  merchandise,  101,314.  The  earnings 
over  expenses  were  886,797  45.  The  total  cost  of  the 
road  was  $1,798,825. 

The  road  felt  the  necessity  of  an  extension  still  fnrtlier 
Northward,  to  form  a  connection  with  the  lines  converging 
at  Bellows  Falls,  Vt.,  and  on  the  7th  of  December,  1849, 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  Ashuelot  Railroad 
Corporation — a  New  Hampshire  company — chartered  to 
construct  a  road  from  the  Cheshire  Railroad  in  Keene  to 
the  Western  shore  of  the  Connecticut  river,  to  form  a 
junction  there  witli  the  Connecticut  River  road,  by  which 
tlie  Ashuelot  road  should  be  operated  for  ten  years  by  tlie 
Connecticut  River  Company,  the  latter  paying  7  per  cent, 
per  annum  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  road.  Dithculties 
subsequently  rose  between  the  two  companies  which  ended 
in  fixing  the  annual  rent  of  the  Ashuelot  road  at  $30,000, 
and  the  Connecticut  River  Compiaiy  commenced  running- 
its  cars  over  the  road  on  the  27th  of  January,  1851.  The 
Vermont  Valley  Railroad,  extending  from  lirattleboro  to 
Bellows  Falls,  was  opened  dui-ing  the  Summer  of  the 
same  year,  and  as  the  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  road 
supplied  the  missing  link  between  the  terminus  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  Road  and  Brattleboro,  Northern  travel  was 
immediately  diverted  from  the  Ashuelot  route  to  this  new 
channel.  This  unlooked  for  embarrassment,  w^hile,  to  some 
extent  retai'ding  the  prosperity  of  the  road,  is  temporary, 
by  its  own  terms,  and,  at  no  distant  day,  it  cannot  fail  to 
be  one  of  the  best  paying,  as  it  is  now  one  of  the  best  con- 
ducted lines  of  railroad  in  the  country.  It  has  become  the 
favorite  line  of  travel  from  New  York  and  the  South  to 
the  White  Mountains,  and  the  travel  upon  it  is  constantly 
increasing. 

The  Connecticut  River  Road  has  properly  15  stations, 

the  Springfield  station,  however,  being  that  of  the  Western 

^Jlailroad,  which  it  occupies  in  common  with  the  Hartford, 


II 


RAILROADS.  425 

New  Haven  and  Springfield  Road.  The  remaining  sta- 
tions, as  they  extend  Northward,  are  Cabotville,  Willim- 
ansett,  Holyoke,  Smith's  Ferry,  Nortliampton,  Hatfield, 
Whately,  South  Deerlield,  Deerfield,  Greenfield,  Bernards- 
ton  and  South  Vernon.  Besides  these,  there  is  a  station 
in  Cabotville,  on  the  Chicopee  Falls  branch,  and  one  at 
Chicopee  Falls. 

The  directorship  of  the  road  has  been  as  follows : 

Northampton  and  Springjield  Company. — Elected  May 
30,  1844,  and  again  June  4th,  1845 — Erastus  Hopkins  and 
Eliphalet  AVilliiims  of  Northampton,  John  Chase,  Spring- 
field;  riiillip  Ripley,  Hartford;  Samuel  Henshaw,  E.  H. 
Roblnns  and  James  K.  Mills,  Boston. 

Greenfield  and  Nortliampton  Compamj. — Elected  July 
8,  1845 — Henry  \l.  Clapp  and  Cephas  Root  of  Green- 
field ;  Samuel  Henshaw  and  James  K.  Mills  of  Boston ; 
Phillip  Ripley,  Hartford;  Erastus  Hopkins,  Northampton  ; 
H.  W.  Cushman,  Beruardston. 

Connecticut  River  Railroad  Company. — (After  the  con- 
solidation). Elected  July  18,  1845 — Erastus  Hopkins, 
Samuel  Henshaw,  E.  II.  Robljins,  James  Iv.  Mills,  John 
Chase,  Phillip  Ripley,  II.  AV.  Clapp,  all  of  whom  were  re- 
elected in  184G  and  1847.  Those  elected  in  1848  were 
E.  Hopkins,  H.  W.  Clapp,  Samuel  Henshaw,  E.  H.  Rob- 
bins,  Lemuel  Pope,  and  Nathaniel  II.  Emmons,  the  two 
latter  of  Boston.  Tlie  number  of  Directors  and  the  time 
of  choice  having  been  changed,  the  following  board  was 
elected  in  January,  1849:  E.  Hopkins,  E.  H.  Rubbins, 
Samuel  Henshaw,  J.  K.  Mills,  N.  H.  Emmons,  Lemuel 
Pope,  Ignatius  Sargent,  H.  W.  Clajip  and  J.  S.  Morgan, 
the  latter  of  Hartford.  In  185(J,  the  same  board  was 
elected,  with  the  exception  of  Gorham  Brooks,  in  the  place 
of  E.  II.  Robl)ins,  deceased.  In  1851,  tlie  following  board 
was  chosen  :  Chester  W.  Chapin,  Samuel  Henshaw,  James 
K.  Mills,  Lemuel  Pope,  I.  Sargent,  Gorham  Brooks,  E. 
G.  Howe,  H.  W.  Clapp,  C.  E.  Forbes.  In  1852,  the  same 
board,  with  the  exception  of  Wm.  Dwight  in  place  of 
Lemuel  Pope,  deceased.  In  1853,  the  same  boai-d  with 
the  exception  of  J.  S.  Morgan  in  place  of  Goiliam 
Brooks,  who  declined  re-election.  In  1854,  C.  P.  Hunt- 
ington was  elected  in  place  of  C.  E.  Forbes,  who  declined 
re-election,  and  the  board  stood  as  follows :  C.  W.  Chapin, 
36* 


426  RAILROADS. 

Samuel  Ilenshaw,  Ignatius  Sargent,  "William  Dwight,  J. 
S.  Morgan,  E.  G.  Howe,  II.  AY.  Clapp,  C.  P.  Hunting- 
ton. 

The  Amherst  and  Belchertowx  Railroad  Co^r- 
RANY  was  incorporated  in  1851,  with  authority  to  construct 
a  road  from  the  depot  of  the  New  London,  Willimantic 
and  Palmer  Railroad,  crossing  the  Western  Railroad  at 
Palmer,  and  extending  Northerly  through  the  towns  of 
Belchertown,  Amherst,  Leverett,  Sunderland  and  Monta- 
gue to  the  Vei'mont  and  Massachusetts  Railroad,  at  a  point 
the  most  convenient  to  intersect  the  same  in  Montague. 
For  the  purposes  of  construction,  the  company  were  au- 
thorized to  divide  their  road  into  two  sections — one  extend- 
ing frcfm  Palmer  to  the  village  of  Amherst,  and  the  other 
from  Amherst  to  Montague,  and  to  commence  the  con- 
struction of  the  first  section  when  one-half  of  their  capi- 
tal stock  had  been  subscribed,  and  twenty  per  cent,  there- 
on had  been  paid  into  their  treasury.  The  company  was 
organized  June  30th,  1851.  Luke  Sweetser,  Edward 
Dickinson,  Ithamar  Conkey,  Myron  Lawrence,  Joseph 
Brown,  Thomas  H.  Williams  and  Andrew  C.  Lippitt  were 
chosen  Directors,  of  wliom  Luke  Sweetser  was  elected 
President.  John  S.  Adams  was  chosen  Clerk  and  Treas- 
urer. The  certificate  stating  that  the  requisite  amount  of 
capital  had  been  subscribed  and  paid  in,  was  filed  in  the 
otHce  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  April  23d, 
1852,  and  the  work  of  grading  tlie  first  section  of  the  road 
was  then  commenced.  The  road  from  Palmer  to  Amherst 
was  opened  for  use  on  the  9th  day  of  May,  1853,  and  was 
operated  by  the  New  London,  Willimantic  and  Palmer 
Railroad  Company,  under  a  lease  to  that  company  made 
for  the  term  of  ten  years.  This  arrangement  having 
proved  unsatisfactory  to  both  parties,  the  contract  was  dis- 
solved on  the  5th  day  of  November,  1853,  from  which 
time  the  road  has  been  operated  by  the  Amherst  and  Bel- 
chertown company. 

The  road  thus  completed  from  Palmer  to  Amherst  is  a 
fraction  less  than  twenty  miles  in  length.  The  total  cost 
of  its  construction,  including  land  damages,  fences  and 
equipments,  was  $280,000.  Tw^o  trains  each  way  are  now 
run  over  it,  in  connection  with  the  Western  Road.  The 
Directors  In  1854  were  Willis  Phelps,  President;  James 


RAILROADS.  427 

H.  Clapp,  Edward  Dickinson,  John  Leland,  Leonard  M. 
Hills,  Charles  Adams  and  Thomas  AV.  Williams.  The 
Clerk  and  Treasurer  remained  the  same.  The  road  has 
now  been  in  operation  about  three  years  ;  its  busmess  has 
been  constantly  increasing,  both  in  I'reight  and  passengers  ; 
and,  under  the  management  of  its  present  Superintendent, 
Mr.  N.  D.  Potter,  it  is  daily  growing  in  favor  "with  the 
public,  and  encouraging  the  hopes  of  its  stockholders.  A 
further  act  was  granted  the  company,  by  the  Legislature 
of  1854,  extending  by  two  years  the  time  in  which  they 
may  locate  and  construct  their  second  section. 

In  May,  1847,  the  Connecticut  Legislature  chartered 
the  jSTew  London,  Willijiantic  and  Springfikld 
Railroad  Company,  "to  locate,  constx-uct  and  finally 
complete  a  single,  double  or  treble  railroad,  or  way,  in  the 
city  of  New  London,  thence  on  the  "Westerly  side  of  the 
river  Thames  to  the  city  of  Norwich,  and  thence  to  Wil- 
limantic  and  the  North  line  of  the  State  towards  Spring- 
field, in  the  State  of  Massachusetts."  The  original  desti- 
nation of  the  Northern  terminus  was  subsequently  changed 
to  Pahner.  In  1848,  the  company  was  chartered  by  the 
]Massachusetts  Legislature  for  continuing  the  road  from  the 
State  line,  a  distance  of  nine  miles,  to  the  "Western  Ivail- 
road  at  Palmer  depot.  On  the  13th  of  November,  1849, 
the  road  was  opened  from  New  London  to  "Willimantic,  a 
distance  of  30  miles;  in  March,  18.30,  as  far  as  Stafford 
Springs,  about  50  miles,  and  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1850,  through  to  Pahner,  a  distance  of  6Q  miles,  the  length 
of  I'oad  in  Connecticut  being  57  miles.  The  income  of 
the  company,  from  the  conuuencement  of  the  running  of 
the  trains  to  the  1st  of  November,  1851,  was  S1G8,45D  81 ; 
expenditures,  S8G,200  22;  net  income,  $82,259  59.  The 
total  cost  of  the  road,  on  the  1st  of  November,  1853,  was 
.■^1,524,329  6G,  and  the  total  receipts  of  the  road  for  the 
year  ending  on  that  day  were  $128,715  93,  those  from 
freight  being  $54,1 64.  The  cost  of  the  portion  of  the  road 
within  the  State  of  Massachusetts  was  $207,201  53.  The 
bonus  paid  to  the  Andierst  and  Belchertown  Railroad  Co., 
for  the  relinrpiishment  of  the  lease,  (already  alluded  to  in 
the  history  of  that  road)  was  S3,447. 

The  first  ofiicers  of  the  road  were — Thomas  "W.  Wil- 
liams, President ;  John  Dickinson,  Secretary  and  Treasu- 


428  ^  RAILROADS. 

rer ;  James  N.  Palmer,  Superintendent  and  Engineer. 
The  board  of  Directors  in  1854  Avere  Gordon  L.  Ford, 
President;  Thomas  Fitch,  2d,  Vice  President;  Andrew 
M.  Frink,  Acors  Barns,  Henry  P.  Haven,  Francis  Allyn, 
Lyman  Allyn,  N.  Shaw  Perkins,  Jr.,  Joseph  Smith,  Ed- 
ward Crane  and  Daniel  .J.  Willets. 

The  .  Hudson  and  Berkshire  Railroad  Company 
was  incorporated  in  1832,  to  build  a  road  from  Hudson, 
N.  Y.,  to  the  State  line  at  West  Stockbridge,  a  distance  of 
31  miles.  Under  the  usual  an-angements  where  State  lines 
are  crossed,  the  road  was  contiimed  over  the  line  into  West 
Stockbridge,  a  distance  of  three  miles,  making  the  whole 
road  34  miles  lono;.  The  whole  line  was  constructed  dur- 
ing  the  years  1836-7-8.  The  cost  of  the  road  with  relay- 
ing, stands  at  about  $850,000.  The  income  from  passen- 
gers in  1853  wa^,  in  round  numbers,  818,000;  from  freight, 
$40,000.  November  21,  1854,  the  road  was  purchased  by 
the  Western  Railroad  Co.  for  $150,000.  It  will  be  called 
the  Boston  and  Hudson  Railroad,  and  will  oidy  be  run 
separately  from  Chatham  Four  Corners  to  Hudson. 

In  1823,  companies  were  incorporated  in  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  for  the  construction  of  a  canal  from  New 
Haven,  in  the  latter  State,  to  Northampton,  in  the  former. 
The  Connecticut  company  was  called  the  Farjiington 
Canal  Co.,  and  the  Massachusetts,  the  Hampshire-  and 
Hampden  Canal  Co.  The  capital  stock  in  this  State 
was  S300,000.  The  entire  work  from  New  Haven  to 
Northampton  cost  82,000,000.  The  canal  was  finished 
from  New  Haven  to  Westfield  in  1830;  to  Northampton 
in  1834.  The  business  on  the  canal  proved  fjir  less  profit- 
able than  was  anticipated,  and  the  stock  came  to  be  regard- 
ed as  neai'ly  woi'thless.  The  stock  was  finally  transferred 
in  both  States  to  a  new  company,  called  the  New  Haven 
and  Northampton  Canal  Co.,  for  the  sum  total  of 
S300,000.  This  company  was  chartered  in  both  States  in 
183C),  and  continued  business  in  this  State,  more  or  less, 
until  1847,  and  would  have  done  well,  in  the  opinion  of 
those  who  live  on  its  line,  had  it  not  been  for  the  competi- 
tion of  the  railroads  built  along  the  line  of  the  Connecti- 
cut river.  This  cause,  or  the  fact  that  the  canal  is  not 
adapted  to  the  business  wants  of  New  England,  threw  it 
entirely  into  disuse. 


RAILROADS.  429 

In  1846,  leave  was  granted  by  the  Connecticut  Legisla- 
ture to  the  Canal  Company,  to  build  a  railroad  "  on  or 
near  the  line  of  the  canal  to  the  State  line."  The  com- 
pany intended  a  connection  with  Springlield,  and  on  the 
Nortliern  part  of  the  route  diverged  fi-om  the  Canal  to 
connect  with  a  road  to  be  constructed  from  that  point. 
This  was  in  1849,  and  in  1850,  parties  interested  in  its 
continuance  on  the  line  of  the  canal,  procured  an  injunc- 
tion on  the  pi'ogress  of  the  road,  based  on  the  strict  terms 
of  the  cliarter.  Tlie  Connecticut  Legislature,  at  its  next 
session,  gave  liberty  to  continue  the  road  in  the  direction 
of  Springfield,  but  the  charter  Avas  not  obtained  in  ]Massa- 
chusetts  for  its  contiiniation,  and  tliat  project  mis-carried. 

The  Hampden  Railroad  Company  was  chartered  in 
1852,  with  a  capital  of  S17o,000,  for  the  purpose  of  ])uild- 
ing  a  road  from  AVestfield  to  the  State  line  in  Grauby,  Ct. 
The  Northampton  and  Westfield  Railroad  Com- 
pany was  chartered  during  the  same  year,  with  a  capital 
of  $200,000,  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  road  from 
Westfield  to  Northampton,  the  Northern  terminus  of  the 
old  canal.  In  1853,  the  two  roads  were  united  by  the 
name  of  the  Hampspire  and  IlA:vtPDEN  Railroad  Cor- 
poration, tlie  combined  capital  being  8375,000.  The 
road  is  twenty-five  miles  long,  is  nearly  graded,  and  is  to 
be  finished  at  an  early  day.  Leave  was  given  the  New 
Haven  and  Northampton  Canal  Company  to  sell  corporate 
property  in  Massachusetts,  to  the  Hampshire  and  Hamp- 
den Raih-oad  Co.,  in  1853.  The  road  passes  th.rough  the 
towns  of  Southwick.  Westfield,  Southampton,  Easthamp- 
ton  and  Northampton.  Its  grades  are  easy,  and  tlie  hard- 
est are  not  over  40  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  Ware  River  Railroad  Cojipany  was  incor- 
porated Tilay  24th,  1851,  for  tl)e  purpose  of  constructing  a 
road  from  Palmer  to  Templeton.  The  present  Board  of 
Directors  are  Orrin  Sa2e,  President ;  A.  L.  Dennis, 
Charles  A.  Stevens,  P.  F.  Goff,  Wm.  Hyde,  Otis  Lane, 
Joel  Rice,  Addison  Sanford,  Samuel  II.  Phelps,  W.  S. 
Brakenridge,  of  Ware ;  and  ^Vm.  IMixter  of  Hardwick. 
The  route  has  been  surveyed  from  Palmer  to  Barre,  and, 
while  there  is  some  prospect  of  the  road  being  built  IVoni 
Palmer  to  Ware,  tlie  enterprise,  as  a  whole,  is  not  regard- 
ed as  promising  success. 


430  RAILROADS. 

The  Boston  and  Fitchburg  Railroad  is  the  com- 
mencement of  a  route  from  Boston  Westward,  which  it 
has  been  the  intention  for  some  years  to  continue  to  the 
Hudson  River.  The  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  Rail- 
road continues  the  line  Westward,  and  has  its  terminus  in 
Brattleboro,  Vt.  This  road  reached  the  line  of  Franklin 
County  in  July,  1848,  at  the  town  of  Orange.  From  Or- 
ange, the  road  continues  through  Wendell,  Erving,  Mon- 
tague and  Northfield,  where  it  crosses  the  Connecticut  into 
Vernon,  Vt.  From  Grant's  Corner,  in  Montague,  a  branch 
was  finished  in  February,  1851,  under  a  charter  to  a  com- 
pany called  the  Greenfield  and  Fitchburg  Railroad  Com- 
jjany,  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  to  Greenfield,  Avhere  it 
strikes  the  Connecticut  River  Railroad.  Thus  far,  the 
line  has  been  completed  Westward  from  Boston.  From 
Troy,  the  Troy  and  Boston  Railroad  has  been  built  to  the 
line  of  the  State  of  Vermont  at  Pownal,  occupying  the 
Southwestern  corner  of  that  State ;  and  across  that  town 
to  the  Massachusetts  line  runs  the  Southern  Vermont  Rail- 
road, a  distance  of  six  miles.  Between  this  point  and 
Greenfield,  the  terminus  of  the  branch  of  the  Vermont 
and  Massachusetts,  the  distance  is  34  miles.  A  railroad 
of  this  length  will  therefore  fill  the  gap,  and  complete  an- 
other route  from  Boston,  opening  into  the  great  West. 
The  towns  intervening  between  Greenfield  and  the  Ver- 
mont line  at  Pownal,  are  Shelburne,  Charlemont,  Florida, 
Adams  (North  Adams)  and  Williamstown. 

To  construct  this  link  of  the  chain,  a  company  was  in- 
corjwrated  in  1848,  by  the  name  of  the  Troy  and 
Greenfield  Railroad  Cohpany,  with  a  capital  of 
^3,500,000.  The  persons  named  in  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion were  George  Grennell,  Roger  H.  Leavitt,  Samuel  H. 
Read,  James  E.  Marshall,  Henry  Chajmian,  Alvah  Crock- 
er, Jonas  C.  Heartt,  Franklin  Ripley,  Abel  Phelps,  Asa- 
hel  Foote,  Ebenezer  G.  Lamson  and  D.  W.  Alvord.  The 
route  over  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  the  road  is  one 
of  peculiar  interest,  as  it  involves  the  project  of  piercing 
Hoosac  Mountain  with  a  tunnel,  about  four  and  one-half 
miles  in  length.  The  uncertainty  attached  to  this  unpar- 
alleled enterprise,  hindered  any  considerable  subscription 
to  the  stock,  and,  in  1851,  application  was  made  by  the 
corporation  to  the  Legislature  for  a  loan  of  two  millions  of 


I 


BAILROADS.  431 

dollars,  fbr  the  purpose  of  securing  the  construction  of  the 
tunnel.  The  application  was  not  successful,  and  in  1853 
it  was  renewed,  when  the  petitioners  again  failed  of  secur- 
ing their  object.  In  1854,  however,  the  application  was 
again  made,  and  the  loan  of  two  millions  was  granted. 
The  leading  conditions  of  the  loan  are  that  a  subscription 
to  the  stock  of  S 000,000  shall  be  first  secured,  on  which 
shall  be  paid  in  20  per  cent. ;  that  tlicn,  seven  miles  of 
the  road  shall  be  built,  and  the  tunnel  be  bored  to  the  ex- 
tent of  1,000  lineal  feet,  when  the  company  will  become 
entitled  to  $100,000  of  the  loan.  When  another  seven 
miles  of  the  road  shall  have  been  constructed,  and  another 
1,000  feet  advanced  into  the  mountain,  the  company  will 
be  entitled  to  another  S100,000  of  the  loan.  The  remain- 
ing conditions  are  necessarily  somewhat  varied  from  this 
formula,  but  the  policy  indicated  is  followed  throughout 
the  work. 

Tlie  road  has  been  nearly  graded  from  North  Adams  to 
the  Vermont  State  line,  but  no  work  has  been  done  upon 
it  for  the  past  two  years.  In  the  report  of  the  company 
to  the  Legislature,  for  1853,  the  total  amount  given  as  hav- 
ing been  expended  in  graduation  and  masonry  was  $75,- 
602  24.  Tlie  proposed  route  has  some  note-worthy  char- 
acteristics. The  center  of  the  proposed  tunnel  is  the 
highest  point  of  the  road,  and  from  that  point,  the  road 
declines  the  entire  distance  to  Greenlield  and  the  entire 
distance  to  Hoosac  Falls,  N.  Y.,  at  a  grade  of  about  31 
feet  to  tlie  mile,  so  that  if  a  cal^vere  started  from  the  cen- 
ter, in  either  direction,  it  would,  in  one  instance,  run  of 
itself  to  Greenheld,  and,  in  the  other,  to  Iloosac  Falls. 
The  pi'oposcd  tunnel  is  to  enter  the  mountain  on  the  East- 
ern side  of  the  bank  of  the  Deerlield  river,  and  Avill 
emerge  on  the  Western  side,  on  the  bank  of  the  Iloosac 
river,  and  it  is  ascertained  that  these  two  rivers  occupy 
precisely,  or  very  nearly  the  same,  level.  Above  the  pro- 
posed tunnel,  the  mountain  rises  at  its  highest  elevation 
1,300  feet,  while  at  no  place,  except  at  the  ends,  does  it 
rise  less  than  800  feet.  The  project  itself  is  one  of  the 
boldest  and  most  magnificent  ever  conceived  in  America. 
That  its  consumnuUion  is  within  the  bounds  of  possibility 
is  doubtless  true,  and  those  who  are  reputed  competent  en- 
gineers declare  it  to  be  feasible,  and  witliiu  the  limits  of 


432  RAILROADS, 

expense  indicated  by  the  amount  of  the  State  loan.  Oth- 
er authority,  that  has  been,  and  is,  deemed  good,  in  the 
raih'oad  world,  has  no  faith  in  the  project,  or,  at  least,  in 
its  practicability  as  an  investment.  One  or  two  boring 
machines  have  been  invented  with  reference  to  facilitating 
the  work,  and  one  has  been  on  trial  on  the  spot,  which  has, 
to  some  extent,  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  doing  the 
whole  work  by  machinery.  Under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, the  boring  of  4  1-2  miles  of  solid  rock  must 
be  the  work  of  years,  and  if  it  shall  ever  be  accomplished, 
old  Hoosac  will  stand  above  it,  an  appropriate  monument 
of  one  of  the  most  stupendous  works  ever  achieved  by 
human  hands. 

The  Directors  of  the  company  in  1854  were  Otis  Clapp, 
President ;  George  Millard,  John  Portei",  E.  G.  Lamson, 
Erastus  Rice,  D.  N.  Carpenter,  R.  H.  Leavitt,  and  J.  V. 
C.  Smith,  the  latter  being  the  present  Mayor  of  Boston. 

The  Pittsfield  and  North  Adams  Railroad 
Company  was  chartered  in  1843.  No  progress  was  made 
at  first,  and  in  1846,  the  charter  was  revived,  and  the  road 
constructed  during  that  year.  The  road  was  constructed 
under  the  direction  of  the  Western  Railroad  Corporation, 
through  an  arrangement  made  with  the  government  of  the 
Pittsfield  and  North  Adams  Company.  The  stock  was 
subscribed,  and  the  road  leased  by  the  Western  Railroad 
on  certain  terms  and  conditions.  The  citizens  of  North 
Adams  raised  a  fund  of  ^o  1,000.  The  road  cost  S450,000, 
and  the  Western  road  tool^a  lease  of  it  for  tliirty  years, 
agreeing  to  pay  6  per  cent,  on  its  cost  annually  to  the 
stockholders,  while  the  North  Adams  fund  of  S3 1,000  was 
to  be  drawn  upon,  to  make  up  to  the  Western  road  any 
deficiencies  in  its  earnings.  Thus,  if  the  road  should  earn 
but  5  per  cent.,  the  North  Adams  guaranty  fund  was  to  be 
drawn  upon  to  the  amount  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of 
the  road,  to  save  the  Western  road  from  loss.  Another 
condition  of  the  lease  is  that  at  the  end  of  the  thirty  years, 
the  Western  Railroad  has  the  privilege  of  buying  the  road 
at  its  cost,  or  of  renewing  the  lease  for  ninety-nine  years 
at  5  per  cent.  The  North  Adams  guaranty  fund  has  be- 
come nearly  or  quite  exhausted  in  making  up  the  deficien- 
cies of  past  years,  but  lias  proved  sufficient  for  sustaining 
the   road  in  its  infancy,  as   it  is  now  nearly  earning  its  C 


RAILROADS.  433 

per  cent.  The  arrangement  is  one  that  shows  the  enter- 
prise and  far-sighted  joolicy  of  the  capitalists  of  North 
Adams,  and  indicates  a  method  of  procedure  to  those  ])Ia- 
ces  wishing  for  branch  roads,  worthy  of  imitation.  Tlie 
road  is  operated  by  "Western  Raih-oad  power  and  carriages, 
and  all  that  it  iias  cost  the  town  of  Adams  to  open  for  it- 
self a  communication  with  a  great  railroad  line  is  $31,000, 
an  amount  which  has  doubtless  already  been  saved  in 
transportation,  while  the  rise  in  the  value  of  real  estate  is 
probably  quadruple  the  sum  sunk  in  the  fund.  The  road 
is  21  miles  long,  and  passes  through  the  towns  of  Lanes- 
borough,  Cheshire  and  Adams,  to  the  village  of  North 
Adams,  in  that  town.  The  direction  in  1854  was  in  the 
names  of  William  H.  S-wift,  Josiah  Stocking  and  Stephen 
Fairbanks.  The  miles  run  by  jiassenger  and  freight  trains 
in  1853  were  24,880 ;  number  of  passengers,  52,65;) ; 
merchandise,  24,69!)  tuns.  The  total  income  of  the  road 
was  $47,332  81 ;  net  earnings  after  deducting  expenses, 
$26,208  81.  The  6  per  cent,  dividend  amounted  to  $27,- 
000,  showing  a  loss  of  nearly  $800. 

The  PiTTSFIELD  AND  SxOCKBRIDGE  RaILROAD  COM- 
PANY was  incorporated  in  1818.'  The  ground  was  broken 
the  next  year,  and,  on  the  first  of  January,  1850,  the  road 
was  opened  for  traffic  and  travel.  The  road  is  twenty-two 
miles  long,  and  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $440,000.  The 
Housatonic  Railroad  Co.,  whose  road  extends  from  Bridge- 
port, Ct.,  to  the  Massachusetts  State  line,  hold  a  perpetual 
lease  of  the  road  at  7  per  cent,  on  its  cost.  The  road 
passes  from  Pittsfield  to  Van  Deusenvillc,  a  village  in 
Great  Barrington,  where  it  is  connected,  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  Berkshire  Railroad,  with  the  Housatonic.  A 
branch  also  passes  from  Van  Deusenville  to  the  New  York 
State  line,  as  a  part  of  the  continuation  of  the  Housatonic 
line  to  Albany.  The  gentlemen  through  v/hose  efforts, 
mainly,  the  Pittsfield  and  Stock! )ridgc  Railway  enterprise 
was  consummated,  were  John  Z.  Goodrich,  Thomas  F. 
Plunkett  and  Samuel  A.  Ilurlbut.  The  government  of 
the  road  consisted  in  1854  of  Thomas  H.  Plunkett,  Pres- 
ident; Daniel  R.  AVilliams,  Samuel  A.  Ilurlbut.  llarrisjm 
Garfield,  James  I).  Colt,  2d,  George  AV.  I'latiicr,  Thomas 
Sedgwick,  Directors  •  John  Z.  Goodrich,  Secretary ;  J.  D. 
Adams,  Treasurer. 
37 


434  RAILROADS. 

The  Housatonic  Railroad,  of  which  this  road  is  a  con- 
tinuation, has  not  been  a  successful  enterprise.  The  com- 
petition of  two  parallel  lines — the  Hudson  River  and  the 
New  York  and  Harlem — has  operated  against  it.  A  jjor- 
tion  of  the  stockholders  are  discontented  with  the  terms  of 
lease  of  the  Massachusetts  lines,  and  a  committee  has  been 
appointed  to  confer  with  the  directors  of  those  roads  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  consolidation  of  the  stock, 
while  two  individuals  have  oifered  to  take  the  Stockbridge 
and  Pittsfield  road  off  the  hands  of  the  Housatonic  Com- 
pany. The  business  on  the  line  of  the  road,  from  Pitts- 
field  to  Bridgeport,  is  increasing,  and  the  opening  of  new 
marble  quarries,  and  the  establishment  of  new  manufacto- 
ries, promise  much  for  futui-e  increase  of  business.  The 
total  income  of  the  Housatonic  Railroad,  for  the  year  1853, 
was  $324,990  35 ;  expenses,  $203,492  41 ;  net  earnings, 
$121,497  94.  Deducting  rents  and  interest,  the  net  earn- 
ings stand  at  $15,909  70.  Tiie  increase  of  receipts  over 
those  of  1852  were  $37,208  98. 

The  Hartford  and  Springfield  Railroad  is  the 
continuation  of  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Railroad, 
from  the  Connecticut  State  line  to  Springfield.  It  is  five 
miles  and  about  nine  tenths  in  lengtii,  and  is  owned  and 
run  by  the  Connecticut  company,  under  the  usual  arrange- 
ments in  such  cases.  It  was  opened  to  traffic  and  travel 
on  the  9th  of  December,  1844,  and  is  now  laid  with  a 
double  track.  There  is  a  station  on  the  road  at  Long- 
meadow. 


X 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Newspapers  op  Western  Massachusetts. 

The  foremost  of  the  agencies  now  moulding,  swaying, 
educating,  impelling  and  leading  the  American  mind  is  the 
newspapei'.  From  being  a  simple  incident  of  freedom  of 
government,  thought  and  ])ursuit,  it  has  grown  to  the  dig- 
nity and  importance  of  a  gigantic  institution — the  safeguard 
of  liberty,  its  expositor  and  defender.  This  has  not  been 
the  work  of  centuries.  It  has  been  the  work,  mainly,  of 
the  present  century ;  now  but  a  little  more  than  half  ex- 
pired. Its  influence  at  the  pi'esent  day  is  incalculable.  It 
forms  in  the  United  States  the  daily  intellectual  food  of 
millions.  In  the  broad  and  general  view,  its  importance 
is  appreciated  to  a  great  degree  by  the  public,  but  there  is 
a  view  in  which  it  is  rarely,  if  ever,  regarded,  and  this  is 
its  influence  in  moulding  the  business  interests  of  a  people 
— in  fixing  its  centers  of  trade,  in  associating  the  intelli- 
gence, will  and  force  of  its  enterprise,  and  in  bringing  be- 
fore the  popular  mind  those  schemes  of  economical  policy 
that  often  shape  the  industry  and  form  the  basis  of  the 
prosperity  of  large  communities.  A  newspaper  press  is 
always  a  center,  as  a  star  is  a  center.  Some  may  be  suns 
and  others  satellites,  but  they  are  all  centers,  nevertheless, 
of  light  and  influence.  They  attract  attention  to  the  point 
which  they  occupy,  advertise  the  trade  and  business  inter- 
ests of  the  localities  with  which  they  are  associated,  and 
do  far  more  than  the  public  have  ever  dreamed  towards 
collecting  populations,  establishing  markets,  and  building 
up  the  material  interests  of  the  points  from  wliich  their 
influence  emanates.  In  this  view,  comparatively  unimpor- 
tant, it  may  be,  it  is  a  great  industrial  engine, — the  medi- 
um between  ])roduction  and  consumption — the  right  arm  of 
trade  by  which  the  seller  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
purchaser ;  the  attractive  force  that  brings  convergent 
streams  of  prosperity  to  the  center  ;  the  conveying  power 
that  pours  back  upon  an  indefhiite  circumference  the  re- 
ward for  its  productions.     It  is  with  this  view  iu  mind,  as 


436  NEWSPAPERS. 

well  as  that  higher  and  more  obvious  one  to  which  allusion 
has  already  been  made,  that  we  notice  in  brief  detail  the 
history  of  the  press  of  Western  Massachusetts.  And  this 
view  is  exposed  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how  intimate- 
ly connected  with  the  material,  as  well  as  the  moral  and 
intellectual  interests  of  any  place  that  is  blessed  with  a 
newspaper,  is  the  enterprise  of  its  healthy  sustentation. 
The  local  newspaper,  whether  it  be  high  or  humble,  pro- 
vided only  that  it  be  conducted  by  principle,  is  an  institu- 
tion which  no  town  possessing  it,  can  afford  to  see  go  down, 
or  languish  from  an  insufficient  support. 

