Newspaper Page Text
JMU1 THE VERMONT PHOENIX BRATTLEBORO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1890 4i ail 1 FORT DUMMER. llcv. Dr. Geo. Leon Walker's Historical Address. Iltllvtrtil III Ilrnttltlioro August 1.1, 1MH, nt the Atiimnl riclil Iy .lieet Iiir nl the I'ncnmtiick Vnllt)- ,71 nn orlnl Association IVenr the Mir of the Old l"orl. It Is difficult, not Indeed to say almost Impossible, for us to realize the condition of things which compelled some brave and hardy men in the midwinter of 1724 a hundred and seventy-two years ago to build near the spot where we now stand a frontier fortress In the perilous wilderness. Surrounded today as we are by fertile fields, and smiling landscapes, and happy homes, nigh unto which now for near a century and a half no hostile footstep has approached, It Is hard to bring vividly up to mind the anxieties, the alarms and the heroic enterprises in which the planting xif Fort Dummer hail its ori gin. Yet we shall miss the main signifi cance of this event unless wc do in some degree kindle our Imagination to a con ception of the actual circumstances of the occurrence. The laying together of some, rough-hewn logs of a forest, and the lift ing up the structure of a rude-built block house fort, whose last timber has long since rotted away, was in itself no very great or memorable achievement. It was the necessity which impelled to the enter prise, the danger which attended It, the purpose which it fulfilled, and the pathetic or tragic incidents wnicli attach themselves to the structure thus planted in this pri meval wilderness, which give to Fort Dum mer its worthy place In New England re membrance, and make It worth while for us to bring its story to our recollection and celebration today. What, then, told as briefly as possible, and without any possibility on this occa sion of the minuter shades of historical detail, were the occurrences which led up to the heroic planting and the heroic de fences or lliis frontier fortress on the banks of the Connecticut? The first two great Indian wars of New England the l'equot war of 103" and King Philips' war of 1074-78 may be said to have been of purely internal origin and provocation, jncy grew out ol the nat ural jealousy of the Indians of southern and eastern New England, at the growth and extension of white settlements. Our English ancestors who came to this land had the characteristic Anglo-Saxon craving for land. They were never satisfied witli what they had. I hey were always push ing out for more. Like the modern New England farmer who always wanted just so much lanu as adjoins his, they only wanted what was outside of theirs. The perceived dancer of this territorial acquisitiveness provoked that earliest strug gle In which the Beiiuots, attempting to defend what they deemed their native rights, were defeated, and their tribe dis persed, bearing their tale of jealousy and wrong to other tribes, to be a seed-grain of trouble wherever they went. With far wider-minded perception of the danger to ins race, anu Willi lar abler powers to or ganize defence against tite impending per il, King Philip, the heroic chief of the Wampanoogs.attempted in 1074 to organize a general uprising of the Indian tribes of iNew England against the pale face aggres sors. It was time. These white men had increased in the 44 years since the plant- U' Wfcv ipg-orTloston to 120,000, and their settle- !! "" igents reached all round the sea-board from CrFalmouth to New York, and inland to Lancaster, jNortbampton, Uadley, Deer field, and even to Northfield, only 12 miles below where we now stand. The Connecti cut river from Northfield to the Sound was starred along its course with villages of the invading race. Against the whole race Philip, with masterly but ineffectual strat egy, enlisting almost all the scattered tribes of New England, undertook an exterminat ing war. 1 am not going to enter into any of the details of that desperate struggle. It suilices for my purpose to sav that it brought home to almost every frontier set tlement of New England a vivid sense of the horrors of Indian warfare. Above 000 of the llower of New England's man hood were killed in iwo years of that struggle. Twelve or 13 villages were de stroyed, anu upwards of 000 bulidings.chief ly dwelling-houses, were burned. Every eleventh family In New England was burn ed out, and every eleventh family had lost a member. Brookfieid, Uadley, Hatfield in the comparatively near vicinity of tills re gion, were attacked, suffering loss of lives, while at Deerfield only about 20 miles from here, the massacre at Bloody Brook of 70 of the flower of the county of Essex; and nearer still, at Northfield, the slaughter of 2U mounted men under Capt, Beer's command the bodies of several of them mutilated aud their heads set up on poles gave to tne people of all this fron tier region a realizing sense of the horrors that lay in Indian revenge. Some years of comparative quietude followed Philip's overthrow. But now Indian warfare entered on a new phase. No longer the result of jeal ousy ami territorial struggle on New Eng land soil alone, It became rather the result of the far greater conflict, on a continental stage, of opposing nationalities, clvlliza Hons and religions of European powers, France, as long ago as 1008, had by the foundation of Quebec made the first per manent colonial settlement in Canada. When Champlaln died in 10IJ5 the com- merco and sovereignty of France had reached as far west as Wisconsin along the great waterways of St. Lawrence and the lakes. La Salle by 10S0 added the Mis sissippi valley to the French domain, and by 1099 her domain reached to the Mexican gulf. English territory was surrounded by French military and trading posts and tlier struggle was lor the possession of the continent. Henceforth, till the conquest of Canada In 1700, Indian warfare In New England was but a part of European pol itics and religion the prlza to be lost or won tne sovereignty of America. The year 10S9, which saw the accession of the Protestant William and Mary of England, marked the outbreak of the first of these inter-colonial Indian wars, as the result of the declaration of warfare be tween Great Britain and France. Once more a scene of blood and slaughter open cd along the New England frontier settle ments. Dover, N. II., Schenectady, N. Y Salmon Falls and Casco In Maine were pillaged aud large numbers of Inhabitants barbarously murdered by French and Indi ans, and others carried off into a captivity in Canada almost worse even than death. In AuKiist?