The history of the White mountains, from the first settlement of upper Coos and Pequaket

Front matter

THE HISTORY

OF THE

WHITE MOUNTAINS,

Preface

In reproducing the early History of the White Mountains, their discovery and settlement, written by Mrs. Ethan Allen Crawford, we are delightfully carried back to the days of our boyhood, when we first visited those grand old Cathedrals and Temples of Nature, — to the days of that freedom of thought and -life so full of sunshine and hope, which followed our young footsteps among the many changing scenes of grandeur then undiscovered among those "Everlasting Hills," — days, in truth, full of " romance and reality," when the world seemed but the great ideal and central unfolding in one mighty volume, the wonderful gifts and glories of the great Creator's hands. The History of the White Mountains at this period forms one of the most interesting subjects of modern times, and thousands have read, who have never visited them, that most charmingly descriptive and interesting volume, written and published in 1859, by that patriot Christian scholar and statesman, the Rev. Thomas Starr King. It was the writer's highest privilege to be a companion of Mr. King for several seasons among the mountains, and whether exploring among cliffs and crags, or midst the wildwood passes, or following stream by stream with rod and line, 'twas all the same, his great heart and soul was the embodiment of nature; living he breathed it, and dying has left its fragrance on the desert air. We can but hope that this best of all White Mountain histories may ere long be republished, to more extensively perpetuate his memory among the scenes he loved so dearly.

The present volume, which we present to the public, was written in the old stage days of John Smith, the Knight of the Whip, who for nearly forty years drove his elegant Concord coach from Conway to Portland, and who is now living, a hale and hearty bachelor, nearly eighty-five years old, at his adopted, home, Fryeburg, — in the days of Abbott, Thorn & Co.'s line of stages from Center Harbor to Conway, and through the White Mountains, — in the days, in short, when occurred those events of history, that, like the "Crawford," the "Rosebrooks," the '• Willey " families, belong alone to the past. We shall endeavor, in our next edition, to give a general history of the early settlements of the towns comprising the Upper Coos, Gorham, Lancaster, Littleton, Colebrook, Whitefield, Bethlehem, Conway, Bartlett and Jackson in New Hampshire ; also of the early settlement of the towns comprising the Pequaket country, and the writer's native town of Fryeburg,

G PREFACE.

Maine. We shall also give the history of the building of the Boston, Concord and Montreal railroad into the mountains, the Portland and Ogdensburg through the Crawford Notch, the Mount Washington Turnpike from the Glen House on the east side, to the summit, and the Mount Washington railroad from Marshfield on the west side to the summit, together with whatever events have occurred which will interest the tourist to the White Mountains since the edition was published in 1846. In this edition we give a very perfect likeness of Abel Crawford, " the Patriarch of the Hills," copied by Conant of this city, from the original portrait by Chester Harding in 1846, and now in the possession of Mrs. Abby Davis Bemis, his granddaughter, of Melrose Highlands, to whom the writer is greatly indebted for the loan of it for present use. The likeness is strikingly correct, and will be recognized by many who nearly one-half century ago saw the original work in the parlor of the old Crawford House. r "Old Crawford" was the first man who ever rode a horse up Mount Washington in 1840, then seventy-five years of age. He died in 1852, aged eighty-five years, and the little mound just this side of Bemis' station marks his last resting-place, while grand old Mount Crawford is his fitting monument.

I feel sure that the pleasure-seeking and beauty-loving travelers of this generation, as cosily seated in one of the triumphs of modem civilization, an observation car, they glide comfortably over steel rails far up the sides of the mighty mountains, will be glad to hearken to the echo of a voice from the misty past, a voice telling the story of these grand and magnificent scenes, telling it not in fine, modern phrase, but in olden, homely, quaint speech, yet full of rugged strength and earnest meaning, like the character of the pioneers of the mountains, like the mountains themselves.

It was my original intention to have added to Mrs. Crawford's history a modern history of the White Mountains, but owing to the failure on the part of various representatives of vicinities to supply me with the necessary data, I am unable to do so in this edition.

A knowledge gained by a close acquaintance of forty-five years with the mountains and their visitors, of the lively interest and enthusiasm felt for everything relating to the White Mountain region, leads me to confidently expect the necessity of the next edition shortly, in which the modern history will be supplied.

"If thou art worn and hard beset With sorrows that thou wouldst forget, If thou wouldst read a lesson that will keep Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep, Go to the woods and hills ; no tears Dim the sweet look that nature wears."