THE    PRESS    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

Springfield  was  first  in  the  publication  of  a  newspaper, 
as  slie  was  in  settlement,   among  the  towns  of  Western 
Massachusetts.     The  first  printing  office  was  established 
by  Babcock  &  Haswell.     Tlie  office  was  located  on  Main 
street,  near  the  i)lace  where  Dr.  William  Bridgman's  house 
now  stands.     Anthony  Haswell,   one  of  the   members  of 
the  firm,  was  from   Worcester,  where,  in   1777,  he  leased 
the  publication  of  the  Spy  of  Isaiali  Thomas,  its  founder. 
He  left  the  Spy  the  next  year.     Elisha  Babcock  was  born 
in  Milton,  and  was,  by  trade,  a  paper  maker.     They  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Massachusetts  Gazette, 
OR  THE  General  Advertiser,  in   Springfield,  in  May, 
1782.     The  motto  of  the  paper  was :  "  'Tis  not  in  mortals 
to  command  success,  but  we'll  do  more — we'll  deserve  it." 
In  1784,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Haswell  had  retired,  the  pa- 
per being  continued  by  Mr.  Babcock,  and   printed  better, 
upon  better  paper.     Mr.    Haswell   went  to  Vermont,  and 
published  a  democratic  paper  there  for  several  years.    The 
printing  office  was  removed  by  Mr.  Babcock  to  "  the  next 
door   South  of  the  Court  House,"  which  must  have  been 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the   present  site  of  H.  &  J. 
Brewer's   drug  store,  corner  of  Main  and  Sanford    streets. 
In  the  spring  of  1784,  Mr.  Babcock  sold  out  to  Brooks  & 
Russell,  and  removed  to  Hartford,  Ct.,  where  he  commenced 
the  American  INIercury,  July  4,  1784,   in  partnership  with 
Joel  Barlow.     He  continued  the  Mercury  for  many  years, 
but  it   languished  during  the   latter  part  of  his  life.     His 
death  occurred  in  April,  1821,  when  he  had  arrived  at  the 
age  of  67.     His  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  son 


NEWSPAPERS.  437 

Charles,  and  was  continued  until  1835,  when  it  "died  out," 
at  the  age  of  51  years. 

John  Russell,  of  the  firm  of  Brooks  &  "Russell,  was  an 
elder  brother  of  the  famous  Boston  editor,  Major  Benjamin 
Russell.  On  the  first  of  January,  1785,  the  name  of  the 
"  Massachusetts  Gazette"  was  exchanged  for  the  Hamp- 
shire IIekald  axd  "Weekly  Advertiser.  In  June, 
1785,  the  Herald  appears  Avith  the  name  of  John  Russell 
only,  Mr.  Brooks  either  having  died,  or  left  the  concern. 
In  August,  1786,  the  Herald  appeared  with  the  imprint  of 
Stebbins  &  Russell.  The  Herald,  having  had  a  brief  sus- 
pension during  the  State  stamp  act,  at  the  time  of  the 
Shays  Rebellion,  was  permanently  discontinued  on  the 
first  of  January,  1787.  The  Hampshire  Clironicle  was 
commenced  on  the  succeeding  first  of  March  by  John  Rus- 
sell, probably  with  the  old  printing  materials  of  the  Her- 
ald. His  printing  oflice  was  then  near  "  The  Great  Fer- 
ry," on  or  near  what  is  now  known  as  Ferry  street.  On 
the  first  of  January,  1788,  the  Chronicle  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Weld  &  Thomas.  Mr.  Thomas — no  other  than 
the  celebrated  Isaiah  Thomas  of  Worcester — was  the  real 
purchaser  of  the  establishment,  and  Mr.  Weld  had  been 
his  apprentice.  There  seems  to  liave  been  an  intermediate 
])roprietorsliip,  for  Mr.  Thomas  bought  of  Zephaniah 
Webster.  IVlr.  Russell  left  Springfield  for  Boston,  where 
he  published  the  Boston  Gazette  for  many  years.  He 
died  in  Maine  about  the  year  1829.  The  oflftce  of  Weld 
&  Thomas  stood  '•  opposite  the  Court  House,"  the  locality 
now  occupied  by  tlie  Chicopee  Bank,  on  the,  corner  of 
Main  and  Elm  streets.  In  December,  1790,  the  Chronicle 
appeared  with  the  imprint  of  Mr.  Weld  alone.  In  1792, 
Mr.  Weld  appeared  still  to  be  the  proprietor  of  the  paper, 
but  the  name  of  the  sheet  was  altered  to  the  Hajipsiiire 
AND  Berkshire  Chronicle.  In  January,  1793,  a 
change  of  proprietorship  had  taken  place,  and  Edward 
Grey  was  the  publisher. 

At  this  time,  a  competitor  rose  in  the  field,  and  Spring- 
field for  the  first  time  had  two  newspapers  within  its  lim- 
its. The  Federal  Spy  was  started  in  January,  1793, 
by  James  R.  Hutchins,  an  apprentice  and  son-in-law  of 
Isaiah  Thomas,  who  furnished  him  Avith  his  printing  mate- 
rials. This  killed  the  Clu'onicle,  which  survived  the  en- 
37* 


438  NEWSPAPERS. 

counter  of  interests  but  a  very  short  time.  It  is  proper  to 
insei't  here  the  notice  of  a  newspaper  enterprise  undertaken 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  soon  after  this  time.  In 
August,  1795,  Richard  Davidson,  an  EngUshman,  came 
from  Boston,  and  established  a  paper  in  West  Springfield, 
« a  few  rods  West  of  the  (first)  Meeting  House."  The 
paper  was  endowed  with  the  somewhat  ambitious  name  of 
the  American  Intelligencer.  He  either  failed  to  sup- 
port the  paper,  or  the  paper  to  support  him,  and  soon  sold 
out  to  Edward  Grey,  on  whose  hands  the  Chronicle  had 
previously  died.  He  continued  the  paper  weekly  until  it 
was  about  three  years  old,  when  it  was  discontinued  for 
lack  of  support.  Grey  at  first  took  his  types  to  SutHeld, 
and  afterwards  to  Hartford,  where  it  is  to  be  hoped  he  ex- 
perienced a  better  success. 

Hutchins,  the  founder  of  the  Federal  Spy,  is  said  to 
have  absconded  a  year  or  two  after  the  commencement  of 
his  enterprise,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Worthington 
Hooker  and  Francis  Stebbins.  In  May,  1796,  Mr.  Hook- 
er sold  out  his  share  to  Mr.  Stebbins,  wlio  became  the 
"  sole  editor  and  proprietor,"  and  Avho  continued  the  Spy 
until  September  26,  1799,  when  he  sold  to  Timothy  Ash- 
ley, who  continued  it  until  the  Spring  of  1801.  At  that 
time,  he  took  into  the  establishment,  as  his  partner,  Mr. 
Henry  Brewer,  a  much  respected  citizen  of  Spi'ingfield, 
who  still  survives.  In  1803,  Mr.  Brewer,  who  was  a 
printer  l)y  trade,  published  the  Spy  alone,  and  continued  it 
until  1806,  when  he  sold  out  to  Mr,  Thomas  Dickman,  a 
native  of  Boston,  and  an  apprentice  of  Benjamin  Edes  & 
Sons.  Mr.  Dickman  had  been  a  resident  of  Greenfield, 
where  for  twelve  years  previous  to  his  removal,  he  had 
published  a  paper.  He  at  once  changed  the  name  of  the 
paper  from  the  Federal  Spy  to  the  Hampshire  Feder- 
alist, the  name  denoting  its  political  character,  and  the 
character  of  the  paper  fully  agreeing  with  its  name.  Mr. 
Dickman  continued  the  paper  until  1819,  a  much  longer 
period  than  any  previous  printer  had  continued  business  in 
Springfield.  He  then  sold  out  to  Fredei'ick  A.  Packard, 
a  lawyer.  About  this  time,  Mr.  Abraham  G.  Tannatt,  a 
printer,  came  from  Boston,  and  became  a  partner  of  Mr. 
Packard,  and  the  paper  was  published  with  the  imprint  of 
A.  G.  Tannatt  &  Co.     It  should  be  mentioned  that,  in  the 


NEWSPAPERS.  439 

meantime,  the  name  of  the  paper  had  been  changed,  to  ac- 
commodate the  change  of  county  lines,  to  the  IIampden 
Federalist. 

In  1818,  a  competitor  came  into  the  field.  In  that  year, 
a  physician  named  Ira  Daniels,  established  the  Hami'den 
Patkiot.  In  politics,  it  opposed  the  Federalist,  and  was 
continued  for  about  two  years  by  Dr.  Daniels,  when  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  a  company  of  gentlemen,  for  whom  Jus- 
tice Willard,  Esq.,  still  a  resident  of  Springfield,  acted  as 
editor.  In  1822,  Mr.  Taunatt  left  the  Federalist  office, 
and  became  ])roprietor  and  publisher  of  the  Patriot,  which 
he  continued  to  publish  for  about  two  years,  when  the  pa- 
per was  discontinued.  From  this  office,  Mr.  Tannatt  went 
back  to  that  of  the  Federalist,  carrying  witli  him  his  print- 
ing materials,  and  becoming  in  that  establishment  joint 
proprietor  with  Mr.  Packard,  who,  in  the  meantime,  had 
sold  it  to  Wood  &  Lyman,  and  taken  it  back  again  upon 
their  feilure,  after  the  brief  operation  of  six  months. 
During  the  management  of  Wood  tSc  Lyman,  the  name  of 
the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Hampuen  Journal,  for  the 
reason  that  the  name  of  Federalist  had  become  "  obnox- 
ious." 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1829,  Mr.  Tannatt  bought  out 
Mr.  Packard,  and  conti)iued  the  Journal  in  his  own  name 
for  six  years,  until  January  1,  1835,  wlien  he  relinquished 
the  estabhshment  to  Mr.  Packard.  In  the  meantime,  an- 
other competitor  ap])eared,  which  was  destined  to  swallow 
up  the  Journal.  On  the  8th  of  Scpteml)er,  1824,  the 
Spuixgfield  Republican  Avas  connnenced,  by  Mr.  Sam- 
uel Bowles,  who  came  to  Springfield  from  Hartford,  jilr. 
Bowles  brought  wilh  him  the  first  lever  press  ever  put  up 
in  the  town.  Soon  afterwards,  he  introduced  the  use  of 
the  "  composition  roller,"  an  important  improvement  in 
the  mode  of  inking  the  type.  The  Republican  was  com- 
menced under  the  auspices  of  the  old  Republican  party, 
but  soon  after  its  establishment,  the  old  party  lines  faded 
away,  with  the  expiration  of  the  causes  which  had  institu- 
ted and  sustained  tliem.  In  1825,  the  Federal  party  gave 
up  its  distinct  organization,  and  joined  in  the  supj)ort  ot 
Levi  Lincoln  for  Governor,  who  was  chosen  without  ojjpo- 
sition.  The  .Journal  came  to  be  poorly  supported,  and  af- 
ter the  retirement  of  Mr.  Tannatt,  whose  embarrassments 


440  NEWSPAPERS. 

were  the  cause  of  the  change,  its  continuance  was  not  con- 
sidered an  object,  and  the  concern  was  purchased  by  Mr. 
Bowles,  and  merged  in  the  Republican,  the  combined  issue 
being  styled  the  Republican  and  Journal.  From  the 
time  when  Mr.  Dickraan  bought  the  Journal,  to  the  date 
of  its  incorporation  with  the  Republican,  in  1835,  the  period 
elapsed  had  been  29  years. 

Belonging  to  the  Journal  establishment,  when  it  was 
broken  up,  was  an  English  printing  press,  that  was  either 
brought  to  Springfield  by  Haswell,  in  1782,  for  the  print- 
ing of  the  first  paper,  or  by  Ilutchins,  in  1793,  eleven 
years  afterwards.  Its  history,  through  the  hands  of  the 
various  printers,  can  be  tracetLback  as  far  as  INIr.  Hutchins. 
In  either  case,  the  press  was  probably  owned  by  Isaiah 
Thomas  before  it  came  to  Springfield,  as  he  furnished  (as 
is  beliBved)  the  printing  materials  of  both  concerns.  This 
press,  in  fragments,  is  still  in  existence,  and  belongs  to  Mr. 
Tannatt.  In  one  of  the  late  newspaper  offices  of  Spring- 
field, the  bed  of  it  was  used  as  an  imposing  stone.  It  is  an 
interesting  relic,  and  should  be  preserved,  as  being,  with 
very  little  doubt,  the  first  newspaper  printing  press  worked 
in  Western  Massachusetts. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1830,  John  B.  Eldridge,  a 
printer,  commenced  tlic  publication,of  the  Hampden  "Whig. 
The  paper  supported  the  administration  of  General  Jack- 
son. In  February,  1835,  Mr.  Eldridge  sold  his  establish- 
ment to  E.  D.  Beach,  a  lawyer,  who  became  editor  as  well 
as  proprielor.  David  F.  Ashley,  a  printer  bred  to  the 
business,  in  that  office,  soon  afterwards  became  his  ])artner, 
and  the  paper  was  continued  by  them  under  the  title  of  the 
Hampden  Post,  and  the  firm  of  D.  F.  Ashley  &  Co.,  until 
July  1,  1843,  when  the  establishment  was  purchased  by 
Alans  ON  Hawley. 

On  the  2Gth  of  May,  1841,  the  Independent  Demo- 
crat was  co.nmenced  as  a  weekly  newspaper,  by  Apollos 
Munn.  It  wati  published  on  Springfield  Hill.  Mr.  Munn 
was  a  printer,  a  native  of  Springfield,  and  served  a  portion 
of  his  apprenticeship  in  the  Hampden  Journal  office,  under 
Mr.  Tannatt.  Mr.  Munn  having  obtained  a  clerkship  in 
the  Boston  Custom  House,  sold  his  paper  to  Elijah  Ash- 
ley, a  botanic  physician,  in  September,  1843.  Dr.  Ashley 
moved  the  establishment  down  to  Elm  sft-eet,  and  contin- 


NEWSPAPERS.  441 

ucd  the  paper  until  November,  1844,  when  it  was  merged 
in  tlie  Hampden  Post.  At  this  time,  too,  Mr.  Ilawley  sold 
the  Post  to  Mr.  Asliley,  who  remained  sole  proprietor  until 
it  was  discontinued. 

Mr.  Munn,  having  been  discharged  from  the  Custom 
House  by  Collector  Marcus  Morton,  returned  to  Spring- 
field, and,  August  2d,  1845,  started  a  new  paper  which  he 
called  the  Hampden  Statesman.  This  he  continued  until 
Februaiy  1,  1847,  Avlien  it  was  merged  hi  the  Hampden 
Post,  for  Avhich  paper  Mr.  Munn  was  then  engaged  to 
write.  In  Septem'oer,  1847,  he  was  succeeded  as  editor  by 
Wm.  L.  Smith  of  Boston. 

When  Mr.  Munn  announced  the  Independent  Democrat, 
he  supported  John  Tyler  and  his  administration,  in  a  style 
of  devotion  whicli  won  that  somewhat  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen's regards,  and — a  place  in  the  Custom  House,  then 
under  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.  While  he  published  the  States- 
man, lie  received  the  appointment  of  publisher  of  the  U.  S. 
laws,  but  his  paper  was,  or  was  not,  appreciated  by  the 
public,  and  he  was  soon  obliged  to  give  up  the  paper  and 
his  enterprise  to  the  Post. 

In  September,  1831,  the  Spkingfielr  Gazette  was 
commenced  by  George  W.  Callender,  Henry  Kirkham 
and  Lewis  Briggs,  the  latter  being  the  printer  of  the 
paper.  William  Hyde,  a  lawyer,  and  now  a  resident  of 
Ware,  Avas  its  editor.  The  object  of  the  Gazette,  as  an- 
nounced, was  to  sustain  the  interests  of  education,  of  mis- 
sions and  of  temperance,  keeping  entirely  aloof  from  party 
politics.  The  basis  not  proving  sufttciently  remunerative, 
the  character  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  that  of  aWhig 
newspaper,  in  tlie  course  of  a  few  years.  In  September, 
1832,  just  one  year  from  its  commencement,  Mr.  Briggs 
and  Josiah  Hooker,  a  lawyer,  bought  out  Callender  and 
Kirkham,  and  became  the  joint  publishers  of  the  paper, 
Mr.  Briggs  continuing  the  printer,  and  JNIr  Plooker  acting 
as  editor.  In  1837,  .losiali  Taylor,  a  jn-inter,  bought  out 
Messrs  Hooker  and  Briggs,  and  became  the  publisher,  and 
on  the  1st  of  July,  1840,  was  succeeded  by  William  Stowe, 
who  became  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Gazette,  and 
continued  thus  until  the  paper  was  merged  in  the  Repub- 
lican. 

The  Hampden  Intelligencer  was  commenced  on  tlie 


442  NEWSPAPERS. 

25th  of  August,  1831,  by  J.  B.  Clapp,  as  an  organ  of  the 
Anti-Masonic  party.  It  was  published  about  one  year,  and 
then  discontinued. 

In  January,  1842,  Mr,  Tannatt,  the  former  publisher  of 
the  -Journal,  commenced  a  temperance  paper,  called  the 
Hampden  Wa?hingtonian.  It  was  a  small,  weekly 
sheet,  published  at  $1  a  year.  On  the  first  of  January, 
1848,  it  was  discontinued  for  want  of  support. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1847,  the  Bat  State  Weekly 
Courier,  a  literary  newspaper,  was  commenced  by  J.  G. 
Holland,  a  physician,  as  a  refuge  from  uncongenial  pills, 
and  a  still  more  uncongenial  lack  of  opportunity  for  dis- 
pensing them.  At  the  end  of  about  three  months,  he  re- 
linquished the  proprietorship  of  the  paper  to  Horace  S. 
Taylor,  its  printer,  he  still  remaining  its  editor.  At  the 
end  of  about  six  months,  the  paper  was  discontinued  for 
lack  of  support.  The  publication  was  nominally  simulta- 
neous in  Springfield  and  Cabotville.  The  list  was  sold  to 
the  Republican. 

The  Palmer  Sentinel  was  commenced  at  Palmer 
Depot,  by  Whittemore  &  Tenney,  as  a  weekly  paper,  neu- 
tral in  politics,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1846,  and  continued 
there  until  February  4,  1847.  The  concern  was  then  re- 
moved to  Springfield,  and  its  name  changed  to  that  of  the 
Springfield  Sentinel.  Mr.  Hawley,  who  had  just  bo- 
fore  left  the  Hampden  Post,  joined  the  Sentinel  with  Mr. 
Tenney  as  partner  and  editor.  The  Sentinel  was  started  in 
Springfield  as  a  semi-weekly  and  weekly,  and  supported  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Polk.  In  July,  1848,  after  starting  in 
support  of  tlie  nomination,  by  the  democratic  national  con- 
vention, of  Cass  and  Butler,  the  Sentinel  bolted  from  their 
support,  on  the  slavery  question,  and  subsequently  support- 
ed the  Barnburner  and  Free  Soil  nomination  of  Martin 
Van  Buren.  When  the  election  was  decided,  Mr.  Hawley 
sold  out  to  George  W.  Myrick  and  Mr.  Tenney,  the  latter 
having  previously  left  the  concern  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Hawley.  Mr.  Tenney  again  retired,  and  the  paper  was 
continued  for  a  year  or  two,  when  the  subscription  list  was 
sold  out  to  the  Northampton  Courier. 

Thus  far  Ave  have  spoken  only  of  weekly  papers.  The 
Republican  was  the  first  to  issue  a  daily.  On  the  first  of 
April,  1844,  the  first  number  of  the  Springfield  Daily 


.       NEWSPAPEKS.  443 

Reptiblican  appeared.  It  had  not  a  subscriber,  and  was 
started  in  the  lace  of  strong  discouragements.  Men  of 
business  wlio  Avere  consulted  declared  that  the  time  had  not 
arrived  for  a  daily  paper  in  Springfield.  It  was  the  first 
daily  establishmentr  in  Massachusetts  out  of  Boston,  and 
presented  but  1 G  columns  of  matter,  all  tolil.  The  first  and 
second  years  of  its  existence,  the  circulation  was  very 
small,  but  by  economical  management,  the  publisher,  Mr. 
Bowles,  sustained  for  the  first  year  a  loss  of  only  §150  or 
$200.  The  circulation,  if  it  inci-eased  slowly,  still  in- 
creased steadily,  until,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  year,  its 
subscription  list  reached  800,  with  sullicient  advertising 
patronage  to  ensure  its  support,  and  place  it  on  a  perma- 
nent footing.  The  Daily  Re])ublican  was  commenced  as 
an  evening  paper,  but  it  was  changed  to  a  morning  paper 
on  the  first  of  December,  1845.  In  April,  1846,  it  was 
enlarged  to  a  sheet  21  by  28  inches.  Previous  to  that 
time,  its  circulation  had  not  exceeded  300.  On  the  1st  of 
September,  1848,  the  size  of  the  paper  was  increased  to  23 
by  32i  inches.  Its  regular  circulation  was  then  full  1,000. 
On  the  1st  of  July,  1851,  the  paper  was  again  enlarged  to 
the  ample  dimensions  of  seven  columns  to  the  page. 

In  April,  1846,  the  Gazette  issued  the  first  number  of  a 
daily  evening  })aper,  on  a  sheet  nearly  of  the  size  of  the 
Republican  at  that  time.  Added  to  the  usual  stimulus  of 
competition  in  such  cases,  opposition  to  the  Republican  on 
certain  local  questions  operated  as  a  cause  for  bringing  the 
Daily  Gazette  into  existence.  The  phase  of  public  feel- 
ing, or  of  the  feeling  of  certain  individuals  whicli  formed 
the  basis  of  this  latter  incentive,  underwent  a  modification 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  and,  as  one  Whig  daily  was 
really  enough  for  the  wants  of  the  people,  it  became  an 
object  with  Mr.  Stowe,  in  the  Summer  of  1848,  to  ofier 
the  sale  of  his  establishment  to  Mr.  Bowles,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  merging  the  two  establishments  in  one.  On  the 
1st  of  July,  of  that  year,  an  arrangement  was  completed, 
and  the  Gazette  was  sold  to  the  Republican  for  S2,250. 
The  printing  materials  were  worth  ]n-obably  from  S500  to 
$700.  The  remainder  was  given  for  tlie  good  will  of  the 
paper.  By  the  arrangement,  about  200  daily  subscribers 
were  added  to  the  list  of  the  Republican,  and  600  to  tlio 
weekly.     The  union  of  the  papers  was  generally  aci^ui- 


444  NEWSPAPERS. 

esced  in  by  the  public  with  cheerfulness,  the  old  subscri- 
bers to  the  Gazette  being  mostly  retained,  and  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  Republican  since  having  been  such  as  is  rarely 
attained  by  country  newspapers. 

Samuel  Bowles  continued  the  publication  of  the  Repub- 
lican until  the  first  of  February,  1850,  when  his  son,  Sam- 
uel Bowles,  Jr.,  who  had,  for  t>eve,ral  years,  been  largely 
the  manager  of  the  editorial  department,  and  whose  energy 
and  enterjjrise,  in  co-oj^eration  with  his  father,  had  contrib- 
uted much  to  the  success  of  the  paper,  became  joint  pro- 
prietor of  the  concern,  under  the  firm  of  Samuel  Bowles 
&  Son.  In  May,  1849,  J.  G.  Holland  became  associate 
editor  of  the  Republican,  with  Samuel  Bowles,  Jr.  At 
the  end  of  two  years,  he  purchaseti  a  portion  of  the 
establishment,  and  the  firm  was  changed  to  that  of 
Samuel  Bowles  &  Co.  On  the  8th  of  September,  1851, 
Samuel  Bowles,  Sr.  died,  and  his  portion  of  the  establish- 
ment remained  in  the  hands  of  the  estate,  until  the  1st  of 
September,  1853,  when  Clark  W.  Bryan,  a  printer  by 
trade,  and  formerly  the  editor  of  the  Great  Barrington 
Courier,  purchased  the  larger  part  of  it,  and  became  a 
partner  in  the  concern,  the  firm,  consisting  of  Sam- 
uel Bowles,  J.  G.  Holland  and  Mr.  Bryan,  remaining 
Samuels  Bowles  &  Co.  The  Republican  has  now  a  regu- 
lar daily  circulation  of  3,400  copies,  2,300  of  Avliich  are 
sent  out  of  Springfield,  on  the  early  morning  trains,  to  all 
the  adjacent  villages,  and  by  mail  to  more  distant  localities. 
The  weekly  has  a  circulation  of  nearly  4,000  copies,  with 
a  constantly  growing  subscription  list.  On  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary, 1854,  it  undertook  an  enterprise  of  which  this  pres- 
ent article  forms  a  part, — the  writing  and  the  publication 
of  an  original  History  of  Western  Massacluisetts,  equal  in 
extent  to  1,000  12mo  pages,  whose  actual  cash  cost  is  not 
less  thanS2,000.  In  Feb.  1855,  the  weekly  was  enlarged, 
and  changed  to  the  quarto  form,  and  it  is  now  the  largest 
paper  in  New  England. 

After  Mr  Hawley  sold  the  Post  to  Mr.  Ashley,  that  gen- 
tleman commenced  the  issue  of  a  tri-weekly.  This  was  in 
July,  184G,  and  Mr.  Hawley  continued  in  the  editorial 
department.  Tlie  tri-weekly  was  just  half  the  size  of  the 
Weekly  Post.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1848,  Mr  Ashley 
commenced  the  issue  of  the  Daily  Post,  in  place  of  the 


NEWSPAPERS.  445 

trl-weekly,  with  "William  L.  Smith,  whose  name  has  already 
been  mentioned,  as  editor.  On  the  1st  of  August,  I80I, 
William  Trench  leased  the  office  of  the  Post,  and  took  in 
as  partner  Henry  W.  Dwight  of  Stockbridge.  Mr.  Dwight 
retired  at  the  end  of  about  8  months,  and  Mr.  Trench  re- 
linquished his  lease  on  the  1st  of  February,  1853.  The 
establishment  then  went  back  into  the  hands  of  !Mr.  Ashley 
who  continued  to  publish  the  Daily  until  July  10, 1854,  and 
the  Weekly  until  August  9th,  the  following  month,  when 
they  were  respectively  discontinued. 

During  the  period  which  has  been  covered  by  the  history 
of  the  press  of  Springfield,  many  ephemeral  publications, 
of  no  very  ambitious  pretensions,  have  been  issued,  of 
which  no  account  has  been  given.  The  Coxstellation 
was  the  name  of  a  paper  published  by  William  B.  Brock- 
ett,  which  had  a  brief  existence.  The  Spirit  Messexger, 
published  by  R.  P.  Ambler,  was  among  the  first  of  the  lit- 
erary offspring  of  the  spiritual  rapping  excitement.  This 
lived  for  a  year  or  two,  and  expired.  Rev.  Mr.  Russell, 
formerly  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  on  the 
Hill,  was  a  publisher,  for  a  time,  of  sermons,  in  monthly 
numbers,  we  believe.  The  Health  Insurance  Companies 
that  ran  their  brief  and  disastrous  course  here,  within  the 
last  five  or  six  years,  had  their  organs,  the  more  ambitious 
and  respectable  of  which  was  the  I^Iechanics'  Reporter,  the 
organ  of  the  Mechanics'  INIutual  Benefit  Association.  These 
papers  all  died  out  with  the  interests  which  gave  them 
birth. 

The  last  of  the  periodical  issues  of  the  Springfield  press 
was  the  CoxxECTicuT  Valley  Farmer.  This  paper  was 
started  in  May,  1853,  as  the  Connecticut  Valley  Far- 
mer AXD  Mechanic,  under  the  auspices,  and  guaranty 
of  suppoi-t  for  one  year,  of  the  Hampden  County  Agricul- 
tural Society.  Tiie  paper  was  printed  and  published  by 
Samuel  Bowles  &c  Co.,  at  the  Republican  office.  The  edi- 
tor was  Hon.  William  B.  Calhoun.  It  was  issued  as  a 
monthly,  in  quarto  Ibrm,  at  the  price  of  50  cents  a  year. 
During  the  first  year,  Mr.  Calhoun  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  Bank  Commissioner,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  year, 
retired  from  the  paper,  and  Prof.  J.  A.  Nasii  of  Amiierst 
assumed  the  editorial  charge  in  his  place,  and  curtailed  the 
name  of  the  paper  to  its  present  term — The  Connecticut 


446 


NEWSPAPERS. 


Valley  Farmer.  January  1, 1855,  it  was  removed  to  Am- 
herst where  Prof  Nash  became  publisher  as  well  as  editor. 
The  following  recapitulation  presents  in  one  view  the 
origin  and  resolution,  or  present  position,  of  the  Spring- 
held  press,  from  the  commencement  of  its  existence  in 
1782,  to  the  present  time,  covering  a  period  of  72  years. 


RECAPITULATION. 


NAME  or  PAPER. 


WHEN   STARTED. 


WHAT  BECAME  OF  IT. 


Massachusetts  Gaz.  &  General  Advertiser, 

Harapsliire  Herald  aiid  Weekly  Advertiser, 

Hampshire  Chronicle, 

Hampshire  &  Berkshire  ChroAicle, 

The  Federal  Spy, 

Hampshire  Federalist, 

Hampden  Federalist, 

Hampden  Joiirnal, 

Hampden  Patriot, 

Springfield  Republican,  (Weekly) 

Springticld  Republiran,  (Daily) 

Hampden  Whii;, 

ITampden  Post,  (WeeklyJ 

Hampden  Pust,  (Daily) 

Independent  Democrat, 

Hampden  Statesman, 

Springfield  Gazette,  (Weekly) 

Springfield  Gazette,  (Daily) 

Hampden  Intelligencer, 

Hampden  Washingtonian, 

Bay  State  Courier, 

Springfield  Sentinel, 

Connecticut  Valley  Farmer  &  Mechanic, 

Connecticut  Valley  Farmer, 

American  Intelligencer,  (West  Springfiield) 


May,  1782, 
Jan.  1, 1785, 
March  I,  1787, 
17'J2,  (probably) 
Jan.  1793, 
l.SOtJ, 

Feb.  1812, 
about  1823, 
3818, 

Sept.  3, 1824, 
April  1,3844, 
Feb.  1S50, 
Feb.  1835, 
June  1,  384.S, 
May  26, 1841, 
Aug.  2,  1845, 
Sept.  1S51, 
April  1S4C, 
Aug.  25,  1831, 
Jan.  1842, 
Jan.  3847, 
Feb.  1847, 
May  1853, 
May  1854, 
Aug.  1795, 


changed  to  the 

discontinued  Jan.  17S7. 

changed  to  the 

discontinued  179'J. 

changed  to  tlic 

changed  to  the 

changed  to  the 

merged  in  Kep.  1835. 

discontinued  1824. 

still  extant. 

still  extant. 

changed  to  the 

discontinued  l&M. 

discontinued  1854. 

merged  in  Post,  Nov.  1844. 

merged  in  Post,  Feb.  1, 1847. 

merged  in  Rep.  July  1,  3848. 

merged  in  Rep.  July  3,  184S. 

discontinued  1!>S2. 

discontinued  Jan.  184S. 

list  sold  Rep.  July  1847. 

list  sold  Northampton  Cour. 

changed  to  the 

removed  to  Amherst  1855. 

discontmued  1798. 


