CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library F 22 B18 Memorial volume of the Popham celebratio olln 3 1924 028 808 891 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028808891 MEMORIAL VOLUME OF THE POPHAM CELEBRATION, g^ugwat 29, 1862; COMMEMORATIVE OF THE PLANTINS OF THE POPHAI COLONY ON THE PENINSULA OF SABINO, g-ugust 19, ®. S., 160?, ESTABLISHING THE TITLE OF ENGLAND TO THE CONTINENT. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE REV. EDWARD BALLARD, flEOMTARt OP THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE OECEBEAHON, PORTLAND: BAILEY & NO YES 1863. Entered according to an Act of Congre^ in the year 1863, by BA.ILBY &; NOYES, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Maine. PKINTED BY BBOWN THURSTON, COR. OP EXCHANGE AND MIDDLE STS. MAP OF SABINO The well executed map, which forms the frontispiece to this volume, is taken from the " Coast Survey," made by the General Government. It will be found to be a valuable illustrative aid, enabling the reader of these pages, as well aa of the history of the early times to which they relate, to identify the locality of the original Fokt St. Geokge, within the limits of the ancient " Maw- ooshen." 1 In regard to this location, the minds of many persons in years past have been influenced by Sullivan, who in 1806 gave his opinion in a communioation to the Massachusetts Historical Society, that the Popham Colony made their settlement " on an island within Georgetown, called Parker's Island." The following extract conveys his statement : " Upon this island the Europeans who first colonized to New England made their landing. Virginia was planted in the year 1606, and has, therefore, assumed the dignified title of ' The Ancient Dominions.' But the Colony of Parker's Island, which has since been called Sagadahoc, was but one year behind her. In the year 1607, George Popham, Rawleigh Gilbert, Edmund Harlow, Edmund Davis, and about one hundred other adventurers, in form of a colony, landed and took possession of Parker's Island. Ead the leaders of this little colony survived the severities of the winter next after their landing, Plymouth might have been deprived of the honor of being the mother of New England." 2 In his history at an earlier date (1795), he had taken Stage Island, from tradition, as the place of this settlement. 3 Williamson, adopting this opinion, connects it with another, and 1 This aboriginal name [Piircliaa, ToU 4, p. 1837] indicated a large portion of the maritime region of Maine ; embracing its two large rivers, the Kennebec and the Penobscot, The Bashaba was chief of its confederated tribes. The word was written "Moasham" by Gorges, [Me.H. 0., vol. 2, p. 62,] and " Moassons " by Popham, to denote the Indians therein. [Post, 224.] Another form, " Mavooshen," should be " Maaooshen," as the third letter was not used by the natives. 2 Maae. Hist. Col., vol. 1, p. 251. i Hist., pp. 63, 169, ITO, 174, IV MAP OF SABINO. states of the colonists, that, " Although according to some accounts, they first went ashore upon Eraaeohegan,'^- or the western Fenimula;^ yet it is believed they finally disembarked upon an Island 200 rods eastward, called Stage Islaud." He also adds, that after they had "erected on the Island some slight habitations or cottages, and sunk two or three wells," they deemed the Island 3 " too small for the permanent foundation of a colony. * * * There- fore they concluded to change their situation ; and passing across the river to the western bank, they selected a convenient site on the southeast side of a creek, near what is now called Atkins' Bay, which stretches west into the land half a league, and forms a peninsula at the southerly comer of the present town of Phipsburg. To this place they themselves removed, and during the autumn located and established a settlement, which was subsequently denomi- nated the Sagadahoc Colony." * But the earlier and better testimony to their first and only choice of the place and its occupancy, is solely in favor of the " Peninsula of Sabino." Strachey, the historian of the settlement, says, " they made choise of a place for their plantation at the mouth or entry of the river on the west side, (for the river bendeth yt self towards the nor-east and by east.) being almost an island, of a good bignes, being in a province called by the Indians, Sabino, so called of a sagamo or chief commander under the graund bassaba." 5 Purchas, on the authority of a letter from George Popham to Sir John Gilbert, asserts that " they chose the place of their plantaoion at the mouth of the Sagadahoc, in a westerly peninsula." 6 Heylin says, " S. Gorges' Port, the first plantation of the English, was built by -them at the mouth of the Sagadahoc, in a Demi-Island, Anno 1607." ' Ogilhy says, that " a hundred men were sent to settle a colony at Sagadahoc, undeir the command of George Popham, who seated themselves in a Peninsula at the mouth of this River." S Prince is explicit, saying that these colonists " settle on a westerly, peninsula at the month of Sagadahoc." 9 Belknap is confirmatory : " They landed at the mouth of Sagadahock or Ken- nebeck Biver, on a peninsula." lo Holmes, to the same purport, has been quoted above by Williamson. In the year 1807, two hundred years after the settle- ment, the Rev. Dr. Jenks, then a resident of Bath, with a party of friends, 1 Now Parker's Island. 2 " On a pouinsula." Holmes' Annals, vol. 1, p. 160. 3 "On Stage Island are the remains of a fort: brick chimneys: and some wells of water ; several cellars ; — tho bricks must have come fram Bngland. SalliTan, p. 170." 4 Williamson, vol. 1, pp. 108, 199. 5 HlBt. Trav., p. 172. 6 Citcil in Me. Hist. Col., vol. 2. i>, 2S. Fulsom's Address. 7 Oesmog. Lib., 4, p. 95. 8 Ulst., p. 141. 9 Ohron., p. 116. 10 Amer. Biog., vol. 1, p. 560. MAPOPSABINO. V visited the mouth of the Kennebec River. He says, "To the spot that bore the best claims to this disiinction, and which is on a ' peninsula,' they gave the name of Point Popham." i The author of the " Ancient Dominions of Maine " describes the precise position, as remembered in deeply marked traditions related by aged residents in tlie neighborhood. He also gives " a sketch of the outline remains," as they are now traceable on the shore of Atkins' Bay. 2 These many concurrent testimonies, running through two centuries and a half, are sufficient to show the peninsular location of Fort St. George on the tvest side of the Kennebec, s 1 This statement is derired from the Rev. 'William S. Bartlett, of Chelsea, Mass,, [Me. H. C, vol. 3, p. 285,] to whom our local history is greatly indebted for the prominence given to the Popham Colony in his '* Frontier Missionary," and for introducing the work of Straohey to the practical knowledge of the Maine Historical Society. See also postj p. 227. 2 Sewall'B Ancient Dominions, p. 228, 3 'Post, p. 251. In later years Hunnewell, whose name has been given to the Point, had hia dwelling on or near the same spot, as appears in an old map among the Pejepscot Papers. THE AUTOGRAPH OP SIB. JOHN POPHAM. (1590.) Samuel Q. Drake, Esq., the learned antiquary of Boston, during a residence of a year and a half in Europe, from November, 1858, to May, 1860, devoted much time in examining colonial papers in the British State Paper OflSce in London. In these researches, he fortunately discovered an original paper in the hand -writing of Sir John Popham, ahd signed by him, hearing date 1590. Annexed is Mr. Drake's letter, communicating a copy of the autograph to the Hon. William Willis, President of the Maine Historical Society, who has thus made a welcome addition to the present publication. " Boston, Sept. 27, 1862. Mb. Willis, Deak Sir : — I am to thank you for your kindness in sending me a paper containing an account of the Popham Celebration. In my rummaging among the British Archives, I met with an original paper in the autograph of the Lord Chief Justice Popham. Thinking it may interest you, I send you a tracing of his signature. * * * Very truly yours, Sam'l G. Drake." CONTENTS. ABBOT, E., — ^LETTER, ABBOT, J. S. C, LETTER, . ADDENDA, .... ADDRESSES, ALLEN, W., LETTER, . AMORT, T. C, LETTER, ANCIENT DOMINIONS OF MAINE, ANDREW, J. A., LETTER, APPENDIX, .... ARNOLD, S. 0., LETTER, AUGUSTA, THE LOST, V 250 256 351 100 106 202 133 231 . 353 215 339 BACHE, A. D., LETTER, BAILEY, B. C, LETTER, BALLARD, E., COMMUNICATION, BANCROFT, G., LETTERS, BABTLETT, W. S., LETTER, BEARDSLEY, E. £., LETTER, BOURNE, E. E., COMMUNICATION, BRADISH, L., LETTER, BURGESS, G., CHAPLAIN, BURGESS, 6., • ADDRESS, BRODHEAD, J. R., LETTER, 215 11 301 232, 329 259 241 168 235 30 101 128 CONTENTS. CASEY, T. L., REPLY, CAMERON, S., APPKOVAL OF NAME, CELEBHATION, ..... CUAMPLAIN, CUASE, S. P., LETTER, CIIDECn 01' ENGLAND AND COLONIZATION, OIRCULAE, ...... COAST OF MAINE, .... COMMITTEES, ..... CUSHING, C, — LETTER, 51 19 26 22, 111 216 317 17 214 14, 15 232 DAY, J. J., ADDRESS, DAWSON, J. W., LETTER, DE MONTS, BIOQBAPHY OF, DOW, .T., LETTER, DRAKE, S. G., LETTER. 163 253 120 VII EVERETT, E., LETTER, 105 FI3KE, J. O., COMMUNICATION, FORT POPHAM, NAME GIVEN, FRANCIS, C, LETTER, 205 10, 19, 29 243 OILMAN, C. J., ADDRESS, GODFREY, J. E., LETTER, GOODWIN, I., LETTER, GORGES, SIR F, •) 29 245 234 22, 41, 61 HACKBTT, W. II. Y,, — LETTER, HALL, H., LETTER, . HALLAM, R. A., LETTER, HARVEY, M., LETTER, IIAYDEN, A., LETTER, HEDGE, F., — LETTER, irORNBLOWER, J. C, — LETTER, 238 247 253 251 259 239 237 CONTENTS. XI HOWE, J., — LETTER, HYMN, 201 348 INTITATION, FORM OE, 17 JOHNSON, E. F., LETTER, JOHNSTON, J.. JOHNSTOWN, ■ COMMUNICATION, 333 263 346 KING, C, LETTER, . KING, W., BIOGRAPHY OP, 240 205 LETTERS, ...... LAWS, CONSTITUENT CODE OF, LINCOLN, A., PRESIDENT U. S., LETTER, LIPPINCOTT, J., — LETTER, . 220 71 230 258 MULGRAVB, EARL OF, LETTER, ■ MA6EE, T. D,, ADDRESS, MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, RESOLUTION, MANHATTAN, COLONIZATION OF, MAP OF SABINO, .... MAXWELL, J., LETTER, MAYOR OF BATH, CALL OF MEETING, MCILVAINB, C. P., LETTER, MCINTIBE, R., LETTER, MCKEEN, J., MASONIC CEREMONIES, MASSACHUSETTS BAY, COLONY OF, MEETING AT BATH, MEMORIAL STONE, MONHEGAN, . . . . 27. 230 H2 17 127 lU 261 13 248 255 256, 305, 345 •53 24, 156 14 17, 50, 51 136, 140 NAHANADA, SKETCH OF, NEW BRUNSWICK, 293 179 X[J CONTENTS, NEW ENGLAND, EASTERN COAST OF, NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY, MONTREAL, LETTER, NEW JERSEY, SETTLEMENT OF, NORWOOD, F., SKETCH OF GOV. PIIIPS, NORWOOD, F., EXTRACT FROM SERMON, NOVA SCOTIA, NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ACTION OF, LETTER, 192 236 177 181 347 300 236 OLD AND NEW STYLE, ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER, PALFREY, J. a,, LETTER, PAVILION, PROCEEDINGS AT- PEMAQUID, . PEMAQUID CAPITAL, PENNSYLVANIA, . PERRY, W. S., COMMUNICATION PETERSON, 0. J., LETTER, PHIPS, W., SKETCH OF, PLYMOUTH, A NURSLING OF MAINE, PLYMOUTH PLANTATION, POOR, J. A., ADDRESS, POPHAM, G., LETTER, POPHAm's LETTER, TRANSLATION OF, POPHAM, GENEALOGY OF, POPHAM, SIR J., AUTOGRAPH OF, POPHAM, W. S., LETTER, PRELIMINARY, PRINCE, G., LETTER, PROGRAMME OF CELEBRATION, QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN, . RESTLK8S, THE, . RHODE ISLAND, . UrCE, R, D., — LETTER, ■2-2G, 20, 232 30 233 99 143, 263 148 201 317 257 181 149 176 57 221 223 ,229 VII 228 9 251 20 161, 163 154 215 260 CONTENTS. XIII SABINO, NAME OP, SABINO, SKETCH OF PROVINCE, SAGADAHOC, NAME, SAGADAHOC, COLONY OF, SAGADAHOC, A DUKEDOM, SAMOSET, SKETCH OF, . SKCKETAEY OF WAR, SEWALL, G. P., LETTER, SEWALL, E. K., COMMUNICATION, SEyMOUK, R,, GENEALOGY OP, SHANLEY, W., LETTER, SHIPBUILDING, SIGOURNEY, L. H., POEMS, . SMITH, r. 0. J., . SPARKS, J., LETTER,. STEVENS, W. B., — ■ LETTER, . ST. George's society, Montreal, — letter. SXORBE, H. G., — LETTER, STUART, W., LETTEE, SULLIVAN, J., SKETCH OF, SUPPLEMENT, SIE FEEDINANDO GOEGES, talbot, g. b., communication, taney, e, b., letter, tereitoey and population, til ley, s. l., lettee, toasts prepared, totten, j. g., letters, . TURNER, W., - LETTER, VINES. E., SKETCH OF, VIRGINIA, THE, V^ALBRIDGB, H., LETTER, VTAR, ART OF, WASHBUEN, E., — ADDRESS, 9 136 9 13T 149. 29T 52 250 133 101, 324 217 154, 348 355 205 232 202 239 244 242 202 369 193 234 357 180 22 52, 214 239 168 154 254 213 155 SIV CONTENTS, WASHBUllN, I., JE,, — LETTER, WASHBURN. I., JR., SPEECH, WEST, THE, .... WEYMOUTH, .... • WEYMOUTH, EXPLORATIONS BY, WHEELER, A. D., COMMUNICATION, WHEELER, A. D., HYMN, WHITEHEAD, W. A., LETTER, WILLIS, W., LETTER, WILLIS, W., — HISTORICAL STATEMENT, WINTHROP, R. C, LETTER, WOODS, L., ADDRESSES, WRIQHT, W., — LETTER, 231 331 216 127 301 120 348 177 12 37 176 48, 50, 53 254 THE POPHAM CELEBEATIOK The remainder of this map was sown into the spine. ^rgrgg DE LQCEA^ EN LA AfARCVS Le SCARE T //M«rj(7r;wz/w delmhmt PuUicamt JonauU Jiuec pnmle^e Ju Roy THE POPHAM CELEBRATION. PRELIMINARY. In the arrangements made by the government of the United States for protecting the coast of Maine, the defense of the entrance of the Kennebec River and its valley received mature consideration. For the accomplishment of this purpose, the point of land on its west side and near its mouth was selected, and a fort of the first class was authorized by Congress to be bunt thereon. The ancient name of this portion of the river was " Sagadahoc," ^ and the part of the territory where the structure was to be placed, was the Peninsula of Sabino.® On this shore and near the spot thus chosen, was the site of 1 Sagadahoc. This orthography of the name, out of twenty Tarieties, is the present generally adopted representative of the Indian " Sank-ta-onk." The first part of this word is abbreviated, as is usual ia these formations, from " Sanktaiiwi ; " the meaning of which is given in KMe's Dictionary, " To finish." The last syllable is a common locative termination, as in " Ken-neb-onk," equiv- alent to " here," or " there." The compound name means, " It ends here," i. e, " the mouth" of this river; and it is so explained in Jeffries' Maps, of 1775. 2 The usage, in the pronunciation of aboriginal names, indicates that in words of this formation, the accent should be on the first syllable, as in "Kineo," " Orono," and others. Its origin is in the Abnaki word " B6b6," meaning "a river." It is also written by Strachey, '•' S8b'-e-noa," the last three letters form- ing one syllable, as in " oak." 2 10 MEMORIAL VOLUME. the ancient Port St. George, where, in the month of August, 1607, the first English colony, led by the venerable George PoPHAM, planted the emblems of the authority of their sover- eign. By acts of formal occupation and possession, attended with the solemn sanctions of religious worship and instruction, in accordance with the usages of their country and time, these early settlers established the title of England to the continent, under the Koyal Charter of April 10, 1606. The location of this fort on the soil, thus made prominent in its historical relations, suggested to several gentlemen, in- terested in the history of this State, the name of Popham, as the appropriate designation for this great work of national de- fense. The late Hon. Reuel Williams of Augusta, and the Hon. John A. Poor of Portland, — Commissioners at Washing- ton from the State of Maine to the general government on the subject of its co£|,st defenses, — took means to bring this name before the proper authorities. The proposal received the favor and the prompt approval of the government of the United States through the Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War. The work of construction having been commenced, sug- gested the plan of reviving the recollection of the important events, which have given to this spot its great historical value and interest, and of connecting them more closely with the name and the destinies 'of this fortification ; thus making it serve the double purpose of national defense and the preservar- tion of these leading occurrences of our early history. Meas- ures were adopted for erecting, in the walls of the Fort, a " Memorial Stone," with inscriptions recording the facts ; and for the commemorative services of a public historical celebra- tion. After much consultation with several members of the Maine Historical Society in Pprtland and Brunswick, a visit by two gentlemen of the latter place was made to Bath, — the city nearest to the locality, — to confer with its influential citizens POPHAM CELEBRATION. 11 on the subject. The idea was met, with cordial favor every- where. On the 10th of July, 1862, the following editorial ap- peared in the Bath Daily " Sentinel and Times," introducing a communication from a writer, who is understood to be the Hon. B. C. Bailey. SIR JOHN POPHAM'S COLONY. We publish below, a communication from one of our old and highly respected citizens, relating to an important fact in the history of our State, and sug- gesting the propriety of some public obserTance of the circumstance by our community. We heartily concur in the suggestion, and trust measures will be at once inaugurated to carry the same into effect, local events, of such a nature as that mentioned, ought not certainly to be overlooked. In fact, it may well he questioned whether our people, to any extent, are familiar with the history of George Popham's settlement on our coast, and its attendant results. We hold it to be wise, therefore, to mark the anniversary of the event in some ■ public manner ; if in no other way, by the selection of some person conversant with our. local history, to prepare an address relating to the colony and its attendant circumstances, that thus information may be imparted to the people and knowledge be diffused among us. We repeat that we trust some early action will be taken to carry out the suggestion in the communication, which is as follows : Mb. Likcolh : — Bath being the natural seaport of and for the Kennebec Eiver, as also the Androscoggin, and in fact of all North-western Maine, it would seem proper that she should be a little more before the public. Two hundred and fifty-five years ago the 19th day of this coming August, George Popham, with his colony, landed at the mouth of the Kennebec and commenced a settlement, near where they are now building a Fort, which is to be called by the name of Popham. Would it not be well for' the citizens of Bath to call a meeting and choose a committee of aitang5taents, for the purpose of celebrating the day this coming 19th of August (old sjyle), iiaking it the 29th or 30th of August this year (new style), and jnvite the Historical Society of Maine to be present with their orator and proclaim the past history of that settlement, it being the very first one on this part of the continent. I would suggest, with humble submission to public opinion, that we have a meeting the first of next week, and make some arrangement for 'such a com- jnemoration of the day as would seem proper. A Citizen op Bath. 12 MEMORIAL VOLUME. The Standing Committee of tlie Maine Historical Society- were ready to lend their aid to the enterprise. As the proposed commemoration embraced subjects fitly coming within the range and purposes of this institution, they deemed it a duty to take the initiatory steps ; and at their suggestion the Presi- dent of the Society, the Hon. William "Willis of Portland, ad- dressed a letter to the Mayor of Bath, in the following words : LETTER OP THE HON. WILLIAM WILLIS. To the SonorabU the Mayor of Bath. Sib: — The government of the United States, having selected the peninsula at the mouth of Kennebec Kiver as the site of a fortress, and made prepara- tions for a large and expensive structure, to bear the name of " Popham," in honor of George Popham, President of the company of adventurers who planted, on the same spot, the first English colony on the shores of Xew England: — it is thought by the Maine Historical Society, that the occasion ought to be im- proved to commemorate this most signal event in the history of our State. By a singular coincidence, the new fort will occupy the same ground on which was erected, two hundred and fifty-five years ago, the first English fort, which was built on the Atlantic co.ast of America, north of Virginia. This little colony, — " one hundredlandmen," — left England, May 31, 1607, in two small vessels, prepared with all things needful to establish a civilized society on this continent. Their historian thus speaks of their early movements : " August 17, Capt. Pop- ham in his pynnace with thirty persons, and Capt. Gilbert in his long boat with eighteen persons more, went early in the morning from their shipps in the river Sachadehoc to view the river, and to search where they might find a fitt place for their plantation. 18th. They all went ashore and there made choice of a place for their plantation at the mouth or entrance of the river, on the west side, being almost an island." The next day, in true Puritan style, although they were not strictly Puritans, they commenced their grand undertaking, the open- ing a new world to civilization, by religioua services. The historian says : " 19th. ' They all went ashore, where Uiey had made choice of their plantation, and where they had a sermon delivered unto them by their preacher." They then entered on their work in earnest. " Aug. 20. All went to shore again and there began to entrench and make a fort, and to build a store-house." The place selected for their settlement was Hunnewell's Point, precisely the spot chosen by the government for the new fortress ; it was there this company spent a cold and dreary winter, and there the gallant Popham lies buried. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 13 The work of construction is already begun, and the superintending engineer has given assurance that he will permit a commemorative tablet to be inserted in the wall, which shall perpetuate the first attempt to colonize the State, and mark the wonderful progress of our country. I am instructed by the Standing Committee of the Historical Society to call the attention of the. citizens of Bath to this subject, and to urge that they will not only co-operate in a suitable commemoration of this great event, but that they will take the lead in making arrangements for the occasion. It is a custom not less honorable than useful, in all nations, to celebrate the leading events of their history ; thus reviving and keeping alive in posterity the virtuous deeds, the patient fortitude, and the gallant services of the found- ers of their States, and of those who have illustrated their annals by their lives. If the Eock of Plymouth is annually remembered, — if the landing at James- town finds a perpetual echo in song, — if the 4th of July and the 22d of Feb- ruary, shall never fail to inspire the hearts of loyal Americans, let not the land- ing of the first English colony in Maine sink into oblivious silence ! Your obedient servant, William Willis, President of the Maine Hiatorieal Society. The request, so suitably presented in this communication, was promptly responded to by the Mayor, who accordingly is- sued the following call for a preliminary meeting, to be held as therein indicated : CALL OF THE MEETING BY THE MAYOR OP BATH. Notice. — In compliance with the request of the Maine Historical Society, as expressed in a communication of its President, Hon. William Willis, as to some commemoration in a public manner by our community, of the landing of Popham's Colony on the shores of Maine, I invite the citizens of Bath and vicin- ity to meet at the City Hall, on Monday evening the 28th inst., at 7 1-2 o'clock, for consultation and cooperation. I. Putitam, Mayor. Bath, July 21, 1862. The issuing of this call at once led to inquiry and discussion in private circles and in the newspapers, not only of Maine, but of other States. 14 MEMORIAL VOLUME. The " Maine State Press " of Portland, gave the following account of the meeting, held in accordance with the call : CELEBEATION AT FOET POPHAM. In accordance with a suggestion of the Maine Historical Society, made through its President to the Mayor of Bath, and a notice by said Mayor published in the papers of that city, a meeting was held in the City Hall at that place, on Monday evening, to take preliminary action relative to the proper observance of the landing and settlement of the first English Colony in New England, at the mouth of the Kennebec Kiver, near the present site of Fort Popham, in the month of August, 1607. The meeting was largely attended, not only by influ- ential citizens of Bath, but by a large delegation from this city, and by gentle- men from Wiscasset, Phipsburg, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Qorham, Bidde- ford, Kennebunk, and other places. The meeting was called to order by Hon. B. C. Bailey of Bath, on whose motion Hon. Israel Putnam, Mayor of that city was invited to preside. Eev. Henry W. Rugg of Bath, was chosen Secretary. Various remarks, explanatory of the objects of the meeting, and of the importance to American colonization and the spread of English civilization, of the event proposed to be celebrated, were made ; when, on motion of Rev. John 0. Fiske of Bath, a committee of five was selected to propose to the meeting a suitable list of gentlemen to act as an Executive Committee to carry into eflfect the objects of the meeting. This Committee consisted of Hon. AmosNourse and John Hayden, Esq., of Bath, John A. Poor, Esq., of this city, R. K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset, and Rev. Edward Ballard of Brunswick. The committee, after mature deliberation, reported the following gentlemen for the proposed cotnmittee, which report was unanimously accepted, to wit : Bath, — Hon. B. C. Bailey, Rev. John 0. Fiske, Oliver Moses, Esq., Col. Frederick D. Sewall, Col. James T. Patten, John B. Swanton, Esq. Bbukswick, —Rev. Edward Ballard, Hon. Charles J. Gilman. ToPSHAM, — Rev. A. D. Wheeler, D. D. Phipsbuhg, — Rev. Francis Norwood, Moses Riggs, Esq. GBORaETOWN, — Thomas M. Reed, Esq. Gakdinee, — Hon. Noah Woods, Rev. Frederick Gardiner. Hallowell, — Charles Dummer, Esq., Ebenezer Rowell, Esq. Adgusta, — Hon. James W. Bradbury, Hon. James G. Blaine. Wiscasset, -^Alexander Johnston, Esq., Rufus K. SewaH, Esq. QoKHAii, — Hon. Josiah Pierce. PoKTLAHD, — Rev. Alexander Burgess, Hon. Jedediah Jewett, William P. Preble, Esq. POPHAM CELEBBATION. 15 Sago, — Hon. Philip Eastman. BiDDEPOBD, — Hon. William P. Haines. Kensebtjitk. — Hon, Edward E. Bourne. Alfbed, — Hon. John H. Goodenow. Bangor, — Hon. Elijah L. Hamlin, Hon. John E. Godfrey. Oldtown, — Hon. George Popham Sewall. "WiNSLOW, — S.Sn. Joseph Eaton. Belfast, — Joseph Williamson, Esq. Wateevihe, — Eev. J. T. Champlin, D. D. Lewisxon, — Hon. John M. Frye. rARMiNGTON, — Hon. Robert Goodenow, Hon. Hannibal Belcher. Calais, — Hon. George Downes. Bastpoet, — Hon. Bion Bradbury. HouLTON, — Hon. Shepard Gary. , NoEKiDQEwocK, — Hou. John S. Tenney. Machias, — William B. Smith, Esq. It was voted that the gentlemen of the foregoing list, selected from Bath, Brunswick, Topsham, Phipsburg, and Georgetown, being in the immediate neighborhood, shall constitute the Executive Committee, with power to increase their numbers, and that the other gentlemen named be an advisory, or assistant committee. During the evening exceedingly interesting and felicitous remarks were made by Hon. C. J. Gilman, Brunswick ; John A. Poor, Esq., Hon. John Neal, Hon. Woodbury Davis, and Kev. Alex. Burgess, of Portland ; Rev. J. 0. Fiske, Hon. Amos Nonrse, Hon. William D. Sewall, Hon. D. C. Magoun, and John Hay- den, Esq., of Bath ; B. K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset ; Hon. William P. Haines, of Biddeford; Prof. Alpheus S. Packard, of Bowdoin College; Hbn. Edward E. Bourne, of Kennebunk, and others. The meeting was very enthusiastic, and the speakers were frequently interrupted by applause. The affair has opened very auspiciously ; and a circular, to be issued in a few days, will more definitely set forth the reasons why such an observance as is proposed, should be had ; and give some of the proposed details to be ob- served. The celebration is designed to be the event, to Maine, of the year ; and to be worthy of our great and glorious commonwealth. The members of the Executive Comjnittee present organized themselves, after the meeting was adjourned, by choosing the Hon. B. C. Bailey, Chairman, and the Eev. J. 0. Fiske, Sec- retary, both of Bath. At a meeting held at Bath on the next week, Mr. Fiske, in consequence of a pressure of duties, re- 16 MEMORIAL VOLUME. signed his office, and the Rev. Edward Ballard, of Brunswick, was elected in his place. The Hon. Charles J. Gilman of Brunswick, was appointed Marshal of the day, with power to appoint assistants and secure conveyance by railroad. The Hon. Mr. Bailey and Col. James T. Patten of Bath, were re- quested to secure means of transportation, by water, from that city to the Fort, and provide platforms and seats for the accom- modation of the speakers and the assembly. The members of the committee in Portland were also requested to make ar- rangements for procuring a tent, and for transportation from that city. On the nomination of the Rev. J. 0. Fiske, the Right Rev. George Burgess, Bishop of the Diocese of Maine, was requested to take charge of the religious services of the occasion ; and on motion of the Hon. C. J. Gilman, the Hon. John A. Poor was appointed the orator of the day. It was also voted that the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Fraternity of the State be invited to be present on the occasion, and contrib- ute their aid in placing the " Memorial Stone " according to the usages and ceremonies of their ancient Order. The Executive Committee resolved to fill vacancies and add to the number of members already appointed, as might be de- sirable ; and thereupon, at a subsequent meeting, held on August 1st, they elected Rev. S. P. Dike, of Bath ; Hon. John A. Poor, John Neal, Esq., Rev. Wm. Stevens Perry, of Port- land ; Capt. James Drummond, E. S. J. Xeally, Esq., of Bath ; Samuel Fairhaven, Esq., of Woolwich ; H. S. Hagar, Esq., of Riclmiond ; Edward S. Little, Esq., of Auburn ; Hon. George C. Gatchell, of North Anson ; Hon. Abner Coburn, of Skow- hegan; Capt. Horace A. Gray, of Bowdoinham; and Hon. Franklin Smith, of Waterville. On the 7th of August, at the Annual ]Moetiug of the Maine Historical Society, held at Brunswick, the following resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted : POPHAM CELBBBATION. 17 On motion, Se.wlved, That this Society has heard with great satisfaction, of the proposed celebration to commemorate the founding of the First English Colony on the shores of New England, hnder Captain Gesorge Popham, on the 29th day of August current ; and approves the action of the Standing Committee in causing public attention to be called thereto ; and will prepare a " Memorial Stone," to be placed, with the consent of the General Government, in the walls of the Fort now building, which is to bear his honored name." On the same day the Executive Committee met again at Brunswick, and adopted the following form of invitation : PUBLIC HISTORICAL CELEBRATION. AnGns*12, 1862. The undersigned solicit the honor of the company of and ladies at the public celebration, on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniver- sary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, August 19, 1607 [0. S.] ; to take place at the site of Fort Popham, near the place of the original Fort St. George, at the mouth of the Kennebec Elver, in the ancient Province of Sabino, August 29, 1862 [N. S.]