H. W. Ripley.

Introduction

EDITION OF 1845.

It may be inquired by some persons, what has become of Crawford, the mountaineer, or Ethan of the hills. It will be the endeavor of the authoress of this tale to relate some of his misfortunes and adventures, briefly as possible, it being always a rule with him to make short stories and not go a great way round to effect a small thing.

This she has done, in his own language, as nearly as she could, for the information of others and the benefit of all of her own family whom she is desirous of bringing up and making useful members of society. These are all true statements of things which have taken place within her own knowledge, since she has been living with him. These facts he was unwilling at first to have published, as he did not wish to expose those who seemed to be against him. They have been stated in as moderate terms as possible, as we do not wish to injure the feelings even of enemies if we have any such. It will readily be seen why he was always involved in debt, if this history is read with candor and viewed in a right manner, as it

8 INTRODUCTION.

will show his misfortunes to have originated, first, in the fire, which left him a large sum in debt ; next, in being obliged to build almost every year, so far from common privileges ; and then, in the two freshets, which caused him a heavy loss of property. Taking all these things into consideration, it may be wondered how he succeeded in getting along as well as he did, under so many losses and disappointments. But, saith the poet : —

"Pigmies placed on alps, are pigmies still; And pyramids are pyramids in vales."

And, as the scriptures saith of men of ancient times : — "There were giants in those days."

pjioipf of the White iv[oui\itaiw0.

Chapter I. The R0sebr00ks

Hannah Hanes was born in Brimfield, Mass., August 3, 1744, and at an early age she experienced religion, at the age of seventeen, I think she told me; and this religion supported her through many trying scenes of life; neither did it forsake her in the time of death.

Eleazer Rosebrook was born in Grafton, Mass., 1747 ; was married to Hannah Hanes, in March, 1772, and there they lived until after the birth of their first child, a daughter ; and when this child was one year and a half old, he, like many other enterprising men, took his wife and child and came into what was then called Upper Coos (pronounced Quos), as far as Lancaster. Here they made a temporary stay, while he could look about and find a place to settle, until after the birth of their second child, a daughter. They then moved into the woods, up the Connecticut river, as far as Monadnuc or Monadnock, now incorporated as Colebrook, nearly thirty miles from any inhabitant, and without a road. They took the river, in some places, for a guide ; and in other places, they followed by marks of spotted trees, which were spotted for the purpose of shortening the distance, 1* 8

10 HISTOKY OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.

and then went into a little log cabin which had been previously prepared by Mr. Rosebrook, my grandfather.

Now, in the woods, making a beginning, setting an example for others to follow, suffering many hardships, and enduring many privations common to beginners in a new country, they did the best they could and tried to be content with their situation. They had provided themselves with a cow, the only favored domestic animal they possessed, and, having no pasture, or fence, she was at liberty to range about and go wherever she pleased. Many times did Mrs. Rosebrook, my grandmother, in the absence of her husband, shut her dear child up in her cabin and taking her infant in her arms, proceed into the woods in search of her cow, which she would be directed to find by the sound of her bell. Sometimes she was under the necessity of wading the river to get where the animal was, and then she would return home and find the deserted child safe, and, with the infant still in her arms, and followed by the other child, did she milk her cow. What courage must this woman have possessed, after being for many years among near relatives, such as parents, brothers, sisters and a numerous circle of friends and neighbors, who were near and dear to her, and changing them for the woods ! What a contrast between having a large society and now being confined entirely to these her lisping children ! What woman in these days could do this and not complain of its being hard or severe ? But she had made up her mind to be content and industrious in whatsoever situation she should be placed, and having a monitor within, which would say to her that although separated from earthly friends, yet she had one that would " stick closer than a brother," and while filled with these thoughts, her fears of wild beasts, and many other things, would flee from her.

Their living was principally upon animal food ; as God always provides suitably for every one who depends upon him and will apply himself industriously to obtain.

The woods were beautiful, and well stored with game, such as moose, deer, bears, etc., and hunters might, in a short time, kill and procure a sufficient quantity of this kind of food to supply their families a long time. Some of the flesh they would dry, and some they would smoke ; and, in various ways, did they preserve it and make good wholesome food of it.