In  the  early  days  of  country  newspapers,  editorial  labor 
was  very  light.  Space  was  limited,  and  the  editors  them- 
selves Avere  necessarily  printers.  Still,  a  man  of  char- 
acter made  a  paper  of  character.  His  tone  of  thought, 
his  religious  principles,  and  his  politics,  were  manifested  in 
his  selections,  and  these  gave  him  an  influence  which  one 
at  this  day  would  hardly  deem  possible,  Thomas  Dickman 
was  probably  the  first  editor  in  Springfield  to  make  his 
mark  upon  the  public  mind,  and  yet,  it  is  asserted  by  Mr. 
Buckingham,  in  his  "Croaker"  papers,  that  he  rarely  wrote 
a  line  beyond  the  common  details  of  strictly  local  news. 
As  a  man,  he  was  much  esteemed.  He  bore  an  unassum- 
ing deportment,  was  a  very  agreeable  companion,  and  was 
a  welcome  visitor  in  every  circle.  Mr.  Buckingham  was 
an  apprentice  to  Mr.  Dickman  at  the  time  he  lived  in 
Greenfield.  He  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  served  his 
apprenticeship  with  Benjamin  Edes  &  Sons.  In  1792,  he 
commenced  at  Greenfield  the  "Impartial  Intelligencer," 
and  was  postmaster  in  that  town  under  the  elder  Adams. 
After  publishing  the  Intelligencer  12  years,  he  removed  to 


II 


NEWSPAPERS.  447 

Springfield.  After  relinquishing  the  Hampden  Federal- 
ist, he  kept  a  bookstore,  and  still  later  a  reading  room.  On 
tlie  'Jth  of  December,  1841,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  daughter 
in  Greenfield,  he  died  at  the  age  of  73,  and  was  buried  in 
that  town.  As  is  too  often  the  case  with  printers,  he  died 
poor. 

Samuel  Bowles,  the  founder  of  the  Republican,  was 
born  in  Hartford,  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1797.  His  pa- 
rents were  not  rich  in  Avorldly  goods,  and,  in  some  memo- 
randa of  his  early  life,  he  has  clu-onicled  the  fact  that  all 
he  received,  of  any  importance,  from  his  father's  estate,  Avas 
his  gold  watch  and  the  family  Bible.  In  the  obituary 
notice  of  him,  from  the  pen  of  Hon.  William  B.  Calhoun, 
this  fact  is  shaped  into  a  beautiful  tribute,  in  the  words : 
"  few  have  been  the  men,  who  have  fallen  in  our  way,  who 
have  kept  truer  time,  and  been  more  loyal  to  the  Bible 
than  Samuel  Bowles."  His  early  education  was  lunited. 
At  the  age  of  15  he  was  placed  in  his  father's  store.  On 
the  death  of  his  father,  a  year  afterwards,  he  commenced 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  business  of  printing.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  apprenticeship,  he  acted  for  six  years  as 
foreman  and  journeyman  in  several  Hartford  and  New  Ha- 
ven oflices.  A  portion  of  this  time  he  was  also  a  proprie- 
tor and  publislier,  but  he  did  not  succeed,  and  came  to 
Springfield  and  established  the  Republican.  The  rest  has 
already  been  told.  He  died  on  the  Btli  of  September,  1851, 
at  the  age  of  54  years.  Yet  as  one  who  knew  him  well, 
and  wlio,  in  a  brief  business  connection,  had  occasion  to 
learn  the  principles  whicli  guided  him,  and  the  considerate 
kindness  which  actuated  him,  the  writer  would  be  ingrate 
to  refuse  to  record  a  tribute  to  the  honor,  candor,  honesty, 
probity,  and  thorough  Christian  principle  that  character- 
ized Iiis  daily  walk.  Of  his  ability,  let  his  success  tell.  Of 
his  habits  of  observation,  his  industry  and  metliod,  this 
article  is  evidence,  nearly  every  fact  contained  in  it  being 
drawn  from  his  carefully  collected  notes,  wliicli  form  a  i)or- 
tion  of  a  large  mass  of  manuscripts  that  he  had  Avritlcn 
while  engaged  in  the  cares  of  business,  with  the  intention 
of  ultimately  publishing  a  history  of  printing.  Among 
these  notes  there  is  a  touching  memorandum  in  pencil, 
which  states  the  object  of  the  collection,  thciact  that  busi- 
ness cares  had  multiplied  so  greatly  tliat  he  could  do  noth- 


448  NEWSPAPERS. 

ingwitliit  then,  and  that  he  had  reserved  the  completion 
of  the  book  "  as  an  amusement  for  old  age."  But  old  as^e 
never  came,  and  his  dust  sleeps  iii  the  cemetery,  the  granite 
tells  us  Avhere. 

Apollus  Munn,  during  a  brief  life,  figured  somewhat 
largely  in  the  editorial  Avay  in  Springfield.  He  was  a 
Springfield  boy,  and  learned  his  trade  of  A.  G.  Tannatt, 
as  has  already  been  stated.  His  first  editorial  labor,  we  be- 
lieve, was  in  connection  with  the  Northampton  Democrat, 
He  was  a  man  of  decided  ability,  a  fluent  writer,  a  flippant 
speaker,  and  a  well  read  politician.  But  he  lacked  the  one 
thing  needful — principle.  He  often  descended  to  coarse 
personal  abuse,  and  editorial  blackguardism.  Towards  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  he  became  attached  to  the  new  doc- 
trines of  the  spiritualists,  and  Avith  all  the  ardor  and  enthu- 
siam  of  his  nature,  devoted  himself  to  their  exposition. 
He  wrote  for  the  Spirit  Messenger  as  one  of  its  editors. 
At  that  time,  if  never  before  in  his  life,  we  believe  he  was 
an  honest  writer.  No  man  could  pass  through  a  greater 
chan2:e  of  character  than  his  nev/  belief  wrought  within 
him,  so  fur  as  appearances  would  indicate.  He  became 
mild,  peaceful,  brotherly  and  charitable,  gave  up  politics, 
and  talked  and  wrote  of  morals.  Once  a  lion  in  disputa- 
tion, lie  became  a  lamb.  A  pulmonary  disease  terminated 
his  life  three  or  four  years  since. 

THE    PKESS    OP    WESTFIELD. 

The  first  newspaper  ever  issued  in  Westfield,  made  its 
appearance  on  the  18th  of  February,  1824.  The  jiaper 
bore  the  name  of  the  Ha^ipden  Register,  and  was  pub- 
lished by  Maj.  .Joseph  Root.  It  contained  five  columns  to 
the  page.  In  politics,  the  Register  was  Republican,  and 
supported  the  election  and  administration  of  .John  Quincy 
Adams.  On  the  8th  of  March,  1S2G,  Dr.  Job  Clark  be- 
came the  editor  of  the  Register,  Maj.  Root  devoting  him- 
self exclusively  to  the  publishing  department.  On  the 
25th  of  April,  1827,  the  Register  passed  into  the  hands  of 
V.  W.  Smith  and  John  B.  Eldridge,  the  latter  being  the 
original  i)ublisher  of  the  Hampden  Whig,  in  Springfield. 
These  gentlemen,  somewhat  to  the  surprise  of  their  pa- 
trons, soon  began  to  betray  their  partialities  for  Gen.  Jack- 
son, and  gradually  became  violent  opponents  of  Mr.  Adams. 
Subscribers  dfopped  otf  so  rapidly  in  consequence,  that  Mr. 


NEWSPAPERS.  449 

Smitli  left  the  paper  in  tlie  following  September,  and  M''. 
Eklridge  relinquished  it  to  the  old  proprietor  on  the  12tii 
of  November,  1828.  Maj.  Root  immediately  sold  out  to 
J.  D.  Huntingdon,  who  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to 
the  Westfield  Register,  and  the  politics  to  Whig.  With 
this  name  and  these  politics,  the  paper  lived  until  Novem- 
ber 29,  1831,  when  it  was  discontinued. 

In  1828  and  1829,  a  periodical  called  the  Scholar's 
JouRXAL  was  published  by  Emerson  Davis,  then  principal 
of  the  Academy. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  1833,  Joseph  Bull  coifi- 
menced  the  publication  of  the  Westfield  Journal,  neu- 
tral in  politics.  In  April,  1835,  N.  T.  Leonard  became 
the  proprietor  of  the  paper,  who  changed  its  name  to  the 
Democratic  Herald.  The  political  character  of  the 
paper  corresponded  witli  its  title.  The  paper  lived  about 
a  year  imder  this  management,  and  was  then  discontinued. 
On  the  9th  of  April,  1836,  The  Talis.max  appeared,  in 
the  form  of  a  quarto.  It  was  edited  by  H.  B.  Smith,  was 
neutral  in  politics,  and  lived  three  months,  though  it  is  re- 
corded that  it  did  not  die  for  want  of  patronage.  In  April, 
1839,  Calvin  Torrey  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
Westfield  Spectator,  with  democratic  politics.  The 
paper,  during  its  first  year,  was  largely  patronized  by  both 
parties.  In  October,  1841,  Dr.  AMliiam  O.  Bell  bought 
the  Spectator  establishment,  and,  on  the  1st  of  December 
following,  changed  the  name  to  tlie  Woronoco  Palla- 
dium. Dr.  Bell  published  the  Palladium  for  about  two 
years,  when  the  concern  went  back  iiito  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Torrey.  He  revived  the  name  of  the  old  "  Spectator,"  and 
continued  the  ])aper  for  about  a  year,  when  it  disappeared 
from  the  list  of  tlie  living,  sending  up,  as  it  sank,  several 
corruscations  bearing  tlie  names  of  the  "  Stai-"  and  the 
"  Screamer." 

During  the  presidential  campaign  of  1840,  the  West- 
field  Courier  Avas  born.  It  Avas  a  small  sheet,  issued  l)y 
Collins  &  Davis,  tAvolads  14  years  old.  After  the  issue  ot' 
the  fifth  number,  Davis  bouglit  out  Collins,  and  continued 
the  i)aper  nineteen  weeks — sulliciently  long  to  elect  Harri- 
son to  the  Presidency.  It  was  opposed  by  a  campaign  pa- 
per called  The  Jeffersoxian,  published  by  one  Shipper, 
38* 


450  NEWSPAPERS, 

who  had  previously  edited  a  Wiiig  campaign  paper  in 
Springfield,  in  regard  to  which  the  records  fail.  In  July, 
1841,  the  scholars  of  the  Academy  issued  The  Reposi- 
tory, a  paper  which  they  continued  for  about  three  years. 

In  October,  1845,  Hiram  A.  Beebe  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Westfield  Standard,  a  democratic 
sheet.  It  was  discontinued  at  the  end  of  two  years,  and 
after  a  trance  of  two  weeks,  was  revived  by  J.  D.  Bates. 
Mr.  Bates  made  a  sudden  exit  from  the  establishment  in 
April,  1848,  and  was  succeeded  by  William  W.  Whitman. 
Mr.  Whitman  conducted  the  paper  through  the  presiden- 
tial campaign  of  1848,  after  which  he  purchased  the  Troy 
(N.  Y.)  Budget.  During  all  this  period,  the  Standard  was 
really  owned  by  stockholders.  When  Mr,  Whitman  left, 
James  M.  Ely  purchased  the  establishment,  and  published 
the  Standard  for  about  three  years,  during  the  larger  part 
of  which  period  the  editorial  chair  was  filled  by  Asidiel 
Bush,  now  of  the  Oregon  Statesman,  and  the  remainder 
by  Henry  C.  IMoseley,  who  continued  as  editor  until  his 
departure  for  Washington  Territory,  in  the  Spring  of 
1852.  January  1st,  1852,  the  establishment  was  pur- 
chased by  Gilbert  W.  Cobb,  who  took  the  editorial  control 
when  Mr.  Moseley  left.  The  Standard  was  discontinued 
during  the  last  week  in  August,  1854,  and  on  the  7th  of 
October^  of  the  same  year,  a  paper  in  the  interest  of  the 
Know  Nothings,  entitled  Tni<;  Wide  Awake  American, 
was  started,  and  is  still  continued. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1841,  Elijah  Porter  com- 
menced tlie  publication  of  the  Westfield  News  Letter, 
whig  in  politics.  In  August,  1847,  Samuel  H.  Davis,  son 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Davis  of  Westfield,  a  graduate  of  Williams 
College,  and  the  boy  campaigner  of  1840,  joined  the  News 
Letter  establishment,  as  editor  and  partner.  He  left  that 
establishment  in  November,  1848,  and  became  assistant 
editor  of  the  Springfield  Republican.  Pie  died  in  the  fol- 
lowing Spring  much  lamented.  lie  was  one  of  the  most 
promising  young  editors  in  the  Commonwealth.  Mr.  Por- 
ter remained  sole  proprietor  until  August,  1851,  when  P. 
L.  Buell  became  his  partner.  In  August,  1852,  A.  T. 
Dewey  was  added  to  the  firm.  In  February,  1854,  Mr. 
Dewey  left  the  concern,  and  it  is  now  carried  on  by  Por- 
tn?  &  Buell. 


NEWSPAPERS.  451 

RECAPITULATION. 

WnEIf  STARTED.  'VrnAT  BECAME  OF  IT. 


Hampden  RcL'ister,  Feb.  18,  ISa,  changed  to  the 

Westrield  Ktgister,  Nov.  J828,  discontinued  Nov.  -J),  1831. 

Scholar's  Journal,  Itiaj,  discontinued  1S^9. 

Westtield  Journal,  Sept.  10, 1S38,  changed  to  the 

Democratic  Herald,  April,  18.'..5,  discontinued  ISiG. 

The  Talisman,  April  9.  J  SSti,  discontinued  Aug.  ISTUJ. 

"Wcsttield  Spectator,  April,  IS-W,  changed  to  the 

Woronocol'idiadiura,  Dec.  1. 1841,  changed  to  the 

Westlield  Spectator,  1843,  discontinued  1844. 

■VVesttield  Courier,  1840,  fWliig  campaign  paper.; 

The  Jetfersoniun,  1840,  (Democratic  campaign  paper.j 

WestHeld  News  Letter,  Feb.  23,  1811,  still  extant. 

■\Vestaeld  Standard,  Oct.  184.5,  discontinued  Aug.  1N54. 

■Wide  Awalic  American,  Oct.  7, 1854,  etill  extant, 

THE    PRESS    OP    PALMER. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Palmer  was  the  Pal- 
mer Sentinel,  the  publi.shers  being  Whittemore  &  Ten- 
ney.  The  first  number  was  issued  in  Jaiuiary,  184:6.  In 
the  Spring  of  184:7,  Mr.  Whittemore  sold  his  interest,  and 
the  paper  was  moved  to  Springfield,  as  has  already  been 
stated  in  the  history  of  the  press  of  Springfield.  The 
Palmer  Tijies  was  started  in  the  Spring  of  1847,  by  D. 
F.  Ashley  of  Springfield.  Only  one  number  was  pub- 
lished, as  the  encouragement  was  insufficient  to  warrant  its 
continuance.  The  paper  was  printed  in  Springfield.  The 
Palmer  Journal  was  first  issued  on  Saturday,  Ajiril 
6th,  1850.  It  was  publi.-^hed  by  G.  M.  Fisk  for  the  "  Pal- 
mer Publishing  Association,"  and  was  transferred  to  Mr. 
Fisk  on  the  oth  of  April,  1851,  by  whom  it  has  been  pub- 
lished ever  since — "  indeiiendent  in  ever3thing." 
THE  PRESS  of  chicopee. 

A  portion  of  the  history  of  the  press  of  Chicopee  would 
legitimately  come  under  the  head  of  Springfield,  but  it  is 
all  placed  under  this  licad  for  the  purpose  of  convenience. 
The  first  paper  started  at  Cabotvilli;  was  the  Chronicle 
AND  Chicopee  Falls  Advertiser.  It  was  commenced 
the  first  Saturday  in  January,  1840,  by  Thomas  D.  Blos- 
som, with  the  assistance  of  Rev.  A.  A.  Folsom,  as  editor. 
Under  Mr.  Blossom's  management  it  attained  to  the  5th 
volume,  or  was  sustained  by  him  until  June  22d,  1844, 
when  it  was  leased  to  John  L.  Hall  and  O.  Butterficld. 
They  published  it  six  or  eight  mouths,  and  made  a  losing 
business  of  it.  It  then  came  back  into  the  hands  of  its 
proprietor,  who  continued  to  publish  it  until  its  downfall, 
in  the  Sjiring  of  184G,  which  occurred  from  llie  withdrawal 
of  patronage  in   consequence  of  the  publication  of  certain 


452  NEWSPAPEKS. 

offensive  articles,  among  wliicli  were  the  "  Mysteries  of 
Cabotville."  The  "Mechanics'  Offering"  arose  from 
the  ashes  of  the  Chronicle,  with  Harvey  E.  Bowles  pub- 
lisher, and  James  M.  Cavanaugh  editor.  In  August,  1846, 
Messrs.  Russell,  Stockwell  &c  Cavanaugh  purchased  the 
concern,  and  in  the  second  week  of  September,  the  same 
year,  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Cabotville  Mir- 
ror. It  was  published  by  Hervey  Russell  and  edited  by 
Amos  W.  Stockwell  and  James  M.  Cavanaugh,  under  whose 
charge  it  became  the  advocate  of  the  policy  of  the  demo- 
cratic party.  On  the  8th  of  January,  1848,  the  establish- 
ment was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Russell  was 
assisted  in  the  effort  to  procure  new  printing  materials,  and 
he  renewed  the  iniblication  about  the  1st  of  March  follow- 
ing, and  continued  it  until  November,  1849,  when  its  sub- 
scription list  was  transferred  to  the  Springfield  Sentinel, 
which  issued  it  under  the  head  of  the  Chicopee  Mirror 
until  February  2d,  1850. 

The  Chicopee  Telegraph,  weekly,  Avas  commenced 
January  1,  1846,  by  Augustine  Ludington  and  J.  C.  Stoe- 
ver.  The  latter  was  the  printer,  the  former  the  editor. 
It  was  started  as  an  agricultural  and  news  paper,  neutral 
in  politics,  though  both  editor  and  jjrinter  were  Whigs. 
May  1,  1847,  Mr.  Ludington  left  the  paper,  and  it  became 
a  party  journal  of  the  Whig  school,  with  John  Wells, 
Esq.,  as  the  editor  actual.  Mr.  Stoever  continued  the  pa- 
j)er  luitil  May,  1853,  when  Jonathan  E.  Childs  became  the 
proprietor  and  editor,  and,  on  the  25th  of  that  month, 
changed  the  name  to  the  Chicopee  Weekly  Jourxal. 
The  Chronicle  for  a  time  published  an  edition  of  500  cop- 
ies, the  Mirror  750,  and  the  subscription  lists  of  the  Tele- 
graph and  Journal  have  been  about  500. 
the  press  of  holyoke. 

The  Hajipdex  Freeman  was  started  on  the  first  of 

September,  1849,  by  William  L.  Morgan,  and  was  contin- 

ed  until  .Janviary  15,  1853,  when  the  name  was  changed  to 

the  Holyoke    Freeman.     On  the  1st  of  October,  of  the 

same  year,  Mr.  Morgan  sold  the  establishment  to  A.  B.  F, 

Hildreth.     The   publication  of  the  paper  was  suspended 

until  January,   1854,   when  it  was  re-commenced,  and  is 

still  continued,  by  Mr.  Hildreth,  under  the  name  of  the 
V 


NEWSPAPERS.  453 

HoLYOKE  Weekly  Miruor.     The  politics  of  the  paper 
have  been  Wliig  from  the  lirst. 

On  the  10th  uf  October,  1849,  J.  F.  Downing  started 
the  New  City  Weekly  Times.  The  name  was  changed 
on  the  second  of  March,  1850,  to  the  Holyoke  Weekly 
Ti3iES.  After  the  issue  of  thirty-seven  numbers,  tlie 
paper  was  discontinued.  The  Times  was  neutral  in  poli- 
tics. The  Independent  was  started  by  E.  G.  Plaisted 
&  Co.  July  27,  1854,  and  is  "  Know  Nothing"  in  politics. 

THE    PRESS    OP    NORTHAMPTON. 

Northampton  was  four  years  later  in  the  establishment 
of  a  newspaper  press  than  Springfield.  -On  tlie  Gth  of 
September,  1786,  William  Uutler  established  the  Hamp- 
shire Gazette,  now  the  oldest,  and  always  ohe  of  the 
most  prosperous  papers,  in  Western  Massachusetts.  3Ir. 
Butler  served  his  apprenticeship  to  the  printing  business 
in  the  oifice  of  Hudson  &  Goodwin,  in  Hartford.  At  the 
time  of  the  commencement  of  the  Gazette  at  Northamp- 
ton, no  public  mail  was  received  at  that  place,  and  Mr. 
Butler  was  obliged  to  send  to  Springfield  evenj  xoeeJ:.,  to  get 
the  news.  During  all  the  early  existence  of  the  paper,  it 
was,  like  all  its  country  brethren,  made  up  almost  entirely 
of  selections,  and  communications.  There  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  leader,  and  all  home  news,  the  editor  took  it  for 
granted  everybody  knew  without  being  informed  of  it. 
Mr.  Butler  wrote  very  little  indeed.  The  last  number  of 
the  Gazette  bearing  his  imprint  was  issued  on  the  28th 
of  June,  1815,  William  W.  Clapp,  afterwards  of  the 
Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  then  became  the  ])ro- 
prietor,  his  first  paper,  of  course,  being  issued  during  the 
first  week  in  Jul}',  1815.  Mr.  Cla])p  i)nblished  the  paper 
about  a  year  and  a  half,  and  then  sold  out  to  Bales  k, 
Jiuld,  (the  lat(!  lion.  Isaac  C.  Bates  and  Ilophni  Jiidd,  law 
partners.)  These  gentlemen  published  the  paper  but  a 
short  time,  when  they  took  in  as  partner  Thomas  Watson 
Shepard,  a  practical  printer.  This,  change  occurred  Juno 
4,  1817,  and  tlie  publishing  firm  became  Thomas  W.  Shep- 
ard &  Co.  ]\Ir.  Judd  died  in  1818,  l)ut  the  paper  was 
continued  under  this  firm  until  April  10.  1822,  when  Syl- 
vester Judd,  Jr.,  the  brother  of  Ilophni,  purchased  the 
Avhole  establishment,  and  became  the  editor  of  the  paper. 
Mr.   Shepard   continued   for  sometime   to  be   the  printer. 


454  NEWSPAPERS. 

Under  Mr.  Judd's  management,  the  Gazette  acquired  a 
large  circulation,  and  established  a  most  enviable  charac- 
ter for  correctness,  thoroughness  and  good  morals.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1835,  Mr.  Judd  sold  the  Gazette  to  C.  P. 
Huntington  and  William  A.  Hawley,  the  publishing  firm 
becoming  William  A">  Hawley  &  Co.  Mr.  Hawley,  at 
first,  confined  himself  mostly  to  the  duties  of  the  printing 
and  publishing  departments,  Mr.  Huntington  performing 
the  editorial  labor.  It  may  be  appropriately  noticed  here, 
as  illustrative  of  the  character  of  the  people  and  the  times, 
that  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  state  that  Mr.  Hawley 
would  have  charge  of  the  religious  department  of  the  pa- 
per, after  Mr.  Judd  left  it,  in  consequence  of  the  fact  that 
^Ii'.  Huntington  was  known  to  be  a  Unitarian,  while  Mr. 
Judd  and  Mr.  Hawley,  though  neither  of  them,  we  be- 
lieve, were  members  of  the  church,  were  attached  to  the 
Orthodox  form  of  belief. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  183G,  Mr.  Huntington  sold  out  his 
share  of  the  paper  to  Mr.  Hawley,  who  remained  the  edi- 
tor and  proprietor  until  March  loth,  1853,  when  the  Ga- 
zette a])peared  with  the  imprint  of  Hopkins,  Bridgman  & 
Co.  These  gentlemen  were  booksellers  and  stationers,  the 
firm  consisting  of  Stephen  W.  Hopkins,  Sidney  Bridgman 
and  Henry  Cliilds.  J.  R.  Trumbull,  a  gentleman  who  had 
been  bred  a  printer  in  the  ofiice  of  the  Gazette,  under  Mr. 
Hawley,  and  who  had  there  become  so  much  accustomed 
to  editorial  labor  as  to  have  assumed  and  well  sustained, 
for  a  time,  the  management  of  the  Amherst  Express,  was 
announced  as  the  new  editor,  in  which  position  he  still  re- 
mains, the  proprietors  remaining  the  same. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  184G,  Mr.  Hawley  commenced  the 
issue  of  the  Daily  Gazette.  This  paper  was  continued 
only  about  two  months,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  following 
July,  was  withdrawn  from  the  field,  for  lack  of  suflficient 
patronage  and  promise.  Since  the  whig  party  came  into 
being,  the  Gazette  has  been  an  adherent  to  its  principles 
and  policy. 

The  second  paper  established  in  Northampton  was  the 

Patriotic   Gazette.     It  was  printed  and  published  by 

Andrew  Wright,    and  was    commenced   on  the    12th  of 

April,  1799.     We  have  not  been  able  to  find  the  last  num- 

,*er  of  the  paper,  but  it  was  probably  discontinued  shortly 


NEWSPAPERS.  455 

before,  or  about  the  commencement  of,  the  year  1801.  It 
did  not  reach  the  close  of  a  second  year. 

The  tliird  paper  started  in  Northampton  was  the  Re- 
PUBLiCAX  Spy.  This  paper  seems  to  have  originated  in 
Springfield  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1803,  though  we 
have  no  record  of  it.  Timothy  Ashley  was  the  publisher, 
and  as  he  had  previously  published  the  Federal  Spy,  in 
partnership  with  Henry  Brewer,  and  dissolved  his  business 
connection  with  him  during  1803,  it  is  presumed  that  a 
change  of  politics  had  come  over  him,  and  the  "  Republi- 
can Spy"  was  stai'ted  by  him  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
Federal  Spy,  and  Mr.  Brewer  his  old  partner.  His  en- 
terprise not  being  sustained  in  Springfield,  was  doubtless 
the  cause  of  its  removal  to  Northampton  in  180-1.  On  the 
14t]i  of  December,  1808,  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Anti-Moxarchist  axd  Republican 
Watchmax.  Perhaps  this  was  not  a  direct  continuation 
of  the  Spy.  It  is  more  likely  that  that  paper  had  expired, 
and  the  Anti-Monarchist  was  erected  on  its  ruins,  for  no 
reference  is  made  to  the  Spy  in  the  opening  number  of  the 
new  paper.  This  paper  stated,  as  the  reason  of  the  name 
it  had  assumed,  that  a  party  existed  in  this  country  who 
were  determined  to  undermine  the  institutions  of  the  coun- 
try, and  thereon  to  erect  a  monarchy.  In  continuation  of 
this  enterprise,  TriE  Democrat  was  commenced  on  the 
12th  of  March,  1811,  without  the  name  of  printer  or  edi- 
tor attached  to  it.  Among  the  papers  of  the  late  Dr.  See- 
ger,  were  found  sixty  copies  of  this  paper,  and  he  was 
doubtless  their  editor.  The  Democrat  was  devoted  to  pol- 
itics almost  exclusively,  and  those  of  a  character  the  most 
rabid.  There  is  hardly  the  slightest  reference  to  local 
news  in  the  paper.  Dr.  Seeger's  ])apers  were  more  digni- 
fied and  less  harsh  than  the  majority  of  the  political  writ- 
ings it  contained.  The  Democrat  was  continued  for  a 
few  years,  and  died  out  after  the  close  of  the  second  war 
with  England. 

TuE  lIiVE,  was  the  name  of  a  paper  started  in  Au- 
gust, 1803,  by  T.  INI.  Pomeroy.  It  was  federal  in  the  cast 
of  its  politics,  but  largely  literaiy  in  its  composition.  It 
was  a  paper  of  eiglit  pages,  in  the  quarto  form,  and  was 
continued  with  its  original  character  until  December  25, 
1804.  Not  succeeding  in  draAving  to  itself  the  contribu- 
tions of  literary  pens,   it  was  then  determined  to  try  the 


456  NEWSPAPERS. 

fortunes  of*  federal  politics,  and  the  paper  was  accordingly 
I^ublished  as  a  political  journal  a  few  weeks  into  1805,  but 
it  did  not  pay,  and  was  suspended.  Mr.  Pomeroy  removed 
from  Northampton  to  Rutland,  Vt.,  where  he  issued  the 
first  number  of  the  Vekmont  Courier,  on  the  25th  of 
July,  1808.  In  1810,  he  began  to  print  The  Washing- 
TONiAN,  a  paper  edited  by  a  Mr.  Dunham,  a  prominent 
federal  politician  of  the  times. 

The  Oracle,  a  weekly  religious  paper,  in  quarto  form, 
was  begun  in  1823,  and  continued  about  three  years. 
Hiram  Ferry  was  the  publisher  of  the  papei-,  and  Samuel 
Wells,  Esq.,  the  real  editor,  though  his  name  did  not  ap- 
pear as  such.  The  Oracle  was  among  the  first  papers  in 
the  State  to  take  a  decided  stand  upon  the  principle  of 
total  abstinence  from  intoxicatins;  drinks. 

Jonathan  A.  Saxton  was  the  publisher  of  The  Chris- 
tian Freeman,  which  was  tinged  witli  politics  and  Uni- 
tarian Christianity.  The  paper  came  from  Greenfield, 
Avhere  it  had  been  previously  published. 

The  Northampton  Courier  was  commenced  as  a 
Whig  newspaper  in  1829,  by  Winthrop  Atvvill.  Mr.  At- 
will  continued  the  paper  for  upwards  of  ten  years,  and  on 
the  8tli  of  April,  1840,  Thomas  W.  Shepard,  who  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned  as  having  been  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Gazette,  purchased  the  concern.  On  the  22d 
of  the  same  montli,  Mr.  Shepard  took  into  partnership  Jo- 
siali  W.  Smith,  who,  on  the  17th  of  June,  became  the  sole 
proprietor,  Mr.  Shepard  retiring.  For  some  time,  W.  O. 
Gorliam  assisted  Mr.  Smith  in  the  editorial  department. 
Mr.  Smith  continued  the  publisher,  and,  very  largely,  the 
editor,  of  the  paper,  until  April  24th,  1847,  when  he  sold 
the  establishment  to  Rev.  William  Tyler,  a  congregational 
clergyman.  The  paper  had  thus  far  remained  Whig  in 
ixjlitics,  but  on  the  nomination  of  Taylor,  in  1848,  Mr. 
Tyler  began  to  waver,  and  finally  hoisted  the  free  soil  flag, 
and  the  names  of  the  candidates  of  the  Buffalo  Conven- 
tion. On  the  1st  of  May,  1849,  he  sold  the  Courier  to 
Henry  S.  Gere,  who  still  owns,  publishes  and  edits  it. 

The  Hampshire  Republican  Avas  commenced  Feb- 
ruary 18th,  18.j5,  with  Chauneey  Clark  as  editor,  who  thus 
remained  until  the  following  November.  Oliver  Warner 
/^became  the  editor  in  183G.  In  1837,  Lewis  Ferry  became 
the  editor  and  propi'iotor.      During  the  early  years  of  tlie 


NEWSPAPERS. 


457 


existence  of  the  Republican,  (the  precise  date  we  have 
been  unable  to  ascei-tain,)  its  name  was  changed  to  the 
Northampton  Democrat.  It  tlien  passed  througli  a 
multitude  of  hands,  and  various  mtmagement,  whicli  a  lack 
of  fides  renders  it  impossible  to  follow  out.  Levi  Strong, 
ApoUos  Munn,  Dr.  Taber,  Mr.  Thompson,  and  Mr.  Rus- 
sell, all  held  a  brief  reign  over  its  fortunes,  politics  and 
pages.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1847,  its  subscription  list  was 
purchased  by  the  Springfield  Post,  and  it  was  issued  from 
that  establishment,  Avith  its  old  head,  and  its  matter  made 
up  from  the  Post,  until  the  discontinuance  of  the  latter  in 
1854. 

The  Temperance  Banner  was  the  name  of  a  tempe- 
rance bi-monthly,  commenced  on  the  21st  of  February, 
1835,  by  Timothy  H.  Mather,  and  continued  by  hun  until 
October,  1830. 

On  the  4th  of  February,  1845,  A.  W.  Thayer  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Hampshire  Herald,  as 
the  organ  of  the  Libei-ty  party,  thus  known,  and  so  called. 
The  paper  was  owned  by  J.  P.  Williston  of  Northampton 
and  Joel  Hayden  of  Williamsburg.  It  was  continued  un- 
til August  15th,  1848.  During  the  last  year  of  its  publi- 
cation, Henry  S.  Gere  published  the  Herald,  in  company 
with  Ilervey  J.  Smith.  It  was  merged  in  the  Northamj)- 
ton  Courier  on  the  22d  of  August.  As  has  already  been 
stated,  Ml-,  Gere  did  not  become  the  proprietor  of  the 
Courier  until  the  May  following. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1849,  Hervey  J.  Smith  published  one 
or  two  numbers  of  a  paper  called  the  Independent  Cit- 
izen, but  the  promise  of  sui)port  was  so  slender  that  its 
continuance  was  not  attempted. 


recapitulation. 


VrnEN  STARTED. 


WHAT  BECAME  OF  IT. 