. Executive Committee. — B. C. Bailey, John 0. Fiske, Oliver Moses, F. D. Sewall, J. T. Patten, John B. Swanton, James Drummond, E. S. J. Nealley, S. F. Dike, C. J. Gilman, A. D. Wheeler, Francis Norwood, Thomas M. Reed, Moses Kiggs. Edward Ballakd, Secretary. The favor of an answer is requested. The follo\^ng circular, having been considered and approved, was sent on a printed sheet with the cards of invitation. ENGLISH COLONIZATION IN AMERICA. PUBLIC CELEBRATION. The colonization of the continent of North America by the Anglo-Saxon race, first attempted by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and followed by Sir Walter Raleigh and. Sir Richard Grenville, without success, was finally accomplished by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who obtained from King James the charter of April 10, 1606, under the broad basis of which the subsequent spttlements were made. The voyages of Bartholomew Gosnold, in 1602 ; of Martin Pring, in 1603, and of George Weymouth, in 1605, — all incipient measures towards a common end, — were under the guidance or patronage of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, -the Governor 18 MEMOEIAL VOLUME, of the Island and Fort of Plymouth, and his friend, the Earl of Southampton, the illustrious friend and patron of Shakespeare. In May, 1606, the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir John Popham, haying become associated in the enter- prise, sent out Captain Haines, " in a tall ship belonging to Bristol and the river Severne, to settle a plantation in the river of Sagadahoc," but from the failure of the master to follow the course ordered, the ship fell into the hands of the Spaniards by capture, and the expedition failed of success. In August of the same year, a ship sent out by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, under command of Henry Challong, for the same purpose, — the two designed to form one expedition, — shared a similar fate. So that in consequence of these mishaps, Virginia was occupied prior to Maine. The expedition of Captain Newport, to the Chesapeake, which sailed December 19th, 1606, landed at Jamestown, May 13th, 1607. On the 31st of May, 1607, the first colony to New England sailed from Plymouth for the Sagadahoc, In two ships, — one, called the "Gift of God" whereof George Popham, brother of the chief justice, was commander; the other, the ',' Jfaz-y and /oA«," which Raleigh Gilbert commanded, — onboard which ships were one hundred and twenty persons, for planters. They came to anchor under an island, supposed to be Monhegan, the 31st of July. After ex- ploring the coast and islands, on Sunday, the 9th of Aug., 1607, they landed on an island they called St. George, where they had a sermon delivered unto them by Mr. Seymour, their preacher, and returned aboard again. On the 15th of Aug., they anchored under Seguin, and on that day the •' Gift of God " got into the river of Sagadahoc. On the 16th, both ships got safely in and came to anchor. On the 17th, in two boats, they sailed up the river, — Captain Popham in his pin- nace, with thirty persons, and Captain Gilbert in his long boat, with eighteen persons, and " found it a very gallant river ; with many good islands therein, and many branches of other small rivers falling into it," and returned. On the the 18th, they all went ashore, and then made choice of a place for their plan- tation, at the mouth or entry of the river, on the west side, (for the river bend- eth towards the nor-east and by east), being almost an island, ^f good bigness, in a province called by the Indians, " Sabino," — so called of a Sagamore, or chief commander, under the grand bashaba. On the 19th, they all went ashore, where they had made choice of their plant- ation, and where they had a sermon delivered unto them by their preacher, and after the sermon the President's commission was read, with the laws to be observed and kept. George Popham, gent., was nominated President. Captain Ealeigh Gilbert, James Davies, Richard Seymour, Preacher, Captain Richard Davies, Captain Harlowe, were all sworn assistants ; and so they returned back again. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 19 Thus commenced the first occupation and settlement of New England, and from which date the title of England to the new world remained unquestioned. At this place they opened a friendly trade with the natives, put up houses, and built a small vessel, during the autumn and winter. On the 5th of February, 1608, George Popham died, and his remains were deposited within the walls of his fort, which was named Fort St. George. We necessarily pass over the next two hundred and fifty years of history. Congress having made an appropiiation for a fort at the mouth of the Ken- nebec, — the ancient Sagadahoc, — the following correspondence, copied from the flies of the War Office, shows the action of the Secretary of War in the matter, and the fitness of the name selected for the new fort, which is called FoET Popham : " To the How. Simon Camekou, Secretary of War : The undersigned, citizens of Maine, respectfully request that the new fort to be erected at the mouth of the Kennebec Eiver, in Maine, may be named Fort Popham, in honor of Captain George Popham, brother of the learned Chief Justice Popham, of England. Captain George Popham, as the Governor of the first English Colony in New England, built a fort at or near the site of the proposed fort, in the year 1607, where he died, February 5th, 1608, and was buried, being the first person of his race whose bones were laid beneath the soil of New England, and whose grave will be approriately marked by the fort that rises over his place of burial. [Signed] John A. Poor, Eeuel Williams. Washington, Nov. 18, 1861." This proposal for a name was favorably received at the Engineer Bureau, by General Totten, who laid the matter before the Secretary of War. On the 23d of November, General Cameron acted on the foregoing petition, and entered thereon : — " Name approved. Simon Cameeon, Secretary of War. War Department, Washington, Nov. 23, 1861." It has been proposed that a memorial stone, with an appropriate inscription, be inserted in the wall of this new fort, and this event made the occasion of a public celebration, commemorating not only the first settlement of New Eng- land, but doing honor to the memory of the man, who led to it, the first British Colony, and who, after honorably discharging the duties of his oflace, and pre- senting a report, in the form of a letter, to the King, dated Fort St. George, 20 MEMOUIAL VOLUME. December 13th, 1607, here laid down his life, — the first man of the English race whose bones are laid beneath the soil of New England. The 19th of August, 1607, Old Style, corresponds to the 29th of August of the present calendar. The day on which, with religious services, they dedicated the spot and inaugurated their government, is appropriately fixed upon for the proposed celebration. This year the anniversary day falls on Friday, August 29th. The following programme having been prepared by the part of the Executive Committee, to whom the charge of this por- tion of the arrangements had been entrasted, was advertised in the newspapers of the State, and distributed in the form of handbills : There will be a public celebration of the founding of the first British Colony on the shores of New England, under the authority of the Royal Charter of April 10th, 1606, at the site of the ancient Port St. George, on the Peninsula of Sabino, at the mouth of the Kennebec River, which will take place on Friday, August 29th, 1862, the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the inaugura- tion of the first civil government on these shores. Special Trains, leaving Portland and Augusta at 7 A. M., will be run over the Kennebec and Portland Railroad, leaving Brunswick at 8 A. M., connecting at Bath with the steamers running to and from the site of Fort Popham, return- ing to Portland and to Augusta, stopping at the intermediate places on the same evening after the celebration services are completed. Excursion tickets over the railroad will be sold at half price, or $1.25 down and back. From Brunswick and Topsham, fifty cents for tickets both ways. Trains will also run over the Androscoggin Railroad at half price, connecting at Brunswick with the trains to Bath. Fares from all other intermediate sta- tions at half price ; and on the steamers, twenty-five cents. Tickets admitting parties upon the parade of the fort and to the collation will be thirty-seven cents. Parties arriving on the ground by the other modes of conveyance will also be furnished with tickets to the grounds of the celebra- tion and to the collation at the same price. The collation will be spread in the great tent, and no one admitted to it without a ticket. The Hon. C. J. Oilman of Brunswick will be chief marshal of the day, with assistant marshals, who will assign places to the various parties admitted to the grounds, and within the tent. At 10^^ o'clock A. M., the chief marshal will call to order and announce the objects and purposes of the celebration. The Hon. William Willis, President of the Maine Historical Society, will then POPHAM CELBBEATION. 21 make a brief historical statement, and invite the Eev. George Burgess, D. D., Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Maine, to conduct the religious services in those forms of the church made use of at the time of the founding of Popham's Colony. Printed forms will then be distributed. The service concluded, the President of the Historical Society will invite his Excellency, Israel Washburn, Jr., Governor of Maine, to cause the Memorial Stone to be put in place, by the consent of the United States Government, in accordance with the request of the Maine Historical Society. Accepting this trust with an allusion to the historic importance of the occasion, Gov. Washburn will invite Leonard Woods, D. D., President of Bowdoin College, to take charge of the work. Addressing Gen. Totten or Capt. T. L. Casey, the officer in charge, and receiving in replythe assent of the government. Dr. Woods will invite the Ma- sonic Fraternity to cause the Memorial Stone to be put into its place, with the appropriate forms of their ancient order. Hon. Josiah H. Drummond, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maine, will then proceed with the ceremony, and its conclusion will be followed by appropriate music. This will be followed by an address by John A. Poor, Esq., of Portland, the orator of the day. From the fort the company will march to the pavilion, where Judge Kent of Bangor will preside, assisted by vice-presidents, one from each county, as follows : Yoke, Hon. Philip Eastman. CtTMBERLAND, .... Hon. Johu B. Browu. LiNCOiif Hon. Isaac Reed. Hancock, Hon, Andrew Peters. WASHiifGTOif, .... Hon. Aaron Hayden. Kknnebec, .... Hon. Joseph H, Williams. Oxford, Dr. Isaiah B. Bradley. Pekobsoot Hon. William C. Hammatt. Somerset, .... Hon. Abner Coburn. Waldo, Hon. William G. Crosby. Franklin, .... Hon. Samuel Belcher. Piscataquis, .... Hon. John H. Rice. Androscogoin, . . . A, D. Lockwood, Esq. Sagadahoc, .... Hon. B. C. Bailey. Aroostook, .... Hon. E. Woodbury. York, Hon. N. A. Farwell. ToASTMASTBK, — Hon. George Popham Sewall. In response to appropriate sentiments, speeches will be made by eminent men from different parts of the United States and the British Provinces. Per Order of the Executive Committee, Edward Ballard, Secretary. 22 MEMORIAL VOLUME. By subsequent arrangements the committee agreed on the following Toasts, — the order to be changed as circumstances might require, — to each of which they invited -responses from distinguished gentlemen in different parts of the United States and of British North America : TOASTS FOR THE POPHAM CELEBRATION. The 19 In the Fort bearing his name August 29, i86j. In the presence of many citizens This stone was placed. This fort, so conspicuously placed, bearing these ap- propriate testimonials, thus becomes a fitting monument to perpetuate the events of the early history of New- England, and transmit to future times, the memory of those illustrious men who laid the foundation of Eng- lish colonies in America ; to which the laws, the insti- tutions and civilization ' of England were transferred, and from which, has sprung the glorious fabric of American 'Constitutional Government. Standing here to-day, in sight of the spot where Pop- ham, two hundred and fifty-five years ago, took upon himself the office of President, and near the place where, on the fifth of February following, he died, it seems our privilege to be admitted into his presence-chamber, as for the last time he had summoned around him his faithful assistants and companions, and gave' commands for the future. The scene is worthy of a painter's pen- cil and a poet's pen. The ever-faithful and heroic Ealeigh Gilbert, "a man," says Gorges, "worthy to be 86 MBMOEIAL VOLUME. beloved of them for his industry and care for their well- being" — the future President of the colony — is by his side. The pious Richard Seymour administers to him words of comfort 9,nd consolation. Captain Richard Davies, of all his assistants, was absent in England. His devoted companions stand around their dying chief, when, in the language of Israel's great law-giver, laying the burden of the government on Joshua, he might well say to Raleigh Gilbert: "Be strong and of a good courage, for thou must go with this people into the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them: and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord he it is that doth go before thee: he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee : fear not, neither be dismayed.". " So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." In the far-distant future, not two hundred and fifty- five years from this day, the period of time that has in- tervened since his death, but in that period of more than three thousand years to come, like that from the death of Israel's law-giver, to that of Popham, these stones which are here builded, shall mark the place of his sepulture, and the myriads of thronging pilgrims, led by eager curiosity, to tread the soil of this peninsula of Sabino, hereafter made classic by song and story, shall pause and read, on that memorial stone, the record of his great work ; and when we who are now here, shall have passed away, and beyond the reach of story or tradition, Popham's name shall live in the history of the mighty race, >vho have changed this continent from one POPHAM CELEBRATION. 87 vast wildernesss to a marvel of refinement and Leauty, fitted for tlie enjoyment of civilized man. His sagacity and ability are best evidenced by tlie fact, tliat after tlie experience of two hundred and fifty- five years, the highest military skill has confirmed the wisdom of his choice of a place of settlement, by the adoption of it as the proper site of the great work of defence for the Kennebec Kiver.* To this spot multitudes shall annually repair, for this region wUl continue to be, what it ever was, to the early- navigators and colonists of both iPrance and England — a chief point of interest. The French historian L'Es- carbot, speaking of this river, says "4^ ehortened the way " to the great river of Canada.f Gosnold's land- fall, in 1602, was at Sagadahoc.J Pring, in 1603, made it the chief point of his. discoveries; and the great voyage of Weymouth was to "the most ex- cellent and beneficyall river of Sagadahoc."§ Here the English remained in 1608 and 1609, as related by the French Jesuits. || Here Vines pursued his voca- * See Ifote A, with itsacoompanyipg Map. f L'Escarbot, p. 497. :j; Strachey, Halduyt Society edition, p. 155; caption at the head of the chapter. See Poor's Vindication of Gorges, p. 30, note 2. § Much controversy and discussion have arisen as to the route of Weymouth, and as to the river he explored. Belknap's authority was generally accepted, fixing it at the Penobscot, till the critical eye and more ample knowledge of the late Joha MoKeen, Esq., detected its errors. He maintained that the Kennebec was the true river. Mr. George Prince and Eev. Mr. Cushman have argued in favor of the river St. Crgprge. Mr. B. K. Sewall and Rev. Mr. Ballard maintain the views of Mr. MoKeen. Hon. W. Willis adheres to Belknap's authority. Strachey's posi- tive statement that it was the Sagadahoc, was unknown to Belknap. I find in Purchase, a fact not aUuded to by any of these writers, that may aid in solving the difficulty. John Stoneman, of Plymouth, who went out with Wey- mouth, in 1605, sailed as pilet in the ship Kichard, of Plymouth, in charge 'of Henry Challons commander, in Gorges' employ, to found the colony at Sagadahoc, in 1606. Nicholas Hine, of Oockington, near Dartmouth, was master. Although Challons failed of his object, by disregarding his instructions, and was taken cap- tive by the Spaniards, his purpose of going to Sagadahoc is expressly stated, and his pilot was of Weymouth's party in 1605. This discovery of the name of Bine, as master under Challons, also relieves us of the difficulty in the apparent contradiction between Gorges and Strachey ; the former using the name of Challons as master, the latter calling the master's name Haines, leading us to suppose there were two several voyages, instead of one in fact. I Kelations of the Jesuits, vol. i. p. 36. 88 MEMORIAL VOLUME. tion * and hither all the fishing vessels came, because the finest fish were taken in this region. The salmon of the Kennebec are to this day known in all our cities. The Council of New-England, on the twenty-fourth of July, 1622, set apart " two great islands in the river of Sagadahoc to be reserved for the public plantation," and " a place between the branches of the two rivers " '■'•for a pvhlic cit^yf Though the strife of races and of nationalities has kept back the settlement of this whole region, and the still more disastrous conflicts of rival grants and hostile occupation, destroyed for gen- erations all plans of improvement, who shall dare to say that these plans shall not be realized ? When this Acadian peninsula, with its one hundred and fifty thousand squai-e miles of territory, and its abundant resources, shall contain a population equal to that now peopling the British Isles, — ^this magnifi- cent estuary, with its deep sea-soundings, discharging a larger volume of water than any river of the Atlantic coast, between the St. John and the ]VIississippi, may become the chief seat of wealth and power, of the mighty race who inhabit the continent, — ^why then Tna/t/ not the history of other lands become ours, and another Liverpool here rival the great commercial city of New- England ; and Boston become to the city of the Saga- dahoc, what Bristol is to the great shipping port of the Mersey? J "We miss from our celebration to-day, one who was instrumental in creating the immediate occasion of it, and in affixing the name of Popham to this great pub- * Gorges' Briefe Narration, p. 24. •)• Minutes of the Council of New-England, July twenty-fourth, 1622. Calendar of Col. State Papers, vol. i. p. 82. This paper is given in full in Poor's Vindica- tion of Gorges, in the Appendix. I The extraordinary advantages of Bath for a naval and military d6p6t, are ad- mitted l>y all military engineers, but no effort adequate to such a consummation hiva yet been made. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 89 lie work, and. who looked forward with prophetic eye to this day's proceedings. The propriety of associating important historic events with works of national defence, and of attesting thereby - to the fame of the actors therein, met the approval of his mature judgment, and his last act of public duty was an appeal to the Secretary of War for the erection of this fort, and affixing to it the name it now bears.* His stern countenance relaxed into a smile at the first suggestion of this anniversary celebration, and the plac- ing within the walls of this fort of this memorial stone. Born on the banks of this river, the place of his birth continued for fourscore years to be his home ; and with- out the aid of anything but his strong character and his indomitable will, he reached wealth and eminence early in life, and bore at the close of it, the title of " the first •citizen of Maine." f This is not the time or place to pronounce his eulogy ; an abler pen at the appointed hour shall perform this pleasing duty. But among the many memorials of his enterprise and public spirit that adorn the banks of the Kennebec, this fort attests and will attest the praise of Eeuel Williams, while it is made by this day's celebra- tion a fitting monument to preserve in remembrance the greater events of an earlier time. W^e must not, in this connection, forget our obliga- tions to the people of the colony of Massachusetts, and the early settlers of Plymouth, for their share in conquering the continent for our race, though deal- ing harshly with Maine. J These Massachusetts Puri- * By appointment of GovemcJr Waahbum, Mr. Williams visited Washington, Kovember first, 1861, as one of the Commissioners of Maine, in reference to the public defences of the State, his first visit after eighteen years' absence. He retired from the Senate in 1843, resigning after having been reelected for six years. He left Washington November eighteenth, 1861, after a personal interview on that day with the Secretary of War. JHon. I. Washburn, Jr., Governor of Maine. See petition of Edward Godfrey and othier inhabitants of Maine, to the Parlia- ment of the Commonwealth. Cal. Col. State Papers, vol. i. p. 479. 90 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. tans of the Saxon type, inheriting all. the gloomy errors of a cruel and bloody period, under the iron rule of the Tudors, were ready to demand of Elizabeth the enforcement of the Act of Uniformity against Papists, but refused obedience to it themselves. Hov ■would they yield to the decision of a majority of the clergy, who in 1562, in full convention, voted to retain the priestly vestments and the forms of a liturgy. While agreeing to all the doctrines of its creed, they grew restless under the forms of the church service, elevated non-essentials into the dignity of principles, and stigma, tized the Prayer-Book and the priestly robes as badges of Popery. They imagined that by a severe austerity they secured the favor of God, and became his chosen peo- ple. They mistook their hatred of others for hatred of sin. They set up their ovm morbid convictions as the standard of right, and rather than submit to the laws of their own land, they endured their penalties, or sought escape from them by expatriation. Once planted on the shores of l^ew-England, the Puritans of Massaphusetts Bay endeavored to extermi- nate every thing that stood in the way of their ambi- tion. * Hence, after their conquest of Maine, they Also, Godfrey's Letters in Mr. Geo. Folsom's Catalogue of Papers in the English State Paper Office in relation to Maine, pp. 52, 64. * The charter of the Massachusetts Company of March 4th, 1629, author- ized them to make laws and ordinances for tiieir government, "not contrary to the laws of England.^' Notwithstanding this they proceeded at once to frame a code of laws designed for the purpose, abrogating the laws of England whenever they stood in the way of their own wishes. The obvious purpose of the charter was to allow such minor regulations to be made as might meet the peculiar wants of the local population. A similar provision is inserted in charters in modern times, designed to allow the recipients of such grants to exercise their rights in any way they choose, not infringing any of the general laws of the State. These Puritans construed their grant differently from all others, because they designed to establish a religious community on a plan of tlieir own, discarding all portions of the English law, unless rei'iiacted by themselves. Tlieir be-pralsed Body of Liberties enacted in 1641, but not pi'inted till withm about thirty years since, virtually abrogated the laws of England. Equally striking was their claim to the territory of Maine. The political troubles ■t home, from 1687 to the restoration of Charles II., in lOGO, withdrew public PdPHAM CELEBRATION. 91 gloried in extirpating every trace of title granted to others, making war on whatever was opposed to them, aiming at unlimited despotism. True, they planted other men's fields, instead of devastating them, and seized upon the territory of others by the same authority and in the same spirit as the Israelites drove out the tribes, that formerly possessed the valley of the Jordan. It is hardly necessary to remind the student of Ameri- can history that, at the close of the seventeenth cen- tury, as at the beginning, the two great geographical divisions of English dominion on this continent, north of the Delaware, were ".the Provinces of New- York and Sagadahoc." Such are the definitions employed in the grant of that dominion by King Charles II. to his brother, the Duke of York ; and such are the titles under which the Duke of York, when he ascended the throne as James II., commissioned his Governor, Col. Thomas Dongan, afterwards Earl of Limerick, to exer- cise authority over these countries. In England, a country of precedents, where the law advisers of the Crown always scrupulously adhered to ancient records in the preparation of official documents, such recogni- tion, 'eighty years after the death of George Popham, is another proof, if any were wanting, of the legal estab- lishment of England's claims in these latitudes being inseparable from the foundation of the first settlement, which to-day we commemorate. To review, in the most hurried manner, the events attention almost entirely from America, and it was not till 1676 that the heirs of Gorges, nearly worn out iu the controversy, obtained a decision in their favor against her usurpations. Thereupon March 13, 1677, for £1250 they purchased the title of Gorges' heirs. Finally in 1684, on scire facias, the Court of Chancery declared their charter forfeited, and thereby put an end 'to the Massachusetts theocracy. A new charter protecting all Protesta:nt Christians in the exercise of their religion, was granted by William and Mary, in 1691, including the colony of Plymouth and of Massachusetts, the Province of Maine, and Sagadahoc, under one government, and Sir William Phipps, a native of Maine, was appointed Governor. 92 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. affecting our race, that have transpired witHn the two hundred and fifty-five years since it was planted here, would transcend the proper limits of this occasion. Less than five millions of people, at that time engaged in the ruder forms of labor, were shut up in the narrow limits of the British Isles,— those who speak the English lan- guage to-day in the two hemispheres, hold dominion over one fifth of the earth's surface, and govern on^e fourth of the human species.* Their material greatness commenced with colonizing North- America, Slowly, patiently and in much suffer- ing, our fathers gained possession of this soil. The title was secured by the act of possession of the Pop- ham Colony. Others came in to help to hold it; political troubles at home favored emigration hither ; and one hundred years after Popham, three hundred thousand people of the Saxo-Norman race inhabited the then eleven existing colonies. During the next sixty years they had mastered the French, and gained the Atlantic slape from the St. Lawrence to Florida. Be- fore the end of the next one hundred years the same peo- ple had grawn into the Colossal Empire of the West, em- bracing thirty-four States, and regions yet unpeopled of still greater extent, including, in all their dominions, a territory equal to the continent of Europe, inhabited by more than thirty millions of human beings, speak- ing one language ; while a new power has arisen in North- America, the Colonial Empire of Great Britain, extending over a larger, but less valuable territory than the United States, and containing more than three mil- lions of inhabitants. Temporary dififerences and periods of alienated feel- ing, will from time to time arise, but nothing can pre- vent the gradual and cordial union of the English- speaking people, of this continent in every thing essen- * See Appendix D. POPHAM CELEBRATION. ' 93 tial to their Mgliest welfare. Thougli divided into yarious governmetits, each ptirsTiiiig its own lawful ends, in obedience to that principle of political harmo- ny, that allows each to revolve, in its own appropriate orbit, aroTind its common centre, an enlightened sense of justice, and obedience to the Divine law, as the highest of all good to communities and states, is the daily lesson of their life. Let, then, each returning an- niversary of this day's commemoration draw closer and closer the bonds of fraternal fellowship, and strengthen those ties of lineage that shall gradually encircle the earth, and constitute all mankind of various races and nationalities, one final brotherhood of nations. Two hundred and fifty-five years have sufficed to change .this wUderness continent, as if by enchantment, into the home of a refined civilization. Cultivated fields, clustering villages, the refinements of city life, rise to our immediate view ; stretching from this point eastward to Ascension Bay, — northward to the Lauren- tian Hills, — southward to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to the Pacific seas, where San Francisco, at the Grolden Gate, at the touch of the telegraph, sends to us kindly greetings for this hour. The improvement in agricultural implements, the wonders of the power-loom and the spinning-jenny, the marvels of the steamship, the mysteries of the photo- graph, the magic of the telegraph, and the omnipotent power of the locomotive railway, have since been made our ever-willing ministers, so that man seems almost in vested with ubiquity and omnipotence ; yet each re- volving year brings forth new marvels, till the finite mind is overwhelmed at any attempt to forecast the future. And the historian of our race traces back this develop- ment to the two first acts in the great drama of Ameri- can history by which the title of England to the Con- 94 MEMORIAL VOLUME, tinent was established ; the first, closing with the grant of the Great Charter of April 10th, 1606 ; the second with the formal act of possession of the New "World under it, August 19th, O. S. 1607, thereby making the title, forever clear and unquestionable. On that day, and upon this peninsula of Sabino, was unfurled that proud flag that had so long braved the battle and the breeze ; then our fathers' flag — and now the flag of the Fatherland — and beneath its waving folds were proclaimed, for the first time, the political principles which lie at the foundation of free govern- ment, in ever memorable words. " I give," said King James, " to my loving subjects, lib- erty to settle Virginia, in the north of America, between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north lati- tude. I authorize them to transport thither any of my own people, or those of other lands, and appoint over them a government of their own choice, subject to my approval, according to the laws of this kingdom. I au- thorize them to work mines, coin money, collect duties by imposts, and to expel all intruders therefrom by mili- tary force ; and I declare, that all children born therein, and all persons residing therein, are, and shall always remain citizens, entitled to all the rights, privileges, and immunities of the loyal subjects of the British realm. " And I do further declare, that these, my loving subjects, shall have the right annually to elect a Pres- ident, and other officers ; that the Christian Reli- gion, established in this our kingdoru, shall be therein preached and observed; that lands shall descend to heirs, according to the provisions of our ancient laws ; that trial by jury of twelve men is established in all ciiminal cases, with a right of pardon by the King ; that in civil causes the President and Council shall de- termine between party and pai'ty, keeping full records POPHAM CELEBRATION. 95 of all proceedings and judgments, witt a rigM of ap- peal to tlie King in council; that no man shall be tried as an offender outside pf the Colony where the alleged offence was committed, and no offences shall be capital except tumult, rebellion, conspiracy, mutiny, and sedition, murder, manslaughter, incest, rape, and adultery. And I do further declare, and ordain, that my loving subjects in America shall forever possess and enjoy the right to make all needful laws for their own government, provided only, that they be consonant to the laws of England. Ahd these, my loving subjects, shall be, and forever remain, entitled to the protection of the British Crown, and I establish over them the government of the King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland."* This charter of liberties was never revoked. It was a decree of universal emancipation, and evvery man of any color, from any clime, was by this act of King James redeemed, regenerated, disenthralled, the moment he touched the soil of America, between the thirty- fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude ; and he at once became entitled to all the rights of citizen- ship — one hundred and fifty years before the decree of Lord Mansfield struck off the chains and fetters from the African in England. This ordinance also established the right of the people to self-government, subject only to the paramount authority of the Crown and Laws of England. These solemn formalities, unknown to any other of the early cblonies, counselled by the Lord Chief Justice of England, whose brother, as President of the infant commonwealth, planted on these shores the em- blems of the authority of his nation, — proclaimed in no doubtful accents to all other nations, that here, the title * See Poor's Vindication of Gorges, Appendix, for this constituent Code of Laws of King James. 