-lG92, Brookfieid was again as saulted and plundered. Deerfield's turn came in June, 1093, when eight people were killed or wounded; an experience which was partially repeated in August, 1095, and September, 1090, when several of Its Inhabitants In the near vicinity were captured or murdered. On the'llth of September an attack was made on Lancas ter, Mass.; 20 of its Inhabitants were killed, Including John Whiting, the minis ter: an experience which Andover. Mass., nearly paralleled early in 1098 by tho burning of several of Its houses and the killing of seven of its people, in March of this same year, 1098. Haverhill was as saulted; nine houses burned and 40 peo ple killed or captured. It was among this group of captives that the Mrs. uannah Dustln was numbered, whose narrow es cape, by killing and scalping ten Indians, (some or them children indeed;, was me wonder of all our ?arly histories. The peace of Bvswlck put an end to this struggle, which Is known as King William's war. uut me peace was snon. King William died in 1702, and Franco disputed the succession to the throne of his iconsort, and the war known as Queen Anne s war broke out, anu tne tom ahawk was set at work again along the New England frontier with added fury. Deerfield was tho frontier Massachusetts town Jin this vicinity, the small block house at Northfield having been destroyed and the few settlers driven away; and Deerfield, often as saultedand often to some extent suffering before, was now to sus tain that great calamity which has tua'de February 29, 1704, so fearfully memorable In Connecticut valley annals. Assaulted by the enemy tinder Major Hertel de Kou vllle, with 200 French aud 142 Indians, 47 of its inhabitants were killed; 112 taken prisoners, 10 of whom were tomahawked on their way to Canada, and nearly the whole village destroyed. This was but one Incident of a struggle in which from 1i0:j to 1713 tiie inhabitants of :sew Eng land's frontier districts were continually harassed by alarms of Indian ravages; by calls for military service, in which exhaust ing debts were Incurred; agriculture to a great extent neglected; and In which more than 20 New England towns, including Lancaster, Chelmsford, Sudbury, Groton, Dunstable and Heading In Massachusetts, and Kingston, York, Berwick, KIttery, Dover and Exeter in New Hampshire aud Maine, suffered direct assaults, some of them with loss of many dwellings and in habitants. The peace signed at Utrecht April 11, 1713, and proclaimed at Berlin In October of that same year, brought at last a little breathing space to the harassed frontiers. Agriculture began to revive. New settle ments began to extend westward in Mas sachusetts. The Northfield people driven from tneir Homes began to return ; built a house for public worship; called Mr. Ben jamin Doolittle to be their minister, and had In 1718 about 30 families. It was at this point of time that atten tion was being especially turned toward this immediate region as a desirable one for settlement. By an arrangement be tween Massachusetts and Connecticut va rious parcels of land lying northward of existing settlements in Massachusetts were given to Connecticut in exchange for lands of which Connecticut had been deprived by a rectification of the boundary between the two colonics. One of these portions of Equivalent lands, as thev were called. consisted of a section of about 44,000 acres on the west bank of the Connecticut, with in the bounds of the now existing towns ot Vernon, uratticboro, uummerston and I'utney. i lie lands were sold at Hartford In April, 1710, and this section in which we are now specially interested fell by di vision into the ownership of four men William Dummer, William Brattle, An thony Stoddard and John White. The property was a valuable one. It was well diversified with hills and meadows, with forests and brooks, and it lay alongside some of the best fishing privileges of the great river. It was in the direct line of communication between the settlements in Massachusetts and those in Canada, and the hunting and pelting regions along .Lakes .eorge and Cliamplain, and was al together about the most desirable section of territory then accessible and unappro priated in New England. High expecta tions wcreentertaiuedby Mr. Dummer and Mr. Brattle and those associated with them of speedy and profitable returns for their cost aud trouble. But these expectations were fated to considerable disappoiniment. Scarcely had the lands passed Into the new proprietors' possession before Indian hostilities broke out afresh. This time war, Indeed, was not formally existent between England and France; but It wa9 the outcropping of the old race and religious controversy nevertheless. The Indians, stirred up by Sebastian llasle, an able and Influential Jesuit missionary, began in lizi tueir accustomed depreda tions along the frontier, and in 1722 Mas sachusetts felt compelled to declare war against them. Once more there was every prospect of fire and ravage all along the lower Connecticut valley so often scourged before. To diminish the peril of this ca lamity the Massachusetts legislature re solved on the 27th of December, 1723, "to build a block-house above Northfield in the most convenient place on the lands called Equivalent lands and to post In it 40 able men, English and Western Indians, to be employed in scouting a good distance up Connecticut River, West Blver, Otter Creek, and sometimes eastwardly above Great Mouadnock for the discovery of the enemy coming toward any of the frontier towns." The resolve thus made, the undertaking was at once entered on. Mr.Dumraer had by this time come to be lieutenant-governor of -Massachusetts and lie commissioned Col, John Stoddard of Northampton to super intend the building of the block-house, The immediate business of Its construction was entrusted to Lieut. Timothy Dwight. also of Northampton, who In the dead of winter, cb. a, 1724, began the work. "Four Carpenters, Twelve Soldiers with narrow axes and two Teams" was the force at Lieut. D wight's command. Tho car penters were paid five and six shillings a day, and the soldiers had two shillings a day beside their regular per Mem as soldiers. The building they laid out was of yellow pine timbers, cross-locked at tho corners. It was about 180 feet square, and the walls were from 12 to 14 feet high. About the interior were built at various intervals against the outer walls, houses