Hampshire  Gazette,  (Weekly) 
Hani))sliiio  Ciizette,  (Daily) 
Patriotic  (Jazi'tte, 
Kcpubliciui  Spy, 
Anti-Monarchist, 
The  Democrat, 
Tlie  Hive, 
'l"he  Oracle, 
Northampton  Courier, 
llanipsliirc  Kcpuhlicoii, 
Nortliampton  Deuiocrat, 
'IVniperance  Banner, 
Hampshire  Herald, 
Independent  Citizen, 

3D 


Sept  6,1786, 
May  27,  1,M4(;, 
April  12,  IT'M, 

ijcc.  14,  isas, 

March  12,  ISII, 

AuR.  IS'.'S, 

1823, 

182S>, 

Feb.  J8,18r.';, 

I'ofa.  SMaw, 
Feb.  4, 1645, 

una, 


etill  extant" 

discnntinnod  July  2ii,  Ifvlii- 

discontinued  almut  l.Ndl- 

,  chanced  to  the 

chnntred  to 

diccontinncd  about  ISIS. 

discontinued  early  In  I  si  15. 

discontinued  Isjil. 

ftill  extant. 

chnnjjed  to  tiie 

sold  to  Sprinpflcld  V<M,  July  1,  IS17. 

discontinncd  Oct.  l."*!!;. 

merged  in  Cyurier  Aug.  2'.',  Ifvis 

still  bom. 


458  NEWSPAPERS. 

THE   PRESS    OF    AMHERST. 

The  first  periodical  publication  issued  in  Amherst  was 
The  Chemist  and  Meteorological  Journal.  It 
was  devoted  to  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  was  edited  by 
Prof.  John  B.  Cotting.  Its  first  number  was  issued  on  the 
1st  of  July,  182G,  and  the  paper  was  published  weekly  by 
Carter  &  Adams.  It  only  lived  six  months,  when  it  was 
discontinued  for  the  want  of  adequate  support. 

The  JSTeav  England  Enquirer  was  commenced  De- 
cember 1,  1826,  by  Carter  &  Adams,  and  was  continued 
for  two  years.  It  was  edited  the  first  year  by  Hon.  Os- 
myn  Baker,  now  of  Northampton,  and  the  second  year  by 
Rev.  Prof  Worcester,  then  of  Amherst  College.  The 
paper  never  had  a  large  circulation. 

In  May,  1831,  the  students  of  Amherst  College  com- 
menced the  issue  of  a  i;)eriodical  called  The  Sprite,  which 
has  been  continued,  with  brief  intervals  of  suspeaision, 
until  the  i:)resent  time.  During  this  period,  howevei-,  its 
name  has  undergone  several  changes.  It  has  been  called 
"  The  Shrine,"  "  Hor^  Collegianjs,"  "  Indicator," 
&c.,  while  at  present  it  sails  under  the  simple  and  unim- 
pi'ovable  name   of  the   Amherst  Collegiate   JNIaga- 

ZINE. 

The  Amherst  Gazette  was  commenced  in  the  year 
1839,  and  was  published  and  edited  by  James  B.  Yer- 
I'ington.  This  publication  continued  only  about  six 
months. 

The  Hampshire  and  Franklin  Express  was  com- 
menced by  J.  S.  &  C.  Adams,  in  September,  1844,  under 
the  fiditoi'ial  charge  of  Samuel  Nash,  who  continued  in 
that  charge  for  about  two  and  a  half  years.  In  May, 
1848,  Homer  A.  Cooke  purchased  the  Express,  and  be- 
came its  publisher  and  editor.  He  disposed  of  the  paper 
to  J.  R.  Trumbull  in  July,  1849,  who  edited  and  published 
the  Express  until  March,  1853,  when  the  original  pi-qjeot- 
ors  of  the  paper  again  became  its  proprietoi's.  Tlie  edit- 
orial management  of  the  Express  then  came  into  the  hands 
of  Leander  Wetherell,  where  it  still  remains.  Mr.  Trum- 
bull, as  has  already  been  stated,  became  the  editor  of  the. 
Hampshire  Gazette. 

At  the  commencement  of  1855,  the  Connecticut  Val- 
^T  Farmer  was  removed  from  Springfield  to  Amherst, 


NEWSPAPERS.  459 

where  Prof.  J.  A.  Nash,  its  editor,  became  also  its  pub- 
lisher. 

THE    PRESS    OP    AVARE. 

The  Village  Gazette  Avas  the  first  newspaper  start- 
ed in  Ware.  The  first  number  was  issued  on  the  7th  of 
July,  1847,  by  liemenway  &  Fisk.  It  was  neutral  in  pol- 
itics. On  the  loth  of  March,  1848,  Mr.  Fisk  disposed  of 
his  interest  to  Mr.  Hemenway,  but  continued  its  editor 
until  January  1st,  1849.  During  the  same  month,  iMr. 
Hemenway  sold  out  the  establishment  to  Mandell  &  Ilatli- 
away,  who  continued  to  publish  it,  with  an  alteration  of 
its  title  to  The  Ware  Gazette,  until  the  summer  of 
1850,  when  the  subscription  list  was  purchased  by  J.  F. 
Downing.  'Mv.  Downing  founded  upon  this  list  the  Ware 
American,  and,  by  the  aid  of  an  association  of  gentle- 
men, was  enabled  to  enlarge  his  paper,  and  to  continue  its 
issue  until  the  following  Autumn,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  list  to  the  proprietors  of  the  Springfield  Republican. 

The  AV'are  Offering,  a  monthly  publication,  designed 
for  factory  operatives,  was  started  January,  1848,  by  S.  F. 
Pepper.  It  only  reached  three  or  four  numbers.  The 
Ware  Weekly  Courier  was  started  January  1,  1848, 
by  C.  H.  &  A\^  F.  Brown.  This  was  a  foreign  concern, 
with  a  Ware  head,  the  paper  being  made  up  ironi  the  col- 
umns of  the  Worcester  -3]^gis,  ahd  sent  to  Ware  for  dis- 
tribution. Only  tln-ee  numl)ers  were  published.  There  is 
no  newspaper  j)ublished  in  Ware  at  the  present  time. 

the    press    of    GREENFIELD. 

The  Impartial  Intelligencer,  the  first  paper  issued 
in  Greenfield,  was  started  by  Thomas  Dickman,  on  the  1st 
of  February,  1792,  on  a  sheet  measuring  IG  by  19  1-2 
inches.  The  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  in  the  Au- 
gust following  to  the  Greenfield  Gazette,  and,  on  the 
oth  of  March,  1795,  to  the  Greenfield  Gazette,  or 
Massachusetts  and  Vermont  Telegraph.  Its  pul)- 
lication  was  continued  under  this  name  until  January  1, 
1798,  when  the  j)aper  recurred'to  its  former  name — the 
•Greenfield  Gazette.  On  the  20th  of  August,  1798,  Mr. 
Dickman  sold  tl>e  Gazette  to  Francis  Barker,  who,  in  his 
introductory  adih-ess,  says,  in  regard  to  the  res])onsibility 
of  the  press  :  "  The  office  of  a  conductor  of  a  jjublic  print, 
in  its  operation  upon  the  public  mind,  is,  perhaps,  of  more 


4G0  NEWSPAPERS. 

importance  to  the  general  opinion  of  a  nation  than  the  oc- 
cupation of  any  other  individual  in  the  community.  By 
promulgating  error  lie  becomes  a  noon-day  pestilence  to 
society,  but  by  diffusing  truth  he  is,  in  effect,  a  powerful 
instrument  of  general  utility  and  happiness."  Mr.  Barker 
in  a  few  weeks  altered  the  title  of  the  paper  to  the  Green- 
field Gazette — A  Register  of  Genuine  Federal- 
ism. His  connection  with  the  paper  was  brief.  On  the 
17th  of  June,  1799,  he  sold  the  establishment  back  to  Mr. 
Dickmau.  This  was  at  the  time  of  seriously  threatening 
difficulties  between  France  and  this  country,  and,  having 
received  a  commission  as  Captain  or  Lieutenant,  Mr.  Bar- 
ker joined  what  was  called  "  John  Adams'  Ai-my,"  at  Ox- 
ford.    He  died  some  twenty  years  since. 

Mr.  Dickman  continued  the  publication  of  the  paper  to 
May  31,  1802,  when  he  sold  it  to  John  Denio,  an  appren- 
tice in  his  office.  Mr.  Denio  dropped  from  the  title  the 
ponderous  suihx  adopted  by  Mr.  Barker,  and  again  came 
out  with  the  Greenfield  Gazette.  Mr.  Denio  continued  the 
publication  of  the  Gazette  until  the  5th  of  February,  1811, 
when  he  disposed  of  it  to  Ansel  Phelps  of  Northampton, 
a  printer,  who  had  served  his  apprenticeship  in  the  office 
of  the  Hampshire  Gazette,  then  under  the  charge  of  "Wil- 
liam Butler.  The  first  number  of  the  Gazette  issued  by 
Mr.  Phelps  bears  the  date  of  February  12,  1811.  He 
changed  the  title  of  the  paper,  and  the  uneasy  name  be- 
came The  Traveller.  On  the  division  of  the  old 
County  of  Hampshire,  and  the  establishment  of  Franklin 
County,  the  Traveller  became  TitTE  Franklin  Herald, 
the  first  number  being  issued  January  7,  1812.  On  the 
following  7th  of  May,  Mr.  Phelps  disposed  of  one  half  of 
his  interest  in  the  Herald  to  John  Denio,  whose  name  has 
already  been  associated  with  the  proprietorship  of  the  pa- 
per. Denio  &  Phelps  continued  the  publication  until  No- 
vember 7,  1815,  when  the  connection  was  dissolved,  and 
the  Herald  came  back  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Phelps,  and 
Mr.  Denio  changed  the  i)rinting  for  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Phelps  continued  the  Herald  in  connection  with-* 
the  business  of  book-printing  and  book-selling  until  May 
27,  1817,  when  a  business  connection  was  re-formed  be- 
tween him  and  Mr.  Denio.  Denio  &  Phelps  then  pub- 
Ikhed  the  Herald  until  May  20,   1823,  when  Mr.   Denio 


KEATSl'APERS.  4G1 

again  sold  out  to  Mr.  Phelps.  On  llie  17tli  of  June,  1823, 
Mr.  Phelps  associated  with  liimself,  as  partner,  Jonathan 
A.  Saxton  of  Deerfield,  whose  duties  were  confined  to  the 
editorial  chair.  Mr.  Saxton  remained  connected  with  the 
paper  until  June  22,  1824,  when  the  firm  was  dissolved, 
and  the  paper  came  again  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Phelps, 
as  sole  proprietor  and  editor. 

In  June,  1823,  the  Greenfield  Gazette  was  started 
by  Denio,  Clark  &  Tyler,  as  a  competitor  of  the  Herald. 
Gen.  Alanson  Chu-k,  one  of  the  members  of  the  firm,  soon 
bought  out  his  partners,  and  continued  the  publication  of 
the  Gazette  until  June  18,  1827,  when  he  entered  into  an 
arrangement  with  Mr.  Phelps,  who  still  remained  the  pub- 
lisher of  the  Herald,  by  whicli  the  two  papers  should  be 
united  under  the  name  of  the  Greenfield  Gazette  and 
Franklin  Herald,  and  the  two  proprietors  under  the 
firm  of  Phelps  &  Clark.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1829,  the 
firm  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Phelps  buying  Mr.  Clark's  inter- 
est, and  again  becoming  sole  owner  and  publisher.  Very 
soon,  however,  he  took  in  as  partner  Charles  J.  J.  Inger- 
soll,and  the  firm  became  Phelps  &  Ingersoll.  INIr.  Inger- 
soU  retired  from  tlie  concern  on  the  30th  of  December, 
1834,  and  the  paper  was  continued  by  Mr.  Plielps  until 
July  4,  1837,  when  it  was  united  with  the  Franklin  Mer- 
cury, the  name  being  changed  to  the  Gazette  and  jMer- 
CURY,  and  Mr.  Ingersoll  again  becoming  the  associate  of 
Mr.  Phelps  in  the  publishing  firm. 

The  Franklin  Mercury,  united  with  the  Gazette 
&  Herald  in  1837,  as  above  mentioned,  was  started  by 
George  T.  Davis  in  1833,  and  was  conducted  by  him  with 
much  ability  until  183G,  when  he  disposed  of  it  to  Mr.  In- 
gersoll, who  continued  it  up  to  the  time  of  its  union  with 
the  paper  of  Mr.  Phelps.  In  these  hands  went  on  the 
])u])lication  of  the  Gazette  &  Mercury,  until  the  13th  of 
July,  1841,  when  the  firm  of  Phel])s  &  Ingersoll  was  dis- 
solved, and  Mr.  Phelps  was  again  alone. 

In  the  meantime,  a  new  competitor  had  come  upon  the 
ground.  The  Greenfield  Courier  was  established 
April  10th,  1838,  by  J.  C.  Knccland.  After  publishing 
the  Coui'ier  about  three  months,  Samuel  S.  Eastman  be- 
came associated  witli  him  iu  partnership,  the  firm  being 
Kneeland  &  Eastman.  Mr.  Kneeland  soon  retired,  leav- 
39* 


462  NEWSPAPERS. 

ing  Mr,  Eastman,  nominally,  at  least,  the  sole  proprietor. 
In  July,  1841,  Mr.  Phelps  made  an  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Eastman,  by  which  their  respective  establishments  should 
be  united  under  the  name  ot'  the  Gazette  &  Courier. 
The  members  of  the  new  firm  were  Ansel  Phelps,  S.  S. 
Eastman,  and  Geoi'ge  T.  Davis,  the  firm  being  S.  S.  East- 
man &  Co.  D.  W.  Alvord  was  the  editor  of  the  Gazette 
&  Courier,  for  about  eight  months,  when  Henry  L.  Dawes, 
then  a  student  at  law,  and  now  District  Attorney,  became 
the  editor,  and  continued  thus  until  September,  1842,  when 
he  removed  to  North  Adams,  where  he  at  present  resides. 
S.  S.  Eastman  &  Co.  continued  the  publication  of  the  Ga- 
zette &  Courier  until  July,  1847,  (Mr.  Davis  having  closed 
his  connection  with  the  concern  some  years  previously  by 
sale  to  his  partners,)  when  Mr.  Eastman  sold  out  his  part 
to  Mr.  Ingersoll,  who,  in  the  meantime,  had  removed  to 
and  returned  from  Wcstfield,  N.  Y.,  where  he  had  estab- 
lished the  Westfield  Messenger. 

Mr.  Eastman  went  from  Greenfield  to  Newport,  R.  I., 
and  there  entered  upon  the  publication  of  the  "  Herald 
of  the  Times  and  the  Rhode  Islander,"  a  paper  which 
he  had  previously  purchased.  He  soon  afterwards 
established  the  Daily  Herald,  which  he  continued  to 
publish  until  he  left  the  place  to  return  to  his  old  field  of 
operations  in  Greenfield. 

Messrs.  Phelps  &  Ingersoll  entered  upon  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Gazette  &  Courier  as  editors  and  joint  owners, 
July  20, 1847,  under  the  name  of  C.  J.  J.  Ingersoll  &  Co. 
After  the  nomination  of  Gen.  Taylor  for  the  presidency,  in 
1848.  a  division  of  opinion  between  the  two  members  of 
the  firm,  in  regard  to  supporting  him  for  that  office,  became 
the  cause  of  a  dissolution.  Mr.  Phelps  went  for  the  whig 
nomination  ;  Mr.  Ingersoll  did  not  go  for  it.  Both  being 
decided,  and  unwilling  to  yield,  the  fii'm  was  dissolved  on 
the  21st  of  November,  1848,  Mr.  Phelps  becoming  once 
more  sole  proprietor,  with  the  right  and  disposition  to  raise 
the  Taylor  fiag,  under  which  he  fought  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  campaign.  On  leaving  the  Gazette,  Mr.  Inger- 
soll became  an  adherent  of  the  free  soil  party,  and  started 
a  paper  for  the  advocacy  of  that  i^olitical  interest,  with  the 
title  of  the  American  Republic,  which  he  still  continues 
to  publish.     Mr,  Phelps  continued  the  publication  of  the 


(I 


NEWSPAPERS.  463 

Gazette  &  Courier  alone  until  the  IGth  of  January,  1840, 
when  he  disposed  of  oue-half  of  his  interest  to  ]Mr.  East- 
man, and  S.  S.  Eastman  &  Co.  have  continued  in  the  pub- 
lication of  the  paper  since  without  change. 

The  Franklin  Democrat  was  established  in  1840,  by 
Binea  Speny  and  Alanson  Ilawley,  under  the  firm  of  B. 
Sperry  &  Co.  Mr.  Sperry  remained  in  connection  with 
the  paper  but  a  few  months,  and  left  it  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Hawley,  who  continued  its  publisher  and  editor  until  some- 
time dui'ing  1841,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Bailey  H. 
Hawkins,  who,  soon  afterwards,  took  in  David  S.  Ruddock 
as  partner.  Whiting  Griswold,  a  lawyer  with  democratic 
politics,  had  the  editorial  charge  of  the  paper  for  some 
time  after  this.  Mr.  Hawkins  sold  out  his  interest  in  the 
pajier  in  1842,  to  Lewis  C.  Munn,  and  the  paper  was  con- 
tinued by  Munn  &  Ruddock,  Mr.  Munn  acting  as  editor 
until  the  Spring  of  1843,  when  he  sold  out  to  F.  A.  Towns- 
ley.  Ruddock  &  Townsley  published  the  Democrat  three 
or  four  months,  when  Ruddock  sold  to  Townsley,  who  con- 
tinued the  publication  until  the  1st  of  January,  1844,  with 
Milo  Seaver  as  editor,  a  young  man  of  fine  abilities  who 
died  a  year  or  two  afterwards.  He  then  disposed  of  the 
establishment  to  Rinaldo  R.  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor  received 
an  appointment  in  the  Boston  Custom  Plouse  in  July, 
184.5,  but  continued  to  publish  the  paper  until  January, 
1848,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  it  to  Samuel  O. 
Lamb,  who  had  edited  it  from  1845.  On  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary, 1852,  IMr.  Lamb  sold  the  concern  to  Joseph  H. 
Sprague,  who,  in  January,  1854,  sold  to  Charles  H.  Mi- 
rick,  the  present  proprietor  and  editor. 

The  remaining  ])apers  of  Greenfield  were  short-lived 
and  unsuccessful.  The  Franklin  Federalist,  published 
by  Russell  Wells,  was  started  in  181G,  and  had  a  brief 
run.  The  Franklin  Post  and  Christian  Freeman 
was  established  April  19,  1825,  with  Jonathan  A.  Saxton 
as  editor.  It  was  printed  by  Samuel  H.  Pinks,  for  the 
proprietors.  This  paper  is  the  one  alluded  to  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  press  of  Northampton,  as  having  been  removed 
from  Greeniield  to  that  town.  Its  existence  was  not  long 
in  either  town. 

Freedom's  Sentinel  was  started  in  Athol  by  Alonzo 
Rawson,  and  was  removed  to  Greenfield  about  1830.     It 


NEWSPAPERS. 

had  a  sickly  existence,  and  was  discontinued  soon  after  its 
removal. 

The  Franklin  Freeman,  an  Anti-Masonic  paper,  was 
started  in  Deerfield  by  Gen.  Epaphras  Hoyt,  and  was  ed- 
ited by  him — Fogg  &  Currier,  printers  and  publishers. 
The  paper  lived  during  that  memorable  excitement. 

The  Workingmen's  Advocate  was  started  in  1836, 
by  J.  M.  Campbell,  printer  and  publisher.  It  was  edited 
by  Rodolphus  Dickinson  of  Deerfield,  and  devoted  princi- 
pally to  the  interests  of  the  "Workingmen's  party.  Sam- 
uel C.  Allen,  after  leaving  the  whig  party,  was  nominated 
for  Governor  by  the  "  working  men,"  and  the  Advocate 
urged  his  election.     The  paper  had  but  a  brief  existence. 

The  history  of  the  newspapers  of  Greenfield  is  unpar- 
alleled by  that  of  the  press  of  any  other  town  in  the 
State,  in  the  changes  of  their  names  and  proprietors.  The 
changes  through  which  the  origin  of  the  Gazette  &  Cour- 
ier is  to  be  arrived  at,  are  beyond  the  reach  of  a  recapitu- 
latory table,  and  can  only  properly  be  compassed  by  a 
"geneological  tree."  The  Democrat,  while  adhering  to  its 
original  name,  has  changed  proprietors  quite  as  frequently 
as  its  neighbor.  These  changes  are  noteworthy  from  being 
simply  accidental,  as  the  pa])ers  of  Franklin  County  have 
been  as  profitable  as  those  of  other  counties. 

Mr.  Dickman  has  already  been  noticed  in  connection 
with  the  newspaper  press  of  Springfield.  John  Denio,  as 
has  already  been  stated,  was  an  apprentice  of  Mr.  Dick- 
man.  After  leaving  Greenfield,  when  Mr.  Dickman  sold 
to  Mr.  Barker,  he  worked  for  Andrew  Wright  a  few 
weeks,  and  then  went  to  Boston  and  worked  a  short  time 
for  Baker  &  Andrews.  In  the  Winter  of  1800,  he  started 
a  paper  at  Randolph,  Vt.,  in  connection  with  Sereno 
Wright,  formerly  of  ^Xorthamjjton.  Alone,  and  with 
Messrs.  Phelps  and  Clark,  he  published  the  Gazette  for  24 
years.  He  removed  to  Albany  in  June,  1827.  lie  is  now 
in  Albion,  N.  Y.,  and  has  worked  at  the  case  and  in  the 
editorial  chair  about  half  a  century.  He  is  now  probably 
the  oldest  editor  in  tlie  State  of  Kew  York.  Mr.  Phelps 
has  remained  connected  Avith  the  newspaper  press  a  great- 
er period  of  time  than  any  other  man  now  or  heretofore 
living  in  the  Connecticut  Valley.  Thomas  Dickman,  Wil- 
liam Butler,  Samuel  Bowles,  A.  G.  Tannatt  and  their  co- 


NEWSPAPERS.  465 

patriarchs,  all  fall  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  behind  him 
in  this  particular,  and  he  must  be  styl(;d  the  patriarcli  of 
the  Connecticut  \'allcy  press.  He  has  been  an  editor  and 
publisher  in  wliat  may  be  considered  one  concern,  for  a 
period  of  forty-tiirce  years.  He  has  been  fortunate  in 
business,  and  enjoys  in  his  old  age  a  handsome  property, 
the  fruits  of  his  industry  and  enterprise. 

THE    PRESS    OF    PITTSFIELD. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  four  Western  counties, 
though  occupying  the  range  of  a  century  in  their  settle- 
ment, occupied  the  range  of  only  ten  years  in  starting 
the  newspaper.  The  first  newspaper  press  was  estab- 
lished in  Springfield  in  1782,  Northampton  followed 
in  1786,  Pittsfield  in  1787,  Stockbridge  in  1789,  and 
Greenfield  in  1792.  The  name  of  the  first  paj^er  in  Pitts- 
field  was  The  American  Cextinel.  E.  Russell  was 
the  printer.  Whether  he,  with  his  contemporary,  John 
Russell  of  Springfield,  was  a  brother  of  Benjamin  Russ(;ll 
of  Boston,  we  cannot  telL  Tlie  Centinel  was  started 
December  1st,  1787,  on  a  sheet  ten  by  eighteen  inches,  and 
on  this  modest  array  of  superficial  inches,  the  printer  had 
the  audacity  to  use  the  following  motto  : 

"  Here  you  may  range  the  world  from  pole  to  pole, 
Increase  your  knowledge,  and  delight  your  soul." 

Mr.  Russell  "  returns  his  thanks  to  those  gentlemen  who 
expressed  their  anxiety  to  have  the  printing  office  at  Pitts- 
field,  by  engaging  him  to  print  a  certain  number  of  papers, 
and  begs  leave  to  inform  them  that  he  has  a  large  number 
of  papers  on  hand  for  which  he  has,  as  yet,  received  noth- 
ing, and  which  he  wishes  those  gentlemen  to  call  lor,  ac- 
cording to  agreement.  If  agreements  are  not  fulfilled,  tlie 
Centinel  must  stop."  Tliis  was  in  the  second  number  of 
the  paper,  and  it  was  doubtless  stopped  very  soon  after- 
-  wards. 

The  next  paper  in  order  was,  doubtless,  the  Berkshire 
Chronicle.  This  was  started  on  the  8th  of  May,  1788, 
was  "  published  by  Roger  Storrs  near  the  meeting  house," 
and  bore,  for  its  motto : 

"Free  as  the  savage  roams  his  native  wood, 
Or  finny  nations  swim  the  briny  flood." 

The    second  number  of  this  paper    contains   two   well 


466  NEWSPAPERS. 

written  moral  essays  on  the  first  page,  and  quite  extended 
foreign  news  on  the  second,  while  the  other  pages  are  occu- 
pied hy  a  good  summaiy  of  domestic  news,  a  poet's  corner 
headed  "/rhe  Parnassian  Packet,"  agricultural  reading, 
and  advertisements.  The  first  number  is  12  by  8  inches 
in  size.  The  31st  number,  which  appears  as  the  Berk- 
shire Chronicle  and  Massachusetts  Intelligen- 
cer, is  enlarged  to  the  size  of  18  inches  by  10.  The 
advertisements  came  much  more  from  other  towns  in  Berk- 
shire County  than  Pittsfield.  Fugitive  slaves  fi'om  New 
York  are  advertised,  among  other  things.  This  paper  was 
really  conducted  with  much  talent,  and  must  have  been, 
for  its  time,  a  remarkable  affair.  Its  facilities  for  getting 
news  may  be  ascertained  in  the  paper  of  April  2-i,  1789, 
which  had  Boston  news  to  April  20,  New  York  to  April 
3,  and  London  to  December  20,  the  previous  year.  In  the 
paper  of  May  3d,  the  proceedings  of  Congress  are  brought 
down  to  April  15th.  This  paper  was  living,  January  17, 
1790,  with  no  indications  of  dissolution.  The  date  of  its 
discontinuance  is  beyond  our  knowledge.  We  have  a  tra- 
ditionary account  of  a  paper  started  by  a  Mr.  Spooner, 
about  1790,  and  soon  afterwards  removed  to  Windsor,  Vt., 
and  of  another  by  Merrill  &  Smith,  between  1790  and 
1800,  which  had  a  brief  existence.  We  have  seen  no  files 
of  these  papers,  and  can  give  neither  their  names  or  dates. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1800,  the  Pittsfield  Sun 
was  established,  and  still  lives  with  an  unchanged  name. 
It  was  started  by  Phineas  Allen,  who  still  carries  on  the 
papei*,  in  connection  with  his  son,  and  whose  patriarclial 
claims  are  ahead  of  those  of  Mr.  Phelps  of  Greenfield,  by 
ten  years.  It  has  been  the  fortune  of  very  few  men  in 
America  to  remain  connected  with  the  newspaper  press  so 
long  and  so  uninterru^^tedly  as  Mr.  Allen.  When  the  pub- 
lication first  commenced,  the  printing  was  done  upon  paper 
manufactured  in  Springfield,  which,  at  tliat  time,  contained 
the  only  mill  in  Western  Massachusetts.  The  jiolitics  of 
the  Sun  are  democratic. 

The  Berkshire  Reporter  was  started  by  Dutton  & 
Smith.  The  date  of  its  commencement  we  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain,  though  before  1809,  Dutton 
had  retired,  the  paper  liad  been  published  by  Sey- 
moyr  &   Smith  for  a  time,   and  Seymour   had  retii'cd. 


NEWSPAPERS.  467 

It  was  then  continued  bj  Milo  Smith  &  Co.  Smith  was 
not  a  good  business  nmn,  and  got  in  del^.  To  get  out,  he 
agreed  to  get  ten  men  of  the  federal  party  (whose  organ 
the  paper  was)  to  become  responsible  for  him,  on  giving 
them  a  mortgage  on  his  press  and  type.  He  got  three,  and 
then  crossed  the  line  into  New  York.  The  victimized  three 
paid  his  debts,  and  continued  the  paper  with  the  imprint 
of  "  E.  Leonard,  for  the  proprietors."  The  Reporter 
closed  its  life  somewhere  between  1815,  the  date  of  the 
latest  copy  we  liave  seen,  and  1820. 

TuE  Argus  was  started  in  May,  1827 — Henry  K. 
Strong,  editor,  and  jNI.  Sj[)Ooner  printer.  Mr.  Strong  be- 
came embarrassed,  and  adojiting  an  irregular  method  for 
extricating  himself,  left  tlie  State.  The  Argus  was  then 
removed  to  Lenox,  and,  as  it  subsecpiently  returned  to 
Pittslield,  in  another  form,  the  necessity  is  involved  of 
giving  a  side  story  which,  after  all,  must  be  told  some- 
where. In  1827,  J.  D.  Gushing  of  Boston  received  pro- 
l^osals  to  emigrate  to  South  Adams  with  a  jirinting  office, 
and  large  offers  were  made  him  to  start  a  paper  there- 
Mr.  Cushing's  knowledge  of  Berkshire  was  limited,  and 
his  faith  in  unwritten  promises  too  great  by  half.  He  ac- 
cepted the  offer,  and  the  good  people  of  North  Adams 
hearing  of  the  event,  determined  not  fo  be  outdone. 
Doct.  Green,  wlio  estabhslied  the  Berksiiikk  Amekioan 
in  Pittsfield  a  sliort  time  previously,  was  visited,  liberal 
offers  made  to  him,  and  the  American  was  removed  to 
North  Adams,  and  the  first  number  issued  there  before 
Mr.  Cusliiug  reached  the  South  village.  He  arrived  in 
May,  and  soon  afterwards  got  out  the  first  number  of  the 
Adams  Refublicax.  Tliis  paper  he  continued  for  about 
seven  months,  when  he  abandoned  the  land  of  jn-omise, 
and  went  to  Lenox,  witli  Ids  printing  materials.  This  was 
in  December,  1827.  At  this  time,  Charles  AYebster  was 
publishing  the  BEUKsniiiE  Star  in  Stockbridge,  also 
without  sufficient  encouragement.  And  here  it  will  be 
necessary  to  give  the  history  of  the  Star.  Its  publication 
was  commenced  in  Stockbridge  in  Nov.,  1789,  by  Loring  An- 
drews of  Boston.  He  removed  from  Stockbridge  to  Pitts- 
field,  and,  during  its  existence,  the  paper  came  under  the 
chai-ge  in  succession  of  Benjamin  Rossiter  and  Hcman 
WilUu'd  in  company,  Ileman  Willard  alone,  Edward  Sey- 


468  NEWSPAPERS. 

mour,  Elista  Brown  and  Jared  Curtis  in  company,  Rich- 
ard H.  Ashley  and  Charles  Webster  in  company,  and,  at 
last,  of  Charles  Webster  alone.  The  names  of  the  paper 
had  been  successively  "The  Western  Star,"  "The  Po- 
litical Atlas,"  "  The  Farmer's  Herald,"  "  The  Berkshire 
Herald,"  and  "The  Berkshire  Star."  This  summarily 
brings  the  history  of  the  paper  down  to  the  date  of  its 
junction  with  the  Republican  at  Lenox,  when,  at 
the  beginning  of  1828,  Mr.  Webster"  removed  to  Lenox 
and  issued,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Gushing,  the  Berk- 
shire Star  axd  County  Republican.  This  jjaper 
they  continued  to  publish  at  Lenox  for  about  two  years, 
when  Mr.  Webster  disposed  of  his  interest  to  John  Stan- 
ley. After  the  lapse  of  another  year,  Mr.  Stanley  sold  to 
John  Z.  Goodrich.  Messrs.  Cushing  &  Goodrich  contin- 
ued the  publication  for  some  time  under  the  name  of  the 
Berkshire  Journal,  when  Samuel  W.  Bush,  who  had, 
in  the  meantime,  become  the  publisher  of  the  Argus  at 
Pittsfield,  moved  his  paper  to  Lenox,  and  there  united  it 
with  the  Journal,  under  the  head  of  the  Journal  and 
Argus.  Li  1833,  the  establishment  was  purchased  by 
Charles  Montague,  who  changed  the  name  to  the  JVL^ssA- 
CHUSETTS  Eagle,  and  employed  Henry  W.  Taft  as  edi- 
tor. Blr.  Taft  continued  the  editor  until  Mr.  Moutag^ue 
himself  assumed  the  chair  in  1840.  In  1842,  the  paper 
was  removed  to  Pittsfield,  and  in  this  form  did  the  Ai'gus 
return  to  its  birth  place.  The  Eagle  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Montague  vintil  November  20,  1852,  when  it 
was  purchased  by  Samuel  Bowles  &  Co.  of  Springfield, 
and  leased  by  them  to  Otis  F.  R.  Waite,  who  changed  the 
name  to  the  Berkshire  County  Eagle,  and  published 
it  for  one  year,  when  the  establishment  was  sold  to  Henry 
Chickering  of  North  Adams  and  H.  A.  Marsh  of  Pitts- 
field, by  whom,  much  improved  in  all  respects,  it  is  still 
continued. 

The  Berkshire  American,  of  which  incidental  mention 
has  already  been  made,  touching  its  removal  to  North 
Adams,  Avas  characterized  by  a  wit  which  could  safely  be 
pronounced  peculiar,  and  the  "  Doct.  Green"  who  edited 
it,  received  his  degree  from  "the  jjeople's  college."  He 
had  been  a  post  rider  for  the  Sun. 

The  Berkshire  County  V/uig  was  started  in  1840. 