96 MEMORIAL VOLUME. of England was established. That pledge of the pro- tection of his government, M^hich every Englishman has always felt when he planted his foot on any portion of the empire of his sovereign, gave strength and courage to this colony, — and vrhen the humble settlers of Ply- mouth, thirteen years later, impressed vdth their feet the sandy shores of Cape Cod, the claim of England to the country had been vindicated and established, against the asserted claims of both Spain and France. The power of England remained undisturbed west of Sagadahoc, and southward, till it was finaEy yielded on the third of September, 1783 — one hundred and seventy-six years from the time it was first planted — when all political connection with Great Britain was dissolved, on the conclusion of the Definitive Treaty of Peace. In announcing that fact, King George the Third said : " In thus admitting their separation from the Crown of these kingdoms, I have sacrificed every consideration of my own, to the wishes and opinions of my people, I make it my humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God, that Great Britain may not feel the evils which might result from so great a dis- memberment of the empire; and that America may be free from the calamities which have formerly proved, in the mother country, how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of constitutional liberty. Religion, language, interest, affections may, and I hope will yet prove a bond of permanent union between the two countries. To this end neither attention nor dispo- sition on my part shall be wanting." Memorable words, for they admit the national error. But the repentance of the King had come too late. The loyal subjects of King James had planted on these shores the principles of civil and religious liberty, under his guidance and . his express authority, and it was not in the power of King or Parliament, after one POPHAM CELEBRATION. 97 hundred and seventy-six years of the exercise of these rights, to reclaim them by force of arms. It was in defence of rights granted by King James that onr fathers took up arms, against the arbitrary en- actments of King George the Third and his Parlia- ment, under the lead of Sir George Grenville, then first Minister of the Crown. They defended a princi-, pie since made universal in its application, in every part of the British Colonial Empite. They claimed only their rights as loyal subjects of Great Britain, Our fathers charged the acts of oppression, com- mencing in 1763, and ending in the Revolution of lY're, on the King, as the responsible head of the British government, but the exact truth still remains obscured, from want of public access, till a recent date, to the state papers of that period. If the odium of these acts shall justly fall on the head of the Min- ister rather than on. the King, to what an eminence of guilt did Sir George Grenville attain, and how differ- ent the award of future over cotemporary times and opinions, ^s to the claims to veneration of the two men of England most intimately associated with American affairs, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the father of English Colonization in America, a private citizen, — and Sir George Grenville, the highest officer of state, who inaugurated those measures that caused the final sepa ration of the thirteen IsTorth- American Colonies from the British Crown, — an event, under the circumstances in which it was achieved, every day seen to have been most disastrous to humanity and our race. *' The mind of each one present instinctively turns back to-day, over this long line of history, pausing to survey, in this broad sweep, the great epochs that mark its progress.' It lingers longest in contemplating the initiatory steps that gave title and possession to the 98 MEMORIAL VOLUME. country, — and deligMs to loiter, tere, around this cher- ished spot, and recall to present view the deeds of Gorges and Popham, and those vpho assisted them to transport hither the Saxo-Norman race ; for that race, planted on this new continent, has favored and illus- trated every thing that tends to the advancement of freedom and humanity, whatever may have been its occasional errors. We have established our power as a people, developed the natural resources of our country, and demonstrated the ability of our government to resist foreign aggres- sion. One further duty remains — the vindication of its principles in reference to ourselves. Can a government, resting for its strength and support on the consent of the governed, so far maintain its power as to suppress in- surrection vsdthout weakening the safeguards to personal liberty ? Can popular elections fQl the highest offices of the state, and insure that strength and stability to the government, that can vindicate its power in times of domestic insurrection, or open rebellion, like that, now shaking it to its foundations ? Putting our trust in that power that alone can save us, invoking that arm that can alone be stretched forth for our deliverance, we bow our wills to the Divine teaching. "What though at this hour clouds and darkness hang like a thick pall over our country, and in the excess of our marvellous prosperity, we are called for a time to self-abasement and trial, the race shall survive all shocks of civil strife and of foreign invasion, and rise superior to both ; this free government emerge into the full strength and measure of its giant proportions ; and "the gorgeous ensign of the Eepublic," known and honored throughout the earth, shall once more float, full and free, as in former days, over a united and prosperous people. POPHAM CELEBRATION. ' 99 At the conclusion of Mr. Poor's address, the ceremonies at the Fort -were terminated with the benediction, pronounced by the Eev. Francis Norwood, Pastor of tlie Congregational Church in Phipsburg, within the limits of which town is the ancient province of Sabino. ' AT THE PAVILION. The next division of the commemorative acts was assigned to the Tent. In the absence of the gentleman expected to pre- side at this commemoration, the President of the Historical Society, the Hon. William Willis, was requested by the Execu- tive Committee to take this ofSce for the remainder of the day. The Chief Marshal had appointed as his assistants, the follow- ing gentlemen : Elias Thomas, 2d., John M. Brown, and Henry WiUis, Esquires, of Portland ; Samuel D. Bailey, John S. Elliot, David T. Stinson, and Henry W. Swanton, Esquires, of Bath ; Col. Daniel Elliot, of Brunswick ; Joseph McKeen, M. D., of Topsham ; and Nathaniel M. Whitmore, 2d., Esq., of Gardiner. With the aid of such of the number as were present, he organized and conducted the procession ; which, preceded by the band, was led to the large and comrnodiously arranged tent, erected at some distance westerly from the fort, on a smooth and grassy plain, whose surroundings presented the same features as were seen from the platform at the fort. The entrance and the platform for the speakers, members of the 100 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Historical Society, and invited guests, had been tastefully deCr orated, under the direction of Major C. W. King, with ever- greens and the flags of the two nations, whose histories were united in this commemorative festival. Seats for. twenty-five hundred persons had been provided under the broad-spreading awning, which were rapidly occupied ; and a large number of persons in addition, while the doings of the occasion were con- tinued, remained standing as Hsteners to the various addresses, and the cheering strains of the music interspersed at intervals. A dinner of clam and fish chowder was supplied here for this vast assembly. ADDRESSES The audience was called to order by the Chief Marshal, when the President of the Day, after a few brief remarks bear- ing on -the event and its commemoration, annoimced the fu-st sentiment in the following words^ The 19tt of August [0. S.], 1607, — ever memosable as the day that witnessed the consummation of the title of England to the New World, by the formal oc- cupation and possession of New England, under the Royal Charter of April 10, 1606. In the absence of the gentleman whom it was hoped would respond to this sentiment, the President called upon the Right Rev. Bishop Burgess to address the assembly ; who, after a few introductory remarks connecting the sentiment proposed with the name of the chaplain of the colony, read the following paper : POPHAM CELEBEATIQN. 101 BISHOP burgess's ADDRESS. Mr. President : Who was Eichard Seymour ? And why- should he be remembered with honor ? The house of Seymour, the second among the English nobil- ity, first rose to eminence through the elevation of Queen Jane, the daughter of Sir John Seymour, the favorite wife of Henry the Eighth, and the mother of Edward the Sixth. Her brother. Sir Edward Seymour, became Earl of Hertford, and in the minority of his nephew. King Edward, was created Duke of Somerset, and governed the realm as Lord Protector. He was twice married, and* his second wife, Anne Stanhope, being a lady of high descent, it was made a part of his patent of nobility that his titles should first be inherited in the line of her children, and only in the event of the failure of that line, should pass to his children by his first wife, Catherine PiUol, and their descendants. Accordingly, the honors, — for- feited when " the Good Duke," as the Protector was called, perished on the scaffold, — being afterwards restored, passed down! in the younger line, till it expired in Algernon, Duke of Somerset, in 1750 ; when they reverted to the elder line, in which they continue till this day. In the meantime, this elder branch had been seated, all along, at Berry Pomeroy, in Devonshire, a few miles from Tot- ness, from Dartmouth, and from the sea. The eldest son of the Protector, Sir Edward, a christian name which continued in the eldest sons for eight generations, died in 1593. His son, Sir Edward, "the grandson of the Protector, was married in 1576, and died in 1613, having had, according to one account, five sons ; according to another, three ; besides four daughters. The youngest son, according to both accounts, bore the name of Eichard ; and this great-grandson of the Protector Som- erset, was, I suppose, the Eichard Seymour who was the chap- lain of the Popham Colony. The case is sustained as follows : 102 MEMORIAL VOLUME. There is no other person of the name known in genealogical history. Among sixty-nine male descendants of the Protector, he is the only Richard. His age corresponds with the chronology of the occasion. His father having married in 1576, the youngest of three, or even of five sons, might well have been born within ten years after, so as to have been, in 1607, a yoiing clergyman just from the university. Wliat more probable than that such a young man should be attracted by this noble adventure, as it happened to be in the hands of his immediate friends ? His residence corresponds with the locality of the enterprise. It was within fifteen or twenty mil^s of Plymouth, and amongst those gentlemen of Devonshire who chiefly formed the com- pany with whom this undertaking originated. Of the Plym- outh company, of 1620, his brother. Sir Edward Seymour, was one of the incorporated members. This brings us to the most decisive circumstances, which are not a little interesting in the light which they cast upon the history of the colony. At Dartington, close by Berry Pome- roy, was then, and still is, the seat of the old family of Champernoun, which " came in with WUliam the Conqueror." Francis Champernoun, who came to Maine as one of the coun- cillors under the patent of Gorges, and settled a^ Kittery, was the nephew of Sir Perdinando Gorges. Therefore, cither Gorges liimself, or liis sister, or his sister-in-law, must have married a Champernoun. Gorges Avas Governor of Plymouth, and was the soul of these expeditions long after. The mother of Sir Walter Raleigh was also a Champernoun ; and as she was of course the mother also of his half-brother, the gallant Sir Humphrey Gilbert, it follows that his son, Ra- leigh Gilbert, the admiral of this expedition, was the grandson of a Champernoun, and had an affinity with Gorges through that family. Sir John Popliam had several children, amongst whom was a POPHAM CELEBRATION. 103 daughter, Elizabeth, who was married to Sir Eichard Cham- pernomi ; and thus there was affinity between the famihes of Gorges, Gilbert, and Popham, through the household at Dar- tington. Sir Edward Seymour, the father of Eichard Seymour, was married, as has been said, in 1576, and his wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Champernoun ; and thus the chain of relationsliip is complete between the famihes of Gorges, Ea- leigh,. Gilbert, Popham, and Seymour. Eichard Seymour, therefore, the son of Edward Seymour, was related to Gorges, the projector of the colony ; to Popham, its patron ; to Popham, its president ; and to Gilbert, its ad- miral, — all through the common link of the family of his mother. When they sought a chaplain, they found one in Eichard Seymour ; and no other Eichard Seymour is known except this relative of theirs. May we not regard the identity as, I will not say demonstrated, but fairly established, to the extent of a reasonable conviction ? The connection between the families of Seymour and Pop- ham ceased not with that generation. Sir John Popham, though Wellington, in Somersetshire, was his birth-place and burial-place, purchased from the family of Darell, to which the grandmother of the Protector belonged, the seat of Littlecote, in Wiltshire, on the borders of Berkshire, and here resided his descendants. Sir Edward Seymour, grand-nephew of Eichard Seymour, married Letitia Popham, daughter of Francis Pop- ham of Littlecote, and had a son named Popham Seymour ; and the next Sir Edward, his eldest son, married another Leti- tia, daughter of Sir Francis Popham, also of Littlecote. This hereditary friendship accords with the association on this spot. But Eichard Seymour has his honor, this day, not from his memorable descent, but from the place assigned him by the Pro'v'idence which presided over the destinies of this now Christian land. He was not the first English clergyman who 104 MEMOBIAL VOLUME. ever preached the Gospel or celebrated the Holy Communion in North America : that honor fell to Wolfall, in 1678, on the shores of Newfoundland or Labrador. He was not the first English clergyman in the United States ; for Hunt had already begun his pastoral office on the banks of the James. He was not even the first Christian teacher within the limits of Maine ; for L'Escarbot, a Huguenot, had instructed his French asso- ciates in 1604, on an island in the St. Croix. But Seymour was the' first preacher of the Gospel in the English tongue, within the borders of New England, and of the free, loyal, and unrevolted portion of these United States. Had he inherited all the honors of his almost royal great- grandsire, they would have given him a far less noble place than this, in the history of mankind. The Memory of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, — the Father of English Colonization in America. ' As no response has been furnished to the committee in sea- son for the present publication, it has been thought desirable to append to this account of the commemoration, in the form of a supplement, Mr. Poor's " Vindication of Gorges ; " with its appendix, containing the charter of April 10, 1606 ; the Constituent Code of Laws publicly read at Sabino, August 19, 1607 [0. S. j ; the commission of Su- Ferdinando Gorges, as Governor of New England ; and many other rare documents ; many of which, from the English archives, have never before been printed. A nearer approach to historical completeness will be the result of this addition. This work of Mr. Poor is given in full, as recently issued from the press of Messrs. D. Applcton & Co., New York. Sir John Fopham, — the able, learned, and upright Chief Justice of England, by the appointment of Elizabeth; under the shadow of whose great name was laid the foundation of the Colossal Empire of the Western World. The response to this sentiment, expected in a commuuica- POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 105 tion from a distinguished gentleman, unable to be present, has not been received in season for publication. Henry WriotJiedey, Earl of Southampton, — patron of Letters and of American Colonization ; the friend and associate of Sir Ferdinando Gorges ; whose joint labors procured the Koyal Charter of April 10, 1606 ; the basis on which rests the title of our race to the New World. In reply to the invitation of the committeef the following letter was received from the Hon. Edward Everett : ME. EVEEETT'S LETTEE. Boston, 18th August, 1862. SiE : — I have received your letter of the 14th, containing the invitation of the Executive Committee, to attend the His- torical Celebration at Port Popham on the 29th instant. If it had been in my power to attend the celebration, I should have had much pleasure in responding to tjjie toast enclosed in your letter, in honor of the Earl of Southampton. His serv- ices in obtaining the Eoyal Charter of 1606 are a just title to remembrance in America. That Shakspeare, — " the greatest name," says Hallam, " in all literature," — inscribed to him " the first heir of his invention," and, in the preface to his sec- ond poem, says, " The love I dedicate to your Lordship is with- out end," is a distinction enjoyed by the Earl of Southampton alone of the sons of men. Eegretting that it is not in my power to attend the celebra- tion, and with the best wishes for its success, I remain. Sir, very respectfully yours, Edwaed Eveeett. To Kev. Edwaed Ballaed, Secreta/ry of the Executive Committee. The Memory of George Popham, — who led hither the first English Colony ; be- 106 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. came the head of its government by the election of his companions, and left his bones to mingle with the soil of New England, ui)on the Peninsula of Sabino. The following C(5mmunication, from the venerable Rev. Wm. Allen, D. D., of Northampton, Mass., formerly President of Bowdoin College, is here introduced : 'PRESIDENT ALLEN'S LETTER. Northampton, Mass., August 26, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. Dear Sir : — I give my thanks to the Executive Committee for inviting me to attend, on the 29th, the proposed celebration of the 255th anniversary of the founding of Popham's Colony, at the mouth of the Sagadahoc River, the first English colony on the shores of New England. Most gladly should I meet with them on the western bank of that river, did God in his providence permit ; but my ill health, now of four years' con- tinuance, forbids the thought of such a journey, and scarcely allows me to make a reply with my pen, as you request. If any have judged that I should be likely to take a great inter- est in an occasion which so especially relates to the early his- tory of Maine, they have judged rightly ; for more than forty years ago I found myself an associate of many worthy and learned men, the very first members of the Maine Historical Society, and co-operated in their labors. Moreover, my atten- tion had been previously long given to the history of the first settlements of our country, so that I am somewhat of an anti- quarian in my pur suit i^, as you may well deem me to be in years, when I say, that I was already a graduate of old Har- vard, when the first class sat down, sixty years ago, to their studies at beloved Bowdoin, the first college established in the State of Maine. With this college, during its existence of sixty years, it was my lot to be connected, during about one- POPHAM CBLEBEATION. , 107 third of that time, beginning with 1820, involving, in that period of nearly twenty years, great and interesting memories. How can I forget that I ■ became a citizen of Maine in the very year, 1820, in which Maine became one of the States of the American Union, now threatened by the most atrocious re- bellion which ever sprung up in this world, — a rebellion that the vigorous, noble, patriotic sons of Maine ^re helping to put • down, and which, in God's goodness, they will be sure to see crushed, when He shall please to give triumph. to the right. How can I forget those whom I knew as the first governors of Maine, — Bang, Parris, Lincoln, Huntoon, Smith, Dunlap, and Fairfield, with many other of its leading men, the friends of the college ? How can I forget the beautiful village of Brunswick, the site of the cqUege, on the banks of the Aumaughcawgen (or Am- eriscoggin, or Androscoggin), one of the great rivers of Maine ; or ever lose the recollection, that in its cemetery there sleep two of the forms most dear to me among the forms of the earth ? Ho'# can I forget my co-laborers in beloved Bowdoin nearly twenty years ; namely, Cleaveland, Newman, Upham, Pack- ard, and Smyth ? And how can I overlook, without ingrati- tude to God, the consequences of our labors during the short period referred to, — results to spring up from a college, which the colonists at Sagadahoc would not be likely to imagine was destined to be planted, in the course of time,' in the wilderness,' on the banks of one of the great branches of the Sagadahoc, near Merry-Meeting Bay, and not twenty miles distant from Popham's Fort ? > Those results of twenty years' labor are these, — the educa- tion of^ more than five hundred young men, many of whom have been lights in a multitude of our States, learned profes- sors and teachers of various sciences in colleges scattered over our Union, and presidents of colleges ; members of the House 108 MEMORIAL VOLUME. of Representatives and of the Senate of the United States ; judges of courts ; governors of different States, and one, John Brown Russwurm, a colored man, the governor of a free State in Africa ; one the President of our whole country ; one, Cyrus Hamlin, long a missionary in Turkey, now founding a college in the Mohammedan city of Constantinople ; and about one hundred and fifty ministers of the gospel, of different denomi- nations ; some of whom are eminent preachers of the truth in our great cities, and all of them teachers of the way of salva- tion to their fellow-men, and examples of the Christian virtues, as was the solitary preacher of New England, Rev. Richaed Seymour, the chaplain at Sagadahoc in 1607 and 1608. This Mr. Seymour, of the English Episcopal Church, preached the first sermon ever preached on " the main " of Xew England, August 19, 1607 [0. S.], when the colony was planted, al- though he had preached on Sunday, the 9th, a sermon to a part of the company on the shore of St. George's Island, twenty miles to the east. It appears to me certain, beyond a doubt, that the river, at the mouth of which was Popham's Colony, was caUedt)y the early voyagers and most eminent writers, the river Sag-ador hoc ; and it seems to me equally certain, that the colony was planted on the west side of the river, and not on Clark's Is- land, on the east side. The proof is as follows : 1. The very important and decisive " Account of the North- ern Colonic, seated upon the river of Sachadehoc, by William Strachey," who was Secretary of the Virginia Colony about 1610 : it was first published in this country in the fiLrst volume, fourth series, of the JMassachusetts Historical Collections, 1852, edited by Rev. William S. Bartlctt, Episcopal minister of Chel- sea. This writer says : " They went early in the morning from their ship into the river Sachadehoc, to view the river, and to search Avhcrc fhey might find a fitt place for their plantation." Again, he says : " Tliey all weul ashore, and Uiere made choice POPHAM CELEBEATION. 109 of a place for *their plantation, at the mouth or entry of the river on the west side (for the river bendeth itself towards the northeast and by east), being almost an island of a good big- ness, being in a province called by the Indians, Sabino, so called of a Sagamo or chief commander under the grand bas- saba.," This was August 18th [0. S.]. The next day, Aiig. 19th, was the day of planting the colony. He says also, that September 23, " Captain Gilbert, accompanied with nineteen ' others, departed in his shallop to goe for the head of the river of Sachadehoc." 2. Captain John Smith, who was conversant with the coast of Maine immediately after this colony began, speaks of the " plantation of Sagadahoc by those noble captains, George Pop- ham," &c. He mentions. the rivers " Sagadahoc, Aumaghcaw- gen, and Kenabeca." 3. Prince, in his Annals, says, " that Popham and his com- "pany settled at the mouth of the Sagadehock." Dr. Belknap says that the colonists landed " at the mouth of Sagadahoc, or Kennebec River, on a peninsula ; " of course, it was on the west side and not on the east side, and on an island. It does not appear that Belknap had any authority for assigniag to the river, at the site of the colony, the name of Kennebec. William Hubbard, indeed, in his History of New England, written about 1680, speaks obscurely of " a spacious river called Kennebec," and of " a place somewhere about the mouth whereof was then, and is still called Sagadahoc," where the colony was landed. But his ignorance in this matter is obvi- ous from his own words, and he can be of no authority. He could never have seen Strachey's decisive statement. Governor Sullivan, who wrote in the Massachusetts Historical Collection in 1792, a " Description of Georgetown," — a paper referred to. by Dr. Holmes in his Annals, places the colony on Parker's Island ; but he gives no authority for his judgment. If this matter, then, should be considered settled, I would 110 MEMORIAL VOLUME. respectfully ask the commemorators assembled' on the 29th of August, What has become of the great river Sagadahoc? How came it to vanish from our maps and our geographies ? And will they not take into consideration the possibility of re- establishing the name of Sagadahoc as the name of the great river, at least as high up as twenty mUes, to the junction at Merry-Meeting Bay, of the Kennebec from the north, and the Aumoughcawgen from the west ? Captain Smith, who made his map of New England in 1616, requested Prince Charles to change the Indian names of places and rivers on it at his pleasure. A few of the changes thus made are as follows : Smith had marked as places of note, Sag- adahoc, at the mouth of the river on the west side ; Aumough- cawgen, on the same side, twenty miles to the north-; and Ken- nebec, further north about thirty miles, on the west side also. These were changed by Prince Charles, the first to Leth (or Leith), the second to Cambridge, as if by princely prediction, the beautiful site of Brunswick on the Androscoggin River would, in time, become to Maine, what Cambridge was to Eng- land, the chief seat of science. The third change is of Kenne- bec, near the present site of Augusta, to Edenborough ; and these changes appear on the printed map. Sagadahoc River seems also to be changed to that of Forth, the name of a river in Scotland, where Prince Charles was born. As you shall stand at the mouth of the Sagadahoc River, I trust it will not be forgotten that you stand at the very spot, where, on the day of the meeting, two hundred and fifty-fiTC years ago, at the laymg of the foxmdation stone of the colony, the first sermon ever preached in New England was preached by their chaplain, Mr. Seymoub, of the Episcopal Church ; in giving which gospel to the people of Mame, God has given them the richest treasure on the earth. It was at a later period of thirteen years, that the gospel was first preached at Plymouth, and a few years still later, by Thomas Hooker, at old Cam- POPHAM CELBBEATION. Ill bridge. Most earnestly did Hooker call tipon his hearers, as they would be saved, to bow their pride before the truth and authority of God ; for in his view this was the great sin of man, " this pride of a man's spirit, of his mind, his reason, his will, and affections." If God's truth has come from heaven to earth, what greater guilt can there be than to deny it, and per- vert it, and withhold it from dark-minded men, to whom it may be in our power to iatpart it ? When visited at the fort by two canoes of Indians, Presi- dent Popham was careful to " carry them with him to the place of public prayer, where they were," on the first Sunday in Oc- tober, " at both morning and evening, attending with great reverence and silence." But I must close. An old and dying man must bid you fare- well. The mighty God, who created the sun, moon, and stars, and who formed also this round earth ; who poured out from his hand the waters that fill the oceans and the channels of mighty rivers, making also the living treasures floating in them ; who framed the islands and cast up the huge rocks, and spread out and planted the fields and the forests of " the main; " and who permits us, this day, instead Of a feeble, disheartened col- ony, to see a large province, a wide-spread State, inhabited by a hardy race of well educated and virtuaus men ; the God who has unfolded to us his scheme of mercy, through the death' of his Son, this God, by his truth and spirit, prepare us all for the peace and joy and glory of an immortal associate abode in heaven. Yours, &c., "William Allen. Maritime AAoentwe and Discovery, — illustrated by the men of Bristol and the Severne ; whose Cahots and Gilberts pointed the way to the northern shores of the New World. The name of Kaleigh Gilbert shall ever be honored for his fidelity in conducting to these shores the colony of Popham. The Memory of Sieur de ChampUim, — the fearless navigator and accomplished statesman ; the first to explore and designate these shores ; whose plans of em- 112 MEMORIAL VOLUME. pire, more vast and sagacious than any of his time, failed of success only- through tlie short-sightedness of his sovereign, in allowing the Atlantic shores . of New England to fall into the hands of his rivals, thereby changing the his- 9 tory of the New World. The Hon. Tlios. Darcy McGee, President of the Executive Council of Canada, addressed the assemblage, in response to this sentiment. He said : • ADDRESS OP THE HON. THOMAS DARCY M^GEE. I beg to assure you, Mr. President, and the gentlemen of the Maine Historical Society, who have done me the honor to in- vite me here, that I feel it a very great privilege to be a spec- tator and a participant in the instructive, retributive ceremonial of this day. Tliis peninsula of Sabino must become, if it is not already, classic ground ; and this 29th of August, the true era of the establishment of our language and race on this continent, one of the most cherished /as^i of the English-speaking people of North America. It is, on general grounds, an occasion hardly less interesting to the colonies still English, than to the citizens of Maine ; and therefore, I beg to repeat in your pres- ence, the gratification I feel in being allowed to join in the first, of what I trust will prcjve, but the first, of an interminable series of such celebrations. I would be very insensible. Sir, to the character in which I have been so cordially presented to tliis assembly, if I did not personally acknowledge it ; and I should be, I conceive, unworthy of the position I happen to occupy as a member of the Canadian government, if I did not feel stiU more the honor you have paid to Canada, in the remembrance you have made of her first Governor and Captain General, the Sieur de Champlain. That celebrated person was, in truth, not only in point of time, but in the comprehension of his views, the audacity of his projects, and the celebrity of his individual career, the first statesman of Canada ; and no one pretending POPHAM CELEBEATION. 113 to the character of a Canadian statesman could feel otherwise than honored and gratified, when Champlain's name is invoked, publicly or privately, in his presence. We have no fear that the reputation ,of ouv great Founder will not stand the severest test of historical research ; we have no fear that his true great- ness will dwindle by comparison with the rest of the Atlantic l^ders — the chiefs of the renowned sea-chivalry, of whom we have- already heard such eloquent mention. We Canadians ardently desire that he should be better known — be well known ' — and, perhaps, you, Mr. President, will permit me to indicate some of the facts in the career, to point to some of the traits in the character, which haloes for us, forever, the name and mem- ory of the Sieup de Champlain. Wliat we esteem most of all features in the life of our Pounder, is that chief virtue of all eminent men — his indomit- able fortitude ; and next to that we revere the amazing versar tility and resources of the tasm. Originally a naval officer, he had voyaged to the West Indies and. to Mexico, and had written a memoir, lately discovered at Dieppe, and edited both in Prance and England, advocating among other things the artificial connection of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Prom the quar- ter deck we trace him to the counting rooms of the merchants of Rouen and Saint Malo, who first intrusted him in 1603, with the command of a commercial enterprise, of which Canada was the field. Prom the service of the merchants of Rouen, Dieppe, and Saint Malo, we trace him to the service of his Sovereign — Henry IV. Por several successive years we find his flag gjancing at all points along this rock-bound coast, on which we are now assembled, from Port Royal to Massachusetts Bay. Whenever we do not find it here, we may be certain it has advanced into the interior, that it is unfurled at Quebec, at Montreal, or towards the sources of the Hudson and the Mohawk. We will find that this versatile sailor has become in ■ time a founder of cities, a negotiator of trtfeties with barbarous 114 MEMOEIAL VOLUME, tribes, an author, a legislator, a discoTerer. As a discoverer, he was the first European to ascend the Richelieu, which he named after the patron of his latter years — the all-powerful Cardinal; He was the first to traverse that beautiful lake, now altogether your own, which makes his name so familiar to all Americans ; he was the first to ascend our great central river, the Ottawa, as far north as lake Nippising, and he was the first to discover what he very justly calls " the fresh-water sea " — of Lake Ontario. His place as an American discoverer is, therefore, among the first ; while his claims as a colonizer rest on the firm foundations of Montreal and Quebec ; and his proj- ect — extraordinary for the age — of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific by artificial channels of communication. As a legisla- tor, we have not yet recovered, if we ever shall, the ordinances he is known to' have promulgated ; but as an author we have his narrative of transactions in New France, his voyage to Mexico, his treatise on navigation and some other papers. As a diplomat, we have the Franco-Indian alliances, which he founded, and which lasted a hundred and fifty years on this continent, and which exercised so powerful an influence, not only on American, but on European aflfairs. To Mm also it was mainly owing that Canada, Acadia, and Cape Breton were reclaimed by and restored to France, under the treaty of Saint German-en-Laye, in 1632. As to the moral qualities, our Founder was brave almost to rashness. He would cast himself with a single European follower in the midst of savage enemies, and more than once his life was endangered by the excess of his confidence and his courage. He was eminently social in his habits — as his order of " le bon temps " — in which every man of his associates was for one day host to all his comrades and commanded in turn in those agreeable encounteps, of which we have just had a slight skirmish here. He was sanguine as became an adventurer, and self-denying as became a hero. He served under De Mo*s, who for a time succeeded to his honors POPHAM CELEBRATION. 