One grand article wanted now was salt, which was scarce and hard to be got, and they could not well live without it, in this fresh and mountainous country. Some families suffered considerably, by their children having their necks swollen ; the disorder was attributed to the want of salt, which was afterward remedied, in a measure, by carrying them to the salt water, and giving them a plenty of salt fish to eat, and applying the skin of the salt fish to their necks ; but they never wholly outgrew this trouble. I have heard my grandfather say, that while living in Monadnock, at one time he went on foot to Haverhill, and bought one bushel of salt, and carried it home, through the woods, on his back, a distance, at that time, as they followed the river the most of the way, of not less than eighty miles. Can this same country produce a man now, with such wonderful power of muscle and strength of mind, to endure this and not complain of its being hard? But such was the courage of these hardy new beginners that they did not mind trifles. One circumstance I think worth recording.

One Major Whitcomb, who lived in this country, went on foot to what was then called Lower Coos, a distance of fifty miles from where he lived, and it was late in the spring ; as the people had planted, in that place, he had great difficulty in finding potatoes, which it was his whole business to obtain ; but he at length succeeded in getting one bushel of small ones, and these he carefully carried home, on his back. Those which would answer to cut, he cut in pieces, and then planted them. Afterward he counted the hills, and there were four hundred hills of these planted potatoes ; and, in the fall, he harvested them, and had one hundred bushels of good potatoes. Such was the plentiful increase of almost everything put into the ground. So much so, that this country was considered by people, two or three hundred miles distant, to be equal to the western country now ; and those who left their friends to come to this Upper Coos, (as they then termed it), were generally a robust and self-denying people ; and the friends whom they left behind thought much more of the distance, than we do now of going two or three thousand miles; and their expectations of seeing them again were much less than now ; which may well be imagined, when we reflect that it is more practicable to travel ten miles now, than it was to travel one then.

About this time was the revolutionary war between the United States and Great Britain. Grandfather volunteered his services, as he possessed the same independent spirit as our forefathers, and was determined as they were, to free our country or shed his own blood in its defence. Before lie started, fearing for the safety of his family should he leave them alone, lest they might' be destroyed by the enemy, he removed them down to Northumberland, and placed them in a sort of fort, which was then erected and guarded by the husbandmen ; they then embraced each other, and he took his leave of his family, having a firm belief that if he had entered rightly into a good cause, he should be prospered, and impressed with these feelings they separated, while his wife's prayers were constantly for him and the general good of the country. But here, in this situation, she did not remain long, having then the addition of another child, a son. A gentleman by the name of White, - kindly gave her an asylum in his house. As his wife was sickly, and not able to work, he gave her and her three children their board for what they could do ; which she considered a great kindness, as it gave her the privilege of supporting herself and family without being chargeable to her husband.

Mrs. Rosebrook remained where she was, on permission, until her husband came home. He then moved his family to Guildhall, Vermont, and having settled them there, returned to his duty for a number of months, discharging it with bravery, and encountering his foes, whenever he was called upon, like a brave soldier.

He and an officer were once sent to Canada as spies. They were suspected, and finding it out, they made good their retreat ; they were closely pursued by the enemy. Grandfather was aware of it, and they traveled night as well as day, until they came to a considerable stream of water ; here they built a fire, and then put it out, to make it appear as though they had been gone for some time ; they then waded the stream, and, w^en at a proper distance, struck up another fire and dried and rested themselves. The enemy came soon after, and found where they had made the fire, which they had extinguished, and, supposing they were out of their reach, returned ; as one of the pursuing party told him afterward ; and he likewise said, that he told them it was useless to follow further, as Mr. Rosebrook was a hunter and a woodsman, and knew better than to suffer himself to be overtaken.

Grandmother, while living in Guildhall, in the absence of her husband, was frequently visited by the Indians. As she was a woman, and alone, they seemed to make her habitation their place of resort, there being no man to resist them. By disposing of their furs, they would provide themselves with a plenty of what they called uncupy, or spirit, which they carried in bladders, taken from moose, and, at times, they would have a great drunk. This troubled her much, knowing their savage dispositions ; she, fearing she would offend them and incur their displeasure, bore with them ; at one time, however, she became decided and cleared her house of them, all but one, and she was so far gone under the influence of the spirit, or liquor, that she lay motionless upon the floor ; grandmother took her by the hair of her head, and with the strength of her feelings, dragged her out of doors ; and the squaw by being put in motion, came to herself so much that she had the use of her limbs ; she drew her tomahawk and aimed it at grandmother, who had just closed the door after her, when this tomahawk came so near as to take off the wooden thumb-piece from the door handle ; thus she providentially made her escape. Some time in the night, the squaw so far recovered as to move herself out of sight of the house ; and the next day, after getting sober and recollecting how ridicuously she had appeared, and what trouble she had caused the good woman the evening before, came back and freely asked her forgiveness, and likewise said she would not do the like again ; and she strictly kept her word.