NEWSPAPERS.  469 

It  was  edited  by  Hon.  Henry  Hubbard,  and  printed  and 
published  by  his  son,  Douglas  S.  Hubbard,  who  went  to 
California  in  1849,  when  the  paper  was  discontinued.  In 
the  first  Native  American  movement,  the  AVhig  sustained 
Henry  Shaw  of  Lanesboro,  the  candidate  of  that  party  for 
Governor,  and  supported  free  soilism  in  1848.  A  portion 
of  the  time  it  went  for  and  with  the  Whigs. 

The  Berkshike  Agriculturist  was  commenced  in 
January,  1847,  by  Montague  &  Little.  Mr.  Little  retir- 
ing, the  paper  was  continued  by  Mr.  Montague,  until  it 
Avas  sold  to  Dr.  Stephen  Reed,  who  changed  the  name  to 
the  CuLTURiST  AND  Gazette.  The  paper  is  now  pub- 
lished by  Reed,  Hull  &  Pierson,  and  is  edited  by  Dr.  Reed. 
The  Culturist  and  Gazette  is  made  up  with  agricultural 
information,  general  news,  and  literary  miscellany. 

Thaddeus  Clapp  3d,  in  1840,  published  a  campaign  paper 
called  Old  Tip.  It  supported  Gen.  Harrison,  and  Gen. 
Harrison  was  elected. 

The  Cataract,  a  temperance  paper,  was  established  in 
1844,  by  T.  D.  Bonner,  by  whom  it  was  continued  for 
about  two  years.  It  passed  into  the  hands  of  Quigley, 
Kingsley  &  Axtell,  who  continued  it  about  18  months, 
when  its  name  was  changed  to  The  Voice  of  Truth, 
and  it  came  under  the  charge  of  "an  association  of  gentle- 
men." It  was  imprudent  in  the.  expression  of  its  views, 
and  stands  alone  in  Berkshire  in  the  honor  of  having  its 
office  mobbed.     Its  list  was  finally  sold  to  an  Albany  paper. 

The  Institute  Omnibus  was  the  name  of  a  periodical 
issued  by  the  Pittsfield  Young  Ladies'  Institute  for  several 
years.     We  are  not  supplied  with  dates. 

In  1846,  William  D.  Axtell  published  a  paper  called 
The  Star,  which  lived  but  6  months. 

THE    PRESS    OP    GREAT    BARRINGTON. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  1834,  J.  D.  Gushing,  having  re- 
moved from  Lenox  to  Great  Barrington,  issued  there  the 
first  number  of  the  Berkshire  Courier.  The  publica- 
tion was  continued  without  interruption  until  the  10th  of 
April,  1839,  when  the  office  was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  publication  re-commenced  on  the  19th  of  JNIay,  and 
has  not  failed  since,  except  one  week  in  the  Autumn  of 
1854  when  the  office  was  again  destroyed  by  fire.  In 
April,  1846,  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the 
40 


470  newspapers. 

Berkshire  Courier  and  Great  Barrington  Ga- 
zette, and  on  the  first  of  May  of  that  year,  Clark  W. 
Bryan  of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  became  associated  in  the  owner- 
ship and  publication  of  the  paper  with  Mr,  Cushing.  The 
connection  was  brief,  and  in  the  following  November,  Mr. 
Bryan  retired. 

And  here,  in  order  to  proceed  intelligibly,  jt  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  take  up  the  history  of  other  papers.  About 
1840,  a  paper  was  started  in  Lee,  called  The  Berkshire 
Democrat.  It  was  subsequently  removed  to  Stockbridgc 
and  enlarged,  the  name  becoming  The  Weekly  Visitor. 
It  was  edited  by  Jonathan  E.  Field.  Its  life  was  brief,  and 
at  its  decease  the  printing  materials  were  taken  to  Great 
Barrington,  where  they  were  used  in  giving  life  to  the  In- 
DEPEKDENT  Press,  by  Kipp  &  Muri'ay.  This  was  in 
1845,  and  about  April  1st,  184C,  Theodore  Dewey  started 
the  HousATONic  Mirror,  a  whig  paper,  in  opposition  to 
the  Courier,  also  whig.  Mr.  Dewey  joined  Kipp  &  Mur- 
ray, in  one  firm,  and  the  new  whig  and  democratic  papers 
were  printed  in  the  same  office,  with  the  same  type,  and 
contained  the  same  matter,  except  tlie  political  editorials. 

When  Mr.  Bryan  retired  from  the  Courier,  Mr.  Dewey 
withdrew  from  the  firm  of  Dewey,  Kipp  &  Murray,  formed 
a  connection  with  Mr.  Cushing,  under  the  firm  of  Cushing 
&  Dewey,  and  united  the  Mirror  with  the  Courier,  with 
the  name  of  The  Berkshire  Courier  and  Housatonic 
Mirror.  Mr.  Dewey  withdrew  from  the  business  depart- 
ment of  the  paper  at  the  end  of  a  year,  though  he  filled 
the  editorial  chair  for  several  months  afterwards.  On  the 
first  of  November,  1849,  Mr.  Bryan  again  became  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Cushing  in  business,  and  performed  the  edi- 
torial labor  of  the  paper.  In  November,  1852,  he  again 
withdrew  from  the  Courier,  that  being  the  date  of  his  orig- 
inal connection  with  the  Sjiringfield  Republican.  The 
Courier  has  since  then  been  published  by  Mr.  Cushing 
alone. 

In  1847,  the  Independent  Press  came  into  the  hands  of 
John  Evans,  who,  shortly  afterwards,  suspended  operations 
for  want  of  support.  Thus  the  Courier  and  Mr.  Cushing 
are  once  more  alone.  The  Courier  has  completed  its  20th 
volume,  and  the  publisher,  still  more  venerable,  holds  an 
honorable  place  among  the  fathers  of  the  craft  m  Western 
IVJdssachusetts. 


NE-WSPAPERS.  471 

THE   PRESS   OF   NORXn  ADAMS. 

The  Berkshire  AiAiERiCAN,  weekly,  was  tlie  first  news- 
paper printed  at  North  Adams.  It  was  neutral,  and  was 
edited  by  Dr.  Asa  Green,  who  issued  the  first  number 
early  in  the  winter  of  182G-7.  The  subscription  list  never 
exceeded  400.  The  undertaking  was  disastrous  to  those 
who  first  engaged  in  the  experiment  of  establishing  a  press 
there,  as  they  sunk  nearly  the  amount  of  their  investment. 
The  paper  had  a  sickly  existence  of  about  two  years. 

The  Socialist  was  also  published  by  the  same  unfor- 
tunate pioneers,  being  merely  the  matter  of  the  Berkshire 
American,  on  a  smaller  sheet,  reprinted  without  the  adver- 
tisements.    It  had  about  100  subscribers. 

The  Berkshire  American,  (No. 2.).  In  1830,AtwiIl  & 
Turner  were  induced  to  recommence  the  publication  of  tliis 
paper.  With  the  same  old  Ramage  pi-ess,  but  with  some 
additions  to  the  type,  they  got  up  a  very  respectable  sheet, 
lor  those  days,  which  they  served  to  500  subscribers,  for 
nearly  two  years.     Heraan  Atwill  was  the  editor. 

The  Adams  Gazette,  and  Farmers'  and  MEcmuf- 
ics'  Magazine,  neutral,  next  came  upon  the  stage  :  Wm. 
M.  Mitchell,  editor  and  publisher.  Tins  paper  had  some 
450  subscribers,  and  existed  one  and  a  half  years. 

The  Berkshire  Advocate.  In  1833,  A.  H.  Wells 
appeared  in  the  field,  and,  with  the  aid  of  some  enterpris- 
ing citizens,  a  new  press  and  modem  styles  of  type  were 
added  to  the  old  concern,  and  the  above  paper  appeared, 
advocating  Whig  doctrines.  It  had  400  subscribers,  and 
lived  about  one  year. 

The  Greylock  Mirror  was  then  brought  out  by  Wil- 
liam M.  Mitchell,  with  400  subscribers,  and  printed  about 
six  months.  For  several  years,"  none  could  be  found  bold 
enough  to  undertake  the  revival  of  a  press  there,  the  want 
of  which  was  severely  felt,  by  all  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity. 

The  Adams  Transcript,  a  Wliig  paper,  was  com 
menced  September  7,  1843,  by  John  K.  Briggs,  with  GOO 
subscribers.  In  April,  1844,  he  associated  with  him  Henry 
Chickering,  and  in  the  following  December,  Mr.  Briggs 
retired  from  the  concern,  since  which  time  Mr.  Chickering 
has  been  sole  proprietor.  At  some  periods,  Hon.  Henry  L. 
Dawes  has  had  chai'gc  of  the  editorial  department.     The 


472  NEWSPAPERS. 

Transcript  has  always  given  an  effective  support  to  all 
sound  projects  of  refonu,  and  has  also  been  an  efficient 
party  paper.     It  has  now  about  750  subscribers. 

The  Greylock  Sentinel  was  started  as  a  Free-soil 
paper,  February  15,  1851,  A.  J.  Aikens,  editor.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1852,  Mr.  Aikens  retired,  and  the  editorial  chair 
was  assumed  by  A.  D.  Brock.  The  Sentinel  averaged 
aljout  fioO  subscribers,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1854  was 
changed  to  The  Free  American,  by  Mr.  Brock,  who  still 
continues  the  publication. 


J^ 


i 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Educatioxal  Institutions  op  "Western 
]\l\ssachusetts. 

It  may  seem  somewhat  incredible  to  our  staid  New  Eng- 
land people,  that  a  monk,  one  of  the  most  rigid  supporters 
of  his  order, — in  the  center  of  Europe, — back  in  the  fif- 
teenth century,  should  have  been  more  directly  instrumental 
than  any  other  human  being,  in  dotting  the  hills  of  Berkshire 
and  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  with  school  houses,  and 
diffusing  general  intelligence  among  the  peojde.  Yet  such 
seems  to  have  been  the  fact.  Nay  more  :  had  not  the  papal 
authority  transferred  the  right  to  sell  indulgences  from  the 
Augustine  friars,  among  Avhom  Martin  Luther  was  an  in- 
tolerant champion,  to  the  Dominicans,  instead  of  free  pro- 
testant  schools  and  institutions,  the  whole  character  of  thi.s 
population,  and  public  sentiment  in  all  respects,  miglit  have 
been  totally  different  from  what  they  now  are.  The  spirit 
of  the  Reformation  which  followed  the  opposition  of  Lu- 
ther to  the  papacy,  extended  to  the  northern  part  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  from  tlie  counties  of  Nottinghamshire,  York- 
shire and  Lancasliire  came  those  men  who,  abandoning 
their  native  soil,  "resolved  whatever  it  should  cost  them," 
to  enjoy  liberty  of  conscience.  In  1008,  they  first  made 
their  escape  from  persecution  to  Holland,  where  they  re- 
mained in  peace  and  were  greatly  prospered,  during  a  pe- 
riod of  about  twelve  years. 

A  desire  for  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  religious  opinions 
and  principles,  is  usually  considered  to  have  been  the  prin- 
cipal cause  which  induced  our  puritan  fathers, to  brave  the 
dangers  of  an  untried  ocean,  and  adopt  a  westeni  wilder- 
ness, as  their  home.  But  it  appears  from  authentic 
sources  that  their  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  their  children, 
— for  the  right  training  and  education  of  their  youth, — to 
save  them  from  tin;  l)osetting  immoral  tendencies  which 
everywhei'e  surrounded  them  in  Holland,  had  more  imme- 
diate and  direct  influence  in  hastening  their  determination 
to  remove,  tlian  any  other  circumstance.  Had  it  not  been 
40* 


474  EDUCATION. 

for  this,  undisturbed  as  they  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
religion,  tliey  miglit  have  made  the  first  country  to  whicli 
they  fled,  tlieir  permanent  residence ;  and  who  can  tell 
what  people  would  have  possessed  this  fair  land — what  in- 
stitutions would  have  characterized  it  ?  In  nothing  did  our 
ancestors  manifest  wiser  forethought,  or  more  marked  pru- 
dence and  sagacity,  than  in  raising  up  a  generation  of  men 
who  should  be  worthy  successors  of  themselves, — men  of 
stern  integrity,- — capable  of  transmitting  to  posterity  the 
principles — the  frame-work  of  a  free,  a  happy,  and  a  mighty 
nation.  No  sooner  had  those  refugees  from  tyranny  and 
persecution  planted  their  feet  upon  this  soil,  than  the  noble 
system  of  educating  all  for  higher  spheres  of  usefulness 
and  happiness  was  commenced. 

In  June,  1630,  "Winthrop  and  others  established  them- 
selves on  the  spot  where  Boston  now  stands.  Within  five 
years  from  that  time,  and  fifteen  after  the  landing  at  Ply- 
mouth, there  is  ample  evidence  of  the  establishment  of  a 
Free  School  in  Boston.  As  the  neighboring  towns  were 
subsequently  settled,  among  the  fii^st  acts  of  the  people  are 
found  measures  for  the  organization,  and  provision  for  the 
support,  of  schools,  for  the  youth  of  all  classes. 

The  following  may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  people  moved  spontaneously  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  children.  It  is  taken  from  the  town  records 
of  the  present  city  of  Salem,  dated   September  30,  1644: 

"  Ordered"  (by  the  magistrates)  "  that  a  note  be  published 
on  next  lecture  day,  that  such  as  have  children  to  be  kept  at 
schoole,  would  bring  in  their  names,  and  what  they  will  give 
for  one  whole  year;  and  also,  that  if  any  poor  body  hath  chil- 
dren, or  a  childe  to  be  put  to  schoole  and  not  able  to  pay  for 
their  schooling,  that  the  town  will  pay  for  it  by  rate." 

The  founding  of  a  college,  and  the  instruction  of  all  the 
children  in  the  English  tongue,  the  capital  laws,  and  the 
grounds  and  principles  of  religion,  were  among  the  first 
objects  of  attention  in  the  Massachusetts  colony.  As  early 
as  1636,  the  General  Court  appi'opriated  £400  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  public  school  at  Newtown,  afterwards  called  Cam- 
bridge, in  memory  of  the  place  in  England  where  many  of 
the  first  settlers  received  their  education.  In  1638,  John 
Harvard,  a  minister  of  Charlestown,  died,  leaving  by  will 
£779   17s.  2d.  for  the  benefit  of  this  institution,  and  by 


EDUCATION.  475 

order  of  the  General  Court,  in  honor  of  its  earliest  bene- 
factor, it  was  named  Harvakd  College.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  many,  at  the  present  day,  to  know  what  slen- 
der contributions  were  gratefully  received  by  this  institu- 
tion, in  the  early  period  of  its  existence,  ranking,  as  it  now 
does,  among  the  wealtliiest  in  the  land.  AVe  quote  again 
from  the  records  of  Salem,  date  1 644 : — "  As  suggested  l)y 
the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  to  use  tlieir 
influence,  that  eveiy  family  allow  one  peck  of  corn,  or  12d. 
in  money,  or  other  commodity,  to  be  sent  in  to  the  Treas- 
urer of  Cambridge  College,  or  where  in  Boston,  or  Charles- 
town,  he  may  appoint." 

Great  reliance  was,  very  properly,  placed  on  efficient 
family  government  and  instruction.  As  early  as  1G42,  we 
find  the  Legislature  devoting  attention  to  domestic  educa- 
tion, and  the  proper  training  of  children  in  families.  The 
following  preamble  and  legislative  order,  will  give  an  idea 
of  the  family  government  required,  and  the  reasons  used 
to  enforce  it: 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  good  education  of  children  is  of  singu- 
lar behoof  and  benefit  to  any  coinmouwealth  :  and  whereas 
many  parents  and  masters  are  too  indulgent  and  negligent  of 
their  duty  in  that  kind  : 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court  and  the  authority 
thereof, — That  the  Select-men  of  every  town  in  the  several 
prechicts  and  quarters  where  they  dwell,  shall  have  a  vigilant 
eye  over  their  brethren  and  neighbors,  to  see,  first,  that  none 
of  them  shall  sutler  so  much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  fami- 
lies, as  not  to  endeavor  to  teach  by  themselves  or  others,  their 
children  and  apprentices  so  much  learning  as  to  enable  them 
to  read  perfectly  the  En^dish  tongue,  and  knowledge  of  the 
capital  laws,  upon  a  penalty  of  20s.  for  each  neglect  therein ; 
also  that  all  masters  of  families  do,  once  a  week,  at  least, 
catechise  their  children  and  servants  in  the  grounds  and  prin- 
ciples of  religion  ;  and  further,  that  all  parents  and  masters 
do  breed  and  bring  up  their  children  and  apprentices  in  some 
honest,  lawful  calling,  labor  or  employment,  either  in  hus- 
bandry, or  some  trade  profitable  to  themselves  or  the  Com- 
monwealth, if  they  will  not,  nor  cainiot  train  them  up  in  learn- 
ing to  fit  them  for  higher  employments.  And  if  the  Select- 
men, after  admonition  by  them  given  to  such  masters  of 
families,  shall  still  find  them  negligent  of  their  duties  in  the 
particulars  afore-mentioned,  whereby  children  and  servants 
become  rude,  stubborn  and  unruly,  the  said  Select-men,  with 
the  help  of  two  magistrates,  shall  take  such  children  or  ap- 


476  EDUCATION. 

prentices  from  them,  and  place  them  with  some  master  for 
years, — boys  till  they  come  to  twenty  one, — and  girls  till 
eighteen  years  complete,  which  will  more  strictly  look  unto 
and  enforce  them  to  submit  to  government,  according  to  the 
rules  of  this  order,  if  by  fair  means  and  former  instructions 
they  will  not  be  drawn  into  it." 

Corporal  punishment  was  not  unfrequcntly  inflicted  upon 
offending  children  and  apprentices,  by  the  magistrates. 
Not  to  keep  and  maintain  the  schools  required  by  law  has 
been  an  indicta])le  offense  in  Massachusetts  since  1G47. 
The  following  is  an  act  of  that  year : 

"  It  being  one  chief  project  of  that  old  deluder,  Satan,  to 
keep  men  from  the  knowledge  of  the  scriptures, — as  in  for- 
mer times  by  keeping  them  in  an  unknown  tongue, — so  in 
these  latter  times,  by  persuading  them  from  the  use  of 
tongues,  so  that  at  least,  the  true  sense  of  the  original  might 
be  clouded  with  false  glosses  of  saint-seeming  deceivers  ;  and 
that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of  our  fore- 
fathers in  church  and  commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our 
endeavors  ;  It  is  therefore  ordered,  &c." 

Here  follows  the  enactment  which  stands  upon  our  stat- 
ute books,  substantially  the  same,  to  this  day,  whereby  all 
towns  having  a  certain  number  of  families  shall  maintain 
public  schools  of  various  grades  from  the  primary  to  the 
liigh  school.  And  this,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  in 
1G47, — or  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago.  During  the 
same  year,  an  additional  law  was  enacted,  requiring  every 
town  o^  one  hundred  families  to  "maintain  a  grammar 
school  in  which  children  may  be  prepared  for  college ;"  to 
which  still  another  was  added  in  1683,  providing  that  every 
town  containing  j?ye  hundred  families,  should  maintain  tioo 
grammar  schools  and  two  writing  schools, — a  burden 
which,  considering  the  feeble  means  of  the  colony,  and  the 
dark  jjeriod  in  which  it  was  assumed,  was  no  doubt  vastly 
greater  than  any  similar  burden  that  has  been  borne  since ; 
and  when  compared  with  the  present  wealth  of  the  State, 
greater  than  any  one  of  its  civil  expenses.  It  is  a  singu- 
lai*  fact,  -too,  that  no  legal  requisitions  made  since,  have, 
even  in  name  or  form,  come  up  to  this  noble  standard,  es- 
tablished by  our  poor  and  suffering  forefathers  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  17th  century.  It  is  wonderful,  too,  that  such 
views  and  such  a,  spirit  should  prevail,  when  we  reflect 


EDUCATION.  477 

that  these  men  had  just  come  from  a  land  where  equal 
rights  and  privileges  were  altogether  ignored ;  where  the 
v/ealthy  inhaljitants  could  educate  their  children  as  they 
pleased,  to  such  an  extent  and  for  sucli  an  object  as  they 
chose,  to  occupy  the  places  of  honor  and  emolument  from 
which  the  poor  must  be  forever  excluded,  because  of  their 
incompetency  and  ignorance, — to  remain  "  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water."  But  probably  their  own  personal 
experience  had  taught  them,  by  contrast,  those  principles 
by  which  men  can  govern  themselves  and  gi-ant  equal 
privileges  to  all. 

This  cursory  view  of  the  action  taken  by  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Massachusetts,  exhibits  sometliing  of  the  impor- 
tance they  attached  to  education,  as  an  element  of  national 
as  well  as  individual  character.  The  lesson  which  the 
Puritans  had  been  taught  by  the  dangers  to  which  their 
children  had  been  exposed  in  Leyden,  undoubtedly  urged 
them  to  perform  with  greater  efficiency  the  duties  of  fam- 
ily government  and  instruction.  Hence  their  great  solici- 
tude to  have  their  children  trained  "  to  some  honest,  law- 
ful calling,  profitable  to  themselves  and  the  Commonwealth ;" 
that  they  should  attend  meeting  on  the  Sal)bath,  and  be- 
have with  decency  and  reverence  during  the  time  of  i)ub- 
lic  worsliip.  Special  care  was  taken  to  prevent  their 
being  out  at  unseasonable  hours,  or  in  impro))er  company. 
To  prevent  parents  from  being  neglectful  in  these  matters, 
if  any  were  so  inclined,  the  laws  were  made  exceedingly 
stringent,  of  which  the  following  extract  affords  an  illustra- 
tion : 

"  This  Court  do  hereupon  order  and  decree  that  the  chosen 
men  appointed  for  managing  the  prudential  affairs  of  thetown 
shall  have  power  to  take  account,  from  time  to  time,  of  the 
parents  and  masters  and  of  their  children,  concerning  the 
calling  and  employment  of  their  chlklren,  to  impose  lines 
upon  all  those  who  refuse  to  render  such  account  to  them 
when  required;  and  they  shall  have  power  (with  consent  of 
any  court  or  magistrate)  to  put  forth  and  apprentice"  the  chil- 
dren of  such  as  shall  not  be  able  and  fit  to  employ  and  bring 
them  up,  nor  shall  take  course  to  dispose  of  them  themselves  ; 
and  they  are  to  take  care  that  such  as  are  set  to  keep  cattle, 
be  set  to  some  employment  withal,  as  spinning  upon  tlte 
rock,  knitting,  weaving  tape,  &c. ;  and  that  boys  and  girls  be 
not  suffered  to  converse  together  so  as  may  occasion  any  wan- 


478"  _  EDUCATION. 

ton,  dishonest,  or  immodest  behavior.  And  for  the  belter  per- 
formance of  this  trust  committed  to  them,  they  (the  magis- 
trates) may  divide  the  town  amongst  them,  appointing  to 
every  of  the  said  townsmen  a  certain  number  of  families  to 
have  the  special  oversight  of;  they  are  to  provide  also  that  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  materials,  as  hemp,  flax,  &c.,  may  be 
raised  in  the  several  towns,  and  tools  and  implements  provi- 
ded for  working  the  same.  And  for  their  assistance  in  this  so 
needful  and  beneficial  employment,  if  they  meet  with  any 
difficulty  or  opposition  which  tliey  cannot  well  master  by  their 
own  power,  they  may  have  recourse  to  some  of  the  magis- 
trates who  shall  take  such  course  for  their  help  and  encour- 
agement as  the  occasion  shall  require  according  to  justice; 
and  the  said  townsmen,  at  the  next  court  in  those  limits,  after 
the  end  of  their  year,  shall  give  a  brief  account  in  writing,  of 
their  proceeding  therein." 

With  such  domestic  care  and  training,  the  common 
school,  limited  and  deficient  in  its  means,  as  it  was,  proved, 
tmquestionably,  more  effective  in  its  results,  in  many  re- 
spects, than  it  has  in  modern  times.  Then,  temptations 
and  objects  calcidated  to  divert  and  distract  the  mind  were 
less  common ;  the  moral  feelings  and  sentiment  were  gen- 
erally cultivated  with  more  faithfulness  at  home,  than  at 
the  present  day.  The  prevailing  public  sentiment,  as  it 
then  existed,  had  a  powerful  influence  to  keep  the  young 
under  restraint,  scarcely  known  at  present.  Individual 
responsibility  then  accomplished  what  is  now  thrown,  in  a 
great  measure,  on  the  Sabbath  school,  the  day  school  and 
general  influences,  to  effect. 

The  views  and  principles  of  the  first  settlers  of  Massa- 
chusetts thus  recited  have  a  general  application  to  every 
portion  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  spirit  which  actuated 
them  at  first  was  manifested  in  every  subsequent  settle- 
ment throughout  the  colony.  Wherever  a  band  of  hardy 
adventurers  located  themselves,  there  we  find  the  same  ele- 
ments both  of  individual  and  associated  character.  The 
church  and  school,  or  means  of  instruction,  in  some  form, 
were  among  the  earliest  objects  of  their  attention.  By 
way  of  illustration,  let  us  follow  some  of  the  pioneers  from 
their  homes  in  the  East,  to  the  Western  wilderness  on  the 
banks  of  the  Connecticut. 

Springfield  was  the  first  settlement  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts.    William   Pynchon   who   has  been  styled  the 


EDUCATION.  479 

founder  and  father  of  the  town,  came,  with  his  associates, 
in  1G3G.  The  Legislature  first  recognized  the  settlement 
as  a  town  in  1G41.  Three  years  after  is  found  the  first 
record  relating  to  the  care  and  training  of  youth.  Among 
the  duties  devolving  upon  the  Selectmen  were  the  follow- 
ing : — "  To  hear  comi-»laints,  arbitrate  controversies,  to  lay 
out  highways,  see  to  the  scouring  of  ditches,  to  the  killing 
of  wolves,  and  to  the  training  of  children  in  their  good 
nding,  S^c.  A  tract  of  land  at  the  lower  end  of  Cliicopee 
plain,  on  the  west  side  of  the  "  great  river,"  is  said  to  have 
been  appropriated  by  the  town  in  1654,  "either  for  the 
helping  to  maintain  a  school  master,  or  ruling  elder,  or  to 
help  bear  any  other  town  charges."  The  land  was  for 
many  years  rented,  and  the  income  expended  in  the  sup- 
port of  schools.  The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1G79. 
It  was  22  by  17  feet,  the  hight  of  the  walls  was  8  1-2  feet, 
and  there  was  a  chamber  in  it.  The  following  entry  is 
found  in  the  book  of  Selectmen's  orders  in  the  year  1G82. 
"  The  Selectmen  agreed  withGoodwifeMirick,to  encourage 
her  in  the  good  work  of  training  up  of  children  and  teach- 
ing children  to  read,  that  she  should  have  3d.  a  week  for 
every  child  that  she  takes  to  perform  this  good  work  for." 

As  the  population  increased,  the  schools  likewise 
became  more  numerous.  During  the  past  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  provision  has  been  made  for  the  su])- 
port  of  public  schools,  and  a  grammar  school  has,  with 
very  short  intermissions,  been  kept  in  addition  to  those  of 
a  lower  grade.  The  appellation  of  "grammar  school," 
formerly  applied  to  a  very  different  class  of  schools  from 
Avhat  we  now  understand  by  that  term.  Throughout  the 
whole  code  of  school  laws,  from  1647  to  about  1825,  when 
allusion  was  made  to  grammar  schools,  it  was  understood 
to  be  one  in  which  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  were 
taught — where  young  men  were  prepared  to  enter  col- 
lege. 

Although  the  law  of  1642  was  general  in  its  character, 
and  required  that  instiniction  should  be  furnished  to  all,  yet 
it  did  not  render  it  free  at  this  time,  nor  impose  a  penally 
upon  municipal  authorities  for  neglecting  to  maintain  pub- 
lic instruction.  But  such  was  the  irresistible  conviction  of 
the  people  that  this  was  an  indispensable  element  in  their 
existence  as  a  Commonwealth,  that  they  were  a  law  unto 


480  EDUCATION. 

themselves,  and  voluntarily  made  those  provisions  wliicl- 
they  deemed  essential  for  their  welfare  as  a  community, 
both  for  the  present  and  all  coming  time.  The  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  Pilgrims,  however,  soon  led  them  to 
decide  that  for  all  classes  of  public  schools,  compulsory 
measures  must  be  adopted.  Even  among  the  Puritans, 
there  were  those  so  anti-puritanic  that  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  gratification  of  their  "  grosser  nature,"  and  the 
acquisition  of  "material  substance."  The  sparseness  of 
the  population  ;  the  severe  labor  required  to  supply  with 
their  own  hands  the  means  necessary  for  a  comfortable 
subsistence ;  the  dangers  that  beset  them  on  every  hand 
from  the  hostility  of  their  savage  neighbors ;  the  manage- 
ment of  their  municipal  affairs,  which  not  only  demanded 
the  enactment  and  execution  of  the  laws,  but  required, 
during  their  progress,  the  invention  of  a  system  of  gov- 
ernment of  which  there  was  no  model  or  prototype ;  such 
embarrassments,  together  with  many  of  like  character,  of 
which  it  would  be  difficult,  now,  to  form  any  adequate  con- 
ception, made  it  necessary,  at  an  early  period,  to  throw 
safeguards  around  their  institutions  of  learning,  Avhich 
should  insure  that  attention  necessary  for  their  support 
and  efficiency.  Accordingly,  in  1647,  a  law  was  passed 
rendering  the  maintenance  of  schools  compulsory,  whereby 
the  privileges  of  instruction  should  be  afforded  free,  to  all. 
By  this  law,  every  town  containing  fifty  householders  was 
required  to  appoint  a  teacher,  "  to  teach  all  such  children 
as  shonld  resort  to  him  to  write  and  read ;"  and  every 
town  containing  one  hundred  families,  or  householders,  was 
required  to  "  set  up  a  grammar  school,"  Avhose  master 
should  be  "  able  to  instruct  youth  so  far  as  they  may  be 
fitted  for  the  university."  The  penalty  for  neglecting  to 
comply  with  these  requirements  was  fixed,  at  first,  at  five 
pounds  per  annum.  In  1671,  the  penalty  was  increased  to 
ten  pounds;  in  1683,  to  twenty  pounds  ;  in  1718,  to  thirty 
pounds  for  every  town  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
families,  and  to  forty  pounds  for  every  two  hundred  fami- 
lies, and  so  on,  at  the  same  rate,  for  towns  consisting  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred  families.* 

*Hoii.  Horace  Mann  estimates  the  relative  value  of  money  and 
l^or  such  that  it  would  take  a  l?.borer  (having  board)  four  hundred 


EDUCATION.  ^  181 

Springfield  maintained  her  "  grammar  school"  except 
at  short  intervals,  down  to  about  the  year  1820.  From 
about  1812,  tlie  "old  Academy,"  a  i)rivate  institution, 
started  by  an  association  of  gentlemen,  became  a  partial 
substitute  for  it ;  but  both  had  ceased  to  exist  in  1824.  In 
the  year  1827,  an  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  the  Lan- 
casterian,  or  monitorial  system  of  instruction,  for  the  rea- 
son, as  found  on  the  records,  that  "  the  small  funds  and 
lai'ge  number  of  scholars  render  the  old  mode  impractica- 
ble." But  this  experiment  continued  only  through  the 
second  year.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  only  prac- 
tical mode  of  obviating  the  ditliculty  was,  to  keep  up  a  due 
proportion  between  the  "  large  number  of  scholars"  and 
the  amount  of  funds  necessary  to  educate  them.  In  1828, 
the  grammar  school  was  revived,  under  the  modified  form 
of  a  "  Town  High  School,"  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  township.  The  first  principal  of  this 
school  was  Story  Hebard  ;  the  second,  Simeon  H.  Calhoun, 
now  a  missionary  on  Mount  Lebanon,  in  Syria.  It  was 
designed  and  used  exclusively  as  a  school  for  boys.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  in  all  the  liberal  provisions  for 
grammar  and  high  schools,  until  within  the  last  dozen 
years,  everything  has  been  done  to  give  boys  a  superior 
education,  but  nothing  for  girls.  Springfield  has  not  been 
alone  guilty  of  this  delinquency.  Boston,  which,  from 
time  immemorial,  has  furnished  its  Latin  and  English  high 
schools  for  boys,  has  never,  until  within  the  last  five  years, 
afforded  the  same  privileges  to  girls.  In  the  history  of  the 
heathen  nations  all  over  the  globe,  in  all  ages,  it  has  been 
ji  matter  of  notoriety  that  males  alone  have  been  deemed 
worth  educating  and  elevating  to  high  positions  of  useful- 
ness and  enjoyment.  A  different  philosophy  is  beginning 
to  prevail :  as  opportunities  arc  offered,  females  are  found 
eager  to  improve  them,  and  the  community  is  already  be- 
ginning to  reap  the  benefit,  in  the  largely  increased  num- 
ber of  thoroughly  trained  and  competent  female  teachers, 
and  in  greater  refinement  in  the  family  circle,  and  wherever 
in  society  the  female  mind  exercises  an  influence. 


and  eighty  days  to  pay  a  fine  of  one  pound  ;  and  that  the  first  pen- 
ally imposed  (five  pounds)  would  be  equivnlent   to  the  work  of  a 
common  laborer  (with  board,  b\ii  without  clothing,)  to  twenty-tour 
hundred  days  ;  or  all  the  working  days  ia  almost  eight  years. 
41 


482  EDUCATION. 

Previous  to  tlie  Revolution,  male  teacliers  were  almost 
exclusively  employed ;  and  it  is  only  within  the  last  quar- 
ter of  a  century  tliat  females  have  been  employed  to  take 
charge  of  winter  schools,  the  opinion  formerly  prevailing 
that  they  were  incompetent  to  teach  older  pupils,  and  that 
they  were  deficient  in  an  essential  element  of  government 
— ^physical  strength.  Nor  is  such  a  supposition  a  matter 
of  wonder,  if  we  reflect  that  a  young  lady  was  considered 
sufficiently  educated  when  she  had  learned  to  read.  To  be 
able  to  write,  or  understand  the  science  of  numbers,  was 
deemed  unnecessary.  It  is  said  that  few  of  our  puritan 
mothers  were  able  to  write  their  names  ;  and  that  the  wives 
of  many  distinguished  men,  when  required  to  sign  deeds, 
or  other  legal  documents,  could  only  leave  their  mark. 
But  public  sentiment  and  general  practice  are  both  re- 
versed, and  a  new  controlling  element  is  becoming  devel- 
oped, destined  to  exercise  an  influence  on  the  character  of 
this  people,  such  as  has  never  been  witnessed  in  any  nation 
on  the  globe. 