115 and office, as cheerfally as he had ever acted for himself, and in the end he made a friend of his rival. He encountered, as Columbus, and many others had done, mutiny and assassina- tion in his own disaffected followers, but he triumphed over the bad passions of men as completely as he triumphed over the ocean and the wilderness. He touched the extremes of human experience among di- verse characters and nations. At one time, he sketched plans of civilized aggrandisement for Henry IV. and Richelieu ; at another, he planned schemes of wild warfare with Huron Chiefs and Algonquin braves. He united, in a most rare degree, the faculties of action and reflection, and, like all highly reflective minds, his thoughts long cherished in secret, ran often into the mould of maxims, and some of them would now form the fit>- test possible inscriptions to engrave upon his monument. When the merchants of Quebec grumbled at the cost of for- tifying that place, he said — " It is best not to obey the pas- sions of men ; they are but for a season ; it is our duty to re- gard the future." With all his love of good fellowship and society, he was, what ~ seems to some inconsistent with it, sin- cerely and enthusiastically religious : among his maxims are these two, — that "the salvation of one soul is of more value than the conquest of an empire ; " and, " that kings ought not to think of extending their authority over idolatrous nations, except for the purpose of subjecting them to Jesus Christ." Such, Mr. President, are, in brief, the attributes of the md,n you have chosen to honor, and I leave it for this company to say, whether, in all that constitutes true greatness, the first Governor and Captain General of Canada need fear compari- son with any of the illustrious . brotherhood who pjjpjected and founded our North American States. Count over all their honored names ; enumerate their chief actions ; let each com- munity assign to its -oWn his meed of eloquent and reverent remembrance ; but among them, from north to south, there 116 MEMORIAL VOLUME. will be no secondary place assigned to the Sieiir de Champlain. Mr. President, your Excellency has added to the sentiment in honor of Champlain, an allusion and an inference as to the different results of the French and English colonial policy, on which you will probably expect me to ofifer an observation or two before resuming my seat. Champlain's project originally was, no doubt, to make this Atlantic coast the basis of French power in the New World. His government claimed the conti- nent down to the fortieth parallel, which, as you know, inter- sects Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois ; while the English claimed up to the forty-fifth, which intersects Nova Scotia and Canada. Within these five degrees of latitude the pretensions of France were long zealously maintained in diplomacy, but were never practically asserted, except in the forty-fourth and forty- fifth, by colonization. I am not prepared to dispute the infer- ence that the practical abandonment, by France, of the coast discoveries of her early navigators, south of forty-five, may have changed, as you say, " the destiny of the New World." It may be so ; it may be, also, that we have not reached the point of time in which to speak positively as to the permanent result ; for Divine Providence moves in His orbit by long and insensible curves, of which even the clearest-sighted men can discern, in, their time, but a very limited section. But we know, as of the past, that the French power, in the reign of Louis Xni. and XIV., was practically based on the St. Law- rence, with a southern aspect, rather than on the Atlantic, with a western aspect. All the consequences of that great change of plan and policy, I am not prepared here so much as to allude to, for thatlwould carry me where I have no wish to go, — into international issues not yet exhausted. I may be permitted, however, to question that French influ- ence, as developed in its Eoman Catholic religion, its Roman law, and its historical fascinations, was ever really circumscribed POPHAM CELEBRATION. 117 to Canada, or was really extinguished, as has been usually as- sumed, by the fall of Quebec. It is amazing to find in the colonial records of the period between the death of Champlain and the death of Montcalm, a century and a quarter, how important a part that handful of secluded French colonists played in North American aifairs. In 1629, Champlain could have carried off all his colonists in " a single ship ; " more than a hundred years later they were estimated at some 65,000 souls ; in the Seven Years war, they were, according to Mr. Bancroft, but as " one to foujleen " of the English colonists. The part played by the Canadians in war, under the French Kings, was out of all proportion to their numbers ; it was a glorious but prodigal part ; it left their country exposed to pe- riodical scarcity, without wealth, without commerce, without political liberty. They were ruled by a policy strictly martial to the very last, and though Eichelieu, Colbert, De la Gallis- sionere, and other supreme minds, saw, in their " New France," great commercial capabilities, the prevailing policy, especially under Louis XIV. and XV., was to make and keep Canada a mere military colony. It is instructive to find a man of such high intelligence as Montcalm, justifying that policy in his dis- patches to the President de Mole, on the very eve of the sur- render of Quebec. The Canadians, in his opinion, ought not be allowed to manufacture, lest they should become unman- ageable, like the English colonists ; but, on the contrary, they should be kept to martial exercises, that they might subserve the interests of France, in her transatlantic wars with JJngland. Such was the policy which fell at Quebec with its last French Governor and Captain General ; and it is a policy, I need hard- ly say, which no intelligent Canadian now looks back to with any other feelings than those of regret and disapprobation. A hundred years have elapsed since the international contest to which you refer, was consummated at Quebec, and Canada to- day, under the mild and equitable sway of her fourth English 118 MEMORIAL VOLUME. sovereign, has to point to trophies of peaceful progress, not less glorious, and far more serviceable, than any achieved by our predecessors who were subject to the French Kings. The French speaking population, which from 1608 till 1760, had not reached 100,000, from 1760 to 1860 has multiplied to 880,- 000. Upper Canada, a wilderness as Champlain found it and Montcalm left it, has a population exceeding Massachusetts, of as fine a yeomanry as ever stirred the soil of the earth. If French Canada points with justifiable pride to its ancient battle- field, English Canada points, wiji no less pleasure, to its newly reclaimed harvest fields ; if the old regime is tyijified by the strong walls of Quebec, the monument of the new era may be seen in the great bridge which spans the fA. Lawrence, within view of the city I represent, and whose four and twenty piers may each stand for one h&ur, sacred to every traveler who steams through its .sounding tniba, on his way from the Atlantic to the far West. In conclusion, Mr. President, allow me again to assui-e you that I have listened with great pleasure to the spseches of this day, — especially to the address of my old and long esteemed friend (Hon. Mr. Poor). I trust the sentiments uttered here, at the mouth of the Kennebec, in Maine, will go home to Eng- land, and show our English relatives that the American people, unmoved by any selfish motive, are capable of doing fiill and entire justice to the best qualities of the English chai-acter. I am sure nothing was farther from your minds than to turn this historical commemoration to any political account, — and cer- tainly I could not have done myself the pleasure of being here, if I had imagined any such intention ; — but after all the angry taunts which have been lately exchanged between England and America, I cannot but think this solemn acknowledgment of ■ national affiliation, made on so memorable a spot as Fort Pop- ham, and made in so cordial a spirit, must have a healing and hai)py effect. We have been sitting under your authority, Mr. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 119 President, in the High Court of Posterity, — we have sum- moned our ancestors from their ancient graves, — we have dealt out praise and blame among them, — I trust without violence to truth or injustice to the dead : for the dead have their rights as the living have : injustice to them is one of the worst forms of all injustice, — and undue praise to the unde- serving is the worst injustice to the virtuous and meritorious actors in the great events of former ages. ^ When we leave this place, we shall descend from the medi- tative world of the past to mingle in the active world of the present, where each man must bear his part and defend his post. Let me say for myself, Mr. President, and I think I may add I speak in this respect, the general, settled sentiment of my countrymen of Canada, when I say, that in the extraordi- nary circumstances which have arisen for you, and for us also, in North America, there is no other feeling in Canada, than a feeling of deep and sincere sympathy and friendliness towards the United States. As men loyal to our own institutions, we honor loyalty everywhere ; as freemen, we are interested in all free States ; as neighbors, we are especially interested in your peace, prosperity, and welfare. "We are all anxious to exchange everything with you, except injustice and misrepresentation : that is a species of commerce, which, — even when followed by the fourth estate (pointing to the reporters at his right), — I trust we will alike discourage, even to the verge of prohibition. Not only as a Canadian, but as one who was originally an emi- grant to these shores as an Irishman, with so many of my original countrymen resident among you, I shall never cease to pray that this kindred people may always find in the future, as they always have found in the past, brave men to lead them in battle, wise men to guide them in council, and eloquent men, like my honorable friend yonder (Hon. John A. Poor), to cel- ebrate their exploits and their wisdom from generation to generation. / 120 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Pierre du Oas, Seigneur He Monte, — the Patentee of the first charter of Henry of Navarre, who sacrificed empire and fortune rather than his religious faith, and beheld the fairest portion of the continent, which he had apparently se- cured to his nation, pass into the hands of his rivals. The following communication has been furnished by the Rev. A. D. Wlaeeler, D. D., of Topsham, Maine ; and is given as a response to the foregoing sentiment. THE BEV. DR. WHEELEE'S COMMUNICATION. The old Province of Saintonge, the Santones and Santoni of classic history, having no more r'eference to the calendar of saints than these ancient Latin designations from which it is obviously derived, was situated upon the estuary of the Gironde, which opens, about midway of the coast, into the Bay of Biscay ; and comprised, according to the more recent divis- ions of the empire, what is now known as the Department of Charante Inferieure. Here lived and flourished the subject of the sentiment to which these remarks are a response. PIEBKE DU GUAST, SIEUR DE MONTS. By his natural abilities, his extensive information, his energy and integrity of character, and the favor of his sovereign, he became Governor of Pons, a small town of a few thousand inhabitants, situated in the interior of the province, on the left bank of the river, Seugne or Sevine ; and likewise was made gentleman in ordinary of the royal bed-chamber. But his active disposition would not allow him to remain contentedly at home, or within the sphere of official duties already required of him ; and he sought a wider" field of enterprise than could be found even within the limits of Prance. He was desirous of obtaining distinction upon the sea as well as the land ; and, actuated by the spirit of exploration and discovery that distin- guished his tunes, he made tlu-ee different voyages in three POPHAM CELEBRATION. 121 successive years, commencing in 1599, to the Gulf of St. Law- rence, the river of the same name, the country of Acadia, and the regions around. For these reasons, among otliers, lie was regarded as the proper person to be entrusted with an enter- prise of a more important kind. The merchants of Eouen had formed an association, com- prising many persons of distinction and liberal means, for the purpose of conducting their operations in the northern part of these regions. The president of this company, and the person who had taken the most active part in its organization,-^ Le Commandetir De Chatte, — had died. De Monts was already in possession, through a grant from Henry lY., of the exclu- sive privilege of trading with the natives for skins and furs be- tween the fortieth and. fifty-fourth degrees of north latitude, and of the right to dispose of lands as far as the forty-sixth ; and, in addition to these, of Letters Patent, conferring upon him the ofiices of Vice-Admiral and Lieutentant-General in all this extent of country. Li view of all these facts, and of the advantages which the ■ company might very naturally expect to derive from one, who held such a position, enjoyed such privil- eges, and had already acquired so much experience in affairs of this nature, and so extensive an acquaintance with this re- gion of country, it was almost a matter of course that he should have been the only person thought of to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of De Ghatte. •»■ About ten years previous to this event, Henry IV. had ab- jured Protestantism and become a zealous Catholic' De Monts was a Huguenot, or French Calvinist, and still adhered to his opinions, notwithstanding the change in those of the king. The latter, in consideration of his acknowledged integrity and devotion to the' interests of his country, for himself and his associates who adhered to the same form of faith, permitted them to enjoy the exercise of their religion in America, the same as they had done in France. In return for this conces- 122 MEMORIAL VOLUME. sion, De Monts engaged, on his part, to colonize the country, and to establish in it the Catholic religion among the savages. The French historian, De Charlevoix, of the company of Jesus, appends to the foregoing statement, the remark, that in other respects he was a very honest man, whose views were right, and who had zeal for the State, and all the capacity nec- essary to enable him to succeed in the enterprise with which he was charged, ( " I'etoit d' ailleurs un fort honete hompae," etc.) He may have referred exclusively to his Calvinism ; or, he may have intended to intimate that a person who believed in one kind of religion, and labored to establish another, could hardly be honest ; or, at all events, consistent in that one par- ticular. But De Monts ought not to be judged too severely, in a mattcsr of this kind. Doubtless he had reasons suiEcient to satisfy his own conscience, at least. Men are often com- pelled to make a choice between evils, and perhaps this was a case in which he felt constrained to do the same. He was car pable and trustworthy, and disposed to do for the interests of the company the best that he was able. But he was unfortu- nate, and almost always badly served. His exclusive privil- eges for the traffic in peltry, had excited against him men of an envious disposition, who endeavored to accomplish his ruin. He had preserved the company which had been formed by his predecessor, and had enlarged it by the addition of many mer- chants, from the principal ports of France, and especially that of Eochelle. Such a union of forces had placed him in a con- dition to prepare an out-fit more considerable than had been done by any of those whom he had succeeded. He made these preparations partly at Dieppe and partly at Havre-de- Grace. An expedition, consisting of four vessels, was planned and got in readiness. One of these was destined to Tadoussac, at the confluence of the rivers Saguenay and St. Lawrence, for the purpose of trading in peltry. Pontgrav6 received orders POPHAM CELEBRATION. 123 to conduct the second to the Straits of Canseau, between Aca- dia and the Isle Eoyale, and the channel which separated it from the island of St. John, for the- purpose of conveying thither those persons who were desirous of carrying on a trade with the natives, to the prejudice of the rights of De Monts, who proceeded with the other vessels to the coast of Acadia. He was accompanied by many volunteers, among whom were the Sieur de Champlain, who belonged to the same district with his commander, the province of Saintonge, and whose name has become permanently associated with the beautiful lake, whose waters wash the opposite shores of New York and Vermont ; and Jean de Biencourt, Sieur de Poutrinoourt, whom he had made his lieutenant in the expedition. It was on the seventh of March, in the year 1604, that De Monts set sail from the harbor of Havre de Grace ; and it was on the sixth of May, just two months after, that he entered a port of Acadia. Here he fell in with a vessel, which, in spite of the prohibitions of his patent, had been engaged in traffic- along the coast. He confiscated it in virtue of hit exclusive privilege. He called the harbor, however. Port Eossignol, from the name of the captain of the confiscated vessel, as if by thus immortalizing liis name, he desired to make some compensation to him for the loss which he had sustained. After leaving this port, he soon entered another, which he called Port-au-Mouton, because a sheep had there leaped overboard and been drowned. At this place he landed all his people, provided them with tents, and remained there for more than a month, while Champlain, in a shallop, sailed along the coast in search of a place suitable for a permanent establishment. There was no necessity of liis going so far for this purpose, or even of his coming to the place where he then was ; for he had passed by, without deigning to enter them, two of the best harbors of Acadia, ^nd the two, best situated for commercial objects, Canseau and La Halve ; and there were many others which would have served his pur- 124 MEMORIAL VOLUME. pose nearly as well. But he kept on his course until he ar- rived at a small island, a few miles below Calais, where De Monts, arriving a short time after him, resolved to make a set- tlement. He gave to it the name of the " Isle of St. Croix," and as it was but half a league in circumference, it was very soon wholly cleared up. They built there a number of houses sufficient for their use, and sowed some grain which yielded them an abundant return. But they had made a bad choice. When, the winter came they found themselves destitute both of fresh water and wood ; and as they were soon reduced to the necessity of living on salted meats, and as many of them, to save themselves from the trouble of going in search of water to the main land, had recourse to melted snow for their ordinary drink, the scurvy made its appearance in the new colony, and committed great ravages. Thus as soon as the navigation was open, De Monts found nothing more urgent than to seek a place having greater advantages. He took his course, at first, towards the south, ranged along the coast, which extends east and west, for the space of eighty leagues, from the river St. John as far as the " Kinibegui," or Kennebec ; then north and south, to a point which Champlain, who, during the winter had occupied him- self in making explorations in this direction, had named " Mal- l6barre," because his bark had run great risk of getting aground upon the sand. He had also taken possession of it in the name of the king, as well as of Cape Cod, at the opposite extremity of the peninsula. In the end, De Monts having been unable, in so long a coast- ing voyage, to determine upon any place for establishing a col- ony, returned to St. Croix, where Pontgrav^ soon came to join him on arriving from Prance. They found the settlement in a very bad condition, and De Monts, convinced that it would bo necessary to change the location, resolved to return to Aca- dia. Accordingly he embarked with Pontgrav^, and, shaping POPHAM CELEBRATION. 125 Ms course in that direction, entered the harbor of Port Royal, He found the place so much to his mind, thait he at once formed the resolution of transporting his colony to it, gave the busi- ness in charge to Pontgrav^, and authorized him to act in his stead during his expected absence. Port Royal, which owes its name to De Monts, had but one serious defect, and that was the difficulty of entering it and departing from it, to which may be added the inconvenience of frequent and dense fogs. But one vessel was able to enter at a time, and it was necessary that this one vessel should enter stern foremost, and with very great precautions, such was the force of the currents and the sea. In other respects it was re- garded by De Monts as one of the finest ports in the world. The Sieur de Pontgrav^, however, did not perfectly coincide in opinion- respecting it with De Monts, for the advantages of the location did not appear to him sufficient to counterbalance the inconveniences. But De Poutrincourt thought differently ; and, as an associate with De Monts, he had formed the design of establishing himself in America with his family, he de- manded of him this port, and had no difficulty in. obtaining it. As the autumn approached, ■ De Monts concluded to return once more to Prance. Upon his arrival at court he found the condition of things in regard to himself very much changed. The fishermen, at all the ports of the kingdom, had made rep- resentations to the king, that under the pretext of preventing them from trading with the natives of the country, they had been deprived of things the most necessary to their business, and that they would be obliged to abandon it altogether, if these vexatious proceedings were allowed to go on. These representations were listened to ; the council comprehended the injury which would result to commerce from the interrup- tion of the fisheries ; and the " exclusive privilege " of De Monts, which, according to the terms of the patent had still two years longer to run, was revoked. 126 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Still, under all these discouragements, he did not lose all con- fidence in the success of his undertaking. He entered into a new agreement with De Poutrincourt, who had followed him to Prance, and caused a vessel to be fitted out for him at Rochelle, which sailed on the 3d of May, 1606. The voyage was a long one, and the inhabitants of Port Royal, not wholly without reason, had begun to think that they had been abandoned. Pontgrav^ had neglected nothing within his power in order to reassure them ; but at last, when they were absolutely in want of everything, he was constrained to embark with all his peo- ple, leaving only two men in the fort to guard the efiects which they were unable to carry away ; and to shape his course for France. He was scarcely out of sight of the Bay of Pundy, or " Baye Prancoise," as it was then called, when he learned, from a bark which he had spoken, the arrival of Poutrincourt at Canseau. Immediately on the receipt of this intelligence, he turned back and re-entered the harbor of Port Royal, where Poutrincourt had already arrived with abundant supplies for the colony, and without having been discovered on the passage. The only thought now was to fortify the place, and to make provision against all future contingencies. As long as Port Royal was prosperous, and afforded such good hopes, the enemies of De Monts exerted their utmost efforts to ruin him in France ; and at length succeeded in causing his commission to be taken from him. As an indem- nification for all his expenses and losses, he was promised the sum of six thousand livres, — dependent, however, upon the successful result of certain vessels, to be sent to America for the purpose of trading for peltry. But this in fact amounted to nothing, since the cost of collecting this money would have exceeded the amount of the compensation. His prospects, however, appeared to be a little brighter the following year, when he succeeded in regaining the privilege of which he had been deprived, but for one year only, and on POPHAM CELEBRATION. 127 the condition that he should make an establishment npon the river St. Lawrence. The company, with which he had been associated, and over which he presided, did not abandon him in his misfortunes ; but he soon ascertained that his connec- tion with it was an injury rather than a benefit, and he, there- fore, withdrew from it entirely ; and, after two years of trouble and anxiety, and continual disappointments, he disposed of all his rights under the grants which he had received from the king, and thus parted with all his .interest in enterprises to which he had been so long devoted, and which he had hoped would redound to his own advantage, and the glory of Prance. Not long after this surrender he died, a victim to the mor- tification of seeing his patent revoked by the royal mandate at the instance of his enemies. As one of the pioneers of New England colonization, and as one who made the first settlement (at St. Croix) within the . present limits of Maine, he is worthy of commemoration in the proceedings of this day. Note. — For the foregoing facts given in relation to De Monts, consult, mainly, Charlevoix, " Histoire de la Nouvelle France ; '' and also " L' Histolre des Colonies Francoises, par Chrestien Le Clercq; " Haliburton's Nova Scotia; and Holmes's Annals of America. Cfmrye Weymouth, — the early explorer of the coast of New England ; memora- ble for his description of our own coast, and his exploration of " the most excel- lent and beneficyall river of Sachadehoc." In the absence of the expected speech in connection with this sentiment, remarks may be found in a subsequent portion of this volume. The Colonisation of Mmhattm — by the Hollanders; whose tolerant spirit and commercial enterprise laid the foundation of the great metropolis of the New World. The following communication was received immediately 128 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. after its date, from the Hon. Jolin E'omeyn Brodhead of New York, as a response to this sentiment. MR. New York, 8th September, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. Sir : — On my return to town, a day or two ago, I received your letter of the 14th of August, invit;ng me, on behalf of " the Executive Committee," to attend the Historical Celebrar tion at Port Popham on the 29th of that month. I beg you to communicate to the committee my thanks for their courtesy, as well as my great regret that absence from home prevented me from knowing, until too late, the proposed arrangements, and from enjoying the pleasure of assisting at an occasion of such national interest. Your letter also enclosed a sentiment, — " The colonization of Manhattan, by the Hollanders, whose tolerant spirit and com- mercial enterprise laid the foundation of the great metropolis of the new world," — and requested me to respond to it at the collation in the great tent. To none of the sentiments then proposed could I have spoken more heartily. Had I been able to be with you, I should probably have said something like what, at your further suggestion, I now write. New York certainly owes much of her present metropolitan greatness to her admirable geographical situation. Yet, I think, she owes quite as much to the magnanimous principles of the Hollanders who discovered and first occupied Manhat- tan and its neighboring coasts. Wlien Jamestown was founded on the 13th of May, 1607, and George Popham read his com- mission at the mouth of the Sagadahoc or Kennebec on the 19th of August following, — the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of which event you have so pleasantly celebrated, — the territory of New York was known only to its aboriginal POPHAM CELBBEATION. • 129 owners. Excepting Verazzano, no European had visited any part of tlie American coast between Buzzard's Bay and the Capes of the Cliesapeake. This intermediate region, although claimed by England, was a vacant domicile, free to the first European explorer, when Henry Hudson in the " Half Moon" of Amsterdam anchored within Sandy Hook on the third of Sep- tember, 1609. That event was the birth of the Dutch State of New York. At that time Holland and the other Protestant Provipces of the Netherlands had just conquered their inde- pendence of Spain, and become a free republic, the corner- stone of which was toleration. Commercial enterprise had already placed the young nation in the van of the peoples of the earth. They had. fought not less for freedom of their ships at sea than for freedom of tBought and life on their low, sandy lands at home. But though the Dutch earnestly contended for their own civil and religious liberties, they were neither selfish nor bigoted. On the contrary, they were large-minded enough, to majce their country an asylum for refugees from the oppression of other lands. The same autumn that Holland became the sovereign of New York by virtue of her discovery, Enghsh Puritans from Lincolnshire settled themselves quietly at Leyden, where, for eleven years, they were hospitably entertained, and where they enjoyed the opportunity of observing that growing national prosperity which -was the legitimate result of the liberal relig- ious and political principles of their Batavian hosts. At length, in December, 1620, some of those English refugees at Leyden landed at Plymouth Rock, and began the first permanent col- onization of New England, which Popham and his friends had unsuccessfully attempted thirteen years before. If tlie pioneer settlement at New Plymouth was distinguished from the later colony of Massachusetts Bay by more tolerant ideas in civil as well as religious afiairs, it may be not unjustly inferred that some, at least, of that larger liberality was derived from the 10 130 , MEMORIAL VOLUME. lessons of Holland. Assuredly the notion of confederated States, which the New England colonies adopted in 1643, was borrowed from the United Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Dutch colonists at Manhattan and its neigh- borhood had been calmly practicing those liberal principles which they learned in their fatherland. The Jesuit Father Jogues, sheltered by them from the barbarities of the Mohawks, found that eighteen different languages were spoken in the capital of the Dutch Province. There he met Protestant exiles from the persecutions of Massachusetts, Lutherans from Ger- many, Roman Catholics and Anabaptists, all actually enjoying, in an equal degree with the original Calvinistic settlers, the blessings of religious liberty. Without any poetical claim of seeking in America more " freedsm to worship God " than they enjoyed in Holland, the colonists of Manhattan, who had early learned that commerce is the solvent of national antipa- thies, cordially welcomed all who came to find permanent homes among them ; and thus, with large and comprehensive spirit, they laid the foundation of the attractive metropolis of the New World. After the surrender of New Netherland to the English in 1664, New York was governed for nearly twenty years as a province, by the sole will of its proprietor, the Duke of York. As a point of special interest in the histories of two great States, I may here mention that one of the dependencies of New York was that part of Maine between the Saint Croix and the Saga- dahoc, commonly known as Pemaquid. This region was granted by Charles II. to his brother on the 12th of March, 1664, in the same patent which conveyed the Dutch posses- sions. It was formed into a county by the name of " Corn- wall," and it remained under the jurisdiction of New York until 1687. But, while the supreme political power was in other hands, the influence of the original spirit of the Dutch settlers of Manhattan continued to make itself felt. In 1681, POPHAM CELEBRATION. 