facing in wardly, their roofs running up to near the top of tne walls. This left a large open space In the centre, and the intention was to build the houses so strong that the gar rison would be "as safe if the enemy got Inside the parade as if they were without the fort". So vigorously was the work carried for ward that by April 1 .It was so far completed as probably to be occupied with a garrison of 3S officers and men, to whom by April 21 were added 11 friendly Indians. These friendly Indians were of the Manua, Scata- cook and Hudson river tribes, who were more or less opposed to tho Eastern and Northern Indians like the Pcnobscots and the St. Francis and French Indians. It was hoped to utilize them as scouts and If need'be as warriors against the pronounced enemies northward and eastward, and to some small extent they were so used, hut experience proved that their fidelity could not be depended on In an emergency, and that they could be hired to desert tho post, If not, indeed, to take up arms against it. The fort was built near enough to the river to command, or at least to make dangerous, tho passage by it in cuioes. The fprt was supplied with a well for drinking purposes. but tbo garrison in general went to the riv er side lor water for wasiung, doing which they were sometimes in hostile periods fired at frpm the other side. Tho bullets were generally wasted, Indeed, lodging in tho bank. But they must have been consider ably numerous, for In my boyhood In this place It was a not unfreouent thing after a freshet had disturbed the soil along the river bank to find them washed out to view. I have, indeed, one or more such In my own possession. The fort was first fur nished with four small swivel guns, called pateraros, to which was afterward added what was called "the great cannon," used as a signal of danger to the neighborhood. By May, 1724, Lieutenant Dwight asked permission to bring his family to the fort ; and In June of the same year provision was made for a chaplain, Itev. Daniel Dwight of Northampton, a younger brother of the lieutenant, wiio was 10 nave a salary of a hundred pounds a year. The fort was built none too soon. On June 2j tho friendly Indians belonging to the garrison found a fresh Indian trail of the enemy, and following it discovered about 40 war riors, whom, however, because of their su perior force they did not dare to attack. The enemy hovered about the region all summer at intervals, killing two men at Northfield, and five at Bulland, Mass,, In the month of August. On the eleventh of October tne fort was attacked by an estimated force of 70 Indians who succeeded In killing four or five of its defenders, but were repulsed with some loss. The following year, 172., three men, Eb- enezer Sheldon, Thomas Colton and Jere miah English, the latter a friendly Indian, were killed in June about a mile north of the present village of Greenfield; and in July a party returning from work in Deer field North Meadows were fired on, and Timothy Childs and Samuel Allen were wounded. Anxious to find out the enemy's whereabouts Lieut. Dwight, on September 2;, sent out a scouting party of six west ward to look for signs. Halting to take re freshments they were fired upon by 14 Indian- warriors, Thomas Bodertha and John Pease were killed. Edward Baker, John Farrar and Nathaniel Chamberlain were captured. Only one, Anthony Wlers bury, escaped safe to the fort. The death of Sebastian Hasle.the Jesuit missionary, at Norridgewock, musket In hand, among his dusky warriors put an end to this brief but disastrous war. It had cost the frontier settlements from the Penobscot sound to Deerfield rlver,200 men and $240,000. Basle was a man who ought to have achieved bet ter things. lie was a scholar, a man of great natural endowments, and he left a dictionary of the Norridgewock Indian lan guage which is now preserved In the library of Harvard college. Believed a while of military alarm Fort Dummer now became for a period the scene of quiet events. Here was born within the stockade on May 27, 1720, Timothy D wight, the father of the future first President Dwight of Yale college, and great-grand father of the present president. An exten slve trading post was established for traffic with the Northern Indians, who found it more for their advantage oftentimes to bring their furs and other commodities to this market than to the French trading posts. A truck house outside the fort was built in 1727 for the accommodation of this traffic, and subsequently a house for the shelter and convenience of the trading sav ages. Capt. Joseph Kellogg succeeded Capt. Dwight as fort commander and truck master, and for about 12 years Hcv. Eben- ezer Hinsdale was chaplain. A tariff of profits was established by the general court for sales at the truck-house: ".jU per cent advance on rum, sugar and molasses and 2-1 per cent on European goods." These rates were afterward considerably lessened as trade fell oil. On the 5th and 0th of October, 1737, a friendly conference of the Caughnawaugah Indians and commission ers appointed by Massachusetts met at the fort to renew a treaty made some years be fore, speeches were made, blankets and wampum were exchanged, healths were drunk, King Ueorge was toasted, the death of Gov. Belchei's wife was deplored, and the assembly broke up In amity aud good nature. But the vicissitudes of European politics did not suffer peace long to last. Strange that the deatli of an estimable gentleman known as Charles VI of Germany on Octo her 20, 1740, at .13 years of age, of a gall stone in his liver, at a remote European vll lage, should have found consequences of fire and sword here in this wilderness. But so It was. European quarrels about suc cession to the vacated throne threw France and England once more Into strife, and by 1744 the fight over the claims of Maria Theresa to the Austrian sovereignty, be came the fight of Frenchman and English man along every frontier line of ortii America. In forecast of impending dangers Sart- well's fort, or more properly block house, had been built a little while before this. just below here. Up at Charlestown a fort ress of more important character had been built in what was called Township Number Four. Over the river, nearly opposite Sart well's blockhouse, Itev. Ebenezer Hinsdale built a fort which was called by his name. A small stockade was also built at the great meadow In Putney. Fort Dummer itself was at this time materially strengthened, and Col. Joslah