The  present  High  School  in  Springfield  began  in  1841, 
as  a  school  of  a  higher  order,  for  the  central  district  in  the 
town.  In  1849,  in  accordance  with  the  law,  then  just  re- 
enacted,  requiring  the  larger  towns  to  maintain  a  High 
School,  it  was  opened  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  town. 
It  comprises  both  sexes,  but  the  number  of  females  is 
usually  nearly  double  that  of  males.  Latin,  Greek  and 
French,  together  with  all  the  higher  English  branches  and 
mathematics,  usually  found  in  academies,  are  taught  in 
this  school.  The  public  schools,  in  all  the  more  densely 
populated  districts  of  Springfield,  are  now  thoroughly 
graded.  The  children  of  the  primary  department  pass  to 
the  intermediate,  and  thence  to  the  grammar  school. 
The  pupils  in  the  highest  class  in  aU  the  grammar  schools 
are  candidates  for  the  high  scliool,  to  which  they  are  ad- 
mitted as  they  are  found  qualified  on  examination.  Rev. 
Sanford  Lawton  was  appointed  the  first  principal  after  its 
I  re-organization  in  1841  ;  he  Avas  succeeded  by  Ariel  Par- 
'  i^h  in  1844,  and  it  still  remains  under  his  charge. 
^  Numerous  private  schools  have  existed  since  th<S  legis- 
lative act  of  1712  went  out  of  date,  declaring  "that  none 
shall  keep  a  school,  but  such  as  are  of  soler  and  good  con- 
versation, Avith  the  allowance  of  the  selectmen,  and  if  any 


EDUCATION.  483 

person  shall  be  so  hardy  as  to  soi  tip  a  school  without  such 
allowance,  lie  shall  forfeit  forty  shillings  to  the  use  of  the 
poor  of  the  town."  But  few  of  them  have  been  of  much 
note,  until  within  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years.  Among 
the  earliest  schools  of  this  chiss  were  those  opened  for 
girls,  which  seemed  necessary  from  the  fact  that  all  pro- 
vision for  instruction  of  a  high  order  appeared  to  have 
been  made  with  a  special  reference  to  the  education  of 
boys,  to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made.  Between 
1«12  and  1820,  a  part  of  the  old  Academy  building  was 
occupied  by  female  teachers  of  private  schools,  for  girls. 
In  1829,  an  association  of  gentlemen  attempted  to  estab- 
lisli  a  Female  Seminary  of  a  more  elevated  character  than 
had  existed  in  this  part  of  the  State.  Under  the  charge 
of  Miss  Julia  Hawkes,  it  acquired  a  high  reputation  for 
thoroughness,  and  gained  a  high  degree  of  popularity.  Its 
existence,  however,  was  brief,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
school  opened  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  George  Nich- 
ols, which  continued  till  about  1843,  when  it  went  into  the 
hands  of  Misses  Mary  and  Celia  Campbell,  in  whose  charge 
it  continued  till  within  the  last  four  or  five  years.  Under 
their  care,  it  was  deservedly  a  favorite  and  popular  insti- 
tution. Although  patronized  chiefly  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town,  many  of  its  pupils  were  from  abroad,  and  it  per- 
formed a  valuable  service  tor  those  who  enjoyed  its  privil- 
eges. Indeed,  in  the  absence  of  public  provision  for  female 
education,  such  a  school  was  indispensable  to  the  wants  of 
the  community. 

About  the  year  1833,  Rev.  Sanford  Lawton  opened  a 
private  school  for  boys,  which  he  continued  till  called  to 
take  charge  of  the  higher  grade  of  public  schools  in  1811. 
From  that  time,  he  w'as  succeeded  by  several  teachers,  who 
received  pjipils  of  both  sexes,  and  during  the  past  six  or 
eight  years  it  has  been  placed  on  a  more  permanent  basis 
by  E.  D.  Bangs,  :uid  is  known  as  the  "•  Springfield  Eng- 
lish and  Classical  Institute." 

In  noticing  the  schools  and  school  system  of  Springfield 
thus  in  detail,  undue  prominence  is  not  sought  to  be  given 
to  them,  but  they  are  presented  and  described  as  tlie  type 
of  the  schools  and  school  systems  of  the  region. 

Northampton  originally  comjirehended  nearly  all  the 
territory  bordering  tlie  "Western  l).Mnk  of  the  river  between 


484  EDUCATION. 

the  North  and  South  limits  of  Hampshire  County,  as  it 
now  exists — including  the  present  towns  of  Eastluunpton, 
Westhampton  and  Southampton,  and  a  part  of  Hatfield 
and  Montgomery.  A  settlement  was  commenced  there  in 
1654.  From  1662  to  1812,  Northampton  was  the  half- 
shire  town  of  Hampshire  County,  comprising  the  three 
river  Counties — Hampden,  Hampshire  and  Franklin.  As 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  important  towns,  early  action 
on  the  subject  of  education  would  naturally  be  sought  for 
here ;  and  we  accordingly  find  that  action  was  taken  in  the 
matter  as  early  as  16G3.  In  1748,  it  was  voted  to  have 
schools  in  "  distant  parts  of  the  town,  to  instruct  in  read- 
ing and  writing,  viz :  on  the  Plain,  over  Mill  Eiver,  Bart- 
Ictt's  JMills,  and  new  Precinct."  In  1750,  the  Selectmen 
were  ordered  to  provide  a  schoolmaster  for  the  "  Second 
Precinct."  The  present  town  of  Southampton  is  that  sec- 
tion known  as  the  Second  Precinct. 

Previous  to  1748,  no  school  room  Avas  kept  except  in  the 
old  village ;  but  after  that  time  appropriations  were  made 
Avith  a  good  degree  of  regularity,  for  the  "  distant  parts  of 
the  town."  "  Schools  were  kept  by  men,  and  in  the  Win- 
ter and  Spring  only."  Tl)£  common  price  for  teaching  was 
six  shillings  a  Aveek,  or  twenty-four  shillings  a  month,  and 
the  teachers  boarded  themselves.  When  the  teacher  lived 
out  of  tlie  district,  something  more  Avas  given.  But  this 
was  not  so  insignificant  a  price  after  all,  if  Ave  take  into 
consideration  the  relative  value  of  employments,  and  the 
expense  of  living.  Besides,  men  AA^ere  able  to  earn  some- 
thing in  this  AA^ay,  when,  during  the  Avinter  season  of  the 
year,  no  other  profitable  employment  could  be  obtained. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  that,  because  recorded  action, 
relating  to  schools,  is  not  ahundant  in  the  earlier  days  of 
Northampton,  particular  attention  Avas  not  paid  to  the  sub- 
ject of  education.  It  is  Avell  knoAvn  that  next  to  the  reg- 
ular preaching  of  the  gospel,  our  ancestors  Avere  anxious 
to  secure  the  blessings  of  the  common  schools  ;  and  those 
Avho  settled  in  this  region  Avere  no  exception  to  those  of 
AA'hom  we  have  the  fullest  evidence  that  the  education  and 
proper  training  of  their  children  were  prominent  objects 
of  attention.  When,  to  obtain  the  necessaries  of  life,  it 
required  daily  and  incessant  toil,  of  the  most  rigorous 
character,   and   Avhen   men  could  not  safely  labor  in  the 


EDUCATION.  485 

field  without  a  sentinel  at  their  side  to  gnard  against  the 
insidious  approach  of  a  savage  foe,  and  were  obliged  to 
carry  arms  to  churcli  on  the  Sabbath,  it  is  not  a  subject  of 
wonder  that  formal  action  was  not  had  and  a  lull  record  of 
proceedings  made. 

Few  towns  of  its  size  in  Western  Massachusetts  have 
manifested  a  deeper  interest  in  the  success  of  their  public 
schools  than  Northampton.  This  institution  has  been 
cherished  by  the  people  from  the  earliest  period  down  to 
the  present;  and  the  systematic,  efficient  action  of  the 
vSchool  Committee,  for  many  years  past,  together  with  the 
liberal  appropriations  of  the  people,  fully  corroborate  tlie 
assertion.  Two  high  schools,  one  for  boys,  and  the  other 
for  girls,  have  for  a  long  time  been  sustained.  Recently, 
however,  the  two  have  been  combined  under  an  arrange- 
ment which  promises  still  greater  efficiency.  Northamp- 
ton has  likewise  been  distinguished  for  her  private  schools. 
It  was  about  the  year  1830  that  the  Bound  Hill  Boarding 
School  flourished,  under  the  charge  of  Hon.  George  Ban- 
croft. More  recently,  the  Gothic  Seminary,  a  boarding 
and  day  school  for  young  ladies,  under  the  direction  of 
I\Iiss  Margaret  Dwight,  acquired  an  excellent  reputation. 
At  present,  the  same  l)uilding  is  occupied  by  Lewis  J.  Dud- 
ley as  a  family  boarding  school  for  boys. 

Soutlianii)ton  has  had  her  voluntary  or  select  schools,  al- 
most from  tlie  commencement  of  the  present  century  to  the 
establishment  of  tlie  Academy,  in  which  opportunities  have 
been  furnished  for  the  more  complete  education  which  was 
commenced  at  the  primary  school.  In  1828,  a  charter  for 
an  Academy  Avas  obtained,  for  the  erection  of  which,  Silas 
Sheldon  most  liberally  contributed  between  $2,000  and 
S;>,0()0,  and  from  him  it  received  the  name  of  Slieldon 
Academy.  The  institution  for  many  years  answered  the 
expectations  of  its  friends,  but  the  increasing  number  of 
similar  institutions,  in  the  vicinity,  diminished  the  attend- 
ance from  the  towns,  and  it  is  now  little  more  than  a  select 
school,  kept  a  part  of  the  year  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  place. 

Of  the  individuals  who  haAC  most  fully  identilied  them- 
selves w'itli  the  cause  of  education,  the  name  of  Rev.  Vin- 
son Gould  deserves  a  passing  notice.     He  was  settled  as  a 
colleague  pastor  with  Mr.  Judd  in  1801.     His  experience 
■11* 


486  EDUCATION. 

as  a  teacliQr,  and  the  earnest  intei'est  which  he  manifested 
in  school  instruction,  rendered  his  influence  very  efficient. 
He  possessed  a  remarkable  facility  for  adapting  his  remarks 
to  the  capacities  of  those  whom  he  addressed.  AVhether 
in  the  primary  school,  or  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  in  some  Academy  in  the  neighboring  towns,  he 
inspired  all  around  him  with  fresh  vigor  in  the  cause. 

This  section  of  the  State  has  been  wonderfully  proliiic 
of  educated  men.  Pi'of  B.  B.  Edwards,  a  native  of  this 
town,  says :  "  the  County  of  Hampshire  has  furnished 
more  students  for  college,  with  possibly  a  single  exception, 
than  any  other  county  in  the  United  States.  The  town  of 
Southampton,  it  may  be  said,  without  any  undue  exulta- 
tion, is  in  this  respect  at  the  head  of  the  county.  In  all 
that  is  paramount  to  all  things  merely  political  or  social,  it 
is  the  banner  town,  of  the  banner  county,  of  the  banner 
State."  Between  17G5  and  1845,  about  48  individuals  be-^ 
longing  to  this  town,  received  a  college  education.  To  this 
number  may  be  added  twenty  or  more  from  the  little  town 
of  Easthampton  adjoining,  both  towns  formerly  a  part  of 
Northampton,  making  an  aggregate  of  some  seventy  per- 
sons who  have  received  the  honors  of  college ;  and  the 
population  of  both  towns  united,  as  late  as  1840,  did  not 
exceed  two  tliousand  inhabitants.  Of  this  number  of  edu- 
oated  men,  nearly  fifty  became  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  commonwealth  is  the  crowning 
excellence  of  the  public  school  exhibited  so  clearly  in  its 
far  reaching  influence  as  in  the  instance  just  recited.  From 
the  humble  begiimings  of  the  early  settlers,  the  common 
school  system  grew  more  and  more  into  favor  with  the 
people,  and  became  so  firmly  established  in  their  affections, 
as  one  of  the  most  valuable  privileges  in  their  possession, 
that  it  never  ceased  to  prosper  ;  and  the  fruits  are  visible 
in  the  highly  intelligent  population  now  dwelling  in  those 
towns, — in  the  widely  extended  agency  of  those  men  of 
thoroughly  cultivated  intellect, — and  in  the  two  valuablt; 
institutions  which  liave  grown  up  there,  and  diffused  their 
benign  influence  over  a  multitude  of  minds,  destined  to 
do  much  towards  conti'olling  public  sentiment  and  action. 

WiLLiSTON  Seminary  was  opened  for  the  admission 
of  students,  in  Easthampton,  in  December,  1841.  It  was 
incorporated  with  power  to  hold  $50,000  for  educational 


EDUCATION.  •  4»7 

purposes;  and  not  only  that  amount,  but  some  S5,000  more 
Lave  been  bestowed  by  its  munificent  founder,  Samuel  Wil- 
liston,  and  exj^ended  iu  its  establishment  and  endowment. 
This  institution  has  been  favored  with  pecuniary  advanta- 
ges, which  few  academies  and  schools  in  Western  Massa- 
chusetts have  enjoyed.  In  consequence,  it  has  been  able 
to  afford  superior  advantages  to  students  who  have  resorted 
to  it  for  instruction.  Furnished  with  a  suitable  number  of 
well  qualified  teachers,  the  division  of  labor  in  the  various 
departments  has  rendered  the  instruction  more  efficient 
than  it  can  be  in  schools  where  the  minds  of  teachers  are 
embari-assed  and  distracted  by  a  multitude  of  duties.  Al- 
though originally  designed  for  males,  a  building  was  erect- 
ed early  for  the  accommodation  of  females.  As  a  classical 
institution,  few  schools  in  the  State  sustain  a  higher  re])U- 
tation.  The  English  Department  is  richly  supplied  witli 
apparatus,  and  thorough  instruction  is  given  in  it.  liev. 
Luther  Wright  was  its  first  Principal,  and  continued  at  its 
head  some  ten  years.  The  number  of  teachers  employed 
is  from  eight  to  ten,  and  the  number  of  students  ordinarily 
in  attendance  is  from  175  to  200. 

Iladley  was  settled  in  1G59.  In  the  absence  of  any 
definite  information  respecting  its  common  scliools  during 
the  early  period  of  its  history,  it  may  be  reasonably  in- 
ferred that  a  like  spirit  prevailed,  and  tliat  a  similar  course 
of  action  was  adopted  to  that  already  dfscribed  in  other 
neigliboring  towns.  The  original  founders  of  the  town, 
John  AVebster  and  John  Russell,  with  nearly  thirty  follow- 
ers attending  each,  came  from  Connecticut.  The  former 
was  ajjpointed  Governor  there  in  1656,  and  sustained  that 
office  sevei-al  years.  Mr.  Kussell  was  a  minister  at  AVeth- 
ei-sfield,  and  about  thirty  of  his  congregation  accompanied 
him,  and  he  became  the  first  minister  of  Iladley.  The 
character  of  these  men  was  such  as  to  insure  a  faithfid 
attention  to  so  important  an  (lenient  of  prosperity  in  tlie 
colony  as  education.  The  institution  known  as"  Hopkins' 
Academy,"  deserves  attention.  Three  years  before  tlie 
settlement  of  Iladley,  Governor  Edward  Hopkins,  tlicnof 
England,  dit'd  in  London,  and  by  his  last  will  b'.Hpiealiied 
a  part  of  his  property  for  the  encouragement  of  learning 
in  New  England.  He  had  been  in  earlier  life  a  Lo)idon 
merchant,  but  removed  to  New  England  in    1637.  and  es- 


488  EDUCATION. 

tablished  hims(3lf  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  was  Governor 
of  that  State  every  alternate  year  from  1640  to  1654.  In 
his  will,  he  says  :  "  and  the  residue  of  my  estate  tliere,  (in 
New  England,)  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath  to  my 
father,  Theophilus  Eaton.  Esq.,  Mr.  John  Davenport,  Mr. 
John  CuUick  and  Mr.  William  Gk>odwin,  in  full  assurance, 
and  trust,  and  faithfulness  in  disposing  of  it,  according  to 
the  true  intent  and  purpose  of  me,  the  said  Edward  Hop- 
kins, which  is  to  give  some  encouragement  in  those  ibreign 
plantations  for  the  breeding  up  of  hopeful  youths,  both  in 
the  grammar  school  and  college,  for  the  public  service  of 
the  country  in  future  times."  He  afterwards  bequeathed 
"  £500  to  be  made  over  to  New  England,"  for  a  like  pur- 
pose. Mr.  Davenport,  one  of  the  trustees,  was  a  minister 
in  New  Haven,  and  Mr.  Goodwin  seems,  at  this  time,  to 
have  resided  in  Hadley,  though  he  had  previously  been  an 
inhabitant  of  Hartford.  These  two  gentlemen  soon  be- 
came the  only  survivors  of  the  trustees,  in  whom  was 
vested  the  power  of  disposing  of  the  funds.  They  deci- 
ded to  "  give  to  the  town  of  Hartford  the  sum  of  £400, 
*  *         *  *  for  and  towards  the  erecting  and  pro- 

moting a  grammar  scliool  at  Hartford.  "We  do  further 
order  and  appoint  that  the  rest  of  Mr.  Hopkins'  estate, 
both  that  which  is  in  New  England,  and  the  £500  which 
is  to  come  from  Old  England,  when  it  shall  become  due  to 
us  after  Mrs  Hopkins'  decease,  be  equally  divided  l)etween 
the  towns  of  New  Haven  and  Hadley,  to  be  in  each  of  the 
towns  respectively  managed  and  improved  towards  erect- 
ing and  maintaining  a  grammar  school  in  each  of  them." 
Mr.  Goodwin,  in  a  certain  agreement  with  the  town,  de- 
sired that  the  '•  name  of  the  school  may  be  called  the  Hor- 
Kixs  School."  Such  was  the  foundation  of  this  institu- 
tion. Other  donations  were  made  by  various  individuals, 
and  the  income  of  the  funds  is  between  five  and  six  Inin- 
dred  dollars  per  annum.  It  appears  that  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  sum  becpieathed  by  Mr.  Hopkins  ever  readied 
Hadley.  Three  hundred  pounds  were  invested  in  building 
a  "  corn  mill,"  which  Avas  burnt  l)y  the  Indians  ;  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  to  be  paid  at  the  decease  of  Mi's. 
Hopkins  neve?'  came  to  Hadley.  The  corporation  of  Har- 
vard College,  hearing  that  such  a  legacy  was  left  for  the 
bei^efit   of  New   England,  took   measures  to  secure  it  for 


EDUCATION.  489 

that  college,  and  appointed  an  agent  in  London,  remitting 
forty  pounds  stei-ling  to  stimulate  and  aid  him.  He  was 
successfuL  In  18-10,  according  to  President  Quincy,  these 
funds,  "  on  a  foundation  of  productive  and  well  secured 
capital,  amounted  to  nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars." 

In  181 G,  the  Hopkins  scliool  became  an  incorporated  in- 
stitution, under  the  name  of  Hopkixs  Academy.  The 
expense  of  the  present  building  Avas  met,  partly  by  indi- 
vidual subscriptions,  and  jiartly  by  Iialf  a  township  of  land 
in  Maine,  granted  to  the  Acjidemy  by  the  Legislature  in 
1820.  The  benefits  arising  from  tlie  funds  are  now  open 
to  all,  whether  belonging  in  Hadley  or  not.  By  a  recent 
catalogue,  it  appears  that  of  the  113  pupils  who  attended 
the  school  during  the  year,  G9  were  from  Hadley,  13  fronx 
other  towns  within  the  present  County  of  Hampshire,  and 
31  from  other  places. 

In  the  town  of  South  Hadley,  formeidy  a  precinct  of 
Hadley,  is  located  the  Mount  Holyoke  Female  Sem- 
inary. This  institution  possesses  many  remarkable  traits 
of  character,  and  should  receive  a  more  extended  notice 
than  our  limits  will  allow.  Fortunately,  the  public  have 
a  full  and  graphic  account  of  its  uiception,  establishment 
and  leading  features,  in  the  memoir  of  Miss  Mary  Lyon, 
its  founder  and  first  principal,  prepared  by  Dr.  Edward 
Hitchcock,  late  President  of  Amherst  College.  A  brief 
sketch  of  its  history  and  some  of  its  heading  characteristics 
only  can  be  given  here.  No  intelligible  account  of  this 
institution  can  be  presented  without  associating  the  name 
of  Mary  Lyon  with  the  veiy  walls  of  the  building,  from 
the  corner  stone  to  its  completion,  and  with  the  minutest 
details  of  all  its  operations,  from  the  day  it  was  opened  to 
the  hour  of  her  death.  Born  upon  a  "little  rock-bound 
farm"  in  the  retired  town  of  Buckland,  Franklin  County, 
deprived  of  a  fathei''s  care  at  the  age  of  five  years,  the 
fifth  of  seven  children,  all  dependent  upon  a  very  slender 
patrimony  and  the  efibrts  of  a  widowed  mother,  lier  early 
advantages  were  exceedingly  limited.  From  her  child- 
hood, she  exhibited  those  peculiar  elements  of  character 
which  were  so  prominently  developed  in  after  life,  and  gave 
her  success  in  every  enterprise  in  which  she  embarked. 
She  acquired  her  early  edueation  by  extraordinary  efforts 
on  her  part,  and  commenced  her  career  as  a  teacher  near 


490  EDUCATION. 

Shelburne  Falls,  receiving  a  compensation  of  seventy-jive 
cents  a  week  and  board.  After  an  experience  of  several 
years  as  a  teacher,  in  various  towns  in  Franklin  County, 
she  became  associated  with  Miss  Z.  Grant  in  the  Ipswich 
Seminary,  Essex  County,  Mass.  Here  she  had  acquired 
maturity  of  mind  and  character,  which  led  her  to  look  for- 
ward to  the  accomplishment  of  some  important  result. 
The  great  theme  of  her  contemplation  and  the  object  of 
her  labors  seemed  to  be,  to  devise  a  plan  whereby  female 
education  might  be  elevated,  and,  at  the  same  time,  placed 
within  the  reach  of  those  possessed  of  humble  means. 
After  surmounting  o1:)Stacles  that  would  have  crushed  any 
mind  of  ordinary  capacity  and  energj^,  the  result  of  her 
efforts  was  the  establishment  of  Mount  Holyoke  Female 
Seminary,  at  South  Hadley. 

The  funds  for  the  erection  of  the  building  were  obtained 
chiefly  by  donations,  and  its  rooms  were  ready  to  receive 
eighty  pupils  in  the  autumn  of  1837.  The  main  building 
is  ninety-tour  feet  by  fifty,  five  stories  high,  including  the 
basement.  A  wing  has  been  added  to  each  end  of  the 
mam  building  more  recently,  by  which  the  capacity  of  the 
structure  has  been  more  than  doubled.  A  very  prominent 
feature  of  the  institution  is,  that  it  is  strictly  a  family  school 
on  a  large  scale,  to  which  no  day  pupils  are  admitted,  and 
in  which  no  domestics  ai-e  emjiloyed.  The  labor  of  the 
establishment  is  divided  among  the  whole  number,  each 
young  lady  having  her  portion  assigned  her,  for  which  she 
is  made  responsible  for  a  given  time.  Frequent  changes 
are  made,  that  each  individual  sliall  have  a  suitable  variety 
in  her  employment;  and  great  care  is  taken  that  the 
strength  of  none  shall  be  over-taxed.  It  will  be  perceived, 
at  once,  that  perfect  system  and  order  are  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  success,  and  these  are  carried  through  all  the  de- 
partments, both  of  labor  and  instruction.  An  error  seems 
to  prevail  in  many  minds  respecting  the  performance  of  la- 
bor here,  viz  :  that  it  is  one  object  of  the  seminary  to  teacii 
pupils  the  science  of  domestic  labor  and  management  of 
household  affairs,  as  a  branch  of  instruction.  All  teaching 
in  this  department  is  incidental,  each  pupil  performing  that 
which  she  can  do  to  the  best  advantage,  the  main  object 
being  to  keep  the  expenses  of  the  school  at  the  lowest 


EDUCATION.  491 

point  practicable,  and  preserve  or  acquire  habits  of  indus- 
try in  the  pupih 

The  course  of  instruction  embraces  three  years  and  three 
classes — the  Junior,  the  Middle  and  the  Senior.  No  can- 
didate is  received  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  course 
embraces  a  wide  range  of  studies,  confined  mostly  to  high- 
er English  branches  and  mathematics,  though  Latin  and 
French  are  among  the  studies  prescribed,  and  can  be  ex- 
tensively pursued :  indeed,  a  thorougli  knowledge  of  Latin 
is  deemed  quite  essential.  Linear  and  perspective  draw- 
ing and  instrumental  music  receive  attention. 

One  grand  object  of  tliis  seminary  was  to  furnish  a  sup- 
j)ly  of  well  qualified  female  teachers.  In  tliis  respect  it 
lias  accomplished  a  great  work,  a  large  proportion  of  its 
graduates  having  entered  this  field  of  employment.  The 
popularity  of  the  school  has  been  remarkably  uniform, 
having  never  waned  from  the  beginning,  not  even  when 
many  predicted  its  downfall,  on  the  death  of  its  founder 
and  accomplished  [)rincipal.  Miss  Lyon,  in  1849.  At  no 
time  has  its  number  been  so  great  as  during  the  past  year, 
and  never  have  so  many  been  refused  for  want  of  room ; 
— probably  more  than  seven  hundred  api)licants  were  una- 
ble to  obtain  ;ulmission  at  the  beginning  of  1854. 

The  town  of  Westfield,  in  the  present  County  of  Hamp- 
den, was  nearly  cotemporary  with  Nortliamplon  and  Ilad- 
ley,  in  its  settlement.  "Woronoco,  the  Indian  name  of  the 
l»lace,  was  included  in  the  original  grant  made  to  the  first 
settlers  of  Springfield,  and  was  first  settled  prineipally  by 
fiimilies  from  that  town.  The  spirit  which  characterized 
the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  colonists,  with  respect  to 
education,  prevailed  among  the  original  inhabitants  of  this 
town.  Poor  as  they  were,  and  subject  to  hardships  of  the 
severest  kind,  they  never  lost  sight  of  the  pi'oper  training 
and  instruction  of  their  children.  From  the  commence- 
ment of  this  settlement,  a  schoolmaster  was  emjiloyed  six 
months  in  a  year,  and,  at  a  later  j)eriod,  through  the  whole 
year.  The  salary  per  year  was  from  £38  to  £50,  paid  in 
grain  or  money;  a  greater  sum  in  proportion  to  the 
means  than  is  paid  to  teachers  at  the  present  day.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  usual  custom  of  the  times,  the  selectmen 
performed  the  duties  of  school  committee.  For  a  century, 
all  the  children  attended  one  school.     The   instructor  was 


492  EDUCATION. 

usually  a  man  competent  to  teach  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages.  A  school  was  first  taught  by  a  female  in  1726. 
She  Avas  paid  twenty-live  shillings  per  month.  Although 
the  education  of  females  was  limited,  all  were  taught  to 
read  and  write.  As  the  population  and  wealth  increased, 
facilities  were  j)rovided  for  furnishing  more  efficient  instruc- 
tion. 

Westfield  Academy.  In  the  spring  of  1793,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  voted  to  raise  £600  towards  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  academy.  During  the  following  sum- 
mer, application  was  made  to  the  Legislature  for  an  act 
of  incorporation,  Avhich  was  granted.  The  first  meeting 
of  the  Ti'ustees  was  held  in  1797.  Soon  after  this,  over 
one  thousand  dollars  were  obtained  by  subscription.  In 
the  winter  of  1798,  half  a  township  of  land  in  Maine, 
(then  a  province,)  was  given  to  the  institution  by  the  State, 
which  was  afterwards  sold  to  Jolm  BeiTct,  Esq.,  of  North- 
field,  for  the  Slim  of  $5,000.  From  the  amounts  thus  ob- 
tained, a  fund  Avas  created,  the  interest  of  Avhich,  together 
with  the  income  of  the  school  from  tuition  fees,  has  been 
applied  to  defray  tlie  expenses  of  the  institution.  The 
present  building  Avas  erected  in  1798,  and  completed  in 
1799.  The  academy  AA'as  first  opened  for  the  admission  of 
students  January  1,  1800,  on  which  occasion  a  dedicatory 
sermon  Avas  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop  of  West 
Springfield,  from  Psalm  144:  12.  The  first  preceptor  Avas 
Peter  Starr,  Avho  graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1799. 
lie  was  afterAvards  tutor  at  Middlebury,  where  he  studied 
laAv  and  noAv  resides.  He  was  assisted  by  Abijah  Bisco,  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth  in  1798,  and  l)y  Luke  Collins,  a 
gi-aduate  of  Williams  College  in  the  same  year.  The 
number  of  different  scholars  during  the  first  year  Avas  187. 
Ten  of  the  number  Avent  through  college,  and  four  entered 
but  did  not  complete  their  course. 

TAventy-four  preceptors  have  had  charge  of  the  acad- 
emy during  the  fifty-four  years  of  its  existence,  few 
remaining  longer  than  from  one  to  three  years.  Of  those 
Avho  continued  longest  in  charge,  Avere  Emerson  Davis,  14 
years  ;  Ariel  Parish,  6  j^ears  ;  and  Wm.  C.  Goldthwaite,  8 
years,  Avho  is  uoav  the  principal.  The  smallest  number  of 
pupils  during  any  one  year  AA'as  128,  and  the  largest  432. 
Probably  not  far  from  ten  thousand  pupils  have  been  con- 


EDUCATION.  493 

nected  with  the  school  since  its  commencement.  Few 
institutions  have  been  so  uniformly  prospei:ous  during  a 
period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  The  instruction 
given  has  been  of  an  eminently  practical  character, 
especially  since  about  1822,  when  the  natural  sciences 
were  taught  more  extensively  than  had  been  customary 
even  in  many  higher  institutions.  It  was  at  this  time  tliat 
it  went  into  the  hands  of  Rev.  Emerson  Davis.  A  classi- 
cal department  has  always  been  sustained,  in  which  a  large 
number  have  been  prepared  for  college.  The  deep  inter- 
est Avhich  the  inhabitants  of  Westfield  have  taken  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  academy,  and  the  kindly  interest  they 
have  manifested  towards  the  students  while  connected  with 
it,  have  had  great  influence  to  give  it  success. 