131 the merchants of New York refused to pay the customs duties •which the Duke exacted, as they thought, arbitrarily and ille- gally. This led to a demand for an assembly of the people, to be chosen by the freeholders and inhabitants of the Province. The Duke yielded to the demand ; and in October, 1683, his Governor, Thomas Dongan, assented to a charter of liberties passed by the popular representatives of New York, which de- clared that "the people met in. General Assembly " were to form k part of the supreme legislative authority. It also de- clared that no persons professing " faith in God by Jesus Christ," should be in any way molested for any difference in religious opinion. The tolerant spirit of the Dutch was the parent of these conspicuous clauses. At the very time that this charter of New York was enacted by the freely chosen representatives of its inhabitants, and was confirmed by its ducal proprietor, the charter which Charles the First had granted to the Corporation of Massachusetts was in process of abrogation by the judicial ofiicers of Charles the Second. To most observers there would appear to be a strange inconsistency in these contemporaneous events. Yet I think the inconsis- tency is seeming rather than real. The Massachusetts charter did not grant a popular government. It established a corpo- rate oligarchy. The corporators, as soon as they possessed the •power, deliberately excluded from participation in every politi- cal and almost every civil right, all the inhabitants except the members of their own Puritan churches.- The people of Mas- sachusetts at large did not govern themselves. They were only the governed ; and they were governed, not by their common sovereign in England, but by their own neighbors and fellow- subjects, who derived their authority, not from a popular elec- tion, but from the vote of a close corporation, established by a king who had expiated his arbitrary acts by death on the scaf- fold. The government of Massachusetts, under its old charter, was intolerant, discriminating, and unjust. Charles the Second 132 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. could see no good reason why self-chosen Puritan church mem- bers alone should tyrannize over the rest of the inhabitants of that colony. In tlie neighboring Province of New York, a charter of liberties had just been adopted, the two cardinal ideas of which were, toleration of religious opinion and the equal and indiscriminate participation of all its multifarious population in civil rights. The charter of Massachusetts, which allowed no share of political power to the people, was there- fore cancelled by the king, just as the charter of New York, which conferred a portion of the legislative authority " upon the people met in General Assembly," was signed and sealed by his brother, the Duke. I am admonished, however, not to pursue at greater length this train of remark which might easily be extended. The history of New York, throughout its whole course, exhibits constant evidence of the liberalizing influence of her Dutch founders. That influence, I sincerely believe, has always made her more truly Democratic than perhaps any of the older col- onies which formed the United States. It preserved her from that intolerant and obtrusive censoriousness which, without hes- itation, assumes the privilege to rudely intermeddle with what concerns it not. While their homely Dutch maxim, " mind YOUR OWN BUSINESS," restrained her people from interfering with the affairs of their neighbors, it taught them to tolerate " no foreign dictation or inquisitorial inspection. Of this alone were Hollanders and their descendants intolerant. Surviving to the present hour, the liberality and conservatism which, at the same time, distinguished the pioneers of the " Empire State," have kept New York, for long generations, free from the blight of fanaticism, and made her the grand monument of the magnanimous principles of her Batavian founders. I am, sir, with great regard, your obedient servant, John Romeyn Brodhead. POPHAM CELEBRATION, 133 Captain John ^mith, — the daring soldier and navigator ; whose efforts In acts of government in Virginia, and of naval skill in exploring and defining the bound- aries of New England, which he made known by maps and description, give his- name a place among the great men of his time. The Ancient Dominions of Maine, — Sabino, Sagadahoc, Sheepscot, Pemaquid, and Monhegan ; the theater of early maritime discovery and settlement ; the designed seat of empire of our colonial ancestors. Want of time prevented the response to this sentiment in- tended by Rufus K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset. It, therefore, now appears as a communication. . ' MR. SEWALL'S address. MAINE THE MOTHER OF NEW ENGLAND. Claims to precedence in the History of English Colonization and European Commerce and Civilization in Sew England, exhibited in the developments and details of Euro- pean life upon the coasts of Maine, within the Ancient Dominions. ANCIENT DOMIN,IONS OF MAINE. The popular idea of the earliest knowledge of Maine, — the idea extant in the days of Cabot, — embodied in the nomen- clature of Europe, was Baccalaos^ meaning the coasts of " cod-fish." The great feature of life in these waters, a source of wealth and commerce to the leading powers of Europe, in the signifi- cant and appropriate latiguage of the visitors to this hyperbo- rean Florida, gave it this name. Succeeding ages, from more definite knowledge of the main- land, and interior and populous wilds, replaced the aboriginal name with that of the semi-mythical " Norumbega," — a series of aboriginal sounds caught from the lips of the native lords of the soil, portraying the outlines of the fame of an aboriginal 1 Folsom's address. 2 vol. M. H. Soc. Bacalldo, in Spanish ; Bacalhdo, in Portuguese, denotes a species of cod-fish called " ling." 134 MEMORIAL VOLUME, empire within these unexplored wilds, — the Arambes of the geographers and voyagers of the reign of King Henry VIII. ; the Arambec of later explorers, signifying, " the place of men,"^ — a ruined capital of an extinct race. During the reign of Henry Vni.,of England, Kobert A. D. Thome, by eloquent descriptions of his father's voyages 1527. and discoveries in Newfoundland, moved this sover- eign to dispatch two ships to these strange shores. One only escaped the perils of the ice-clad sea, by returning in more southern latitudes, along the coasts of " Arumbec, — Arambes, — or, as some call it, Norumbegua." John Rut, the chronicler of this voyage, reported to the king that the return- ing ship " found eleven sayle of Normans, one Briton, and two Portugal barks a fishing " there. " Sagadahoc," in order of time, in the visions of European enterprise, and speculations of State and Colonial adventure, appeared next, in the same latitudes, glowing in these western wilds, to absorb public interest and quicken desire, and guide the prow of the English voyager in his search for a new home. Gosnold, in this latitude, from the decks of the Con- A. D. cord, seeing "a land^ full of fair trees, — the land 1602. somewhat low, — certain hummocks or hills lying into the land, and the shore fall of white sand and very stoney," landed and called it " Mavooshen." ' But Maine, at this early date, was comprised in the territory between the Kennebec and Penobscot waters, and loas the cen- ter of European interest and enterprise in the west, both in England and Prance ; and " Sagadahoc " soon eclipsed all other names, and gave paramount importance to a section of the coasts of North America, whose most remarkable land- 1 Ai'unpeag, or Arumpik. Rev. E. Vetromile, S. J. — Purdias, p. 9l!'J. 2 Ancient Doaiinions of Maine, p. 55. ,s About 43° N. L. Hutchinson, vol. 1, p. 1.. POPHAM CELEBEATION. ^ 135 marks, " Sutquin, ^ and four or Jive isles in the mouth," (in the description of Capt. John Smith,) indicated the entrance " by a fair na-vigable river, to the so goodly a country up the most excellent and beneficial river of Sagadahoc," on the west ; and " Monhegan, a round, high isle, and close by Monanis, betwixt which is a small harbor with Damarill's Isles, such another," and " mountains, them of Penobscot, together with the twink- ling moimtains of Ac-a-cis-co," on the east. Within the terri- tory thus bounded and described in the early annals of colo- nial adventure, Monliegan, the province of Sabino, the aborig- inal " Sipsa-couta," 2 and Pemaquid, have become, in the Ancierit Dominions of Maine, points of classic interest. Monhegan, signifying an island of the main, earliest appears in the panorama of the historic scene of English life and enterprise on New England shores. Pedro Menendez, Gover- nor of Florida, in disjiatches forwarded by him to the Court of Spain, teUs Philip 11., " that in July of the year, the English were inhabiting an island in latitude 43°, eight A. D. leagues from land, where the Indians were very numer- 1586. ous." It was the story of " Carlos Morea, a Spaniard, who had learned the facts in London and communicated them to Menendez." ^ There can hardly be a doubt that Monhegan island was the spot occupied by these English dwellers in the New World. Indeed, it was only in August, three years before, that near this spot, * the largest ship of Sir Humphrey Gilbert struck, and was wrecked 'on the voyage in which he was last seen in the stern sheets of the little Squirrel, book in hand, when her lights suddenly disappeared, and he was heard to cry, " we are as neere to Heaven by'water as by land." 1 1 Purchas Pilgrimage, p. 215. Smith's Voyages, 1614. 2 Aliunde in French " Che-va-va-cotte." 3 B. Smith, Hist. Magazine, No. 9, Sept., 1859. 4 Bancroft, p. 91. 136 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Did shipwrecked mariners first found English homes on the islands in and near Sheepscot Bay ? ^ MONHEGAN. The earliest description of Monhegan is from the pen of Rosier, the historian of the voyage of the " Arch-Angel, under command of Commodore George Weymouth, who on A. D. Friday, during the evening twilight, the 17th of May, 1605. made land which loomed up in bold relief against the northern sky, as some high-land of the Maine." He cast anchor under its northern and land-ward slope, a league off shore, and idth his boat's crew landing for wood and water in the heart of its overgrown forests, " discovered vestiges of humcm occupcmcy." A cross was set up, and in accordance with the usage of British discoverers of that day, it doubtless bore affixed thereto the armorial bearings of the Grown of England, " a St. George Cross," graven on lead ; and the island ^ was called St. George. PROVINCE OP SABINO. There can be no doubt that the original and local center of the Norumbega of historic fame, over whatever territory it may have subsequently expanded, embraced " Our Sagada- hoc " within its geographical limits, as the great center of colo- nial attraction, denoted by the remarkable land marks described by Captain Smith, — a river, the confluent of interior waters to the sea, upon whose margins was the territory of a river- king, known in aboriginal nomenclature, as " Sebenoa." ' The peninsula of his province, selected as the site of Pop- ham's town of St. George, was called " Sabino,'" which proba- bly is but an English abbreviation of Sebenoa, the aboriginal name of the " Lord of the river Sagadahoc." 1 Sul., pp. 160-6. 2 Palfrey's Mass. History, p. 68. 3 Coteraporary with " Sasanow," if not the same chieftain. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 137 In its native wildness, the peninsula of Sagadahoc must have been a spot of singular beauty. An open forest of" mighty towering pines below, and hill-tops of overgrown beach and oak above and on either side, fringed with a clear, broad grassy margin terminating in a sand beach, sweeping from point to point on its landward and sheltered northern point, must have commended the place as a favorite camping ground to the sav- ages, as well as a site to the earliest English colonists of New England as a home. The indications are decisive that this peninsula was ever a place of distinguished attraction to the natives. The vestiges of the occupancy of this peninsula by them are peculiar and remarkable. Here would seem to have been the seat of aboriginal workshops and artizans, — the man- ufactories of their weapons of war, — the arsenals of the sav- age hosts on the waters of the Kennebec, where arrow-heads, stone axes, and mauls, were blocked and hewn or broken into finished shape and fitness for war or th'e chase. The vestiges of stone-work, chips, fragments, remains of stone-wrought tools and weapons, distinguish this peninsula, and remain as the monuments of the skill and toil of artizans and a race de- parted. SAGADAHOC COLONY. The goodly report of commander Weymouth of the Arch- Angel's voyage, confirmed Gosnold's previous observations,, stimulated the highest nobility of England, led by the Lord Chief Justice, Sir John Popham, to settle " a plantation on the river of Sagadahoc." Complex Elements of the Enterprise. — Sir John Popham operated in the west of England, and made the city of Bristol his center. From this city his colonial expeditions were fitted out.^ There seems to have been a concert of action in the 1 Strachey, M. H. C, vol 3, r. 290. 138 MEMORIAL VOLUME. movements at Bristol and London in the colonial adventures of the year 1606, contemplating a simultaneous occupancy of northern as well as southern Virginia, and also combining the interests of the east and west of England, centering in the cities of Bristol and London, with the design that each should be represented in the colonial enterprise at Sagadahoc. In May, 1606, Newport, with one hundred colonists sailed for the Chesapeak ; and under the supervision of Sir John Popham, a ship sailed from Bristol, under the command of Martin Prinn and Haines, for Sagadahoc. This expedition was captured by Spanish cruisers. In June, the next year, Sir John Popham fitted out a ship called the " Gift of God," ^ in his department, placed his brother, George Popham, in com- mand ; and at London, the ship " Mary and John " was as- signed to the command of Ealeigh Gilbert. These ships took ■ out one hundred and twenty men for planters. Capt. George Popham represented the interests of Sir John and the west of England men in the city of Bristol,^ and was elected President of the colony in the Sagadahoc enterprise. Raleigh Gilbert held second rank, representing the interests of his lost uncle, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who had sacrificed his life in his gallant endeavors to explore and colonize these shores, as well as the %iterests of the city of London, in the colonial adventure then on foot. These noble pioneers embarked for the A. D. coasts of Maine in June, under express instructions 1607. to enter the Sagadahoc, and there^ make their planta- tion with a view to confirm the right of England to the possession she had taken of the soil of New England. Sagar dahoc became now a cardinal point of interest in the historic scene ; and the peninsula of the province of " Sabino," tlie river-king, on th& 18th of August, 1607, was selected by Cap- 1 Straohey, M. H. C, vol. 3, p. 292. 2 Straohey, II. H.C., vol. 8, ]•. 299. 3 Straohey, M. II, C, vol. 3, p, 289. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 139 tain Popham of tlie ship " Gift of God," with thirty men, in con- junction with Captain Gilbert of the ship "Mary and John," with eighteen men. Thus London and Bristol concurred in the choice for a site for the colonial home amid the wilds of New England. A permanent establishment was contemplated, and all the elements of European civilization, under the sanction of law and religion, were here freighted and' organized in the new plantation. Ground was broken on the 20th of August, the 19th having been occupied in public acts of religious worship and service, and a body politic organized and confirmed, according to the forms and usages of English constitutional law and religion. A fair town of fifty houses, defended by a fort mounting twelve guns, fortified and entrenched according t9 the arts of military science, ornamented with a church and public store- house, at once enlivened the scene on the banks of the Sagada- hoc and distinguished the peninsula of the province of " Sab^- no" with English homes; and the overlooking head-lands, gray old oaks, and tall pines of Arrowsic, echoed far and wide the hum and clatter of a ship-yard, from the riiiging saw and maul' in the hands of busy artizans led by Digby, a master- builder of London, upon the frame of the Virginia on the stocks, which was there built and launched, and was big enough'' to make afterwards a successful voyage to England. The peninsula of Powhatan, in the south, and the peninsula of the province of Sabino of northern Virginia, were at this moment points of contrasted colonial, enterprise ; for while the plantation of Lord Popham, combining the colonial interests and energy of the Bristol and London men, gave fair promise of success at Sagadahoc, while Popham, Gilbert, Harlow, Davis, Seymour, and Digby were entrenching there to make a fort ; — Wingfield, Newport, Gosnold, and Smith were having their. " hearts torn and the night made hideous with outcries, sick- ness, and death, in every corner of their new made works at 140 MEMORIAL- VOLUME, Jamestown, in the Virginia of the south, by those to whom they could minister no relief, and whose bodies, trailed out of their cabins like dogs for burial, saddened the morning light." ^ Such were the concurring contrasts of the 20th and 22d of August, 1607, which burdened the scenes and quickened the changes of the two days which alone separated the colonial en- terprises of the London men at Jamestown, and the west of England men at Sagadahoc. The Sagadahoc enterprise was undoubtedly the beginning proper of European colonial life with the English race, not only in Maine, but in New England. MONHEGAN. When tljp " Gift of God," the Bristol ship of Popham, and the " Mary and John," the London ship of Gilbert, discharged their living freight of English planters and shipwrights upon the banks of the Sagadahoc, the vestiges of a former occupancy alone were traceable, on Monhegan, the St. George of the voy- ager George Weymouth. Savages held the forests of Pema- quid, whose dwellings occupied its river banks, whence emerged Nahanada and his savage bowman in battle array to repel the landing* of Popham and his boat's crew, who had been led there by Skidwarroes, their guide. Here, then, we take our position. Monhegan, though it may have been a transient home, had not been permanently held. There is no evidence that a white man had yet set his foot down at Pemaquid. / Sag- adahoc must be viewed as the point of initial movement of European life and civilization on the shores of New England. ' More than this, we* regard the plantation 'there begun, as the initial step of the permanent foothold of the English race on the soil of New England. In our judgment, on a series of facts warranting the conclusion, the peninsula of the province 1 Bancroft's History, vol. 1, p. 127. 2 Stradicy, M. H. C, vol. 3, p. 298. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 141 of Sabino, and the fair English town there erected, were cen- ters of further explorations and the sources of an emigration, which finally transferred the action of colonial life and adven- ture to Pemaquid and the fair and fertile meadows of the oys- ter-bearing waters of the " Sip-sarcouta,"' eastward. As we have before observed, it would hardly have been pos- sible for Sir Francis Popham, the representative of Sir John and of the Bristol interest in the western world, to have sus- tained Ms voyages to the Sagadahoc territory independent of main-land establishments to concentrate trade and gather furs ; and such plantations, in the .insignificance of a private interest, would have been lost to the knowledge of a public recognition. Though it does not appear in the archives of the public acts of a colonial organization, yet I repeat it as the source of our his- toric traditions in the premises, and supported by the facts, ex- hibited in their natural relationship, that the Bristol interest, — the element in the Popham colonists of the Sagadahoc planta- tion being familiar with the fertile bottoms and prolific waters of the east, did, on the margins of Pemaquid, near the villa of Nahanada and on the interior Sheepscot and Damariscotta, at the site of the early New Dartmouth, the ancient shire of the county of Cornwall of the Dukedom, — make plantations as well as at Sagadahoc, — which were permanent till Boston became the capital of New England. What are the facts ? Captain Gilbert made many discove- ries,^ we are told, into the neighboring Maine and rivers. The Sagadahoc planters wrote back to England that they found oysters " nine inches long and heard of others twice as great." They must, therefore, have been up the Sheepscot and Damar- iscotta, and explored the oyster-bearing waters of these rivers above Pemaquid, in a region known, in aboriginal language, 1 Aboriginal for Sheepscot ; means, " little tirds flock or rush ; " Sipaaconte and Sipsisacoke are different forms. 2 M. H. C.vol. 3, p. 808. 142 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. as " Ped-cok-go-wake," where the remains of the oyster nine inches long are still found. Having completed his explorations, Captain Eobert Davis ^ was sent to England in the ship, the " Mary and John," of London, on the 15th of December, 1607,^ with letters and supplies. The fort, store-house, town, and ship were not yet completed when Davis sailed ; and all things were represented as promising for the colony at that date. No mention is mad,e of the fact, and there is no probability that any of the colonists returned with Davis. Had such a fact transpired. President Popham's letter of the 13th of De- cember would certainly have indicated it. The Bristol ship in the Popham interest, it would seem, therefore, remained at Sagadahoc. Prince in his chronology, indeed, writes " that two ships (one the Virginia, there built), sailed from Sagada- hoc in early winter with all the company ^ except forty-five, for England." The " Virginia " was not finished at the date of the first voy- age from Sagadahoc, but she did saU on the final voyage with the other London ship. If then, forty-five colonists were left at all, it must have been at the date of the abandonment of Sag- adahoc by Captain Gilbert and the London men. No mention is made of the return of Popham's ship, the " Gift of God," which was in the interest of the Bristol men. Lideed, it would appear to have been the London interest, in the colonial adven- ture at Sagadahoc, which led to the evacuation of that spot and the return to England. ■ On the 5th of February, * the aged President Popham died. With his death the interest of the Bristol men A. D. became subordinate to that of the London men. We 1608. submit, therefore, if the company of the colonists at- tached to the Bristol ship, the " Gift of God," and which 1 Strachey, M. H. C, vol. 3, p. 308. 2 Gorges' Narrative, M. H. C, vol. 2, p. 21, S Prince's Clironology, p. 117. * Prince's Chronology, p, 118. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 143 appertained to the Popham estate, were not the forty-five who, it is asserted by Prince, did not sail for England when the Vir- ginia, and Mary and John returned ? But more than this : — Gorges tells us that the son of the Chief Justice, " could not so give it over," ^ when Gilbert and those with him, at S^adahoc, abandoned the enterprise of that colonial establishment ; and in the annals of that day, it is farther said,' that upon the death of Chief Justice Popham, " his son ^ and successor, Sir Francis, who was sent out, be- came Governor, and despatched vessels thither oh his own ac- count," and " having- the ships which remained of the company and supplying what was necessary, sent divers times to the coasts for trade and fishing, of whose losses and gains he him- self is best able to give an account." ^ PBMAQUID. * »■ Captain John Smith, who visited Monhegan six years after, says, he found a ship of Sir Francis Popham's, which^ had for many years past visited there, — "at the main-land opposite Monhegan, probably^ Pemaquid." Such are the facts. Did the " Gift of God," with the Bristol fragment, embracing the _ Popham interest in the Sagadahoc colony, remain behind on the desertion of the London men under Gilbert ? and did not this fragment take root at Pemaquid ? and from thence spread to the neighboring waters of the Sheepscot ? Hence, ever after we find Pemaquid the rallying point for colonial settlement, 1 Gorges, M. H. C, vol. 2, p. 28. 2 Strachey Intro. Hackluyt So. Hist. Trav. in Virginia, p. 17. 3 Plymouth Go's relations, M. H C, vol. 2, p. 33. * Pemaquid. — Eev. Paul Coffin met " Sabattis " at Cavritunk, on the Ken- nebec, A. D. 1798, who gave him the meaning of several aboriginal words, used as names of notable localities. This native said Pemaquid meant, " a point of land running into the sea." — Paul Coffin's Journal, M. H. Col., vol. 4, p. 397. s M. H. C, vol. 5, p. 161. * Thornton's Ancient Pemaquid. 144 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. emigration, and commetcial enterprise to the Bristol men of England, who gave the name of their city to the town of Bris- tol, which embraces this classic ground of Maine in its terri- tory. The vessels of Sir Francis Popham must have had a com- mercial depot for trade on the main-land, at the point indicated, for import of supplies and export of furs and fish, ' where out freight was deposited and home freight gathered. The voyages of Sir Francis could not have been sustained without the sup- porting nucleus of a colonial trade station. Pemaquid wouM be the natural and attractive coast station from the friendh- ness of the natives ; some of whom had been in England and acquired the English tongue and a knowledge of English habits of life and civilization ; and the neighboring Sheepscot mead- ows and waters, with th^ facilities for human subsistence, in fishing and planting, would be the nearest accessible inland points of attraction for interior operations. * Besides, there can be no doubt that subsequently to the de- cease of the aged President Popham, the Sagadahoc planters came in collision with the natives, and with doubtful results. Such has ever been the tradition of the red men of the Ken- nebec and of the white race in this vicinity, the occasion of which has reflected no honor upon thg colonists, who excused their abandonment of Sagadahoc and their return to England on account of the savage climate of the land. The storehouse and supplies of the Sagadahoc colonists were devastated by 1 The following translation of a brief extract from the Relation of Biard, may in some degree illustrate the statement made in the text : " The English of Virginia have the custom of coming every year to the Islands of Pencoit, which are about twenty-five leagues from St. Saviour, (on Mt. Desert,) to supply them- selves viith cod-fish for their winter. Directing their way, therefore, according to their habit, in the year of which we speak, 1613, they happened to be caught on the sea in the thick mists and fogs." — Jes. Relations, vol. 1, eh. 25, p. 46. Pencoit, like the Pemquit of RMe, and Paincuit of Cadillac, is a representa- tive of the present Pemaquid. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 145 fire. Governor Sullivan, in his day, observed the remains of a fort made of earth and stones on the east side, at the mouth of the Kennebec. Seventy years after the abandonment of the Sagadahoc plantation, the ruins of a fort were shown to sea- men visiting the Sagadahoc waters, by the ancient Indians there residing, vsdth the statement, " that^ upon some quarrel that fell out between the Indians and English, some were killed by the Indians, and the rest driven out of the fort." The Relation of the Jesuits alleges of the natives of Arrow- sick ( " Ar-row-chi-quois " ) " that they did not appear to be bad, although they had defeated the English who had wished to dwell among them in the years 1608-9. They excused them- selves to U.S," continues the Relation, " concerning that action, and recounted the outrages which they had received from the said^ English." Such is the historic view of the relations of the Sagadahoc plantation to the savage inhabitants of their wild home in the province of Sabino. There can be no doubt that collisions, more or less disastrous to the colonists, aided in hastening the abandonment of Saga- dahoc as the seat of a colonial home, and the breaking up of the plantation. Although the advent of the white race to Sagadahoc had been welcomed by the aboriginal residents of Pemaquid, the bowmen and subjects and friends of Nahanada and Skidwar- roes, as the harbinger of hopes of high promise to the stranger natives of Kennebec, it was a source of doubt and a prelude to perils. They greeted ■' the colonists with hostile attitudes, and tales of " Cannibals that lived near Sagadahoc armed with teeth three inches long." While the town was going up at the 1 Appendix to Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 75 ; Sewall's Ancient Dominions of Maine, p. 228. 2 Jesuit Relations, vol. 1, ch. 18, p, 36. 3 Folsom's Address, M. H. C, vol, 2, p. 32. 11 146 MEMORIAL VOLUME. soa side, Captain Gilbert penetrated tlie upper waters of the interior, and pushing his discoveries far inland, at eventide voices in broken English hailed him from the opposite shore. It turned out to be the call of certain savages ; and at morn^ ing light a " canoa " came to them, and in her a Sagamo, who told them his name was " Sebenoa," "lord of the river of Sagadahoc." The clansmen of Sebenoa were fierce and warlike men, and by stratagem, menaces, and force, sought to overpower Gilbert and his boat's crew ; and, says the narrator, " these were stranger ^ Indians, — such as the like before had not been seen." The subjects of the Bashaba, the Wawennack Prince of Pem- aquid, courted the acquaintance and friendship of the Sagadar hoc planters while the river natives, the subjects of " the lord of the river of Sagadahoc," repelled both. It is therefore but reasonable that as a result of the changes and disturbance con- sequent on the decease of the President, Popham, and the ac- cession of the London interest in the person of Captain Gilbert to the head of the management of the plantation affairs, the hostility of the Sagadahoc natives, especially the wrongs and abuses springing up under the new order of things, — that the Bristol men with the Popham ship should have extended the colonial movement and sought a new home at Pemaquid, wa.- der the protection of Nahanada and his bowmen in the Basha- ba's kingdom, and near his royal abode ; — and that in the breaking up of the Sagadahoc plantation imder the lead of the London interest, the Bristol element, in the estate and interest of the Popham family, should have been left at Pemaquid at the departure of the London men, and there become a new center of attraction and trade supporting the subsequent pri- vate operations of Sir Francis Popham, who continued to send his ships to this point for furs and fish ; whose establishment at 1 Slrachej'. POPHAM CELEBBATION. 