Wlllard placed in command. A defence of sharpened pickets 20 feet high was built round the enclosure, sentinel boxes were set up on the corners, several new swivel guns were added to the anna ment, and two very comfortable strong- houses were set up inside called "province houses" for the use of the higher officers. Col. Joslah Wlllard held command, with the exception of a short period of five months, for 10 years, from 1740 to 1750. He was succeeded for about four years by his son, Major Joslah Wlllard, jr., and he for a somewhat uncertain time by Nathan Wlllard. It was during the commandancy of Col. Wlllard the elder that the map of the fortification, which bears date 1749, and which is circulated here today, was appar ently uratled. After the war was declared the Massa chusetts governor undertook the construc tion of a line of fortifications extending irom fori uummer to winiamstown. Fort Massachusetts was In Adams; Fort I'elham in Howe; Fort Shirley In Heath; Bice's and Cogran's fort in Colrain, and Sheldon's fort in Bernardston. Sol diers were kept scouting on tho line be tween tho fortrcssses, and large dogs were trained to scent the trails of the Indians. The government of Massachusetts offered a bounty for Indian scalps, and the war became to a, considerable extent not one of necessary pattiotlc defence, hut one of eagerness to get the offered prizes. A class of men were brought Into the service who were familiar with wood-craft and forest ways; who knew Indian methods. and who valued an Indian just as they vameu a won lor the money got on his head. The first Indian attack In this vicinity was at the Ureat .Meadows In I'utney, when William Phlps was killed and scalped on tho 5th of July, 1745. On the 10th of the same month Joslah Fisher suf fered a like experience at what Is now Keene. On October 12, the stockade at Great Meadows was attacked, but the enemy were repulsed; Nchemlah Howe, however, who was cutting wood about SO rods from the stockade, was taken captive, and Joseph Rugg, also outside the stock ade, was killed and his head stuck up on a pole. Similar assaults were made shortly after on Forts Shirley and Pelham, and a desperate one at Number 4 on the 4th of April, 1747, when the garrison wasbeseiged three days and thousands of shots were fired at tho fort, with, however, the loss of only one man wounded of the garrison. It was In admiration of the defence at this post that Sir Charles Knowles, who was at the time In Boston, sent a sword to Capt. Stevens, who commanded tho fort, and for Sir Charles the place when Incor porated was called Charlestown. On the 29th of March, 1748, the enemy came upon a party of , men working in the field just outside Fort Dummer, and Lieut. John Sargent, .Corporal Joshua Wells and Private Moses Cooper were killed, and Daniel Sargent was captured and taken to Canada. On the 13th of May of this year some of the Fort Dummer garrison par ticipated In a scouting party up as far as Crown Point; encountering on their re turn somewhere In the township of Lon donderry or Jamaica, at a point where they made a halt and were engaged In shooting salmon, a party of the enemy who had se cretly followed them. Five of the party Scrgt. John Hey wood, Sergt. Isaac Taylor, and Privates John Dodd, Daniel aiann and Joseph Severance were killed outright. Joseph Pelty was wounded and left be hind and was never heard of afterwards. On the 10th of June a party of 14 men, on their way from Hinsdale to Fort Dummer, fell into ambuscade and Jonathan French, Joseph Richardson and John Fish were killed and William Blckford mortally wounded. Six others, Henry Stevens, Benjamin Osgood, William Blanchard, Joel Johnson, Matthew Wyman and Mo ses Perkins, were carried prisoners to Canada. The most considerable action of the year In this vicinity occurred in Marl borough on Sunday, Juue 21, between a scouting party led from Number 4 by Capt. Humphreys Hobbs, and a party of the enemy led by a half-breed Indian named Sackett. In this engagement Ilobbs's men were so well posted that he lost only nine killed and four wounded. The enemy, however, suffered severely. They were estimated at four times the force of the English, and the battle was accounted one of the most severe of the war in this region. Hobbs and the resi due of his force took refuge In Fort Dum mer the day after the fight. About 18 days later, half a mile from Fort Dummer, across the river, ten men who were on their way from Northfield to Keene to strengthen the garrison there, were fell upon by a party of French and Indians and mostly captured. Effort was success fully made to cover the flight of two of them who ran down to the river bank under the guns of the fort; but the garri son was not strong enough to send over an attacking party to give fight to the Indians. It was in view of these repeated alarms that Mr. Gardner, chaplain of the fort, preached In July of that year from the text in Revelation in, 3; "If, therefore, thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." The peace of Aix-la-Chappelle conclud ed on Oct. 18, 174S, and proclaimed In this country in January, 1749, brought quiet a while to the frontiers. The garrison at Fort Dummer was reduced to ten or 15 men, and hope began to revive that men might cultivate their fields In safety and that women might tuck their children In bed without terror of the midnight war whoop and tomahawk. So confident was this anticipation of better times that a general movement for town incorporation was inaugurated, and Governor Denning Wentworih of New Hampshire, to which province Vermont territory was then sup posed to belong, issued grants for town ships to Bennington in 1749; to Halifax in 1750; to Wilmington and Marlboro in 1751 ; to Rockingham and Westminster In 1752; and to Brattleborough, Townshend, Putney and Vernon in 1753. But, once moie, the fond hopes of the long-tried frontier settlers were doomed to disappointment. The formal peace of Aix-la-Chappelle was for tills region nominal only. Indian war parties hovered round the frontier and ten years more are yet to pass beiore actual quietude arrlveo. In some parts of the country these ten years were marked by as bloody conflicts and as savage atrocities as had blackened the page of all the long records of Indian warfare hitherto. In this legion, now especially under our consideration, it may he suf ficient to mention only a few particulars. On the 30th of August, 1754, the Indians broke into the house of James Johnson at