The  Normal  School,  established  in  ^Yestficld.  is  n 
State  institution.  It  was  the  second  State  Normal  School 
opened  in  Massachusetts,  under  the  Board  of  Education, 
and  was  first  located  at  Barre,  in  September,  1839,  under 
^he  instruction  of  Prof.  Samuel  P.  Newman,  Avho  died  in 
1842.  In  1844  it  was  removed  to  Westfleld,  and  was 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  E.  Davis  two  years,  when  D.  S. 
Rowe  was  appointed  principal.  The  latter  continued  until 
April,  1854,  when  WiUiam  H.  Wells,  Principal  of  the  Put- 
nam Free  School,  Newburyport,  was  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  it.  In  Septembci-,  1846,  the  new  building 
erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  school  was  first 
occupied.  The  house  cost  about  S 6,500,  of  which  the 
State  paid  82,500,  the  town  ?500,  the  central  school  dis- 
trict $1,500,  and  the  remainder  was  obtained  by  subscrip- 
tion. A  model  or  experimental  school  is  connected  with 
the  institution,  the  pui)ils  oi'  which  belong  to  the  center 
school  district.  In  this  department,  the  members  of  the 
Normal  School  have  an  opportunity  of  spending  a  portion 
of  their  time  as  assistant  teachers.  Applicants  for  admis- 
sion to  the  school,  if  males,  must  be  at  least  17  years  of 
age,  and  16  years,  if  females.  None  are  received  for  less 
than  three  full  terms,  two  of  which  mast  be  successive 
terms.  Instruction  is  free  to  all  members  belonging  to  the 
State, — those  from  other  States  are  charged  S6  a  term,  tui- 
tion. By  a  recent  act  of  the  Legislature,  tlie  sum  of 
SI, 000  is  to  be  divided  among  those  who  may  lind  it  diffi- 
cult to  meet  the  expenses  of  a  year's  attendance  at  the 
42 


494  EDUCATION. 

Normal  School,  without  aid.  This  assistance  is  afforded 
only  to  those  who  shall  have  attended  their  second  or  third 
terms, — and  each  individual  receives  a  sum  proportioned 
to  the  distance  traveled.  Those  obliged  to  travel  more 
than  ten  and  less  than  twenty  miles,  receive  about  half  as 
much  as  those  traveling  between  twenty  and  thirty  miles, 
— and  those  living  more  than  thirty  miles  distant  receive 
about  three  times  as  much  as  the  iirst  class.  About  1 60 
towns  in  eleven  counties  of  tlie  State  have  been  represent- 
ed in  the  school.  Since  its  first  establishment,  about  900 
(males  and  females)  have  been  members  of  the  institution. 
The  instruction  is  confined  strictly  to  English  brunches,  with 
the  design  of  qualifying  teachers  more  thoroughly  to 
luiderstand  and  teach  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
various  branches  taught  in  the  common  schools.  Lectures 
are  frequently  given,  on  modes  of  teacliing,  school  disci- 
pline, &c.,  to  prepare  the  teacher,  in  the  most  efficient 
manner,  for  his  work. 

Of  the  tliree  academical  institutions  of  Hampden  Coun- 
ty, MoNSON  Academy  was  established  second  in  order  of 
time.  It  was  incorporated  in  1804,  and  the  building  was 
erected  in  1806,  by  the  contributions  of  the  citizens  of 
Monson.  Dedicatory  services  were  performed  at  its  open- 
ing, in  October,  1806,  and  a  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev. 
Rfchard  S.  Storrs  of  Longmeadow.  A  lialf-township  of 
Maine  lands  was  given  by  the  Legislature,  the  avails  of 
which,  with  individual  subscriptions,  formed  the  basis 
of  the  general  fund  of  the  institution.  In  1825,  a  fund 
was  raised,  of  Avhich  the  income  is  nearly  S400  a  year,  for 
the  aid  of  indigent  students,  who  might  desire  a  liberal 
education,  with  a  view  to  the  christian  ministry.  The 
same  year,  a  laboratory  was  built,  and  a  fund  formed  by 
the  donations  of  R.  Flynt,  to  encourage  excellence  in  the 
various  branches  of  study.  In  1842,  the  avails  of  this 
fund  were  devoted  to  the  formation  of  the  "  Flynt  and 
Packard  Library,"  for  the  use  of  the  academy,  which  con- 
tains a  rare  collection  of  books,  both  for  reference  and 
general  reading,  for  the  judicious  selection  of  wliich  the 
institution  is  greatly  indebted  to  its  recent  principal, 
Charles  Hammond.  Within  a  few  years,  the  buildings 
have  been  remodeled  and  greatly  improved ;  large  addi- 
tions have  also  been  made  to  the  chemical  and  philosophi- 


II 


EDUCATION.  -  495 

cal  apparatus,  for  which  the  citizens  of  Monson  contributed 
nearly    $4,000.     Among   the    deceased    benefactors,    tlie 
names  of  Joel  Norcross  and   Rufus   Flynt  are  honorably 
mentioned  for  their  liberal   donations.     The  first  principal 
of  the  school  was  Rev.  Simeon  Colton,  D.  D.,  who  left  at 
the  end   of  the  first  yeai-,  was  re-appointed  in    1821,  and 
continued  till  1830.     He  performed  important  services  for 
the  institution,  in  procuring  funds,  and  in  the  purchase  of 
apparatus  in  1825.     During  the  half  century  of  its  exist- 
ence, iifteen   principals   have   had   charge  of   it,  of  whom 
Simeon  Colton  and   Charles  Hammond  remained  longest, 
the  former    nine,  the  latter  eight  years.     The   classical 
department  has  always  sustained  a  high  reputation.     The 
whole  number  graduated  from  the  institution  and  prepared 
for  college  previous  to   1852  was   330, — the  whole  num- 
ber   who    have    become  ministers    and  licentiates,    115. 
The  female  department  is  under  the  charge  of   a  precep- 
tress ;  the  English  department  is  taught  by  a  gentleman, 
but  both  are  under  the  general  supervision  of   the   princi- 
pal.    The  New   London  and   Palmer,  and   Amherst  and 
Belchertown  Railroads,  which  intersect  the  Western  road 
at  Palmer,  four  miles  North  of  IMonson,  the  former  passing 
directly  by  the  institution,  render  it  easy  of  access. 

Weslkyan  Academy  is  located  in  North  "VVilbraham, 
ten  miles  East  of  Springfield,  and  about  two  miles  South  of 
the  Western  Railroad.  It  is  under  the  control  of  the 
Methodist  denomination,  although  not  exclusively  patron- 
ized by  them.  It  was  established  in  1825.  Rev.  Wilbur 
Fisk,  D.  D.,  was  its  first  principal,  and  his  successors 
have  been  Rev.  John  Foster,  A.  INI.,  Rev.  David  Patten, 
A.  M.,  Rev.  Charles  Adams,  A.  M.,  Rev.  Robert  AUyn, 
A.  M.,  and  Rev.  INIiner  Raymond,  D.  D.,  who  is  now  at 
the  head  of  the  institution.  The  amount  of  funds  belong- 
ing to  it  is  S40,000,  which  have  been  obtained  from  private 
donations,  legislative  grants  and  the  profits  of  the  school, 
— invested  in  land,  buildings,  ajiparatus,  furniture,  &c. 
The  course  of  study  is  extensive,  including  common  Eng- 
lisli,  matliematics,  natural  sciences,  moral  science  and 
belles  lettres,  together  with  ancient  and  modern  lan- 
guages. Instruction  is  given  in  music — vocal  and  instru- 
mental — also  in  ornamental  branches.  The  institution  is 
provided  with  very  extensive  apparatus,  and  a  full  course 


496  EDUCATION. 

of  lectures  is  given  in  the  department  of  Natural  Science 
each  term.  Special  care  is  taken  to  prepare  for  their 
duties  those  who  design  to  engage  in  teaching.  The  trus- 
tees have  recently  expended  about  $15,000  in  the  erection 
of  new  buildings,  and  in  repairs  on  those  formerly  occu- 
pied. "  Fisk  Hall,"  recently  erected,  is  a  beautiful  and 
convenient  edifice.  A  large  proportion  of  the  students  are 
provided  with  board  and  rooms  at  the  boarding  house,  in 
two  departments,  one  for  ladies,  the  other  for  gentlemen. 
Diplomas  or  testimonials  of  the  highest  honors  of  the  insti- 
tution are  conferred  on  members  Avho  sustain  a  high  moral 
cliaracter,  and  accomplish  the  entire  course  of  study  in  the 
various  departments  i>rescribed.  The  library  contains 
about  1,500  volumes.  Three  Societies  for  mutual  improve- 
ment are  connected  with  the  school,  viz  :  The  "  Young 
Men's  Debating  Club  and  Lyceum,"  the  "  Union  Philo- 
sophical Society,"  and  the  "  Young  Ladies'  Literary  Soci- 
ety." The  number  of  teachers  employed  is  ten, — the 
whole  number  of  students  during  1853  was  over  six  hun- 
dred. About  two  hundi-ed  and  fifty  are  ordinarily  in 
attendance.  Few  institutions  in  the  country  have  been 
more  numerously  attended,  or  have  enjoyed  gi'eater  pros- 
perity than  the  Wesleyan  Academy,  for  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century. 

South  Wilbraham  has,  for  several  years,  sustained  by 
individual  contributions  a  school  of  an  academical  charac- 
ter, of  considerable  merit. 

Richard  Dickinson,  who  died  in  SouthAvick  in  1824,  in 
his  last  will  appropriated  $15,618,01  for  the  benefit  of  the 
schools  of  that  town.  The  interest  of  a  portion  of  this, 
jiot  to  exceed  one  lialf,  goes  to  the  support  of  a  grammar 
school,  and  the  remainder  to  the  district  scliools.  The 
result  has  been  that  the  town  is  satisfied  with  the  amount 
thus  received,  seldom  taxes  itself  to  aid  the  schools,  and 
consequently  receives  nothing  from  the  State  funds.  Mr. 
Dickinson  voluntarily  assumes  to  relieve  the  people  from 
the  burden  of  educating  their  children,  by  the  donation  he 
has  made.  Two  or  three  towns  only  in  Hampden  County 
have  sustained  high  schools.  Chicopee  has  had  such  a 
school  in  the  village  of  Cabptville,  during  the  last  fifteen 
years,  supported  on  a  liberal  scale,  which  has  produced 
excellent  results.     Another  at  Chicopee  Falls  has  been  in 


EDUCATION.  497 

operation  during  the  last  ten  years.  Botli  of  these 
schools,  located  as  they  are  in  manufacturing  villages, 
have  reflected  great  credit  on  both  the  people  and  corpora- 
tions, for  their  liberality  and  enterprise  in  sustaining  the 
cause  of  education. 

Palmer  has,  during  the  past  three  or  four  years,  had  its 
high  school,  kept  successively  in  different  parts  of  the  year, 
in  three  villages  of  the  town.  Holyoke  also  has  had  a 
school  of  a  higher  grade. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  Berkshire  County,  the  same 
care  for  schools  is  observable  as  has  been  noticed  else- 
■nhere.  In  the  grant  of  the  township  of  Pittsfield  to  the 
town  of  Boston  in  1735,  a  lot  of  land  was  set  apart,  de- 
signed to  furnish  funds  for  their  support.  The  town 
receives,  at  j)resent,  about  $120  yearly,  from  lands  thus 
appropriated  more  than  a  century  ago.  It  is  not  easy  to 
determine  how  soon  a  school  was  opened,  but  from  the 
grant  to  which  allusion  has  just  been  made, it  maybe  reas- 
onably inferred  that  there  Avas  no  delay  in  providing 
means  of  instruction.  But  the  movements  for  the  erection 
of  a  school  house  seem  to  have  been  made  in  17 Gl.  It 
was  then  proposed  to  erect  one  at  each  end  of  the  town. 
Two  years  after,  it  was  voted  to  build  three  school  houses, 
one  twenty-two  feet  square ;  the  other  two,  seventeen,  with 
four  windows  of  12  panes  of  glass.  Thirty-six  pounds 
were  voted  for  building  them.  IJapid  advances  are  evi- 
dent soon  after,  for,  in  1773,  one  hundred  pounds  were 
granted  for  the  support  of  schools.  Liberal  grants  have 
been  made  in  subsequent  years,  and  since  171)9,  appropria- 
tions have  been  made  by  the  town  for  a  grammar  school. 
During  several  years  past,  a  high  school  has  been  in  very 
successful  operation.  The  enterprise  of  Pittsfield  has  been 
conspicuous  in  the  cause  of  education,  as  in  every  branch 
of  business.  Not  only  have  her  public  schools  been  gen- 
erously sustained,  but  ui  private  institutions  few  places  in 
ihe  commonwealth  have  equaled  this  town. 

The  first  incorporated  literary  institution  in  Pittsfield 
was  the  Pittsfield  Female  Academy.  An  associa- 
tion, formed  in  180u,  for  the  establishment  of  this  institu- 
tion, Avas  incorporated  in  1807.  The  buildings  were  in 
South  street — the  same  now  occupied  by  Miss  Clara  Wells, 
with  a  large  building,  once  a  church,  which  was  used  as  a 
42* 


498  EDUCATION. 

chapel  aiul  school  room.  It  stood  then  where  the  South 
Church  uow  stands,  but  has  been  removed  and  burned. 
The  school  went  down  after  a  few  prosperous  years,  but 
was  revived  in  1827,  and  for  about  ten  years  enjoyed  a 
considerable  degree  of  prosperity,  under  the  successive 
administrations  of  Messrs.  Eliakim  Phelps,  Jonathan  L. 
Hvde,  Nathaniel  S.  Dodge,  and  Ward  Stafford.  In  this 
school,  a  large  proportion  of  the  female  members  ot  the 
old  families  of  Pittsfield  were  educated.  The  Pittsfield 
Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,  of  Miss  Clara  Wells, 
succeeded  this,  and  has  been  increasing  in  popularity  until 
the  present  time. 

In  1826,  the  late  Lemuel  Pomeroy  of  Pittsfield,  pur- 
chased the  cantonment  grounds,  which  had,  for  many  years, 
been  held  by  the  U.  S.  Government  for  military  purposes, 
erected  upon  them  two  spacious  brick  buildings,  and  estab- 
lished a  boys'  high  school,  under  the  name  of  the  Pitts- 
field Gymnasium.  The  principal  Avas  Prof.  Chester 
Dewey,  a  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Pomeroy,  formerly  Professor 
of  chemistry  in  Williams  College,  and  the  Berkshire  Med- 
ical College,  and  now  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Paul  Dilling- 
ham establislied  a  successful  boarding  school  for  boys  in 
the  large  house  on  South  street,  now  occupied  by  Dr. 
Reed.  It  was  continued  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Nash,  and  under 
the  name  of  the  Pittsfield  Gymnasium,  by  Edward  G. 
Tyler,  A.  M.  It  closed  some  five  years  since.  Rev.  Wel- 
lington H.  Tyler  established  the  Pittsfield  Y'oung  La- 
dies Institute  in  18-11,  on  the  premises  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the  Berkshire  Gymnasium,  (the  cantonment  grounds 
on  North  street.)  The  two  buildings  erected  by  Mr. 
Pomeroy  were  renovated  and  beautified  by  Mr.  Tyler.  A 
beautiful  Grecian  chapel  Avas  erected  by  him,  as  Avell  as  a 
gymnasium,  which  is  probably  the  best  building  of  its  kind 
connected  with  any  school  in  America.  Mr.  Tyler  also 
added  to  and  greatly  adorned  the  grounds.  In  1853  he 
sold  the  entire  establishment  to  Rev.  J.  Holmes  Agnew, 
D.  D. 

The  Berkshire  Medical  College,  located  in  this 
town,  was  incorporated  in  1823".  It  had  its  origin  in 
the  enterprise  and  liberality  of  a  few  individuals.  It  was 
for  a  time  connected  with  Williams  College,  by  which  Med- 
ical degrees  were   conferred,  under  regulations  similar  to 


"C3* 


EDUCATION.  499 

those  recognized  by  tlie  University  of  Cambridge.  The 
Legislature  has  granted  i)rivileges  to  tliis  institution,  and 
some  pecuniaiy  aid,  which  have  greatly  benefited  it.  The 
number  of  students  it  has  averaged  annually  has  been 
about  100.  Witliin  a  few  years,  the  old  edifice  has  been 
burned,  and  a  new  and  improved  building  has  been  erect- 
ed. The  institution  is  now  under  superior  arrangements, 
and  is  on  a  firmer  footing  than  ever  before.  Since  1837, 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  it  constituted  an  independent 
Medical  College,  and  degrees  are  conferred  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Trustees  and  Faculty  of  the  Institution.  It  has  a 
Board  of  Overseers  consisting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  In- 
stitution, the  President  and  Secretaries  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Medical  Society,  the  Senators  of  the  Commonwealth 
from  the  four  "Western  Districts,  ex-crfficio,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished gentlemen  from  various  parts  of  the  Common- 
wealth. It  is  recognized,  therefore,  as  a  State  institu- 
tion. 

In  a  large  number  of  the  more  populous  towns  in 
Berkshire  County,  there  have  been,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century,  academical  institutions,  or 
excellent  private  schools,  aifording  instruction  of  a  higher 
character  than  could  be  obtained  in  the  common  schools. 
Thus  education  has  been  very  generally  diffused,  and 
while  none  have  been  left  in  ignorance,  many  have 
become  distinguished  in  the  higher  walks  of  literature, 
and  have  exercised  a  controlling  influence  in  the  Common- 
Avealth  and  throughout  the  whole  country. 

Lenox  has  an  Academy,  incorporated  in  1803,  known 
at  its  commencement  by  the  name  of  "  Berkshire  Acad- 
emy," but  it  was  soon  changed  to  IjENOX  Acadkmy. 
This  institution  has  done  good  service,  and  exercised  a 
favorable  influence  in  its  day. 

Stockbridge  and  Great  Bai-rington  have  been  distin- 
guished for  their  excellent  private  schools,  of  an  academi- 
cal character.  That  recently  relincpiished  by  E.  W.  B. 
Canning  enjoyed  the  instruction  of  a  gentleman  of  supe- 
rior taste  and  qualifications  as  a  teacher.  The  acad- 
emy m  the  latter  place  acquired  considerable  notoriety 
under  the  dire<;tion  of  James  Sedgwick,  as  well  as  the 
boaz'ding   and  day  schools  under   the    chargo   of    Misses 


500  EDUCATION. 

S.  and  N.  Kellogg,  and  anotlier  under  the  direction  of  Miss 
Mary  Woart. 

The  academy  in  Hinsdale  is  a  recent  institution,  but  has 
enjoyed  a  good  degree  of  prosperity  thus  far.  Wortii- 
INGTON  Academy,  just  over  the  line  in  Hampsliire  Coun- 
ty, was  for  many  years  the  "  Mountain  Seminary,"  but  has 
ceased  to  exist. 

Franklin  County,  a  part  of  Hampshire  until  1812,  bears 
a  close  resemblance  in  its  educational  features  to  those 
already  described.  Its  inhabitants  are  industrious,  love 
tlieir  home,  and  cherish  every  privilege  tending  to 
increase  their  enjoyment  and  enhance  its  attractions. 
Hence  the  influence  of  the  church  and  school  have  l)een 
objects  of  their  special  care  from  the  first  settlement. 
The  common  school,  although  not  so  elevated  in  its  char- 
acter and  attainments  as  in  other  portions  of  the  State, 
where  the  population  is  more  dense,  has  afforded  privi- 
leges sufficient  to  render  the  whole  community  intelligent, 
and  imjiart  business  qualifications  of  a  high  ordei*.  The 
character  of  its  academical  and  private  schools  is  similar 
to  those  already  described. 

Deerfield,  the  oldest  town  in  the  County,  has  long 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  Deerfield  Academt,  which 
has  been  favorably  known  in  the  community.  Located  in 
one  of  the  most  lovely  villages  in  the  valley  of  the  Con- 
necticut, provided  with  apparatus  and  other  facilities,  and 
favored,  as  it  has  been,  with  many  teachers  of  high  quali- 
fications, it  has  performed  good  service  in  the  cause  of 
education. 

Greenfield,  prior  to  1753,  was  a  part  of  Deerfield.  In 
November,  1749,  the  sum  of  30  shillings,  old  tenor,  was 
granted  per  week  to  the  school  dames  at  Green  River,  for 
their  services.  This  apparently  liberal  compensation  was 
owing  to  the  great  depreciation  of  the  cui'rency.  A  fur- 
ther illustration  of  it  was  furnished  in  the  increase  of  the 
minister's  salary,  to  correspond  witl^  the  rate  of  deprecia- 
tion. In  1747,  it  had  been  raised  from  £130  to  £450;  in 
1748,  to  £800.  A  committee  v/as  chosen  to  provide  the 
district  with  a  school  and  school  liouse.  In  17G3,  a  vote 
was  passed  to  "hire  a  school  the  year  round."  In  17G4, 
£13  6s.  was  raised  for  schools,  to  be  divided  on  the  scholar. 
There  were  at  that  time  only  three  districts  in   the  town. 


EDUCATION.  501 

In  1767,  tit  ere  were  seven,  and  "but  one  school  master,  and 
be  to  move  to  each  district  according  to  ye  proportion, 
and  to  have  a  school  dame  the  other  six  months,  and  she 
to  keep  school  in  ye  several  districts  according  to  their 
proportion.  All  the  masters  and  dames  that  are  improved, 
to  be  approved  by  the  selectmen."  Twenty  pounds  were 
raised  for  schools,  and  the  meeting  house  wa^  glazed. 

The  "High  School  for  Young  Ladies"  was  estab- 
lished in  1828,  and  remained  under  the  charge  of  Rev. 
Henry  Jones  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  until  about  18-40.  The 
location  of  this  school,  and  the  conveniences  connected 
with  it  were  such  as  have  rarely  been  found  in  any  institu- 
tion of  similar  character.  It  enjoyed  great  favor  in  the 
estimation  of  the  community  for  many  years,  received 
pupils  from  every  section  of  New  England,  and  many 
from  other  States.  It  embraced  an  extensive  course  of 
study,  and  was  thoroughly  instructed.  The  school  declined 
after  Mr.  Jones  left,  and  ceased  after  a  few  years. 

An  institution  for  the  education  of  females  in  all  the 
branches  usually  taught  in  high  schools  has  been  in  opera- 
tion since  about  1837,  under  the  instruction  of  the  Misses 
Stone,  daughters  of  Rev.  Dr.  A.  F.  Stone,  and  has  been 
well  sustained.  It  has  the  character  of  a  thoroughly 
instructed  school. 

The  Fellkncerg  School,  commenced  some  twenty 
years  ago,  was  designed  to  test  the  practicability  of  uniting 
study  and  manual  labor,  both  for  the  sake  of  providing 
suitable  exercise,  and  relieving  the  ex])enses  of  the  student. 
James  H.  Coffui,  a  graduate  of  AVilliams  College,  an  ex- 
cellent mathematician,  and  a  good  instructor,  had  charge 
of  the  literary  department.  The  experiment  Avas  brief 
and  unsuccessful.  The  building  erected  for  the  institution 
is  now  occupied  by  the  central  district  for  n  series  of 
graded  schools. 

Franklin  Academy,  at  Shclburne  Falls,  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1833.  It  luis  been  more  largely  patronized  than 
any  other  literary  institution  m  the  county,  in  the  same 
length  of  time.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Baptist 
denomination.  Rev.  John  Alden,  from  its  commencement 
and  for  many  years,  was  its  principal.  It  became  embar- 
rassed by  an  effort  to  erect  new  buildings  to  provide  for 
the  increasing  number  of  students,  and  to  connect  with  it 


502  EDUCATION. 

a  manual  labor  department,  but  by  the  liberality  of  tbe 
Messrs.  Lamson,  wliose  enterprise  has  done  much  for  the 
flourishing  village  of  Shelburne  Falls,  the  institution 
recovered,  and  has  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  for 
several  years.  In  1847,  a  new  charter  was  obtained,  and 
the  school  started  with  renewed  energy  with  the  name  of 
Shelburne  Falls  Academy.  It  has  recently  been  pro- 
posed to  raise  a  fund  of  S50,000,  in  order  to  place  the 
school  on  a  firm  foundation,  and  to  furnish  advantages  equal, 
at  least,  to  the  best  afforded  by  any  similar  institution.  H. 
A.  Pratt,  A.  M.,  is  now  principal,  aided  by  five  assistants. 
A  thi'ee-years  course  of  study  is  contemplated,  and  it  is 
proposed  to  change  the  name  to  "The  Lamson  Classi- 
cal AND  Scientific  Institute." 

New  Salem  Academy  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
Western  Counties,  having  been  incorporated  in  1795. — 
The  NoRTHFiELD  INSTITUTE  was  Started  some  yeai-s 
since,  as  an  exjieriment  to  establish  a  manual  labor  school, 
but  did  not  succeed.  "  Goodale  Academy,"  in  Bernard- 
ston,  was  incorporated  in  1833.  Eev.  Vinson  Gould  was 
its  fii-st  principal,  and  Pliny  Fisk,  A.  B.,  has  charge  of  it 
at  the  jiresent  time.  It  has  done  valuable  service,  in  an 
unpretending  way,  to  the  town  where  it  is  located  and 
those  in  the  neighborhood. 

Williams  College  Avas  the  second  institution  of  the 
kind  established  in  this  Commonwealth.  Col.  Ephraim 
Williams,  from  whom  it  derived  its  name,  and  by  whom  it 
was  endowed,  was  born  in  Newton,  near  Boston,  in  the 
year  1713.  He  lost  his  life  in  an  expedition  against  the 
French,  September  8th,  in  the  year  1755.  On  the  22d  of 
July  previous,  he  made  his  last  will  in  which,  after  making 
certain  provisions,  he  ordered  "  that  the  remainder  of  his 
lands  should  be  sold,  at  the  discretion  of  his  executors, 
within  five  years  after  an  established  peace ;  and  that  the 
interest  of  the  moneys  arising  from  the  sale,  and  also  the 
interest  of  his  notes  and  bonds  should  be  applied  to  tho 
support  of  a  Free  School,  in  a  township  west  of  Fort  Mas- 
sachusetts, provided,  *  «  *  «.»  The  pro- 
perty was  sold,  and  the  funds  were  allowed  to  accumulate 
until  1785,  when  the  executors  applied  to  the  General 
Court  for  an  act  to  carry  into  effect  the  will  of  the  testa- 
tor.^  An  act  was  accordmgly  passed,  incorporating  a  Free 


EDTJCATIOIT.'  503 

School  in  "Williarasto^\Ti,  nnd  nine  gentlemen  were  named 
in  the  act  as  trustees  of  the  fund  and  tiie  scliool,  who  voted 
in  1788  to  erect  a  school  house.  The  Ledshiture  jn-anted 
them  a  lottery  which  yielded  about  S3,5U0  ;  the  inhabitants 
of  tlie  town  raised  about  $2,OoO  more  towards  the  build- 
ing, and  in  1790,  the  brick  edifice  (now  the  west  college,)  was 
completed.  Its  dimensions  were  82  feet  in  length,  42  in 
breadth  and  4  stories  in  higlit.  The  ^^  Free  School"  was 
opened  October  20,  1791,  under  the  instruction  of  Rev. 
Ebenezer  Fitch,  previously  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  and  a 
graduate  of  the  same.  Mr.  John  Lester  was  his  assistant, 
and  an  uslier  Avas  afterwards  added.  There  were  two 
departments,  an  academy  or  grammar  school,  and  an 
P^nglish  free  school.  In  the  former  were  taught  all  those 
branches  comprised  in  the  course  of  education  in  the  col- 
leges. A  yearly  tuition  of  thirty-five  shillings  was 
charged.  The  latter  was  chiefly  composed  of  boys  from 
the  higher  classes  in  the  town  schools,  to  whom  instruction 
was  given  in  tlie  common  English  branches. 

A  disposition  to  convert  the  Free  School  into  a  College 
became  evident  immediately  after  its  commencement.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  in  May,  1792,  a 
petition  was  prepared  to  be  sent  to  the  General  Court  at 
its  next  session,  jisking  that  such  a  change  might  be  effect- 
ed. This  petition,  after  setting  forth  the  desirableness  of 
the  object,  concludes  with  this  prayer :  "  Your  memorial- 
ists therefore  ]niml)ly  pray  your  lionoi-s  tliat  the  Free  School 
in  Williamstown  may  be  incorporated  into  a  College  by 
the  name  of  ^VILLIA:^^s  Hall,  and  that  the  nurturing  and 
liberal  hand  of  the  Legislature  may  be  extended  to  it  by 
a  grant  of  land  in  the  Easterly  part  of  the  Commonwealth, 
or  in  such  otlicr  way  as  to  your  lienors'  may  seem  fit." 
The  petition  was  successful,  and  thus  commenced  the  ca- 
reer of  this  important  and  useful  institution. 

The  property  vested  in  the  free  school  was  transferred 
to  the  College,  and  a  grant  of  ^4,000  made  from  the  State 
Treasury  for  the  purchase  of  a  library  and  apparatus.  Dr, 
Fitch  was  appointed  President  of  the  College,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  October,  1793.  The  Englisli  Free 
School  was  discontinued,  but  the  academy  continued  until 
1806.  The  first  Commencement  was  held  September  2, 
1795.     Samuel  Bishop,  John  Collins,  Chancy  Lusk,  and 


504  EDUCATION. 

Dan  Stone  received  the  first  honors  of  the  institution. 
Chancy  Lusk  took  the  valedictory.  In  May,  1796,  the 
Legislature  granted  two  townships  of  land,  which  were  sold 
for  $10,000.  A  catalogue  was  published  in  1795,  contain- 
ing the  names  of  77  students.  According  to  Dr.  Robbins, 
the  antiquarian,  this  was  the  first  catalogue  of  the  mem- 
bers of  a  college  ever  printed.  In  1805  and  ltJ09,  two 
other  townships  of  land  were  granted,  of  which  the  avails 
were  about  S10,000.  Until  the  year  1808,  great  prosper- 
ity attended  the  College.  In  1804  there  were  144  names 
of  students  enrolled  upon  its  catalogue.  Its  library  con- 
tained over  2,000  volumes.  In  the  Spring  and  Summer 
of  1808,  a  ditficulty  arose  between  the  students  and  the 
faculty,  on  account  of  the  unpopularity  of  some  of  its 
officers,  which  seriously  interfered  ■with  its  progress  and 
success.  The  four  classes  then  in  the  college  produced 
more  graduates  than  any  four  classes  down  to  1834.  The 
decline  of  the  institution  continued,  and  in  1815,  Dr.  Fitch 
tendered  his  resignation  to  the  trustees.  In  justice  to 
President  Fitch,  it  should  be  stated  that  the  unfavorable 
condition  of  the  college  was  rather  the  result  of  the  inju- 
dicious action  of  one  of  its  professors,  than  any  other 
cause.  Dr.  Fitch  died  in  Bloomfield,  N.  Y.,  March  21, 
1833,  aged  76  years. 

Rev.  Zephaniah  Swift  Moore,  Professor  of  Languages 
in  Dartmouth  College,  was  elected  President  of  Williams 
College  in  1815.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees, 
in  the  same  year,  a  committee  of  six  persons  was  appoint- 
ed to  take  into  consideration  the  subject  of  removal  of  the 
college  to, some  other  part  of  the  Commonwealth.  This 
committee  reported  adversely.  The  idea  had  been  broached, 
however,  and  Dr.  Moore  appearing  to  be  convinced,  from 
the  day  of  his  inauguration,  that  the  college  could  never 
prosper  in  its  present  location,  urged  very  earnestly  its  re- 
moval. During  the  six  years  that  Dr.  Moore  was  con- 
nected with  the  college,  the  subject  of  removal  was  earn- 
estly agitated,  and  two-thirds  of  the  board  of  trustees  were 
in  favor  of  it.  Under  these  circumstances,  many  students 
left  the  institution,  while  few  new  ones  became  members, 
so  that  the  second  class  under  Dr.  Moore's  administration 
graduated  only  seven  individuals.  The  opinion  in  favor 
of -«,  change  of  location  continued  to  gain  strength.     Not 


I 


EDUCATION,  505 

only  the~  trustees,  but  the  faculty  wei*e  gcnei'ally  in  favoi- 
of  it.  At  length,  a  special  meeting  of  the  corporation  of  the 
college  was  held  in  November,  1818,  when,  with  slight  op- 
position, it  was  '•  Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  remove 
AVilliams  College  to  some  more  centi'al  part  of  the  State. 
*  *  *  That  in  order  to  guide  the  trustees  iu 
determining  to  which  place  the  college  shall  be  removed, 
and  to  produce  harmony,  the  following  gentlemen,  viz : 
Hon.  James  Kent,  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York ; 
Hon.  Nathaniel  Smith,  Judge  of  the  Supi'eme  Court  of 
Connecticut ;  and  the  Rev.  Seth  Payson  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, be  a  committee  to  visit  the  towns  in  Hampshire 
County,  and  determine  the  place  to  which  the  college  shall 
be  removed." 

This  committee  reported  to  the  board  at  Pittsfield  in 
May  following,  that  Northampton  was  the  proper  place  to 
which  the  removal  should  be  made.  An  address  was  is- 
sued to  the  people,  setting  forth  the  reasons  for  the  pro- 
posed change  of  location ;  also  a  proposition  Avas  made  to 
the  trustees  of  Amherst  Academy,  requesting  them  to  unite 
their  charitable  funds  with  the  college,  in  case  it  was  re- 
moved to  Northampton,  but  it  was  rejected,  unless  they 
would  change  the  location  to  Amherst.  The  president  and 
others  were  instructed  to  petition  tlie  Legislature  on  the 
subject  of  removal,  and  request  leave  to  effect  it.  This 
petition  met  with  a  spirited  opposition  from  the  citizens  of 
the  town  and  county,  and  by  them  a  subscription  of  S17,- 
500  was  raised  and  laid  before  the  Legislature,  which  was 
to  be  paid  in  ease  the  college  should  not  be  removed.  The 
Legislature,  alter  a  long  and  boisterous  discussion,  decided 
asrainst  a  change  of  location. 