Grandfather came home again, on permission, and as his wife had so much trouble with the natives, and her family being again increased, she did not well know how to have him return ; and as he had enlisted during the war, he hired a man to take his place, and remained at home to assist his helpmate in bringing up her young family. As they had begun to fulfil the commandment which was given to Adam, at the beginning, it became necessary she should have help ; and as a reward for his toils and hardships during his services, he was paid off in old Continental money, which proved a nuisance to him. I have now some of it still in my possession, which I keep in remembrance of his courage and valor.

Peace was proclaimed, and they remained in Guildhall, and the people were, for a number of miles, seemingly all of one family, sharing in each other's bounties and enjoying one another's company, like so many brothers, and if one happened to get a dainty, or a rare nice thing, an invitation would immediately be given to the neighbors, who would assemble, and they all would have a social time of it. There was no distinction in those days in point of dress or grandeur, but all wore their own manufacture. I have heard my grandmother say that when she was dressed in her striped, short, loose gown, and her clean starched and well ironed blue and white checkered linen apron, she felt much better then to appear in a meeting, among christians, than she has since, when dressed in silks. They then, had no ruffles, no ribbons, or anything that appeared like ostentation, but all was neat and tidy ; as this was the uniform manner of dress in those days, they all enjoyed it without a murmur and felt happy. The men wore garments made of the skins of moose, which they had learned to dress of the Indians ; they were, as they said, cold things to put on in the morning, but when once warmed, the cold weather could not penetrate through, and they would last a long time. For shoes, they made of this same kind of skin, a substitute called moccasins, until the country began to be opened a little, and then they got sheep ; the wool, the women would card and spin; and such were their habits of industry, as this was a slow way to get their wool worked up, I have heard grandmother say that she used frequently to work a whole week, both night and day, without undressing herself. She would only lie down for a short time with her clothes on, while carding and spinning ; when this was done she would weave it, and then with the bark of some forest tree they would give it a color ; without the process of a clothier, or the workmanship of a tailor, they would cut their own garments and make them ; and in this cheap, humble, but happy way, these people lived for many years, until the enemy of contentment began to introduce articles of merchandise, which soon created pride, and a sort of rivalship commenced, and as soon as one came in possession of a newly imported dress, it stimulated others to follow the fashion, and one extreme generally follows another. In this way has our country since been infested with this foolish pride of dress, making gay the outside; while some, it is feared, have neglected the most important part, the soul ; but another era, it is hoped, will take place, which will yet cause all who watch for it, to be more and more happy.

Now, while living at that time in this country, the greatest disadvantage, which they felt most seriously, was the want of good schools for their children. As they seldom had any schools so near as to have the privilege of sending them at all, their eldest went but one day their second, one week, which completed their school education. But, as their mother had in early life acquired a knowledge of letters, and the proper use of them, she instructed them so well that they could read and spell with considerable accuracy. This they found to be useful in after years, as they could read for themselves . and sometimes for others. For instance ; the husband of the eldest became afflicted with weakness of his eyes, so that he could not himself see to read, and being drawn up with the rheumatism so much that he could not walk, it has been a matter of great consolation to him in his dull hours, to sit still and hear her read ; and thus time passed more swiftly away than it would have done otherwise.