Number 4 and carried him and his wife and three children and four other farmers to Canada. On the second day of this march Mrs. Johnson was delivered of a daughter, whom the sad mother named Captive. The Indians were, however un wontedly kind to mother and babe and carried the mother on a litter till she was able to ride a horse. The journey, however. was long and provisions gave out; and the horse was killed for food ; the baby itself being kept alive by sucking bits of the raw llesh. The baby, however, lived and grew up to be the wife of Col. George Kimball of Cavendish. On the 27th of June,1755,a more serious affair occurred at Brldgeman's Stockade in Vernon, a little distance below Fort Dum mer. On the coming of this day Caleb Howe, Benjamin Garfield, Helklah Grout and two of Caleb Howe s sons were re turning from a day's work in a field near the river, when they were fired on by a party of Indians in ambush. Howe was mortally wounded and scalped. Garfield was drowned In attempting to swim across the river. Grout dodged into the woods and escaped. The two Howe boys were cap tured. Meantime the anxious families In the Stockade who had heard the tiring watched for the return of the missing members. Hearing a knocking at the gate they sup posed their friends had arrived. But on removing the bolts, In poured their ene mies. The three families, Mrs. Howe, Mrs. Grout, and Mrs. Garfield, 14 persons in all, were taken prisoners and carried to Canada. Mrs. Howe and three of her children were afterward redeemed. Mrs. Howe married Mr. Amos Tute, and dying lies buried in the Vernon graveyard under a stone which bears the following inscription, familiar to many here: Mrs. Jemima Tute Succe.ively relict of Messrs, William l'blpps, Caleb Howe and Amos Tute. Tlie two lln-i were killed by the Indian. rhlpi. July Mb, IN J Howe, Juue Jfllh, 1715. When Howe was killed she and her children Then seven in number Were Carried Into Captivity The Oldest daughter went to France And was married to a French Gentleman. The youngest was torn from lit r Breast And iierished with Hunger. ISy the aid or some benevolent Uentleman And her own personal Heroism She recovered the rest. She had two by her last Husband Outlived both hlin and them And died March 7tb,lb05, Aged 63 Having iiassed through more vicissitudes ' And endured more hardships Than any of her Contemporaries. No more can savage foes annoy s Nor aught her wide spread fame destroy. Her husband, Caleb Howe, who was wounded and scalped on the afternoon of Juno 27, was found still living next morn ing; taken across the river to Hinsdale's fort where he died, apparently on tho 20th. His grave stone still stands recording his death at 32 years of age. A mouth later than tho Howe tragedy, four men of Hins dale's fort were surprised cutting poles for pickets round their stockade. One was killed, and his body cut open and other wise mutilated : one was captured, and two escaped to the fort. Tho "Great Gun" at Fort Dummerwas fired,but before help from Northfield could arrive, the savages having killed another inhabitant, John Alexander, escaped. A report at this period mado to the Governor by Nathan Wlllard In com mand at Fort Dummer, states that tho Indians were continually lurking in the vicinity and that during that summer, up to August 10, persons had been killed or captured close by. The formal declaration of war between England and France in 1700 hardly in creased, at least In this region, the perils of life In the vicinity of Fort Dummer. Indeed It perhaps lessened It, as the garri son was increased. But raids of the sav ages were reported all about them. Two men were killed and two captured at country farms In Greenfield, Aug. 12, and two men were fired at on the 20th between Hinsdale and Northfield, but fortunately escaped. On March 0, of the following i it i year, 1758, the house of Captain Fairbank Moore on the West river in the town of Brattleboro, where now is Col. Richards Bradley's farmhouse, was attacked at midnight. Moore and It's son were killed and scalped by their own fireside. Mrs. Moore, the wife of the younger Moore, who had four children, one three weeks old, aroused by the demoniac war-whoops of the savages, sprang out of bed, and nastily urew on three pair oi capt. Aioore s long woolen stockings. Well that she did. Snatching up her baby aud her next young est child she tried to escape. But she was overtaken and with her children set out on the long tramp to Fort Tlcondcroga. Happily they all arrived there, and were thence taken to Montreal, whence they were ultimately redeemed in 1702. In 1849 the bones of Capt. Moore and his son were unearthed in what was then Mr. Newman Allen's barn-yard. One of the skulls contained the ounce bullet which killed Its victim. This seems to have been the last Indian tragedy in tills immediate vicinity; though at remote points the con flict continued, on a larger scale, and at tended by the larger circumstances of war, till the capture of Tlcondcroga and Crown Point in 1750, and the conquest of Canada in 1700 brought at last an end to the bloody Indian tragedies of this harassed and wearied land. I shall not at all attempt to trace the further story of the now useless fort. Its interest was gone. No longer was it as for years It had been, the city of refuge for lleelng fugitives from the savage foe; a fortress of defence for settlers near its substantial walli, it gradually sank Into the uselessness and decay of age. Its big pine timbers slowly rotted away. In my boyhood, 50 years ago, its outline was dis tinctly discoverable; and later still per haps even now some ridges of earth mark the course of some embankment raised In aid of its greater security. But now, I suppose, except for an occasional bullet or arrow head turned up by the plow, or washed out of the river bank by the spring freshets, little or nothing re mains to remind the visitor to these pre cincts of the great perils this fortress in the wilderness was designed to avert; of the heroic courage with which it was built and defended; of the bloody tragedies en acted in the near vicinity, and the awful sufferings and sorrow of the victims of those days of terror and distress. Nevertheless, well may it be for us, fallen on our quieter and peaceful times, to remind ourselves that these things have been, and that, spite of all the appearances of smiling nature and clvillzition and com fort about us, they have been here. Surely it becomes us who have entered Into the results