147 length grew into the city of Jamestown, and for a century nearly, was the capital of New England before Boston was. Hence, history has recorded that there were people at Pema- quid from the time Sir H. Gilbert took possession, who .were strangers and did not venture south till the settlement of Ply- mouth./ And at New Dartmouth, in the county of Cornwall, (the Sip-sa-couta, or Duck River of the aborigines), there was a settlement in the early days of New England as early as in any part of the Pemaquid country. At all events, thirteen years after the dissolution and aban- donment of the plantation at Sagadahoc, history has disclosed the fact that a hamlet of " fifty families," known as the " Sheep- scot farms," adorned the banks of that river, and which subse- quently became the capital of the county of Cornwall in the Ducal State, into which the Sagadahoc territory was after- wards erected. These facts warrant the conclusion, that a fragment of the Sagadahoc plantation, embracing the west of Englamd or city of Bristol element, a/nd in the interest of the Popham family, on the dissolution of thai enterprise, was driven off and lodged at Pemaquid, in the Popham ship ^^ Gift of God;" while the London men in the interest of the Gilbert family, following his lead, returned with Raleigh Gilbert in the ships " Mary and John," amd the " Virginia," built at Sagadahoc, to England, 1608. Thus we have explained, in entire consistency with historic truth, the statement ^ of Prince in his chronology, that all but forty-five planters departed from Sagadahoc for England in two ships, of which the. " Virginia " was one. These, with the " Gift of God," (of whose return to, England no mention is made, and which was the Popham ship), must have been left at Pemaquid, the scene of the subsequent operations of the 1 Sullivan, 160-70; Am. Statistical Soc. vol. 1, p. 1. 2 Prince's Chronology, p. 117. 148 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Popham family, and some of these colonists, attracted to the Sheepscot meadows above, whose waters, prolific with the means of subsistence in magnificent oyster beds and shoals of fish, all within the jurisdiction of the Pemaquid sovereignty, would there have become an interior establishment for the col- lection of furs and freight, encouraging the annual visits of Sir Francis Popham's ships to Pemaquid. "When Capt. A. D. Levett, sixteen years after the abandonment of Saga- 1623-4. dahoc, sailed into Boothbay harbor at the mouth of the Sheepscot, ^^ Pemaquid" had become the great center of trade to the native hordes of Maine from, the Penob- scot to "Accacisco." Therefore, if like the baseless fabric of a dream, the vision of a fair English town ' of fifty houses, with its church and fort, mounted and entrenched, has dissolved, yet the evidence is quite conclusive tliat in that dissolution, English life, Eng- lish homes, and English civilization did not cease to be found within the Ancient Dominions of Maine ! Pemaquid took her root from the colonial plantation at Sagadahoc, and sent up fresh, vigorous, and fruitful shoots in the families of the " Sheepscot farms" between the head waters of the aboriginal " SiPSA and Naamas Couta," the " rivers " of abouhding " fowl and fish." SAGADAHOC A DUKEDOM. PEMAQUID, CAPITAL OF NEW ENGLAND. Sagadahoc ^ territory was erected into a Ducal State, it hav- ing become the patrimony of the Duke of York. The A. D. city of New York was, at this date, the center of its 1664. civil and military authority and relationship. _ The rites .and services of religion were scrupulously maintained at Pemaquid ; and, by royal order, " For the promotion of piety, 1 It is said tlie Dutch, as early as 1G07, attempted to settle Damariscotta.— Eaton's Ann&ls, p. 17. 2 Ancient Dominions of Maine, i)p. 1J4-148, POPHAM CELEBEATION. 149 it was ordered, that a person be appointed to read prayers ' and the holy scriptures." Thus it will he seen that religion, then and there, had its support in the graced and devout ritual of the English Episcopal service. So at Sagadahoc, the histo- rian records, that on the 5th of October,' 1607, it being Sun- day, Nahanada and wife, Skidwarroes, Sasanow, the Bashaba's brother, and An^enquin were at Fort George ; and President Popham " took them to the place of public prayers," which " they attended morning and evening with great reverence and solemnity." In the assembly of New York, Gyles Goddard, by the free- holders of Pemaquid and dependencies, was elected as representative. The State of Maine, as a Dukedom, sur- A. D. vived till 1687, when, by the accession of the Duke of 1684. York to the Throne of England, and the appointment of Andros a^ Governor of New England by royal order, the Ducal State was merged in the civil existence of Massachusetts " as the District of Maine." This act called fortla the remonstrance of the inhabitants of Pemaquid, which, for more than three quarters of a century, had worn metroplitan honors and held metropolitan relationship to New England ; and on the removal of Andros to Boston, as the seat of gubernatorial authority, he was met before the government by a protest from the east, ^ " that Pemaquid should remain still the metropolis of these parts, because it had ever been so before Boston was settled." But the prestige of the ancient capital of New England had gone. The plea of hoary life and honors could avail nothing. Pemaquid fell into neglect ; and, on her ruins, Boston climbed into the place and power of a Metropolitan State. PLYMOUTH A NURSLING OF MAINE. The facts of history not only clearly assert the precedence of Maine, as the scene of the earliest developments of English 1 Strachey, M. H. C, vol. 3, p. 307. 2 Ancient Dominions of Maine, p. 189. 150 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. life, civilization, and commerce, but fully show that Plymouth and her Puritan refugees owe much to the State of Maine ^or their successful establishment in the New World. About midnight of the 7th of December, 1620, an exploring party of the Mayflower emigration, who had been ranging the woods of Cape Cod in search of a suitable landing-place for a colonial home, were disturbed by " hideous cries along the shore." In the early light of morning the cries were renewed, and the sentinel had only time to cry out, " Indians ! Indians I^ when the arrows came flying thick about them." Disturbed and repelled by these menaces, the adventurers crossed over to the northern headland of the bay of Cape Cod, where was found " a harbor fit for shipping ; and divers corn- fields, and little running brooks, and a place fit for a situation." It was a place of the aboriginal dead. " Many bones and skulls " were the sad mementoes of a people that kad been, but now were not ! In this Golgotha were reared their homes of timber, trees, and thatch, surrounded with mouldering heaps. Spmetimes only six or seven sound persons were left to help the weak, the impotent, the sick and dying. " Few and very weak," the Plymouth colonists in the midst of these monuments of death and depopulation, were ready to become the prey of savages, " who were wont to be most cruel and treacherous in all these parts, and like lions." Not more than one-half of the original number -survived. Their dwelling-place with the bones of the uimumbered dead, the icy hand of winter daily laying out the corpses of their fellow pilgrims, and the wolves and tigers of mankind crouch- ing at their doors, ready at any moment to spring upon them from their forest lair, all combined to create an emergency, in which the interposition of a friendly hand alone could save the embryo State from impending and fatal desolation. 1 Thachei's Plymoulli, p. 22. Morton's Memorial. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 151 At this juncture it was that Maine^ interposed, and deter- mined the crisis ; that Maine, in the person of her wild son, the savage lord of Pemaquid, a sachem of the region of the present Bristol, our Samoset, with outstretched arms and generous greet- ings, appeared amid the sand hills of Plymouth harbor, to welcome and introduce, under auspicious circumstances and with fostering hand, the embryo State of Massachusetts to her wild home on the shores- of the New World. Great was the surprise of the Puritans at the vision of a wild man, walking boldly and alone into their streets from the depths of the en- vironing forests, crying in a broken dialect of their own tongue, " Much welcome. Englishmen ; much welcome. Englishmen ; " and to find hiTu a man " free ' of speech and of seemly car- riage." It probably was the salvation of the Plymouth colony. " No incident," writes the chronicler of those days, "could have diffus- ed greater joy into the hearts of the disconsolate and infirm ; it seemed like an angelic herald to their sick and dying." ^ Thus was prepared the way for a peaceful fostering intercourse be- tween the colonists and the natives, Muruig the infancy of the Puritan State on the shores of Massachusetts. Savage fears were calmed and savage jealousies subdued, and from being foes, the neighboring and powerful savage chieftains were converted into friends ; who, taking the infant State into their bosoms, cherished and warmed into new life the colony, ready to perish on the bare rock of Plymouth ! Who does not read in these prefatory lines of New England history the causes determining the destinies of New England, in the opportune and kindly in- terposition of Maine, in the person of her humane, generous, and noble son of Pemaquid, to prepare the way for a peaceful abode among a strange and barbarous people, who had already summoned the entire force of their powows to practice their 1 Ancient Dominions, p. 102. , 2 Thacher'a History of Plymouth, p. 34. 152 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. I incantations in a (Jark and dismal swamp for days together, in order to cast out tlie intrusive Puritans ? And it is not the only instance in which Massachusetts, from the manhood of her present proud estate, may look back to the openings of colonial life with gratitude as she beholds the fostering hand of Maine, • as an elder sister, watcliing at the cradle of her own infancy ! Aid and comfort were furnished out of the resources of Maine in her Ancient Dominions, to the Puritans famishing on Plymouth rock. The harbor Islands of Boothbay, at this date, were the scene of commercial and fishing interests, for no less than " thirty sail ^ of vessels," and the granary of the embryo " sovereign- ties" ^ of New England. The last of May, the Puritan town of Plymouth, being a year and six months old, descried from the sand hills of Ply- mouth harbor a vessel at sea. It proved to be a shaUop from Damarin's Cove, in the eastern parts of New England, — a vision from the Ancient Dominions of Maine, — heralding the hope of relief to the famished colonists who were anxiously looking for supplies from England. This vessel turned out to be a shallop, and to the disappoint- ment of the Puritans landed m Plymouth harbor seven men^ and letters, but no bread ; but the sympathy and encourage- ment, afforded in one of these missives from the pen of John Hudson, a ship master at Boothbay, though interested in the colonial plantation of Southern Yirguiia, who, nevertheless, had at heart the success of the Plymouth enterprise, contribut- ed to revive the drooping spirits of the Puritan colonists. The returning Boothbay shallop led the way of the famishing Puri- tans to the " Ancient Dominions of Maine," followed by Wins- low, \inder orders of the Plymouth governor, in a Plymouth shallop, to get bread for the colony, who wrote back : — "I 1 Morton's Memorial, p. o2. 2 Thoniloii's Pemaquid. 8 Morton's Memorial^ pp. 40 -il. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 153 fo\md kind entertainment and good respect, with a willingness to supply our wants lifhieh were done so far as able ; and would not take any bills for the same, but did what they could freely." Thus did Maine contribute of her store to sustain the infant colony of Massachusetts ; and by this act of munificence on the part of the residents of the Ancient Dominions of Maine, Mor- ton in his Memorial of Plymouth, asserts that the Plymoth- eans in their " plantation had a good quantity of provisions."^ These facts, in the historical remains of Sagadahoc, the ancient seat of colonial life of New England, warrant the posi- tion we have taken. A summary will show that thirteen years before a Puritan foot trod the soil of New England, a fair town of fifty houses, protected by an entrenched twelve-gun fort, ornamented with a church having a stated minister of the • gospel, enlivened with the hum and clatter of busy artizans in a ship-yard, had planted the colonization, the commerce and the Christian- ity of Europe in North America on the shores of the " Ancient Dominions of Maine;" — that Maine, in the person of her wild son Samoset of Pemaquid, with out-stretched arms and generous greetings, stood on the sands of Cape Cod to wel- come and introduce under favorable auspices, the embryo State of Massachusetts from the deck of the Mayflower, to her wild home on the shores of the New World ; — that the Puritans, famishing on Plymouth Rock, were supplied by the charities of Maine, in the beginnings of colonial- life. The " Ancient Dominions of Maine " have, therefore, been prolific of life, peace, and success to the infancy of New England. In Sagadahoc was planted the root whose fatness has fur- nished New England with the strength, verdure, freshness and beauty in English life, civilization- and Christian virtue. It is a pertinent and pregnant question in the solution of the successful present of New England, what, to-day, would have 1 Morton's Memorial, pp. 40-41. 154 MEMORIAL VOLUME, been the history of Plymouth rock and the Puritans, — the past of Massachusetts — had it not been for 'Maine and her kindly offices and sisterly attentions, at the cradling of her existence in the wilds of the West. When Dudley and his companions found the misanthropic Blackstone, the sole occupant of the woods of Shawmut Point, the site of Boston, and who, because he had left England in disgust, " not likeing the Lords Bishops," would not welcome the new comers, because he did not like the " Lords Brethren." any better, the crisis of colonial existence and success in New England had passed. I therefore leave it for statesmen to solve what would have been the present of New England, had it not been for Maine, and the attractions and resources of her Ancient Dominions. The Virginia of Sagadalioc, — the first vessel built on the North American continent; the germ of that naval architecture which has made Maine the fore- most community of the world in shipbuilding. As the Committee have received no response to this senti- ment, it has been deemed proper to connect with it the follow- ing statement : " In the year one thousand six hundred and fourteen," says De Laet, " the ship of Skipper Adrian Block took fire by acci- dent, and he built here ^ a Yacht of thirty-eight feet keel, forty- four feet and a half on deck, and eleven feet and a half beam, with which he sailed through the Hellegat into the Great Bay, and visited all the places thereabout, and went in it as far as Cape Cod." ^ Li Hazard's " Annals of Pennsylvania," the yacht is called the " Restless." It is also said, " In 1616, Capt. Hendricksen in the Restless departs for the Schuylkill," &c. With these statements is connected the assertion that this craft was " The first vessel built in this countri/ by Europeans." 1 Near New York. 2 Benson's Memoir, p. 30. POPHAM CELEBEATION." " 155 This claiiA of priority, like some others, is clearly neutral- ized by the record of Strachey, that in the first year of the Popham Colony [1607-8], " the carpenters framed a pretty Pynnace of about some thirty tonne, which they called the Virginia ; the chief shipwright being one Digby of London." ^ Thus, by several years, this " pretty Pynnace " stands at the head of the list of the countless vessels for commerce and war, which have come fi"om the forests of our country. In the great enterprise of ship-building, Maine has long taken the foremost place ; and the city of Bath, near the ancient Saga- dahoc, has been chief in the State. The example of Digby and the Virginia has not been neglected. It may be proper to add, as connected with the history of our shore-line, that Capt. Hendricksen in the " Restless " (Onriist), sailed along on our coast previously to *' the 18th of August, 1616," and made a " figurative" map thereof as far as Pentegouet (Penobscot River), of which a fac-simileis given in 1st Colonial Document, N. Y., p. 13. The Colony of MaasaeJmsetts' Bay, — founded in 1629, by men of the same un- conquerable will as those that brought royalty to the block, and discarded pre- scription as heresy. Their descendants have ever shown a faithful adherence to the doctrine of " Vniformity." The following response to this sentiment was made by the Hon. Emory "Washburn, of Cambridge, late Governor of the State of Massachusetts : GOV. washbukn's address. Mr. Washburn said. It was with something more than the ordinary awe with which one is impressed in addressing a vast assembly,, that he rose to obey the call which the president had made upon him to speak of the relations between Maine and 1 Hist. Trav. into Va., ch. x., p. 179. 156 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Massachusetts. He seemed to stand in the conscious presence of the history of mOre than two centuries since Plymouth and Kennebec were embraced in a common patent, as he recalled the part which the Sons of Massachusetts had taken in helping to plant upon the virgin soil of Maine, the institutions wliich have changed a wilderness into the homes of a busy, prosperous and happy community. And yet, frankness compelled him to say that he feared that like other pet children ever since the days of Solomon, this favorite child of the old Bay State had at times b§en incluied to take airs, even before she became of age, -and had set up house-keeping for herself. And when he saw by the papers, that she was proposing to commemorate an event in her history, away back in the remote ages of the past, he felt that it was a little presuming, inasmuch as it was touching Massachusetts, and especially the old colony of Plymouth, in a tender point. He was the more impressed with this, when he recalled an ex- cursion he had taken, less than forty years ago, along the banks of this beautiful Kennebec, over the bcenes to which the ro- mantic story of Father Edle's heroism and death had lent a charm, where as he stood and looked out upon an unbroken forest', he innocently supposed it was then a new country, and little dreamed that there had been a heroic age upon the banks of that river, of whose events history then knew so little. It was therefore, with no little surprise that he received a note from his excellent friend Dr. Wlieeler, enclosing an invitation to attend a celebration of the 255th anniversary of the founding of the First English Colony on the shores of New England ! "With the notions of a Massachusetts' man, how coiild he help suspecting that here was an attempt to rob her of her laurels, when he saw that it was going back to a point of time thirteen yeSfs- before the genuine Puritan liegira. It seemed to him to 1)1^ a political heresy almost e(iual to that of secession itself. IJu thereupon began to incpiire what tliey were proposing to POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 157 commemorate, and he took down from his shelves a black letter folio marked " Popham's Reports" to see if he could find something of the Fort PopJiam mentioned in his invitation. But failing in that, he hunted up his classical dictionary for the word "Sabino" and concluded that, after all, here must have been the spot where the early Romans are said to have got their wives, by a rather rude kind of courtship, arid he looked around on his arrival at the spot, to see the veritable wolf which Romulus is said to have suckled. He came here determined, let what would happen, to protest against every thing that denied that Plymouth was the true hive of the " Universal Yankee Nation." He confessed, however, he had been utterly disarmed by the courtesies he had shared here to- day, and he would no longer protest against anything ; and if anybody were to insist that Noah's ark landed on one of these hills, and would get up a celebration like this, to commemorate it, he would volunteer to come and take part in it, without doubting it was true. He had listened with deep interest to-day, to the narrative of the sufferings and failure of the colony that was planted here. But, as a Massachusetts' Puritan, he would venture to suggest another cause of this failure, which he wished to do sub rosa, and in rather a confidential manner, lest some Epis- copalian or Unitarian might over-hear him and take exception at his remark. And that was, that Sir George Popham, instead of bringing over with him, as we are told he did, a clergyman of the Established Church, ought to have called and settled a right-down" Orthodox Congregational minister over the First Parish of Sagadahoc. And in the same spirit he would add, it might have been well if he had any Quakers or Baptists in his colony, to have made a salutary example of them, as Mas- sachusetts afterwards did, with such signal success. But, said Mr. W., I am wasting in remarks which may seem to be unfitted to the dignity of the occasion, the moments which ought to be devoted to more grave and, serious topics. 158 MEMORIAL VOLUME. The first thing that must suggest itself to the mind of every- one, is the contrast between the motives which impelled, and the success which attended the planting of the colonies of 1607 and of 1620. Trade, commerce, worldly gain, were the incen- tives to the one. Free thought, and the growth and culture of pure religious sentiment were the springs of- action in the other. To the one, we are told in the words of their own his- tory, " the country was intolerably cold and sterile, and not habitable by the English nation." To the other, the terrors of an unprotected winter exposure were far less terrible than the heavy hand of a hierarchy from whose persecutions they had escaped. "Amidst the storm they suDg, And the stars heard, and the sea, And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rung, To the anthems of the free." The one, after a few months struggle, failed, and disappeared forever. The other, in spite of climate, or soil, or savage foes, planted the living germ of one of the mightiest nations on the globe. The fate of the two colonies is a lesson which should not be lost in studying the causes of human greatness, and of ^ national success. Is it too much to say, that it was fortunate for this great and growing State, that so much of the vital germ of her present social and political existence as a body politic, was transplanted from the seed-bed of the colonies of Massa- chusetts Bay, rather than to have sprung directly from the adventurers who came here as the fellow colonists of President Geo. Popham ? It is seen in the thriving cities and villages that are scattered over its territory. It is seen in the quiet, happy homes that skirt every wayside, and in the bold, brave, self- reliant, intelligent men, and the refined and intelligent women, that one meets with here, everywhere. ' These arc the fruits of institutions such as the Pilgrims POPHAM CELEBRATION. 159 planted ; and Massachusetts and Plymouth have but repeated themselves here upon a wider and broader field, which so many of their sons have helped to cultivate and people. And as their ancestors formed but one body politic in the great struggle of the Revolution, the sons of Maine and Massachusetts are now battling as brothers, side by side, in the greater struggle in which our country is this day engaged. It is a struggle whether the free thought, the' manly independence, the blessings of wise laws and a good government, which our fathers purchased mth their blood, shall be preserved for us and .our posterity, or the iron heel of an oligarchal despotism be planted upon the necks of the down-trodden masses. He would not pursue this thought, but he would venture to say a single word of the occasion and of this mighty gathering of the people. We need more of such meetings. We need sometlaing to bind us together, beyond the mere letter of a civil compact or the sympathy of a national name. The strong- est bond of national unity among the jarring and jealous States of Greece, was found in their public gatherings and at her na- tional games. In the eager pursuit of gain and personal ad- vancement, there is danger of the people forgetting that they are a nation, or have a nation's history and honor to vindicate and maintain. The sons and daughters of New England, who go out into other regions of our constantly widening republic, remember the homes and the institutions they have left, with affection and respect. But the children of the next generation have only a traditional tie in these associations, which grows weaker with each succeeding generation, where there is not something beyond the mere intercourse of business, to draw them together by feelings of a common sympathy. The conspirators of the south understood this, and acted upon it, when they sent back to New England the schoolmas- ters and schoolmistresses who were teaching their children, 160 MEMOKIAL VOLUME. and withdrew their sons from northern colleges, and their daughters from northern schools. They understood it, when they denied to the citizens of our State, the constitutional guaranties of protection in another ; for they knew that hy free intercourse and interchange of opinions between the people of the different States, the free thought and liberal training of the northern mind must ever be antagonistic to the policy which they were seeking to inaugurate. We saw here to-day, in this vast assemblage of men and women, coming up hither from no class and from no circumscribed locality, in palpable form, the fruits of that great elementary distinction there is between northern and southern institutions, in the social in- fluence that elevates and the prosperous success wlaich crowns free, intelligent, well paid labor. It is this great leading prin- ciple which has made the hardy soil of Massachusetts the most densely peopled spot in our whole country. It has changed the wilderness of Maine into regions of beauty and thrift and comfort. In this, as in every other good thing, Maine and Massachusetts have gone on together, — the daughter emulating the mother, — the mother, aided by the reaction of that very emulation, taking another "step in a common, onward progress towards the condition of perfect commonwealths. He would ask a moment's longer indulgence, while he fol- lowed out a single thought which pressed upon his mind as he contemplated the beautiful relation in which Maine and Mass- achusetts had always stood towards each other, whether under the same form of civil government, or each with its independ- ent organization. Why, and he spoke it with pain and sorrow, did they witness such a contrast between the kindly sympathies of the once mother.and tlie daughter, though now independent in all matters of domestic government, in the one case, and what they hear from the. political leaders and read in the peri- odical press of the mother country of them both, towards the children of her own sons who planted English thought and -POPHAM CELEBRATION. 161 English love of freedom here on the shores of New England'? The time was when they boasted a common origin, a common language, a common history, and a common 'sympathy of free- men. Has the mother grown alien to herself? If they could have conceiTed that a charige so much to be lamented, were possible, they ought to believe so no longer, after listening to the eloquent language and noble sentiments of the honorable gentleman (Hon. Mr. McGee), who had preceded him. It was with pride that, while he had to speak of the politicians and the press of England, he could do justice to the heart and intellect of her noble Queen, illustrious as a sovereign, and still more illustrious as a virtuous and a high souled woman, and could say that he did not believe that the language that comes to us from the organs of public sentiment there, spoke the feelings of the great English heart. And yet he must ask why it was, that the holy cause of human liberty and human rights in America, have found so few champions in the great body of the English press ? There were a few illustrious excep- tions. But the press, as a power, was hostile to the cause of hu- man freedom here. Why is the voice of Brougham no longer heard pleading the cause of down-trodden humanity ? Is the mother's nature about to change ? Is England to forget the scene at her own Runnymede, and is the Magna Charta becom- ing a dead letter ? Is she going to blot out what her Milton wrote, and Hampden dared, and Chatham xittered, and to smother the silent eloquence of the history of a thousand years, beneath the cotton bales of a band of conspirators against the cause of English liberties and human rights ? If such is to be her future, let the sons of New England show to the world that if Old England is recreant to her own history, her sons here will take up that record and be true to the glorious old traditions of the past. Who, that has a drop of English blood in his veins, would not blush that the same proud nation who, through the voice of their chief justice, in 12 162 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Somerset's case, proclaimed, ninety years ago, that the air of England was too pure for a slave to breathe in, could be found cheering on, by acquiesence, at least, the slaveholder in his re- bellion to rear a despotism of caste, upon the corner-stone of negro slavery ? If the sympathy of kindred ties are to be sac- rificed to the subordinate forms of State polity, let her learn from the history of her ancient colony of the Bay, that every step made in the prosperity of the daughter, adds new strength and vigor to the mother, while it appeals to her, in the name of unborn generations, to stand up in the dignity of her better nsr ture, to carry forward the great struggle for human freedom, , in which the nations of the earth are engaged. In view of the history of States, whose names had been associated in the sen- timent to which he had been called upon to respond, he would say, in closing. Beautiful mother, more beautiful daughter, honored alike in their devotion to the cause of a common coun- try and of human rights. The President of the United States. Arrangements were made to secure a response to this senti- ment, from a gentleman high in position in the government of our country. But his inability to be present has deprived the committee of the power to present an extended reference to our Chief Magistrate and the afflicted state of the nation, which the circumstances of that time would have rendered most appropriate, and deeply interesting, from the fearfal dis- asters to our army under Gen. Pope on the day of this cele- bration. The Queen of Great Sritain. This sentiment was responded to by John J. Day, Esq., of Montreal, on behalf of the St. George's Society of that city. POPHAM CELEBBATION. 163 ME. day's speech. Mr. Day said, — He rose iinder a deep sense of the responsibil- ity which devolved upon him, and regretted it had not fallen to abler hands to respond to the sentiment proposed ; but he felt consoled in the reflection that, in the peculiar relation he stood to this, as -well as the mother country, his remarks might be entitled to some weight at their hands, as expressing opinions less likely to be influenced by prejudice than might be those of other gentlemen present, holding official relations to Her Majes- ty's Government in England. That, although an Englishman by birth, and for many years, latterly, a resident of Canada, he had for some time previously resided in the United States, and made this country, to some extent, that of his adoption. He said it was hardly necessary for him to speak of Her Majesty as an eminently virtuous and exemplary mother, one who had so fitly trained and educated her children to become the future Kings and Queens of England. That the demeanor and con- duct of the Prince of Wales, some two years ago, as their guest, extolled as he was at the time for his modest bearing, consist- ent conduct, sound sense and good judgment, need alone be referred to as evidence of Her Majesty's maternal guidance and care in training him for the high position he is, in all prob- ability, destined, at some future day, to fill. That, as a Sov- ereign Queen, her rule was universally acknowledged to be . benign, righteous, and just. That, in fact, she lived in the hearts of her people. That whatever misconceptions might exist here as to the policy of Her Majesty's Ministers, with ref- , erence to the misunderstandings that have at times unhappily arisen between the United States Government and that of Great Britain, the American nation have, through their organs, the press, always expressed an implicit confidence in Her Majes- ty, as personally their friend and well wisher. That the time* was, when tyranny and despotism were the predominant fea- 164 MEMORIAL VOLUME. tares in the reign of Kings and Queens ; that happily the times had clianged, and whilst we could not but admire Her Majes- ty, as endowed with qualities 59 fitted to her exalted station, it was but right to attribute those endowments, in a large meas- ure, to the influences of the age in which we live, — to that pro- gress in our common civilization which, under the blessings m Providence, is the peculiar characteristic of .the period, — in fact, to the moral, religious, social, and political influences of that civilization to which the people of Great Britain and Amer- ica, and in some respects, France, have so largely contributed in their persistent struggles, from time to time, during the last two centuries, to establish political and religious liberty, and free representative institutions. As representing the Saint George's Society of Montreal, and as a resident of Canada and subject of Great Britain, he would tender to them, on that occasion, the warmest sympathy, and would assure them, as his honorable friend, D'Arcy McGee had done, that it is a mistake to suppose that the feeling in Canada or England, as regards their present unhappy and much to be deplored national troubles, is to any extent un- favorable to the American Union. That there would be, — there always are, — some sordid minds, actuated by the love of the " almighty dollar," who would pander to the vilest pur- poses, and it would be strange if either England or Canada should be entirely exempt from that foible of our common humanity. No, Mr. President, he repeated, it is with painfully sympathetic feelings that the people of England and Canada regard the devastating and ruinous internecine Avar n^w in- festing our fair country, and that there did not exist amongst them, as a people, the desire to see our hitherto happy and prosperous land, composed as it is principally of the descend- ants of a common stock with themselves, rent asmider and de- stroyed in its integrity as a nation. Mr. Day then proceeded to comment upon the remarks made POPHAM CELEBRATION. 