In  the  meantime,  the  inhabitants  of  Hampshire  and  ad- 
joining counties  had  not  been  idle.  Fifty  thousand  dollars 
had  been  already  pledged  by  them,  and  pledged  to  the 
college  in  case  of  its  removal.  The  expectation  of  estab- 
lishing a  college  in  Hampshire  County  had  been  created  by 
this  excitement,  and  the  people  of  Amherst  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity,  raised  liberal  subscriptions  and 
erected  buildings,  with  the  design  of  obtaining  a  charter. 
Dr.  Moore  having  stated  his  intention  of  I'esigning  his  of- 
fice, it  was  immediately  proposed  to  place  him  at  the  head 
of  the  new  institution  at  Amherst.  He  accepted  the  invi- 
43 


506  EDUCATION. 

tation,  and  left  Williams  College  at  the  Commencement 
after  the  date  of  his  resignation,  July  17,  1821.  He  im- 
mediately went  to  Amherst,  where  he  was  inaugurated  in 
the  following  September.  He  continued  there  but  a  short 
time,  however.  His  death  occurred  within  two  years 
after  leaving  Williamstown,  at  the  age  of  tifty-three  years. 

Eev.  Edward  D.  Grifliu,  then  a  minister  in  Newark,  N. 
J.,  was  elected  as  the  third  president  of  Williams  College, 
and  he  was  inaugurated  Nov.  14,  1821.  The  last  half 
dozen  years  previous  to  this  date  will  ever  be  remembered 
as  a  gloomy  period  by  the  friends  of  this  institution.  But 
from  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Griffin,  confidence  revived, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  college  became  more  hopeful. 
The  number  of  students  began  to  increase  immediately. 
The  Berkshire  Medical  Institution  at  Pittsfield,  was  placed 
under  its  supervision — an  Alumni  Association  was  formed, 
to  unite  the  influence  and  patronage  of  those  who  had  been 
educated  by  it,  for  its  support — its  friends  generally  rallied, 
and  raised  a  fund  of  S25,000,  which  imparted  new  life  and 
vigor  to  all  its  movements.  Bequests  were  received  from 
several  individuals,  affording  several  thousand  dollars  for 
the  increase  of  the  library,  and  the  establishment  of  a  fund 
for  the  benefit  of  indigent  students.  The  Alumni,  also, 
raised  nearly  $5,000,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  ex- 
pended for  tlie  purchase  of  apparatus  and  instruments. 
Great  prosperity  and  valuable  improvements  marked  the 
administration  of  Dr.  GriiBn.  He  continued  to  preside 
over  the  institution  till  183G,  when,  from  declining  health, 
he  was  obliged  to  resign.  In-  Sejjtember  of  that  year,  he 
left  AVilliamstown  with  expressions  of  deep  sorrow  and 
regrets  on  the  part  of  the  faculty,  students  and  citizens 
generally.  Dr.  Griffin  returned  to  Newark,  where  he  died 
November  8,  1837,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  age,  having 
been  President  of  the  college  15  years. 

Prof.  Mark  Hopkins  Avas  unanimously  elected  as  suc- 
cessor to  Dr.  Griffin,  and  was  inaugurated  in  September, 
1836.  The  present  administration  has  been  marked  as  one 
of  great  prosperity  during  the  long  period  of  nineteen 
years.  Wise  counsels  and  judicious  action  have  imparted 
strength  and  integi-ity  of  character  to  the  institution,  from 
which  its  friends  may  reasonably  indulge  the  highest  an- 
tigipations  for  the  future.     During  this  period,  great  in> 


I 


EDUCATION.  507 

provements  have  been  made.  The  astronomical  observa- 
tory— said  to  be  the  first  erected  on  this  Continent — was 
built  in  1837,  mostly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Prof. 

A.  Hopkins.  The  magnetic  observatory  was  constructed 
and  presented,  together  with  the  land  on  which  it  stands, 
to  the  college,  by  Prof.  A.  Hopkins.  This,  also^  is  said  to 
be  the  first  in  this  country.  In  October,  1841,  the  build- 
ing known  as  "East  College"  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
During  the  following  summer,  two  new  edifices.  East  and 
South  College,  were  erected.  In  1842,  a  full  set  of  min- 
erals of  the  State  of  New  York  was  presented  to  the  col- 
lege by  Prof.  E.  Emmons  of  Albany.  On  Wednesday, 
August  16,  1843,  the  society  of  alumni  celebrated  the 
eemi-centeimial  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  college. 
The  gathering  was  large  and  exceedingly  interesting  in  its 
proceedings.  Judge  O.  B.  Morris  of  Springfield  occupied 
the  chair,  as  the  first  president  of  the  alumni  association. 

Amos  Lawrence,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  the  year  1844^5 
and  6,  made  munificent  donations,  amounting  to  nearly 
$30,000.  The  library  building,  erected  with  a  portion  of 
these  funds,  was  named  LAiAaiENCE  Hall. 

Our  limits  will  not  allow  the  mentioning  of  many  inter- 
esting particulars  relating  to  this  college.  About  1810, 
Woodbridge  Little  of  Pittsfield  bequeathed  $5,500  to  the 
college,  for  the  benefit  of  indigent  young  men,  studying  for 
the  ministry.  The  names  of  Samuel  J.  Mills,  Gordon 
Hall,  and  others,  will  long  be  remembered  as  instrumental 
in  the  first  missionary  efforts,  and  the  formation  of  the  A. 

B.  C.  F.  M.  Association.  They  were  members  in  the 
darkest  period  of  its  history,  Mr.  Hall  graduated  in 
1808,  and  Mr.  Mills  in  1809.  Nearly  one  half  of  the 
whole  number  of  its  graduates  have  become  ministex's  of 
the  gospel. 

Ware  looks  after  the  education  of  her  children  as  weU 
as  the  running  of  her  spindles.  The  first  action  respect- 
ing schools  appears  in  1757,  when  it  was  "  Voted  to  Devid 
ye  Peraish  into  two  partes  for  a  scool."  In  1762,  "  Voted 
to  Raies  £12  for  skoling.  Voted  that  Eatch  Quarter"  (of 
the  town)  "  shall  Skool  out  there  part  within  the  year  or 
be  forfit."  An  excellent  high  school  has  been  sustained 
there  for  a  number  of  years,  under  the  charge  of  Mr. 
Hunt. 


508  education. 

Mt.  Pleasant  Classical  Institution,  Amherst. 
This  school,  designed  exclusively  for  boys,  was  established 
about  the  year  1827,  on  tlie  plan  of  the  Gei-man  Gymna- 
sia, under  the  charge  of  Chauncey  Colton,  D.  D.,  and 
Francis  Fellows.  The  location  was  about  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  north  of  the  colleges,  on  one  of  the  loveliest  sites  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley.  It  acquired  great  fame  in  a  short 
time,  but  soon  declined,  and  in  a  few  years  was  abandoned. 
The  buildings,  which  were  very  commodious,  were  occupied 
in  1835  by  Rodolphus  B.  Hubbard,  for  a  manual  labor 
school.  About  1847,  Rev.  J.  A.  Nash,  formerly  located  in 
Pittsfield,  purchased  the  premises,  and  started  a  boarding 
school  for  boys,  which  is  now  one  of  the  best  schools  of 
that  class  in  this  section  of  the  State. 

Amherst  Academy.  In  the  year  1812,  a  subscription 
was  started  by  Samuel  F.  Dickinson  and  Hezekiah  W. 
Strong,  for  establishing  an  academy  in  Amherst.  With 
the  funds  raised,  a  brick  edifice  was  erected.  Success  at- 
tended the  enterprise,  and  at  the  session  of  the  Legislature 
in  1816,  an  act  of  incorporation  was  obtained.  Among 
the  names  of  the  board  of  trustees,  given  in  the  act,  ap- 
pears that  of  Noah  Webster,  who  was  then  residing  in 
Amherst,  and  who,  subsequently,  was  one  of  the  earliest 
projectors  and  benefactors  of  Amherst  College.  The 
academy  was  sufficiently  prosperous  to  answer  the  general 
object  for  which  it  was  established ;  but  there  seemed  to 
exist  in  the  community  a  solicitude  to  know  what  measui'es 
might  be  adopted  to  accomplish  greater  results. 

Amherst  College  took  its  first  inception  from  this 
point.  In  the  year  succeeding  the  incorporation  cff  the 
academy,  Rufus  Graves  submitted  a  plan  for  increasing 
its  usefulness,  by  raising  a  fund  for  the  gratuitous  educa- 
tion of  pious  young  men  for  the  ministry.  It  was  proposed 
"  to  establish  a  professorship  of  languages,  with  a  perma- 
nent salary,  equal  to  the  importance  and  dignity  of  the 
office."  The  plan  was  not  favorably  received,  and  was 
soon  abandoned.  The  basis  of  a  single  professorship  was 
deemed  too  narrow  to  accomplish  what  the  exigencies  of 
the  times  and  the  church  seemed  to  demand.  The  com- 
mittee appointed  to  devise  a  plan  of  operations,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  advice  of  friends  in  various  parts  of  the 
commonwealth,  determined  to  enlarge  their  plan,  and  lay 


EDUCATION.  509 

the  foundation  of  a  collegiate  institute,  separate  from  the 
academy.  In  1818,  they  had  proceeded  so  far  as  to  pre- 
sent a  constitution  and  system  of  by-laws,  in  which  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  sum  of  $50,000  should  be  raised,  and 
sacredly  kept  as  a  charity  fund,  five-sixths  of  the  income 
to  be  appropriated  annually  for  the  classical  education  of 
indigent  pious  young  men  for  the  sacred  profession,  and 
one-sixth  to  be  added  to  the  principal  for  its  perpetual  in- 
crease. A  convention  of  ministers  and  delegates  from  the 
old  county  of  Hampshire  and  the  "Western  pai't  of  "Wor- 
cester County,  in  which  thirty-six  towns  were  represented, 
met  in  Amlierst  to  consider  the  expediency  of  establisliing 
a  "  charitable  institution,"  on  the  basis  already  named. 
On  the  30th  September,  they  reported  in  favor  of  "  estab- 
lishing:  a  religious  and  classical  institution,  on  a  charitable 
foundation,  in  the  town  of  Amherst,  and  recommended  that 
suitable  measures  be  adopted  by  the  trustees  of  Amherst 
Academy  for  the  establishment  of  a  college,  in  connection 
with  the  charitable  institution,  possessing  all  the  advanta- 
ges of  the  other  colleges  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  tliat 
arrangements  be  made  to  open  the  institution  as  speedily 
as  j)Ossible."  Tliis  report,  after  a  free  discussion,  was 
adopted  by  a  large  majority  of  the  convention. 

On  the  20th  of  the  same  year,  at  a  special  meeting  of 
the  trustees,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  tlie 
trustees  of  "Williams  College,  relative  to  the  union  of  the 
two  institutions.  The  proposition  of  a  union  met  with  no 
encouragement.  As  the  trustees  of  "Williams  College  had 
already  "  resolved  that  it  was  ex])edient  to  remove  their 
college  on  certain  conditions" — and  as  the  committees  ap- 
pointed by  them,  with  full  powers  to  fix  a  location,  had 
decided  in  favor  of  Northampton,  and  they  were  only 
awaiting  the  decision  of  the  General  Court  for  leave  to 
remove  to  that  place,  the  trustees  of  Amherst  Academy 
suspended  their  action,  to  learn  the  result.  The  petition 
of  the  "W^illiams  College  trustees  was  rejected. 

The  trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  resolved  immediately 
to  carry  into  ox(^cution  the  plan  already  sanctioned  by  the 
convention.  Under  the  most  discouraging  circumstances, 
for  want  of  means,  such  were  the  exertions  of  the  board, 
tlie  committee  and  friends  of  the  institution,  that  in  ninety 
days,  the  South  edifice  in  the  range  of  buildinirs,  one  hun- 
43* 


510  EDUCATION. 

dred  feet  long  and  four  stories  high,  was  ready  for  sliing- 
ling.  The  corner  stone  of  this  building  was  laid  August 
9th,  1820,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Parsons,  president  of  the  board, 
and  a  highly  appropriate  address  was  delivered  by  Noah 
Webster,  LL.  D.  In  November,  1820,  at  a  special  meet- 
ing, the  trustees  resolved  to  establish  professorships  in  the 
three  departments  of  languages,  rhetoric,  and  mathematics 
and  natural  philosophy.  May  8,  1821,  Dr.  Zephaniah 
Swift  Moore,  president  of  Williams  College,  was  elected 
president,  and  it  was  voted  at  the  same  meeting  that  the 
institution  should  be  opened  on  the  third  Wednesday  of 
September.  Dr.  Moore  was  inaugurated  on  the  18th  of 
September,  1821.  The  number  of  students  at  the  opening 
of  the  institution  was  53,  arranged  in  four  regular  classes. 
Application  was  made  for  a  charter  in  1823,  but  it  met 
Avith  little  favor.  In  June  (30th,)  of  the  same  year,  a 
most  calamitous  event  befell  this  infant  seminary,  by  the 
sudden  and  unexpected  removal  of  the  president  by 
death.  Without  funds — without  a  charter — without  a 
head  to  direct,  its  future  prospects  were,  indeed,  shrouded 
in  gloom. 

Rev.  Heman  Humphrey  Avas  elected  in  July  to  fill  the 
office  thus  rendered  vacant,  and  Avas  inaugurated  October 
15th,  1823.  Though  the  petition  of  the  trustees  had  been 
twice  rejected  by  the  General  Court,  they  still  persevered, 
and  after  a  severe  struggle,  a  favorable  report  Avas  ob- 
tained. The  charter  Avas  granted  February  25th,  1825. 
A  board  of  seventeen  trustees,  consisting  of  seven  clergy- 
men and  ten  laymen,  Avas  named  in  tlie  instrument.  It 
was  claimed  tliat  the  Commonwealth  should  be  represented 
in  this  board  because  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  Legisla- 
ture to  endoAV  it,  and  the  State  ought  to  have  some  over- 
sight of  its  funds.  But,  notAvithstanding  the  repeated  ap- 
plications of  its  friends  for  appropriations,  not  a  dollar  was 
ever  received  from  the  State,  till  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury had  passed  after  the  charter  Avas  granted.  From  the 
time  the  act  of  incorporation  Avas  receiA^ed,  the  history  of 
Amherst  College  actually  dates  its  beginning.  Dr.  Humph- 
rey remained  at  the  head  of  the  institution  till  April  15th, 
1845.  During  this  long  administration,  he  performed  sig- 
nal service  for  the  college,  for  Avhich  its  friends  OAve  him  a 
large  and  lasting  debt  of  gratitude.     He  c^arried  it  through 


EDUCATION.  511 

some  of  its  severest  trials,  threw  light  around  its  path  in 
its  gloomiest  hours,  and  withdrew  from  it  Avhile  it,s  course 
was  yet  "  onward  and  upward."  Rev.  Edward  Hitchcock 
was  elected  his  successor,  and  most  acceptably  discharged 
the  duties  of  his  oflice  until  1854,  when  he  resigned.  On 
the  22d  of  November,  the  same  year,  Rev.  William  A. 
Stearns  was  inaugurated  in  his  place. 

One  condition  on  which  Dr.  Moore  consented  to  become 
its  president  was  "  that  the  classical  education  to  be  given 
in  the  proposed  seminary,  should  not  be  inferior  to  any  of 
the  New  England  Colleges."  While  it  fully  sustained  the 
character  desired  in  this  respect,  it  has  far  exceeded  all 
expectations  in  many  others.  First  and  most  important  of 
all,  it  has  retained  that  religious  element  which  was  not 
less  a  fundamental  principle  in  the  designs  of  its  founders, 
than  it  was  in  the  jilans  of  the  puritans  in  laying  the 
foundation  of  Harvard  College.  The  whole  number  of 
graduates,  up  to  1854,  was  1,084, — a  larger  number  than 
the  triennial  catalogue  of  any  other  New  England  college 
shows,  within  the  same  period  of  time  from  its  establish- 
ment. The  "  Charity  Fund,"  which  formed  the  basis  of 
the  institution,  and  now  amounts  to  over  $50,000,  has, 
during  the  last  ten  years,  paid  the  entire  term  bills  of  from 
forty  to  eighty  students,  annually,  who  were  preparing  for 
the  christian  ministry.  This  aid  is  given  to  all  who  ajjply 
with  proper  testimonials.  Previous  to  1845,  about  500 
had  been  thus  assisted.  The  college  has  been  blessed 
with  ten  special  revivals.  Probably  more  than  500  of  its 
graduates  are  already  in  the  ministry,  or  in  a  course  of 
preparation  for  it.  Of  these,  100  are  now  settled  pastors 
in  Massachusetts,  and  45  have  gone  as  missionaries  to  for- 
eign lands.  A  table,  carefully  prepax'ed  by  President 
Hitchcock,  two  years  since,  shows  that  it  has  furnished 
one-third  more  ministers  per  year,  than  Yale,  twice  aa 
many  as  Middlebury,  Williams,  Dartmouth  and  Harvard 
colleges,  and  three  times  as  many  as  any  other  Northern 
college.  In  a  ])ecuniary  point  of  view,  great  encourage- 
ment has  been  aifoi'ded  within  a  few  years.  The  largest 
early  contril)utors  to  Amherst  College  were  Adam  John- 
son of  Pelham  and  Nathaniel  Smith  of  Sunderland.  The 
largest  recent  contributors  have  been  Simuiel  A.  Hitch- 
cock of  Brimfield,  John  Tappan  and  David  Sears  of  Bos- 


512  EDUCATION. 

ton,  and  Samuel  Williston  of  Easthampton.  But  the  latter 
has  been  the  most  munificent  patron,  and  his  gifts  cannot 
have  fallen  much  short  of  *6U,000.  The  Trustees  once 
voted  to  confer  his  name  upon  the  institution,  but  were 
unable  to  obtain  his  consent,  at  least  for  the  present.  It 
is  believed  the  time  will  yet  come  when  the  name  of  this 
benefactor  will  be  united  with  the  college,  as  it  is  now- 
engraven  on  the  grateful  hearts  of  its  friends.  Rev.  Dr. 
Vaill,  now  of  Soraers,  Conn.,  accomplished  much  in  his 
strenuous  efforts  to  procure  funds  for  the  College,  during 
its  severe  pecuniary  struggle.  Help  has  recently  come 
from  the  Government,  in  the  sum  of  S25,00(),  half  of 
which  is  to  be  appropriated  to  extinguish  debts,  and  half 
to  endow  the  "Massachusetts  Professorship  of  Natural 
History."  During  the  two  years  preceding  1848,  a  series 
of  important  and  extensive  improvements  was  commenced. 
Among  the  first  was  the  erection  of  a  building  for  a  new 
cabinet  of  natural  history,  in  connection  with  an  astronom- 
ical observatory.  Through  the  generous  efforts  of  Josiah 
B.  Woods  of  Enfield,  and  the  liberality  of  more  than  forty 
gentlemen  of  the  Commonwealth,  nearly  $8,000  were  sub- 
scribed, and  a  beautiful  edifice  was  completed  and  dedicated 
in  1848.  As  a  consequence,  rich  and  beautiful  contribu- 
tions have  been  bestowed  by  Professors  Shepard  and 
Adams,  in  mineralogy,  geology,  conchology,  &c.  Of  the 
zoological  cabinet,  collected  chiefly  by  Professor  Adams, 
Professor  Agassiz  says:  "It  is  my  opinion  that  these  col- 
lections Avill  forever  be  a  prominent  ornament  of  the  college 
of  Amherst.  I  do  not  know  in  the  whole  country  a  con- 
chological  collection  of  equal  scientific  value." 

A  beautiful  library  building  was  erected  in  1853,  of  the 
Pelham  gneiss,  and  is  essentially  fire-proof.  It  is  two 
stories  high,  containing  the  college  library,  consisting  of 
some  10,000  or  11,000  volumes.  This  building,  and  some 
Si 0,000  for  books,  began  with  a  donation,  for  the  purpose, 
of  §1,000,  by  George  Merriam  of  Springfield.  The 
architect  of  both  the  cabinet  and  library  was  Henry  A. 
Sikcs  of  Springfield.  The  history  of  this  institution  and 
the  noble  efforts  of  the  men  who  originated  and  have  suc- 
cessfully conducted  it  onward  through  adversity  and  pros- 
perity to  its  present  elevated  position,  deserve  the  ablest 
pe^p  and  the  amplest  space. 


II 


EDUCATION.  513 

Througli  the  first  150  years  or  more  of  the  educational 
history  ot'  Western  Massachusetts,  much  instruction  was 
given  by  ministers.  Of  one  who  still  remains,  Ilev.  Dr. 
Cooley  of  Granville,  an  interesting  chapter  might  be  given. 
His  school  education  commenced  in  1777.  He  says,  "the 
only  school  books  were  Dilhvorth's  spelling  book,  the 
primer  and  the  bible.  The  furniture,  as  I  recollect,  was  a 
chair  for  the  master,  a  long  hickory  and  a  ferule.  Read- 
ing, spelling,  a  few  of  the  business  rules  of  arithmetic,  the 
catechism  and  writing  legibly,  was  the  amount  of  common 
school  education  for  sons  ;  and  for  daughters,  still  less. — 
The  luxury  of  a  slate  and  pencil  I  never  enjoyed  till  I 
entered  college.  Previous  to  1796,  no  academy  existed 
in  Western  IVIassachusetts,  except  a  well  endowed  institu- 
tion at  Williaraslown.  In  the  Autumn  of  1796,  I  com- 
menced my  fixmily  school.  Probably  as  many  as  800 
have  been  under  my  tuition,  and  as  many  as  60  or  70 
have  entered  the  ministry ;  others  have  been  high  in 
office  and  members  of  Congress,  &:c.  I  have  had  between 
20  and  30  under  censure  (rusticated)  from  colleges.  A 
few  lads  have  been  sent  me  that  were  irreclaimably  reck- 
less. Almost  without  exception  they  died  in  their  teens!" 
Dr.  Cooley  had  a  remarkable  tact  in  inlluencing  those 
under  his  care  by  moral  suasion  and  kind  address.  He 
has  performed  a  great  work  as  a  teacher  as  well  as  min- 
ister. 

During  this  period,  education  was  rather  diffused  among 
the  masses  than  elevated  in  character.  It  imparted  a  vig- 
orous constitution  of  mind  to  the  community,  but  did  not 
create  that  enterprising  spii'it  and  executive  power  that 
has  since  characterized  New  England,  and,  through  it,  the 
nation. 

A  second  era  began  with  the  present  century,  when 
academies  came  into  vogue,  and  private  schools  began  to 
take  a  more  elevated  rank.  The  reciprocal  influence  of 
these  and  the  better  class  of  public  schools  wrought  f:vvor- 
ably  upon  each  other,  until  about  the  year  1836. 

The  third  jieriod  then  commenced,  which  may  be  fairly 
termed  "the  Reformation."  It  was  distinguislnMl  at  the 
outset  by  the  organization  of  the  Board  oi"  Education, 
appointment  of  secretary  or  general  superintendent  of 
schools  throughout  the  Slate,  and  establishment  of  normal 


514  EDUCATION. 

schools.  During  this  time,  public  schools  have  assumed 
an  entirely  new  character,  all  other  higher  institutions 
have  been  stimulated  to  renewed  efforts,  and  the  effect  is 
visible  in  every  department  of  enterprise  in  the  commu- 
nity. To  Horace  Mann,  who  rough-hewed  and  framed 
the  system,  and  Rev.  Barnas  Sears,  D.  D.,  who  is  still 
"casting  up"  and  rendering  smooth  the  great  thoroughfare 
of  education,  through  which  the  nations  are  to  pass,  be  all 
pi'aise  for  what  they  have  done ! 


.^ 


APPENDIX. 


METEOROLOGICAL   TABLES 


I 


II 


METEOROLOGICAL    TABLES. 


517 


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518 


METEOROLOGICAL   TABLES. 


NUMBER     II. 


Showing  the  number  of  days  it  rained  or  snotved  during 
any  ])ortion  of  the  day,  and  the  depth  of   loater  that  has  ■ 
fallen  at  Springfield  from  January  1st,  1848,  to  Decem- 
ber 31si,  1853,  inclusive,  in  inches  and  hundredths. 


1S4S. 

1849.        I 

1850.        ] 

1851.        1 

1852.        1 

1858. 

Months. 

an  o  i, 

&■£  = 
a2g 

o  =>  a 

—■a 

5      <^ 

G  t,   CO 

5    ^ 

c  0-5 

a   ^ 

a    ^ 

a   ^ 

oi 

o 

o 

0 

January. 

2.01 

8 

0.68 

6 

4.18 

9 

1.61 

8 

1.88 

13 

146 

9 

February 

2  08 

7 

0.52 

8 

3.67 

10 

4.94 

12 

3.12 

11 

5.75 

10 

3  06 

1 

3.91 

9 

2.94 

8 

132 

9 

254 

15 

2..3;3 

13 

April, 
May, 

i.rr 

6 

1.26 

7 

4.29 

9 

3.89 

11 

4.37 

12 

346 

12 

RM 

14 

4.6S 

12 

8.21 

17 

4.10 

14 

2.88 

9 

4.8S 

IS 

June, 

4.(H 

7 

2.06 

7 

3.55 

12 

3.54 

10 

2.46 

10 

1.89 

8 

July. 
August, 
Sept., 
October. 

3.(iL 

11 

1.3.11) 

8 

5.28 

14 

3.95 

12 

2.96 

8 

G.43 

11 

211 

6 

4.60 

11 

5.tl4 

10 

5  57 

11 

6.47 

11 

8.34 

12 

i.y2 

7 

1.36 

7 

5.78 

10 

173 

10 

1.77 

10 

5.78 

12 

3.2S 

10 

7.50 

12 

4.03 

11 

696 

U 

2.59 

13 

4. .34 

8 

Nov., 

s.iia 

7 

'2.m 

13 

2.11 

10 

4.81 

10 

5.45 

15 

4.88 

9 

Dec, 

4.5? 

14 

2.04 

13 

3.82 

18 

2.77 

7 

a95 

13 

1.82 
51.36 

8 

ToiAL, 

41.38 

104 

34.36 

118 

5380 

138 

45.22 

125 

40.44 

140 

127 

10 

10 

WJEAir. 

3.45 

8  8-12 

2.S6 

9  5-12 

4.4$ 

Ul-2 

3.77 

and 

5-12 

S.37 

U2-3 

4J» 

and 
7-12 

Total  d 
Averag 

epUi  oi 
3  deptli 

"  water 
L  of  wa 

for  Si: 
ter  for 

£  Years,  22  fee 
each  year,  44 

t2inc 
and  43 

lies  56- 
100  inc 

100. 
hes. 

NUMBER    III. 

Extremes  of  Temperature. 


Coldest  Month. 

Warmest 
.Month. 

Range  of  THEnMOMKTEit. 

Yeabs. 

Date. 

Mercury 
below- 
Zero. 

.Mercury 
above 
Zero. 

Extreme 
Varia- 
tions. 

If 
1{ 
If 
If 
.  If 
If 

i48. 

i 

i49. 
!50. 

t 

!51. 

i 

i52. 

i53. 

1 

Febmnry. 

February. 

December. 

December. 

January. 

January. 
December. 

June. 

August. 

July. 

July. 

July. 

July. 

January  11th. 
June  )7th. 
February  16th. 
June  21st. 
December  31st. 
June  20th. 
December  27th. 
September  12th. 
January  22d. 
July  22d. 
January  27th. 
August  13th. 

U 

14 

8 

15 

16 

4 

98 
100 
94 
95 
95 
96 

109 
114 
102 

no 
m 
100 

Mean  fob  Six  Yeaes,       ----- 

Ul-3 

961-3 

107  2^ 

"7? 

METEOROLOGICAL    TABLES. 


619 


NUMBER    IV. 


Mean  Temperature  of  each  Month  and  Tear,  from  Janu- 
ary, 1848,  to  December,  1853,  inclusive,  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege. 


Months 


.liiuuary, !  280.95 

February, 23  .71 

March,  32  .63  i  35  .37 


1850. 


200.02 
18  .50 


April, 43   .32 

May, '  59  .47 

June, '  67  .63 

July,  '  69  .45 


August, 
September, 
October,  . . . 
November,. 
December, . 


Yeahly  Meau  , 


70  .6*5 

57  .43 

47  .31 

33  .49 

30  .56 


470.04 


43  .49 
53  .42 
06  .88 
72  .09 
68  .85 
60  .05 
47  .03 

44  .08 
28  .40 


460.62 


250.90 

28  .42 

32  .43 

42  .91 

53  .38 

67  .27 

72  .08 

67  .10 

59  .40 

48  .18 

39  .95 

23  .45 


460.71 


1851. 


230.79 

27  .89 

35  .51 

46  .20 

55  .61 

63  .60 

69  .13 

66  .20 

60  .93 

61  .04 
3'!  .54 
20  .13 


1852.   1853 


460.21 


190.57 

25  .17  , 

30  .86 

39  .44  ! 

56  .05 

65  .38 

69  .9.5, 

65  .16 

58  .37 

49  .31  ' 

36  .42  ; 

32  .85 


450.71 


240.26 

26  .72 

33  .82 

44  .02 

56  .70 

68  .97 

68  .73 

67  .84 

59  .54 

46  .84 

39  .14 

26  .31 


460.57 


1848,  Wiirmest  Year, 
1852,  Coldest        " 


I  Variation,  10.33. 


NUMBER     V. 


Showing  the  number  of  days  it  rained  or  snowed  during 
any  portion  of  the  day,  and  the  depth  of  water  that  has 
fallen  at  Amherst  from  January  \st,  1848,  to  Decem- 
ber 'dlst,  1853,  inclusive,  in  inches  and  Jauidrcdths. 


[In  the  second  column  of  cacli 

j'car. 

are  included  those  dayo  on 

wliich  full  even  a.  sprinkle 

of  ram  or  snow,  too  small  to  be  mea<urcd.j 

\tm.     1 

1849.        ] 

1850.        ] 

1851.        1 

1852.        1 

1S53. 

^i: 

■ni, 

^i. 

■rt?J 

ni, 

•a'a 

Months. 

j3      C 

pi 

ass 

1=5 1 

V  o  a 

q2S 

pi' 
"if! 

hi 

o  o  a 

ill 

2.02 

11 

o 

o 

o  ; 

o 

January, 

0.90 

6 

4.75 

14 

1.66 

8 

2.41 

18 

2.02 

10 

February 

2«n 

<^ 

0.99 

14 

3.56 

9 

508 

10 

3.35 

13 

6.69 

i'A 

March, 

;!0.i 

12 

4.21 

10 

1.86 

9 

1.28 

12 

8.26 

IS 

2..39 

10 

A\n\l, 

1.5.5 

13 

2.24 

9 

8.93 

10 

4.4.J 

12 

4.71 

13 

3.79 

13 

May, 

(J.IH 

18 

3.61 

14 

8  72 

15 

4.07 

13 

2.95 

10 

5.40 

12) 

June, 

2..^ 

10 

1.53 

U 

2.8S 

14 

3.69 

9 

2.54 

8 

3.i;4 

13 

July, 

4.72 

l;i 

2.25 

8 

8.81 

13 

4.11 

12 

3.38 

8 

3..58 

.  13 

Aiicust, 

\J» 

7 

7.«G 

12 

6...0 

13 

3(13 

8 

5.19 

12 

7.13 

14 

Sept, 

2.40 

8 

1.40 

9 

4.93 

11 

2.(W 

10 

2.47 

8 

S.0(i, 

11 

October, 

3.15 

13 

6.% 

11 

3.65 

8 

.5.4.3 

9 

1.76 

13 

3.75 

Nov., 

3.0-J 

7 

3.«.5 

10 

263 

10 

5..3fJ 

9 

6.4.3 

14 

6.24, 

11 

Dec, 

5.64 

20     ' 

:iJ3>; 

12 

5JJ7 

14 

3.17 

7 

4.88 

16 

1.83 

11 

Total, 

30.38 

140 

3&45 

126 

55  J9 

139 

43.50 

120 

42.68 

141 

4S.24 

135 

Mean. 

.1.23 

11.67 

3.20 

10.50 

4.63 

11.58 

3.62 

10 

3J6 

11.75 

4^ 

12.25 

Total  depth  of  water  for  Six  Years,  22  feet  3  inches  84-100. 
Average  depth  of  water  for  each  year,  44  and  64-100  inches. 


520 


METEOKOLOGICAL    TABLES. 


NUMBER     VI. 

Extremes  of  Temperature  at  Amherst. 


Coldest  Month. 

Warmest 
Month. 

1                 Rakoe 

OF  Thermometer 

Teabs. 

Date. 

Mercury 
below 

Mercury 
above 

Extreme 
■V'aria- 

Zero. 

Zero. 

tions. 

1848. 

Februarj', 

August. 

1 

!  January  llth. 

12 

** 

June  17th. 

91 

103 

1849. 

February. 

July. 

February  16th. 
July  13th. 

10 

93 

103 

1830. 

December. 

July. 

December  13th. 
June  2tlth. 

15 

90 

105 

1851. 

December. 

July. 

.  December 2rth. 
June  3(lth. 

15 

88 

103 

1S52. 

January. 

July. 

I  January  21st, 

15 

** 

1  June  liith. 

93 

108 

1858. 

JaiMiarv. 

July.? 

January  27th. 

2.5 

f 

August  14th. 

92 

94.5 

M 

SAN  FOB  Six  Yeahs, 

.       .       . 

11.6 

91J 

102.7 

$ 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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