of the sacrifices and sufferings of those who have gone before us, and who have made possible the comfort aud quie tude in which we meet today, to drop the tear of sympathy aud lift the plaudits of admiration, for those who sulTered or died so heroically in our behalf. Fort Snrtwcll. Its History, MirrriuiiilliiKu anil Associa tion!, Mllll k l'rrllliilnarj- Historical Sketch of the Tnnn of Vernon. IHon. M. I. Heed's lr before the I'ocumtuck Valley Memorial Atsociatlon. It is a singular coincidence that this meeting of the I'ocumtuck Valley Memo rial association should very appropriately occur on tho 200th anniversary of the day when the first conveyance by deed, of lands within the borders of Vermont, to English speaking people was signed. Therefore, it seems fitting that some account of the va rious transactions by which the bounda ries of the present town of Vernon, which is a part of the lauds conveyed by that deed, were ultimately established may not be foreign to the purposes of this meeting. The country occupied by the Squak heag tribe of Indians was just north of that of the Pocumtucks and extended as far north as the little river called Wan- asquatok (now Broad brook), which emp ties into tue Connecticut three-fourths of a mile south of Fort Dummer. The name Sqttakheag, which is a contraction of a more complex Indian name, undoubtedly. meant when translated into English, a spearing place of fish. This interpreta tion is couurmed by the fact that around the many small Islands and at the mouths of the small streams flowing into the Con necticut here, were to be found the best fishing and spearing places for salmon That this vicinity was unquestionably the home of a numerous and prosperous tribe for very many years is strongly evidenced by the presence of large quantities of In dian relics, remains of granaries or under ground barns and their burial places, many of which have been discovered within the present town of Vernon. The first at tempt at an English settlement at Squak- heag was made in it)7i, when a petition was made to the general court of Massa chusetts in May, that year, for a grant of lands, signed by John layman and 32 oth crs which was not successful. A renew al of tho petition the next spring was sue cessful and May 15, 1072, an order was ob tained and a committee appointed, and William Clarke, William Allys and Isaac Graves went to Squakheag and laid out a township, the northerly bound of which on the west side of the Connecticut, was the river wanasquatok and three-fourths of a mile wide on the west side of the river. three and three-fourths of a mile wide on the easterly side of the rlvcr,and eight miles long, 'l his township was called Northfield and included most of what is now Vernon, Hinsdale, Winchester and Northfield. King Phillips war followed soon after, and the settlers who were not killed, aban doned the place, but returned with others about 1085, and two years later, Aug. 13, 1087, the deed to which we have relerrcd, was signed by Nawelet, chief of the Squak heags, Gongequa, Asplambemct, Haddara wansett and M eganlchcha. It conveyed to Wm. Clarke and John King, agents for the original proprietors of Northfield, a tract of land bounded north by the river Wanas quatok, or Broad brook, and south by the river called "Cowas," now Mill or Web ster brook, which is on the easterly side of Great river (near Northfield bridge), and six miles wide on either side of the Con necticut, thus including all the lands of the Squakheags in this sale. The wit nesses to this deed were Jonathan Hunt. Preserved Clapp, Wm. Clarke, jr., Peter ueiuro, josepu Atuerton ana Isaac Chauncey. The first named was the an cestor of Lieut.-Gov. Jonathan Hunt and also of Col. John Hunt, present proprietor of Dummer farm. The westerly part of Vernon, which was not included In Northfield, was granted by tho provincial government of Massachu setts in 1730 to Samuel Hunt ond others, descendants of the men who were In the "Falls fight" at Turners Falls In 1070. The boundary between the provinces of Massachusetts Bay And New Hampshire was a subject in controversy for many years, but It was finally decreed, Aug. 5, 1740, by the king In council, that the line should be a due westerly course from a point three miles north of Pawtucket Falls, and In pursuance of this order Ills Excel lency Gov. Jonathan Belcher caused a line to be run by surveyors, and one Richard Hazenln the year 1741 run the line be tween said provinces on the westerly part, and this survey, although It was very In definitely marked or described, has been relied upon as the authentic boundary. By this survey the boundary was placed much farther south In this locality than had been previously considered, and being too Indefinitely marked subsequent sur veys, although designing to accept tue Hazeu survey, have varied and It was not until 1602 that any steps were taken to have this line legally and permanently es tablished and marked. In that year the Vermont legislature caused the appoint ment of a commission with this end in view. The states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts also appointed commission ers ond It may reasonably be expected, as this commission Is still at work, that the vacillating state line may ultimately be come fixed. The boundary between New York and New Hampshire by decree of King George HI., July 20, 1704, was fixed upon the west bank of the Connecticut river, and the north and west lines of Vernon were es tablished by Phlneas Munn in 1777. So by reason of the various claims and con tests Vernon, or some part of it, has been called Squakheag, Northfield and Fall town gore, Hampshire county, Mass., Hinsdale, Cheshire county, New Hamp shire, Hinsdale, Cumberland county, New York, Hinsdale, Cumberland county, Ver mont, Hinsdale, Windham county, Ver mont, and since 1802 Vernon, Windham county, Vermont. For this name we are Indebted to the good taste of the wife of Hon. Jonathan Hunt. Mr. Hunt being the representative to the General Assem bly In 1S02 he was Instructed to change the name of the town to Uuntstown. Mrs. Hunt demurred and suggested Vernon, un der which name it was incorporated, and wo understand it to be the only town in the state named by a woman. In 1737 Joslah Sartwell built a fortified house known as Sartwell's fort, two miles south of Fort Dummer and on the site of the house now owned and occupied by F. W. Warner. This fort was built of hewn timbers and was 3S feet long, 20 feet wide, with lower