I have often heard my grandmother tell with great interest the proceedings of former years. One instance, I recollect, was this : that at one time when the state legislature met, a man of rather ordinary appearance presented himself. The members viewed him and then asked him if he was the choice of the people ? His answer was this : Sirs, I am the only man in my town ; of course there was no one to set up against me ; therefore I considered it my privilege to come here, and I have made my appearance. This caused some glee, but the honest man was not refused a seat. At another time, as the military laws were in those days similar to ours, a neighboring town legally warned a meeting for the purpose of choosing military officers and to have a training: After the officers were chosen there was but one remaining soldier ; and he, looking wishfully upon his superiors, said : Gentlemen, I have one request to make, that is, as I am the only soldier, I hope your honors will not be too severe in drilling me, but will spare me a little as I may be needed another time. He could form a solid column, he said, but it racked him shockingly to display. At another time, when they were to have a training, an officer went fifty miles to Lower Coos, as it was then called, or Haverhill now, for two quarts of spirit, to treat his company with. As they had no carriages in those days, neither had they a road suitable for one, he took his horse, put on the saddle and then a pair of large saddlebags, filled with provisions for the journey, and a jug for the spirit, and provender for his horse; and as they traveled at that time, it took him three or four days to perform this journey. When on his way home, by some unknown accident, the cork got loose and the bottle was emptied of its contents into the saddle bags. The liquor would have been saved had not the oats soaked up a part of it ; he, however, saved enough to treat his company with. They did not require so much then as too many have required since that time.

It had been a matter of considerable inquiry, how they should get a passage through the White Mountains. Two men who went in search, by name Timothy Nash and Benjamin Sawyer, discovered an opening through the Notch. One of them climbed a tree to be sure of the fact. Here one of them lost a mitten, it being on a high hill, and from that circumstance they gave it the name of the Mitten Mountain. When satisfied there might be a way found here to get to the fertile country on the Connecticut river, without going so far round, they gave the information, and were rewarded by having the whole tract of level land given them above the Notch, and it was granted to them by Governor Wentworth in 1773, as Nash and Sawyer's Location, upon condition that they should cut and make a good road through this tract of land, and cause five families to settle on it in five years. This land was surveyed by General Buckman, a deputy surveyor of public lands, then belonging to the Province, now State of New Hanrpshire ; and they had got some families settled here, and the people had begun to settle in Conway and Bartlett, and likewise in Jefferson, all of whom had an example set them by Colonel Whipple, from Portsmouth, who, for years was a real father to them. lie .placed them on his land, and all they could raise, more than they needed for their families, he bought ; and paid them honestly to even half a cent. He used to bring from Portsmouth a bag of half cents to make change, for the purpose of being honest himself and trying to make his tenants honest. This little surplus of grain was carefully laid up for the inhabitants in case of their own need, or that of other persons who should move in.

At one time, provisions in Bartlett were scarce, and some of the people took their sacks and money in their hands and came through the woods, a distance of not less than thirty miles, to buy bread. This was refused by the Colonel, saying his own inhabitants wanted all he had ; and they were obliged to return empty. They, however, had the precaution to examine and find where the grain was, and shortly afterward returned, and with an auger, bored a hole up through the floor under where the grain was, secured by a lock, held their sacks under, and filled them. When satisfied they stopj:>ed the hole with a plug, and then carried the filled sacks on their backs to the woods, where they had handsleighs prepared to draw the grain, and thus returned in safety. The Colonel finding it out, and being sensible of his error, made but little fuss about it, yet took care how he dealt with them afterward.

The inhabitants now while clearing the timber off their lands, made ashes, which was boiled into salts, and exchanged for goods. Everything was very dear. As the distance was so great to go round to get to the seaboard, they began to contrive means to go to Portland, or, perhaps, Portsmouth was the first place where they went to market. With one horse fixed to a car, they first went through the woods. The form of the car was simply this : two poles cut ten or fifteen feet in length, the smaller ends serving as thills for the horse to draw by and the larger ends dragging on the ground, and fastened nearly in the middle with some short poles, on which they would place a bag, or other articles of loading. In this way they got along quite well until they came to the Notch. This was a trying place to get through. To go where they now do, was then utterly impossible. They then turned out at the top of the Notch and went over the edge and so managed to get to the top, and by taking a zigzag course, as much as possible, got down ; but in doing this there was danger of the horse tipping over, the hill was so steep. And when they returned, they would tie a rope around the horse's neck, to keep him from falling backwards. At one time, however, one horse did so fall ; but he was helped up without receiving much injury. At length a committee was chosen to search and look out the best road. They agreed in all places until they came to the Notch. There they held a council. One-half was for making the road on one side of the stream, and the other half, on the other side ; but after considerable consultation on the subject, one of them turned and voted to make the road on the side of the Saco, where it is now. Reader, when you pass this place, now spoken of, please to look and judge for yourself, if you would devise a way to make a road on the other side of the stream, and then imagine what courage and perseverance our forefathers possessed. They never seemed to take hold of the plow and look back, but drove on.