and upper floor, the upper sto ry so projecting that from openings or port holes constructed there the Inmates could guard and defend the approach and en trance to the fort. This building was owned by Joslah Sartwell and bis descend ants about 100 years, and in 1S37 It was taken down by Hon. Ebenezer Howe and replaced by the farm house now standing, and in which mauy of the timbers from the old fort were used and still remain. The line of lineal descendants from Jo slah Sartwell, who occupied this old his toric place, Is, 2d, his daughter Jemima, who married for her second husband Caleb Howe; 3d, their son, Moses Howe; 4th, Ebenezer Howe; 5th, Hon. Ebenezer Howe, jr.; Oth, Col. Arad Howe; 7th, Warren M. Howe, who with his cousin, Geo. E. Howe, a joint owner, sold the property- in the spring of 1S95, after a family ownership of more than 100 years from the original grant. Fort Brldgman was a similar, but larger structure than Fort Sartwell, and was more secure, being protected by a lice of pickets or stockades, and was built the same year, 1737, by Orlando Bridgman, and was lo cated about 100 rods southeast of Fort Sart well and about 15 rods cast of the present residence of Geo. H. Hubbard. June 24, 1740, a party of 20 Indians attacked this fort and burned it, killed Wm. Bobbins and James Parker, wounded two others who were at work In the meadow near by, and took John Beemau and Daniel Howe prisoners, Howe killing one of the Indians in the fight. The fort was soon rebuilt, and more strongly than before, and except Fort Dummer was the only place consid ered secure from the treacherous attack of the French and Indians. But the next year, Oct. 22, 1747, a party of 35 French and Indians, under command of Ensign de Levy, from Fort Frederick, on a scouting expedition, chanced to come upon tills fort while unoccupied, and it was again plun dered and burned, and one Jonathan Sart well taken prisoner near by. Again the sturdy pioneers rebuilt the fort and sought to make It still more secure, and for eight years it proved to be sulliciently strong for its intended service, but a third disaster befel this unfortunate place on June, some historians say July, 27, 1755. At this time Caleb Howe, Hllkiah Grout and Benj. Gaflield wer returning to the fort from their work in the meadows, and were surprised and fired upon by Indians who were in ambush in the ravine just north of the fort. Howe was on horseback with two of his children behind him. A rifle ball brought both horse and rider to the ground, breaking the thigh of Howe. An Indian then thrust his spear through his body, tore off his scalp and left him. Gaf field and Grout lied toward Fort Hinsdale, across the river, hut Gaflield was drowned in crossing. The Indians then took the two children of Howe and went to the fort, deceiving the inmates, who, thinking their husbands had returned from their work, opened the gate and were rushed upon by the Indians, overpowered and taken prisoners, 14 per sons in all, viz., Mrs Jemima Howe and seven children who lived at Fort Sartwell, but on account of the greater security of this fort were here while the men were away; Mrs. Submit Grout and three chil dren, and Mrs. Eunice Gaflield and child. The fort was plundered and again burned. Howe was found next morning, alive, by a party from Fort Hinsdale, but lived only a few hours. nis wife and her seven children were taken to Crown Point, thence to St. Johns, then to St. Francis, where a council of the principal warriors of the St. Francis tribe and tho chief sachem was convened, and Mrs. Howe was delivered to an old squaw. She remained with the Indians about a year and was sold to a French gentleman named Saccapee who kindly treated her, and with whom she remained until 1759, when by her perseverance, indomitable courage and heroism she succeeded in ob taining her ransom with three of her chil dren, lor whom the sum of 2700 llvres was advanced by Col. Schuyler, who was also a prisoner in Canada, but whose Influence with Gov. Vandrevllle was measured by his rank, and whose intercession in behalf of many of the captives was of much avail. Maj. Israel Putnam, who was taken prisoner in August, 1758, was released by exchange at this time and accompanied Mrs. Howe on her return home. She re turned to Canada later and finally obtain ed the release and return of two more of her children. The story of the "fair captive" shows us that she was possessed of wonderful powers of endurance, as well as the most remarkable fortitude and courage, which enabled her to endure the most excessive suffering and torture that the savage mind could devise and lnfilct, and to return to her home still in the full vigor of maturity to lead to Its close a life mora full of va ried scenes, hairbreadth escapes and thrill Ing romance than even the vivid imagina tion of Brattieboro's gifted daughter (the distinguished writer of fiction, Mary Wil klns), can picture. Among the many descendants of this fam ily, who established and maintained their early home amid such trials, can be found many who have become distinguished for their sterling qualities of industry and Integrity, coupled with unusual abilities, and the nametof Howe has been transmitted untarnished from generation to generation for two and a half centuries, non. Eben ezer Howe, lately of Vernon, and his sons, are remembered as men who filled many positions of honor and trust with fidelity. Brattleboro is proud In honoring one of her daughters today a descendant of the fair captive Mrs. Mary Howe Lavln, the tal ented and widely celebrated singer. Caleb Howe of Fort Sartwell was the son of Ne hemlah Howe, who was taken captive by the Indians at Putney Great Meadows Oct. 11, 1745, and died in Canada In 1747. His father was Samuel, son of John, who settled In Sudbury, Mass., In 1038, mak ing a lineage of nine generations, six if vhom lived at Fort Sartwell and no less than 12 members of which suffered death or captivity by the brutality of the Indi ans. On account of the burning of the man uscripts and records of the town In 1797 with the Brldgman house, which stood on the site now occupied by the Hubbard homestead, it is difficult to trace much of the early history of the town and the gen ealogies of many of the early settlers. Among the corporators of the town of Hinsdale in 1753 we recognize the names of Joseph Stebblns, Benonl Wright and Hezeklah Elmore, some of whose descend ants are now prosperous citizens of Ver non. From Benonl Wright our present veteran town clerk and postmaster, Addi son Whlthed, Is a descendant of the sixth Seneration. He Is also a descendant of ohn Whlthead, one of the historic Bos ton "tea party" of Dee. 10, 1773. Mrs. Whlthed Is a lineal descendant from Jo seph Stebblns, also of Col. John Hawks of Deerfield colonial fame. These old forts long ago disappeared and their occupants were nearly ail laid to rest in the burial ground near by, where their epitaphs, In the quaint rhymes of the Rev. Bunker Gay, chiseled upon their slate headstones, reveal somewhat their promi nent traits of character and the closing scenes of their lives, as well as the poeti cal aspirations of the first settled minister In this vicinity. There are still fortes In Vernon, the principal one being agriculture, engaged In which the good husbandmen persistent ly labor and obtain the necessary equip ments to enable themselves and their fam ilies to live in the most desirable of all forts, which is corn-fort, in which they are well fortified against their worst enemies pride and poverty, arrogance and wealth. The Poem. It)- Mrs. Jennie Stebblns Smith oflirat tlehoro. The poem opens with stanzas which recognize the beauty of the natural scenery of the Con necticut valley, followed by references to the struggles of the settlers with the Indians, to the part talcen by Vermonters against British tyranny, and to their brare struggle to secure their own Independence. 'TIs well Vermontand Massachusetts Today unite In celebration; And trace on old Fort Dummer's site The lines of fortification. On Massachusetts roll It stood ISefore the boundary altercation. From the good old Massachusetts Bay The order came for its ere.-tlon. Where western hills and old Wantastiquet Approach and guard the situation. On lands "Equivalent." as directed. Seemed this a fit and wise location. I.Ike sentry proud, for years It stool. ' To watch the treacherous northern foe. And puard from French and Indian scout The thrifty growing towns below. Younger by near a century Than are her nearby sister states, Vermont has less of ancien treasure In way of relics, legends, dates. Yet many a name through long decades. With tale of valor or of dread, Iteccrded or traditional. Now wakens memories long dead. In fort and township lives the name Of Massachusetts' governor: While to our own fair town was given The name of one a purchaser Of lands called then 'Equivalent" A Loyalist In years after. The tragedy of Brldgman's fort. The names of Sartwell and of Howe, The story of the captive fair. Are held In Teneratlon now. And many a one today, with pride Akin to that of British peers. Ancestral lineage traces down From those New England pioneers. The years have gone with rapid flight. More than a century lias passed Since British fleet and gunboat sailed And left our country free at last. How grand the record of the years! How blest this union of the states! In growth. In wealth, in power. In laws, And In her noble magistrates. We turn with retrospective eye To note some changes of the years. I'm sure tbey would astound the gaze Of old-time prophets and of seers. For could our ancestors, as once, Remanded be to this old planet. They scarce would know the face at all 'Mid all these piles of brick find granite. Could they light down some busy day, (On Boston Common, we will say,) And see the sights and hear the sounds And peer Into the new Subway, And watch the bustling, hurrying crowd, More people her 1 think thev'd say Than when the Red Coats spoiled the play Of the Boston boys on that winter's day. And what are these? I hear tbem ask As the electrics swiftly pass, Loaded with people young and old. But what the force that moves this mass Along the crowded thoroughfare? Ah, times have changed, we quick reply. The motor rules the road today, The power is electricity. Of all the means of locomotion, (It fairly makes the brain to reel) The strangest Is that queer invention The modern cyclist calls a "Wheel." Old men and boys, women and girls. Are all affected by the craze A sight that generations past Would fairly shock and daze. The minister and deacon, too, Delight to mount their own pet wheel And cycle through the country round. Then say how well It makes them feel. The fair Prlscillas of today Are just as fond of spinning. As was the Dymouth maiden When young Alden was her heart a-winnlng, , Thflr wheels are quite unlike, 'tis true. The yarn of differing texture; Hut fove and romance, just the same, Thrill every heart we'll venture. As we approach the century's close, A novel figure comes to view. TIs of a woman, strong, athletic. No reproduction. It Is true. She swims and rows, fishes and hunts, And Is denominated "New." She. like her brother, goes to college, Is just devoted to the classics; And Euclid is the veriest pleasure. She dotes on higher mathematics. She proudly strives, oft bears away The honors on graduation day; Then studies medicine or law, Or takes the platform If she may. She's variously estimated, Some think her altogether rude In manners, dress and altitude. Others see in her all that's good, 'Twere not in force of circumstance, A woman's nature e'er to change; And cultivation of the brain. From home ties never could estrange; Yet sometimes will the question rise, If onward goes this revolution. What will the coming product be In feminine evolution? And no-, as if to crown the age. This age of wonder and progression. Appear the cathode rays, followed By theories a long procession, A boon 'tis said they surely are To doctors, patients, not a few. No longer guessing, diagnosing, They'll read their patients through and through. Our eyes are to the future bright When thought as matter shall be read. Then lovers' hearts will all be known Before as after they are wed. And business firms will hall with joy That day of science in perfection; No more In oflloa, bank or store, There'll be embezzling and deception. Ah, then the crank will take a rest, For copyrights will not avail; We'll turn the rays on Kipling's brain, Oranother's following la hut train, And straightway write a first-class tale. Bo time moves on with ceaseless flight, Years to decades, decades to centuries roll Bearing the record of our Uvea. Sum of the units makes the whole; Then In least things let each be true To the higher instincts of the soul. Of honor and uprightness, too, Ood speed our nation to the goal A .-i . . i I a. .Wm&a , --Aajliilrfai Mir ( S I , i :..L M.. JfemMi . -m -Hi- i -"-"- r" Ill ii 1 1 nHH m flTTiii i .