165 by the previous speaker, the Honorable Ex-Governor Wash- burn, of Massachusetts, in respect to the part which, it ap- peared to him (Mr. W.), England had manifested a desire to take, unfavorable to the cause of the American Union. Mr. Day said, that for a time he felt that that honorable gentle- man's remarks about England, did not do her justice ; but that, winding up as he did, by eulogizing Her Majesty, and express- ing a doubt as to whether it was not rather a mere suspicion than a fact, rightfully attested, that the Government and peo- ple of England were adverse to the North, threw so healing a salve over the wound inflicted by, that honorable gentleman's previous remarks as to England's feeling and conduct, that he (Mr. Day) felt somewhat relieved from the weight of the im- pressions previously made upon him by the honorable gentle- man. He said the honorable gentleman had complained of England's condtict as false to her previous anti-slavery profes- sions, — that it seemed to him (Mr. W.), that instead of desir- ing to aid them in their present struggle to get rid of slavery, . she desired, by the policy she pursued, to perpetuate it. But he (Mr. Day) felt that England was, in that statement, un- fairly accused. That England's policy would ever be the emancipation of the slave ; but that in working out that policy, she would desire to have due regard to those rights of prop- erty which, under that ill-conceived institution, is here in America acknowledged, and which was unhappily found to exist at the time of the forming of the Constitution. That the question in the present struggle between the North and the South, was not really and truly whether slavery should be abolished or perpetuated, — that the President of the United States himself had but lately issued a proclamation, in which he distinctly declared that not to be the case. That it was to maintain the Constitution and restore the Union that we were fighting ; not to abolish or perpetuate slavery, except as the one or the other might be necessary to the achievement of the 166 MEMORIAL VOLUME. great object of the Government in its endeavors to suppress the rebellion. Why charge England as unfriendly to the North because of her neutrality ? Had not the United States Gov- ernment itself pursued a similar policy on at least more than one occasion, when the deepest sympathies of a free and gener- ous people might, to some extent, have rendered intervention less culpable ? He referred more particularly to the case of " down-trodden Hungary," when their exiled patriot and lead- er, Kossuth, expatriated, on our shores pleaded so ably his country's wrongs ? That England had thus far throughout our troubles remained firm to that policy of non-intervention, which we ourselves, under our own Constitution, deemed the right one ; and this, too, in the face of the prostration of her com- merce and the extremest distress amongst her working classes, occasioned by the difficulties in obtaining cotton from the South, in consequence of the blockade by our own fleets. That she had done nothing, as a Government, to aid the rebel cause. What, therefore, he would kindly ask of us, is it that we would have her do more than she had done to convince us of her honesty and rectitude of purpose toward us, as a nation ? That our answer might be, that she might evince a better feeling through her public journals. Let the fault of the " fourth estate " be atoned for by the " foiirth estate." To condemn a whole nation because a part of her public press pandered to party views, would be to censure our own nation, for our press was equally at fault. A better criterion to judge by, let him suggest, would be, the feelings reciprocated by the people of the two nations in their individual intercourse with each other, here, in Canada, and in England ; and he thought we might gather, even from tlie present occasion of our meet- ing togfether, that England and England's Queen, our common mother, and the United States, her eldest daughter, are not, after all, on such bad terms as some would have it supposed. Wliy England's interference should be so much talked of, POPHAM CELEBRATION. 167 and Prance, who has evinced more disposition to do so, should escape the censure of America, might, at first sight, seem strange ; but he (Mr. Day) presumed it might easily be ac- counted for in the fact that gratitude to Prance for the aid she afforded this nation in her struggles for independence, and a remembrance of the wrongs which led the people of the colonies to withdraw their allegiance from Great Britain, still exerted its influence in the heart of the American nation. He said, wrongs ; for while Englishmen now enjoyed the blessings of iree institutions and good government, under the rule of a Queen who governs by and through her people, he (Mr. Day) was free to admit that there were periods in her history, when Englishmen, whether as colonists or otherwise, had just reason to complain of the misrule of the government. Mr. Day then, as well on behalf of the Saint George's So- ciety, as for himself personally, expressed his thanks to the Maine Historical Society for the invitation as their guest on this interesting occasion, and the extreme pleasure he had experienced in participating in that day's ceremonies, com- memorative of the founding of the first colony on these shores, by George Popham and his companions, in 1607. He added, that to tread on the sacred soil where the bones of our common ancestors found their resting-place, after having laid the foun- dation on this continent of those blessed and inestimable insti- tutions, political and religious, the fruits of which we find now so extensively scattered over these States of America, — to have had the privilege on that day of listening to the inter- esting speech which our talented orator of the day (John A. Poor, Esq.,) had so ably delivered to us under the auspices of our estimable society, containing so much of historical detail affecting the p^st and future interests of the Old as well as the New "World ; and to participate on that day in the performance of the solemn and original religious services of the Church of the period of the founding of this colony, so devoutly per- 168 MEMORIAL VOLUME. formed by the Eight Reverend Bishop of the Anglican Episco- pal Church ; and above all, to be permitted to unite in the imposing Masonic ceremonies, with which we had that day- laid the stone in memory of George Popham, as the first Eng- lish colonist, as a part of the work in the erection of the fort to bear his name, and intended as a defense of our country's constitution, constituted for him that day an event in his life which would ever remain with liim in pleasing remembrance. Ho expressed a hope that such interchanges of good feeling as he had that day experienced at our hands, might be perpet- ilated between the sons of Old and New England, and never be marred by differences that would lead to hostilities against the mother country, in which the defenses of that fort, con- taining the memorial stone erected to George Popham, would require to be brought into exercise. In conclusion, he asked permission to express an impromptu sentiment, that suggested itself to him during the interesting ceremony of laying the stone, and which he had at the mo- ment committed to paper : " May this fort be used rather as a shield to protect the remains of the revered George Popham, and his associates, whose bones are here deposited, than as a bulwark of defense a:gainst England as your foe ; or as an instrument ' of destruction to England's fleets." Michard Vines,— the faithful friend of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, whose occupation , of the country, to the time of his appointment as Deputy Governor of the " Province of Mayne," In 1644, upheld the title of his nation against the French, and saved New England to his country. The Hon. E. E. Boiu-ne, of Kennebunk, was prepared to speak in reply to this scntunent. The want of time prevented this purpose, and liis intended romai-ks have suice been fur- nished, as follows : POPHAM CELEBRATION. 169 JUDGE bourne's ADDRESS. The history of the early settlements on the coast of Maine ■ has recently excited and received .much attention. A new im- petus has been given to the study of it by the arduous and efficient labors of some of the members of the Historical So- ciety, partictdarly by those of its president, Mr. Willis, Mr. Sew- all, of Wiscasset, Mr. Poor, and of the authors of various local histories. Our children had grown up, under the instruction of their fathers, in the belief that those who landed at Plym- outh in 1620, and made an abiding habitation there, were the first settlers of New England, — the first occupants of its soU. , This impression has so fastened itself on the public mind that it will take many years to remove it. Yet I have no hes- itation as to the assertion, that the progress making in that direction will, in due time, come to that result. More light is yet to break out from the revelations of the archives of an- tiquity. These extended shores, these islands, these rivers, these mountains, are yet to impart new knowledge to the his- torical inquirer ; knowledge, too, which will be satisfying to the candid seeker for truth. By the facilities now afforded in England, by the frequent publication of manuscripts over which the dust of ages has accumulated, and the republication of books, almost lost to the world, developments are being made, which will bring very efficient aid to evei-y one who may choose to embark in the work of bringing to the light of day the material facts of the early occupation of our territory. It is not to be denied that an immense field for labor and useful and interesting employment is yet before us. Amidst the conflicting claims of discoverers and occupiers of different portions of our State, much material truth has been shorn of its power, and still more has been lost from the inadequacy of any then existing agencies for its preservation. There was no priating press on these shores till 1738. The historical student 170 MEMORIAL VOLUME, ■will find unlimited room for the exercise of Ms powers of pa- tient and discriminating research in the recovery and applica- tion of important facts, which may yet be deduced from such books, records, and documents as have survived the ravages of time. Though not pecuniarily profitable, such pursuits are wonderfully absorbing, ^ and any man who will give his soul to the investigation, may yet, in due time, come before the piiblic, " bringing his sheaves with him." There are difficulties and obstructions, much marvelous, un- satisfactory and contradictory history to be encountered, recon- ciled, and explained. But these perplexities and embarrassments only give zest to research and investigation. They enlarge the space for deep thought and patient and persevering examination. A work has lately fallen into my hands, published in London in 1687, entitled, " The Present State of His Majesty's Isles and Territories in America," a duodecimo of some three hundred pages. Those, who have the world of literature at hand, may be familiar with this work. But to me much of its revelations are new. Some things are stated, in relation to the events which we come here to commemorate, which I have found in no other publication. The author had some source of infor- mation other than Strachey. The following passage, while it clearly sustains this position, presents one important fact which I find nowhere else : " There being much time spent in the discovery of this country, and not without expense in the set- ting forth of ships, and that not without the loss of several men's lives, before it could be brought to perfection, but at length in the year 1607, Sir John Popham and others, settled a plantation at the mouth of the river Sagadahoc ; but Capt. James Davis having chosen a small place, almost an island, to set down in, where, having heard a sermon, read their patent and laws, and after he had built a fort, sailed further up the river and country, where, finding an island that had a great fall of water, and having hauled their boat over with a rope. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 171 they came to another fall, which, by reason of its being very' shallow and swift, proved impassable; the head of the river lying in about forty-five degrees. They call their fort, St. George, Capt. George Popliam being President ; and the people seemed much affected. with our men's devotion, and would say, ' King James is a good King, and his God a good God, but our God Tanto a naughty God,' which is the name of the evil spirit which haunts them every new moon, and makes them worship him for fear ; he commanded them not to converse nor come near the English, threatening to kill some of them if they did, and inflict sickness upon others, if they disobeyed him, begin- ning with two of their Sagamores, or king's children, affirming he had power to do the like against , the English, and would, the next new moon, execute it upon them. In January, in the space of seven hours, they had thunder, lightning, rain, frost, and snow, all in very great abundance. There is likewise found a bath, so hot for two miles about, they cannot drink of it. One of the Indians, for a straw hat and knife, stript him- self of his cloathing, which was beaver skins worth in England 50s. or 3£, to present them to the President, only leaving him- self a piece to cover his nudities." This account, though ac- cording with Strachey in some of its statements, contains other facts, of which he makes no mention. But the most material, which I have met with in no other work, is the existence of the hot water bath, " two miles about." Now where was this remarkable spring ? I have alluded to these statements merely to show that the . demand for historic labor, in this immediate field, is not yet satisfied. None of these mysteries in the books make the study of true history less attractive and absorbing. They af- ford more cogent reasons for persevering investigation ; room for useful mental exercise. These remarks, it may be well said, have but an exceedingly remote relation to the siibject of the toast to which I intended 172 MEMORIAL VOLUME. to respond. But the new occasion suggests so many interest- ing inquiries ; so many and various thoughts rush in upon the mind, that we cannot repress the impulse to deviate from any prescribed etiquette. There can be no organism of discourse to which one can be confined. The emigrants to the sliores of New England came hither under the impulse of widely different motives. Those of Plym- outh, as well as those of Massachusetts, came over " to ad- vance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity, with peace." I do not thinJs that those who landed on the shores of Maine were moved in the enterprise by any such considerations. The adventurers to Sagadahoc enjoyed all such liberties in the home country. They were believers in the regime of the Church of England, and were under no necessity of self-e^^patriation for conscience sake. They came here for the- extension of British dominion and the advancement of their pecuniary interests. Mr. Pol- som's remark, that they had not " a tithe of the energy of those who landed at Plymouth," seems to me without foundation, in the fact on which he bases this charge. We all understand the obstinacy and pertinacity of religious feeling and opinion. — Many, and perhaps a large majority of Christian men, would submit to martyrdom, rather than forego their free enjoyment. The Plymouth adventurers are worthy of all honor and rever- ence for their fidelity to Christian principle. But there is no evidence that they were possessed of more fortitude and energy than those who landed at Sagadahoc, Saco, or any where else on the coast. The objects of the several expeditions were very unlike in their value and moral force. Popham, Vines and others landed in Maine for pecimiary and political considera- tions only, ■ — and those will require no man to expose himself to the hazard which a religionist might even cheerfully en- coimtcr, to moot the demands of his spiritual convictions. JJut as to courage and enterprise, IIichard Vines, who be- POPHAM CELBBEATION. ITS gan a settlement at Saco, in 1617, may well compare with the planters at Plymouth. It must be remembered that these plani> ers were, in no sense, the first persons to brave the terrors and deprivations of the New World. They had been enlightened by the experience of the previous occupants at Sagadahoc and Saco. The colonists at both of these places had passed un- harmed through the severities of winter, unmolested by the savage tribes, who then roamed over and claimed the whole territory. So far as previous history gave any manifestations, it had divested the expedition to New England of its most ap- palling terror. There was not necessarily any danger in Indian propinquity and association. In no very limited sense, the Pilgrims at Plymouth entered into the labors of others. That much was accomplished by Vines, to open the way for a permanent settlement of the shores of Maine and to secure the territory to England, there can be no doubt ; while at the saine time, there is some reason for the supposition, that the occupation by him of the territory of Winter Harbor, in 1616-17, ^ay have been continued. There is no evidence of a total abandonment of it. He made several voyages to Eng- land and transported colonists just after this time. Several of these made an abiding settlement on Little River, within the borders of Kennebunkport. Very probably some of them were his companions in their hibernation of 1616. We have every reason for thinking that he carried out the object of his mis- sion. Gorges had sent him to secure the possession by coloni- zation ; , and he makes record of the fact that he had met with good success, and that in consequence of this success, he had made another settlement at Agamenticus. Subsequently, in 1629, in consequence of the skillful and effective exertions of Vines, a grant was made to him and Oldham of a tract of land of great extent on the west side of Saco River. It has been said that the prevalence of the plague, or what- ever else may have been the character of the distemper, by 174 MEMORIAL VOLUME. ■which, just before the arrival of the Plymouth colonists, vast numbers of the savages were swept away, was an auspicious in- terposition of Providence for the safety of those emigrants. Undoubtedly it was so. But Vines and his little colony at Wint(n' Harbor, in 1616-17, in addition to the appalling dan- gers from savage jealousy and vengeance, had also to encounter this most fearful and destructive enemy. They might have disembarked and escaped from the contagion ; but these fear- less and indomitable spirits were not moved to any such aban- donment. They persevered in the grand purpose for which they were sent. If ever man had reason for abandoning an enterprise, surely Vines had at this time. He was here when this wasting disease was raging with fearful power all through the country, and sweeping off the himianity of the land with great rapidity. It seized on the adventurers. Yet, says Gor- ges, " Vines, and others with him, continued with the sick and dead in their cabins, and not one of them ever felt their heads ache while they stayed there." Vines was a physician, and perhaps his professionji.1 knowl- edge was of essential service in this trying emergency. But whatever influences were brought to bear on their condition, the strangers survived the ravages of the disease, and placed themselves in position, so as to set about the objects of their enterprise. He visited the sea coast and traded with the French at the east, and did what was necessary to lay the foundation of title to the territory of a considerable portion of Maine. He also went into the interior, and so prudently demeaned himself everywhere, that he was kindly and hospitably received by the Indians in their wigwams, and afterwards maintained a free intercourse with them. After the base treachery, whereby some of the natives had been seized and carried away from their home in the forests to the shores of Europe, the fellowship of the Indians was to be treated with extreme delicacy and pru- dence. But Vines probably never lost favor with them in the POPHAM CELEBRATION. 175 area of his operations. We do not assert the permanency of the occupation of 1617, but the action of this period, undoubt- edly, was the initiation of the subsequent settlement. Nothing appears in the history of their stay at Winter Harbor, which would render it probable that they left in the ensuing season. The grant to Vines a few years afterwards, in this immediate locality, must have been induced by some more beneficial ser- vices in behalf of the Lord Proprietor, and asked for by Vines from some further knowledge of its prospective value, than are exhibited in the concise account wliich we have of their sojourn there during one winter. But at any rate he was there a few years afterwards, — and there, too, from previous knowledge and occupancy, — making his home in Saco till his departure for Barbadoes in 1646. In 1636, he, with five associates, wa^ appointed a Councilor of the Province of New Somersetshire, as this territory was then denominated ; and shortly after, as (3-orges, in consequence of home comphcation, seemed to the colonists to have forgotten them, he was elected Deputy Governor, which office he held while he remained in the country. He was an energetic and enterprising man, intent on the purposes of discovery, and of using it for the security of the title of the home proprietor and the advancement of civilization. In 1642, he went up the Saco River in a birch canoe, ascended the White Mountains, making quite an accurate survey of heights and distances, con- sidering that his pathway by water as well as by land, was through unbroken forests. On this expedition he was gone fifteen days. It is said by Winthrop that some one else from Exeter had made the ascent the year before. Whether he was the first or second adventurer on the ascent,, the tour through the wilderness is indicative of a fearless and resolute spirit. Having but a very limited knowledge of him before his em- barkation to this country, I am unable to speak of him more particularly, excepting merely to add, that in his commission 176 MEMORIAL VOLUME. as Councilor ho was denominated Steward General. Of the import of that denomination, or the province of the office, I am not apprised. He was evidently a man of liigh character and of reliable efficiency ; was a staunch Episcopalian, and a friend of temperance, though not adopting the standard of the reformers of the present day. Almost the first act in the per- formance of his official functions, was an order restraining the use of intoxicating liquors. Much of his success was undoubt- edly due to his temperate habits. I think we may well regard him as in advance of the civilization of the age. Fit/mouth Flantation, — founded by men of strong faith, of earnest piety ; educated under the teachings of Robinson and Brewster at Leyden, they were fitted to become pioneers in the new movement toward civil and religious liberty. . The following letter has been received from the Hon. Eobert C. Winthrop of Boston, in reply to the invitation and request of the comrnittee : ' HON. MR. WINTHROP'S LETTER. Boston, September 3, 1862. Mt Dear Sir, — Absence " from iome prevented me from receiving your obliging communication of the 14th of August, until this late day. I am greatly honored by the invitation of the committee of arrangements for the Jlistorical Celebration at Sort Popham ; and it would have given me pleasure to re- spond by letter, if not by word of mouth, to the sentiment in honor of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. But the day has passed. The celebration is over. The pub- lic journals have already informed us of the interesting pro- ceedings and eloquent addresses of the occasion. It only remains for me to congratulate you and the committee on the success which has attended their efforts, and to express my regrets that I was prevented from uniting in their commemo- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 177 ration of an event so prominently associated with the early history of New England. With renewed acknowledgments of the compliment intended for me, I remain, Dear Sir, Your obliged and obedient servant, Eob't C. Winthrop. Eev. Edward Ballard, Secretary. New Jersey, — where the Northmen of the Scandinavian Peninsula founded their first colony in the New World. The Hon. W. A. "Whitehead, of Newark, N. J., was invited to respond to this sentiment. In his inability to attend the meeting, he addressed the following letter to the committee : HON. MR. whitehead's LETTER. New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N. J., August 29th, 1862. Eev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. Dear Sir : — Not until yesterday did I receive the polite in- vitation of your committee to be present at the celebration to- day, of the " two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New England," — an event well deserving of commemoration. The non-receipt of the invitation in season for me to avail myself of it, does not, however, preclude my acknowledging the honor conferred, and an expression of my warm sympathy in every thing calculated to revive the recollection of what " time hath blurred." It would have given me great pleasure, had cir- cumstances allowed of my being present. I notice that New Jersey is to be honored with, a toast on the occasion, and I should be pleased to be present to hear how the gentleman from whom a response is expected will establish 13 178 MEMORIAL VOLUME. the fact asserted in the toast, that the Scandinavians founded their first colony within the limits of the State. I fear that he will find it a difficult subject. It is presumed that the col- ony referred to is the settlement of the Swedes on the Dela- ware in 1638, leading to the occupation of the soil within what is now New Jersey, and the erection of Fort Elsenburgh in 1643, — an interesting episode in the history of the State, which has been less studied than it deserves. But to assert that this was the first establishment of the Scandinavians in the New World, seems to ignore what we have thought to have been for some years acknowledged to be beyond doubt, the visit of the Northmen to the shores of Massachusetts and Rhode .Island in 1607, and their residence there for three years thereafter. The settlers on the Delaware certainly made a more permanent lodgment than those who located in " Via- land ; " but even if priority is to be given to them on this ac- count, New Jersey cannot properly lay claim to them, as their settlements in Delaware and Pennsylvania ante-date the erec- tion of Fort Elsenburgh full five years. In this connection it may be remarked, that a supposition of a settlement of Scandinavians in the northern part of the State at an earlier period than that named for their establishment on the Delaware, has found admission into many of our genieral and local histories, based tipon the name given to the settle- ment at Bergen, — corresponding to that of the capital of Nor- way ; — but there are no good grounds therefor. Smith, the Provincial historian, is generally referred to as the authority ; but all that he says is, that " a few Danes were probably con- cerned in the original settlement of this county, whence came Bergen, after the capital of Norway." Gordon, following, and as he thought, improving iipon Smith, says, " The Hollan- ders were here the pioneers of civilization, aided, probably, by some Danes or Norwegians, who adopted the name of POPHAM CELEBRATION. 179 Bergen, from the capital of Norway; " — and others have pre- sented similar suggestions. The supposition seems to have originated with Oldmixon, who, in his " British Empire in America," written some ttventy years before Smith published his History of New Jersey, de- scribes Bergen County, and adds, " The chief town is Berghen, the name of the capital city of Norway, which gives me rea- son to doubt whether it was not rather Danes them Swedes that first planted here ; " his sources of information leading him to give to the Swedes the priority over all other Europeans in settling New Jersey. " The Dutch," he says, " always in- dustrious in trade, worked them so far out of it that Berg- hen, the northern part of New Jersey, was almost entirely planted by Hollanders." I am not aware that any peculiarly Danish or Norwegian family names are to be found in Bergen County ; and it may be safely assumed that the name was adopted, as others were with which they were familiar in the " Eaderlandt," because of the home reminiscences it awakened ; Bergen, — like " Am- sterdam," "Haarlem," "Utrecht," "Bevertyck,"&c., — be- ing one of the towns of North Holland. It has, however, been suggested, that the nanie had reference to the high ground upon which the settlement was made. I think, therefore, that the claim set up for New Jersey, as the fostering parent of the first Scandinavians, is untenable. With thanks for the courtesy extended to me, I remain. Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, W. A. Whitehead. New JrKMstoW, — cotemporaneous with Maine in origin and neighboring in territory ; may their bonds of good fellowship never be broken. The following letter from the Hon. S. L. Tilley of Frederic- 180 MEMORIAL VOLUME. ton, N. B., having reference to the spirit of this sentiment, is here inserted : HON. MR. TILLEY'S LETTER. Provincial Secretary's Office, Predericton, N. B., August 22d, 1863. Sir, — I have delayed answering the invitation from the Executive Conamittee of the public Historical Celebration to commemorate the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New England, in the hope that I could make such arrangements as would enable me to accept it. I will be compelled to be at Quebec on the tenth of Septem- ber as a delegate from the Government of this Province to confer with delegates from the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia in relation to the construction of an Inter-colonial Railway; and were I to go to "Fort Popham" on the 29th inst., the two engagements would cause an absence from the Province of mor'B than thi-ee weeks, — more time than I can possibly, spare. Please present to the committee my sincere thanks for their invitation. Not to be able to meet with you I consider a great privation. I hope to prevail upon some member of our government to go on. Apart from the special object for which the celebration was agreed upon, I triist it will create And strengthen friendly relations between the English race on both sides of our lines ; and that no other feelings sho\ild ever exist is the sincere desire of Your obedient servant, S. L. TiLLEY. Rev. Edward Ballard, Sccrclari/. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 181 Sir William PAtps, — the ship carpenter of Woolwich, — the bold seaman and adventurer, the Baronet, the successful General and Governor. His life and character illustrated the spirit and genius of New England. The Eev. Francis Norwood, pastor of the Congregational Church in Phipsburg, in wliich town is embraced the Peninsula of Sabino, has furnished the following ^jommunication : THE EEV. MR. NORWOOD'S SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF SIR WILLIAIH PHIPS. Sir William Phips, Governor of Massachusetts, was born in the southern part of Woolwich, near a little bay, still called Phips's Bay, February 2, 1650, thirty years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and forty-three after the English settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec. He was the son of James Phips, a native of Bristol, England, and one of a fanaUy of twenty-six children and twenty-one sons. His father dying when he was young, he spent the first eighteen years of his life with his mother, engaged in agricultural em- ployments. At the end of this time he served an apprentice- ship of four years with a ship carpenter, and became master of the trade. Whereupon, at the age of twenty-two, he removed to Boston, influenced by the greater advantages there furnished for the proseciltion of his business. Surprising as it may now seem, it was during his first year's resid.ence in Boston, and while engaged in the business of his trade, that he learned to read and write. He pursued his trade of ship carpenter one year in Boston, at the end of which, having established a good name and character, he marries an estimable lady, the widow of one John Hall, a Boston mer- chant. Shortly after this, he contracts with persons in Boston to build them a ship in his native village, two leagues from the Kennebec. Just as this was completed, and he was about to take in a 182 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. load of lumber, the Indians made a murderous assault upon the inhabitants ; and he, to save them, left his lading, took them on board and gave them a free passage to Boston. Notwithstanding, however, the partial failure of this enter- prise by reason of the loss of his lumber, he was not discour- aged, but would frequently tell his wife that he should yet be captain of a king's ship, and owner of a fair brick house in the Green Lane of North Boston. Such were the visions that floated before his mind, like the dreams of Joseph in his youth- ful days ; a common indication and accompaniment of aspiring genius. Hearing, about this time, of a Spanish wreck on the coast of the Bahamas, he sails there to make explorations, and from thence to England, where he made such representations at "White Hall, that in the year, 1683, he became the captain of a king's ship, Algier Rose, a frigate of eighteen guns and ninety- five men. • In this ship he sails to the Bahamas in search of the buried treasures. But after long delays and the experience of many hardships and dangers, the crew mutinied once and again, compelling him to return to England, that he might make the necessary preparation for another voyage of discovery. Arriv- ing there, his wishes are again seconded ; another ship is fur- nished and he returns to prosecute his enterprise. While at the supposed place of the buried wreck; viz., a reef of shoals a few leagues to the northward of Port de la Plata, upon Hispaniola, and in the very act of exploration, a sea feather is spied, and one of the Indian divers was ordered to bring it up. The diver bringing up the feather, brought with it a surprising story that he saw a number of great guns in the watery world below. This led to renewed and enlivened activity, till at length they secured thirty-two tons of silver, with much gold, pearls, and jewels, all drawn up forty feet from the sunken wreck, and that without the loss of a man's life. POPHAM CELEBBATION. 183' But by this sudden and unexampled prosperity, Capt. Phips ■was greatly embarrassed and perplexed. His crew had been hired on seamen's wages, at so much a month. When, there- fore, they saw such vast litters of silver sows and pigs, as they called them, come on board at the captain's call, they were dis- satisfied and threatened to rise and take the ship and divide the treasures among themselves. In this terrible distress, Captain Phips made a vow unto Al- mighty God, " that if he would carry him safely home to Eng- land with what he had now given him, he would forever devote himself to the interests of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his people in New England." At the same time he sought to con- ciliate his men by kindness of deportment and by assuring them that they should be amply remunerated, though obliged him- self to distribute his own share among them. Thus quiet and confidence were restored, and he, returning to England, came up to London in the year 1687, with nearly §00,000 pounds sterling aboard, in our money, 11,500,000. Such, however, was his honesty in fulfilling his promises to his seamen and in making exact retv/rns to his employers, that he received as his part only about 16,000 pounds, in our money, $80,000. At the same time the Duke of Albemarle made^his wife, whom he had never seen, the present of a golden cup, worth 1000 pounds, in our money, $5000. The King, also, King James II., in consideration of the skill, energy, and en- terprise displayed in this undertaking, and of the service done by him in bringing such a treasure into the nation, conferred on him the honor of Knighthood; the first honor, it is believed, conferred on a native American. In the next year, 1688, he was appointed by the King, High Sheriff of the cowitry ; and having made a second visit to the wreck, though with little pecuniary benefit, he returned to New England to fulfil the promise made to his wife of building a fair brick house in the Green Lane of North Boston. 184 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Two years after, having now passed through varied scenes of self-discipline and prosperity, at the age of forty, he felt himself called upon to make a profession of his faith in Christ and to unite with the North Congregational Church in Boston, of which the Rev. Cotton Mather was pastor. As it may be instructive and profitable to know and remem- ber what were the views and practices of the Congregational churches of this country at that time, 1690, these, with few ex- ceptions, being the only churches then in existence in New England, I give the following statements in the very words of the Rev. Cotton Mather, the distinguished minister of Sir Wm. Phips : " It has been ever the custom in the churches of New Eng- land to expect from such persons, as they admit into constant communion with them, that they do, not only publicly and sol- emnly declare their consent unto the covenant of grace, and particularly to those duties of it wherein a church state is more immediately concerned, but dlso first relate unto the pastors, and by them unto the brethren, the special impressions which the grace of God has made upon their souls in bringing them to this consent. By this custom and caution, though they can- not keep. hypocrites from their fellowship, yet they go, as far as they can, to render and preserve themselves churches of saints, and edify one another. " When Sir William Phips was now returned to his own house he began to think himself, like David, concerning the house of God ; and accordingly applied unto the North Church in Boston, that by an open profession of the Lord Jesus, he might have the ordinances and privileges of the gospel added to his other enjoyments. One tiling that quickened his resolu- tion in this matter, was a passage heard from a juinister, preach- ing from the fifty-first Psalm ; ^■iz., this, ' to make a public and open profession of repentance, is a thing not misbecoming the grouiost man alive. It is an honor to be found among the re- POPHAM CELEBBATION. 185 penting people of God, though they be in eircumstances never so fall of suffering.' " " Upon this excitation Sir "William Phips made his address unto a Congregational Church, and had therein one thing to propound unto himself, which few persons of his age so well satisfied of infant baptism as he was, have then to ask for. In- deed, in the primitive times, although the lawfulness of infant baptism was never so much as made a question, yet we find baptism was frequently delayed by persons for superstitious rea- sons. But Sir William Phips had hitherto delayed his baptism because the years of his childhood were spent where there was no settled minister ; and therefore he was now not only willing to attain a good satisfaction of his own internal and practical Christianity, before he received the mark of it, but he was willing to receive it among those Christians that seemed most sensible of the bonds which it laid them under. "Offering himself, therefore, first unto the baptism, and then imto the Supper of the Lord, he presented unto the pastor of the church, in his own hand-writing the following instrument ; which, because of the exemplary devotion therein expressed, and the remarkable history which it gives of several occurren- ces in his life, I shall herewith faithfully transcribe, without adding to it so much as one word.'" Here, then, we have an account of Sir William Phips's religious experience in Ms own words : " The first of God's making me sensible of my sins was in the year 1674," (in his twenty-fourth year), " by hearing your father, (Dr. Increase Mather, President of Harvard College), preach concerning ' The day of trouble near.' " It pleased Almighty God to .smite me with a deep sense of my miserable condition, who had lived until then in the world, and had done nothing for God. I did then begin to think wjiat I should do to be saved? and did bewail my youthful days, which I had spent in vain. I did think I would begin to mind the things of God. 186 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. ■ " Being then sometime under your father's ministry, much troubled with my burden, but thinking on that scripture, ' Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,' I had some thought of drawing as near to the communion of the Lord's table as I could. But the ruins which the Indicm wars brought on my, affairs, and the entan- glements which my following the sea laid upon me, hindered my pursuing the welfare of my own soul as I ought to have done. At length God was pleased to smile upon my outward concerns. " The various providences, both merciful and afflictive, which attended me in my travels, were sanctified unto me, to make me acknowledge God in all my ways. I have divers times been in danger of my life, and have been brought to see that I owed my life to Him that hath given a life so often to me. I thank God, he hath brought me to see myself altogether un- happy, without any interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to close heartily with him, desiring him ,to execute all his offices on my behalf. " I have now, for sometime, been under serious resolutions, that I would avoid whatever I should know to be displeasing to God, and that I would serve him all the days of my life. I believe no man will repent of the service of such a master. I find myself unable to keep such resolutions ; but my serious prayers are to the Most High, that he would enable me. God hath done so much for me that I am sensible I owe myself to him. To Mm would I give myself and all that he has given me. I can't express his mercies to me. But as soon as God had smiled upon me with a turn of my affairs, I had laid my- self luider the vows of the Lord that I would set myself to serve his people and churches hero, unto the utmost of my capacity. , " I have liiul great offers made to me in England, but the churches of Now England wore those my heart was most set POPHAM CELEBRATION. 187. upon. I knew that if God had a people anywhere, it was here. And I resolved to rise ovfall with them ; neglecting very great advantages for iay worldly interest, that I might come to enjoy the ordinances of the Lord Jesus here. " It has been my trotible that since I came home, I have made no more haste to get into the house of God, where I de- sire to be ; especially having heard so much about the evil of that omission. I can do little for God, but I desire to wait upon him in his ordinances, and to live to his honor and glory. " ' My being born in a part of the country where I had not, in my infancy, enjoyed the first sacrament of the New Testa- ment, has been something of a stumbling block to me. But though I have had prbffers elsewhere made to me, I resolved rather to defer it, until I might enjoy it in the communion of these churches. And I have had awful iinpressions from those words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew viii. 38 : ' Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed.' When God hath blessed me with something of the world, I had no trouble so great as this, lest it should not be in mercy, and I tremble at nothing more than being put off with a portion here. " That I may make sure of better things, I now offer myself unto the communion of this church of the Lord Jesus." " Accordingly on March 23, 1690, after he had given himself up, first unto the Lord, and then unto his people, he was bap- tised, and so received into the communion of the faithful there." Most men, situated as he was, possessed of abundant wealth and the recipient of distinguished honor, would' have sought exemption from the cares and responsibilities of pub),ic life. But a desire for personal ease and aggrandisement was not the feeling which possessed and ruled his breast. His aim was to do good and be useful while he lived in the world. " Often," says his pastor, " about, before, and after this time, have I heard him express himself after this mannner : ' I have 188 MBMOEIAL VOiiUME. no need at all to look after any further advantages for myself in this world. I may sit still at home, if I will, and enjoy my ease for the rest of my life. But I believe I should offend God in doing so. For I am now in the prime of my age and strength, and I thank God, I can undergo hardship. He only knows how long I have to live ; biit I think 'tis my duty to venture my life in doing good, before a useless old age comes upon me. Wherefore I shall now expose myself, while I am able and as far as I am able, for the service of my country, I was born for others, as well as myself.' " Accordingly, in the spirit of these remarks, he made to the General Court of Massachusetts the oflfer of his own person and estate in invading Canada ; believing that the Indians, in their frequent murderous assaults, were set on by the inhabi- tants of that country ; that we could have no peace with the Indians till Canada was conquered. Hence a naval expedition against the French, with about seven hundred men, under the conduct of Sir Wilham Phips, was entered upon, and proved victorious in the capture and subjugation of Nova Scotia. This led on to a second expedition against Quebec, with a fleet of thirty-two ships and two thousand men, all under Sir William Phips, as general and commander-in-chief in and over their Majesty's forces of New England by sea and land. If success did not attend tliis expedition, it was not owing to any want of ability in the commander, but mainly to the late- ness of the season, and the want of cooperation by troops ordered to come down from the lakes. To pay the soldiers and seamen engaged in this invasion of Quebec, the General Court issued bills of credit, and thus originated that system of credit and hills of credit, which has ever since been in use iu this country. About this time James II., hated by the English nation, on account of his Romanism and tyranny, was driven from his POPHAM CELEBEATION. 189 throne by William of Orange, and that despotic governor, Edmund Andros, who had long been the scourge of New Eng- land, was deposed. Dr. Increase Mather being then in Eng-' land to obtain redress for the grievances of his country, and being requested by the king to nominate a worthy person for governor, presented the name of Sir William Phips, saying in his address to the king, — " he hath done a good service for the crown by enlarging your dominions, and reducing Nova Scotia to your obedience. I know he will faithfully serve your Majesty to the utmost of his capacity; and if your Majesty see fit to confirm him in that place, it will confer a great favor on your subjects there." The effect of this was, that Sir William Phips was invested with a commission under the king's broad seal to be Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief over the Province of Massa-. chusetts Bay. Accordingly, having with Mr. Mather kissed the king's hand, on January 3d, 1691, he departed, a»d ar- rived in New England the May following, welcomed with the loud exclamations of that long shaken and shattered country. On his arrival, the Great and General Court o'f the Province appointed a day of solemn tharnksgiving to Almighty God for the safe return of his excellency the Governor. Suffice it to say, that for three years he faithfully and suc- cessfully discharged the duties of tliis high office, in a way that greatly promoted the prosperity of the people, and secured their highest commendation. At the end of .this time, by request of the king, he visited England, and while in London was seized with a cold, which proved a sort of malignant fever, terminating in his death, after a few days, on the 18th of February, 1694, in the forty- fourth year of his age. With due honor, his remains were buried in the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, — New England mourning over his early departure as a public calam- ity, and embalming in grateful affection his virtues and his deeds. 190 MEMORIAL VOLUME. In personal appearance, he was tall and commanding, of features comely and symmetrical, courteous and dignified in manners, and of amiable and generous disposition. He was characterized by indomitable perseverance, evinced in over- coming the difficulties of his neglected education, in pressing his way from humble mediocrity to elevated positions in so- ciety, in the prosecution of his voyages against great obstacles, and in tlie resolute discharge of high official duty. His capacity for business is shown in the success which attended his enterprises, as ship-carpenter, sea-captain, com- mander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces by land and sea, high sheriff, and governor. As evidence of his courage, it is related of him, that when he was captain of the Algier Eose, his men mutinied, and approached him on the quarter deck with drawn swords in hand, demanding that he should join them in prose- cuting a voyage of piracy. Whereupon Capt. Phips, though wholly unarmed, yet with most undaunted courage, rushed in among them, and, with blows of his bare hands, felled many of them, and quelled all the rest. When asked what made him so little afraid of dying, his answer was, '' I do humbly believe the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for me to procure my peace with God. Why, then, should I be afraid of dying ? " At the same time, he was a man of real, imsophisticated mod- esty and humility. Though springing from a low condition, he never seemed proud and haughty, and would very gladly have dispensed with many of the official forms and ceremonies, which custom had sanctioned. On his return to this country, loaded with wealtli and honor, he made a splendid feast to the ship-carpenters of Boston, in commemoration of God's favor to him, who had been himself a ship-carpenter. Wlieu sailing in sight of Kennebec, with armies under his command, he would caU the young soldiers and sailors upon deck, and speak to them after this fashion : " Young men, it was upon that hill I kept sheep a few years POPHAM CELEBEATION. 191 ago; and since you see Almighty God has brought me to something, do you learn to fear God, and be honest, and mind your business, and follow no bad courses, and you doil't know what you may come to." The Christian temper of forgiveness was remarkably dis- played in his life. Says his pastor : " I never saw three men in this world that equalled him in his wonderfully forgiving spirit. In the vast variety of his business, he met with many and mighty injuries ; but I never did hear unto this hour, that he did ever once deliberately revenge an injury. Under great provocations, he would cominonly say, ' 'tis no matter, let them alone. Some time or other they'll see their weakness and rashness, and give me occasion to do them a kindness. And they shall see that I have quite forgotten all their ill-treat- ment of me.' And in his life there were frequent verifications of this remark." It was, indeed, the moral elements which laid the foundation of all his greatness, and was the crowning excellence of his character. I mean his piety, so humble, experimental, solid, practical. Not indeed that he made any great display of re- ■ ligion, or had any sympathy with those who did, especially if they were delinquent in private duties, or wanting in outward moralities. Still he was honest, faithful, steadfast va.\n.s profession ; striv- ing to walk in eIU God's commandments and ordinances blame- less ; conscientiously attending upon the exercises of devotion and worship ; upon the weekly lectures, as 'well as the Sabbath solemnities ; upon the daily service of morning and evening prayer in his own family ; as also upon private meetings of de- vout people, held every fortnight in the neighborhood. " Besides all this," says his pastor, " when he had any great works before him, he would invite good men to come and fast and pray with him at his house for success ; and when he had succeeded in what he had undertaken, he would prevail with 192 . MEMORIAL VOLUME. them to come and keep a day of solemn thanksgiving with him. His love to Almighty God was indeed manifest by nothing more than his love to those who had the image of God upon them. He heartily loved and honored all godly men ; and in so doing he did not confine godliness to this or that party. But wherever he saw the fear of God in one, of Congregational, Presbyte- rian, Baptist, or Episcopal persuasion, he did without any dif- ference express towards them a reverend affection." But, most of all, he loved and lionored Christ's ministers, and in proportion as they were faithful and devoted to their holy calling. Happy were it for our land, if this religion of apostles, re- formers, martyrs, prelates, puritans, had been universally prev- alent and predominant in the hearts of ministers and people, rulers and ruled, in this our day and in this our land. Then had not occurred tliis civil war which is now dividing and des- olating this once happy land, and putting forever in jeopardy the cause of free institutions and republican government. By our transgressions and our sins we have brought upon us the terrible judgments which we suffer. Let us, then, humble ourselves before God and repent, each individual and family and tribe by itself, and let us return to the good old ways of * God's Word, as the prophet exhorts, " Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find res^to your souls." The Eastern Coast of Neio England, — the arena of the conflict of the races, where alternated the fortunes of the French and English. The following communication has been furnished by the Hon. George P. Talbot, of Machias, United States Attorney for the District of Maine. PO^HAM CELEBRATION. 193 THE HON. MR. TALBOT'S COMMUNICATION. INFLUENCE OF THE PEOPLE OP THE EASTERN BETTLEMBNTS IN FIXING THE BOUNDAKIES OF THE REPUBLIC. That Maine is not now a provincial dependency of Great Britain, instead of an important and influential State in the American Republic, is due to causes running back to its earliest settlement. It Vould seem to have been sound policy for the British Government, as soon as it became certain that the Canadian and Acadian provinces would not join the other prov- inces in the revolt against the mother coimtry, to push its fron- tiers from its assured possessions on the St. Lawrence and Bay of Fundy as far southward and westward as possible. It would have been comparatively easy to achieve the permanent con- quest of the greater portion of our State, then held by a feeble and scattered population, and also of the unsettled portions of New England and New York, in which remained considerable bodies of Indians, hostile to the frontier settlers. Great Britain has long since come to see the advantages to her of the posses- sion of a territory now thrust, for three hundred miles almost, as a barrier of separation between her upper and lower prov- inces. Nor need we wonder that she clung so pertinacidlisly to the argument, which a possible construction of an uncertain clause of the treaty of 1783 furnished, to recover a portion of the territorial advantages which, as we claimed, she had sur- rendered in that treaty. Why then, with such strong interest to possess and such ease of acquiring this frontier State, was it suffered to pass under the dominion and fortunes of the American Republic ? History furnishes three causes of this result ; a brief expo- sition of which may not be inappropriate to this occasion. They are : First, the influence of the nationality of the settlers^ of the I frontiers of the countries now foreign to each other ; second, the policy under which the war of the Revolution was 14 194 MEMORIAL VOLUME, conducted by the British ministry ; and third, the active par- ticipation by the settlers of the coast of Maine in the resistance to the British arms. It would have been supposed that when, by the treaty of 1762, all the colonies on the North Atlantic coast passed under the sovereignty of the British crown, that the general system of colonial taxation would have been met by a common resis- tance in all the provinces to which it was applied. The Con- tinental Congress had strong hopes of inducing both Canada and Nova Scotia to make common cause with them in the war. The invasions of Arnold and Montgomery were undertaken, rather with the expectation of rousing allies among the French settlers, than of effecting the conquest of the province. Ex- peditions, with similar objects, set forth from Maine and Mass- achusetts to rouse the whig spirit in the eastern provinces. All these enterprises, however, xiltimately failed. The provincial government, feebly supported by royal troops, resisted, and the mass of the people remained neutral and indifferent. But the invasions failed on account of the rigor of the climate and the breadth of wilderness that separated the continental army from its source of supplies. The French race had not been electrified with the revolu- tionary spirit of a later age. All the instincts of their nation- ality, all the principles of their religious faith made them loyal and monarchical. If they had participated in a quarrel between a king and his revolted subjects,'it could scarcely be on the side of the revolt. Besides the long and cruel controversy for domin- ion on this continent, a controversy embittered by the alliance of fierce savages, had been between them and the colonies, rather than between them and the British nation. There had been a chronic hatred and hostility begotten of religious antipathy be- twixt the Puritan settlers of New England and. the allied French and Indian Catholics to the east and north of them, from the time that Argal broke up the French settlement at Mount POPHAM CELEBRATION. 195 Desert, in 1613. The colonial authorities had always been ready for invasions and expeditions against the French. If the wars between France and England were not provoked and fomented by them, they entered joyfully into them and fur- nished from their scanty population and treasures, men and money without stint or complaint ; nor did they always wait for actual war, when an opportunity offered to strike a fatal blow at an unprotected rival settlement. Indeed, the love of territorial aggrandizement and the propagandism of the Eng- lish name and faith, was far stronger in the town meeting of New England than in the British parliament or court. The colonies had borne the brunt of the conquest of Canada, and exulted over its result far more than the home government, which hardly seemed to appreciate its vast advantage to the British power. "When, then, only twelve years after, a treaty had terminated these border wars and feuds, the very people most active in the violence, appealed to the conquered provin- ces, still smarting from defeat, for alliance and aid, it is no wonder they were received with profound indifference. Thus the spontaneous influence of the Eevolution extended no far- ther than the animosity and passions out ofVhich it grew, and religious and political propagandism extended no farther east- ward than Massachusetts. Ideas and not interests, ideas and not military or commercial necessities, shaped our territorial limits, and gave us our boun- daries. The British crown succeeding to the French title, and, though quite unnaturally, to the French antipathies, revived as against us the old controversy of boundary. It was not set- tled by the treaty of 1783, because the limits of Nova Scotia itself were not determined ; and not until our own time, and by the treaty of 1842, was the line, separating two forms of governmeat and two' races of people, over which two great na- tions had quarrelled for more than two centuries, definitively settled, — a line of more political importance on this continent 196 MEMOKIAIi VOLUME. than any other, unless the intense domestic agitation that has raged over Mason and Dixon's may have given that a pre- eminence. But though the line between- our possessions and the Eng- lish has fallen precisely where the separating line between hos- tile political ideas would determine it, it might have been changed by military force. As soon as it became settled that the people of Canada and Nova Scotia could not be roused to sympathy with the revolt, British armies might have been massed in those provinces as bases of support, and have pushed their frontiers westward and southward towards the centers of the continental population. It would seem to have been easy to have driven out or subdued the entire population of Maine, sparse as it was in 1776. With the possession of Canada on the north and Nova Scotia on the east, and an absolute control of the sea, resistance to a concerted invasion could scarcely have been supported. But the policy of the war as conducted by the British ministry, never contemplated the question of boundaries. It never contemplated a treaty of separation with a part of the colonies, but aimed at the absolute subjection of the whole. The Bnglish government treated our Revolution much the same as we are now treating our own rebellion. Ac- cordingly its first campaign was directed against Boston and Massachusetts as the head and front of the disaffection, and failed on account of the obdurate courage and united hostility of New England, which sent enormous quotas to the Revolu- tionary armies, while neaily all the people left at home were ready to serve as soldiers to resist domestic invasion. Failing to crush New England, they next tried to isolate it, to leave it out in the cold, and seizing the commercial and political capital to break in two the revolutionary confederation. This was the second campaign, terminating disastrously in the defeat at Saratoga. The last policy was to assault the colonies where they were weakest, both in the large percentage of loyalists POPHAM CELEBRATION. 197 and the presumed enmity of the slaves, while, though it came nearer to success than either of the others, broke down at length on account of the languid co-operation of Clinton, and the superior strategy of "Washington ; and with it failed all hope of preventing American independence. Disdaining to contend for favorable boundaries, and occupied with the vast military plans, only transient and inadequate ef- forts were applied to make conquests upon the coasts of Maine. Even these', however, came very near success, and in addition to the influences I have already considered, it is due to the he- roic courage and devoted attachment to the cause of independ- ence by the pioneers of eastern Maine, that these remote fron- tiers were preserved to the American Union. ,The burning of Falmouth early in the war gave the inhabitants of the coast of Maine notice of what their attachment to the Eevolution would be likely to cost them. The occupation for two years, by the royal forces, of the region of Penobscot, would have made that the most favorable limit at which a bound3,ry could have been established on the return- of peace, but for the spirited defense which had secured Machias and the eastern settlements to the Continental Congress. Machias was first settled by Englishmen in May 1763. So uncertain at that period were the boundaries between Massar chusetts and Nova Scotia, that the petition for an incorporation as a town was addressed to the legislature of the latter prov- ince by the people, who supposed themselves within its juris- diction. Nova Scotia disclaimed the jurisdiction, and the act of incorporation, sent out for the king's sanction before the Eevolution, was not finally passed till after the peace which established our national independence in 1784. At the breaking out of the war in 1775, less than five hund- red people; one-fifth of them, perhaps, capable of bearing arms, held this remote frontier settlement, separated from the great mass of their countrymen by hundreds of miles of forest, 198 MEMORIAL VOLUME.. through T*-hich were no roads, and by several navigable rivers, over which there were no bridges. Their only channel of com- munication with their government and fellow-citizens was across three hundred miles of ocean, swept by the irresistible navies of the British king. Their country was not a grain producing country ; and turning their attention exclusively to lumbering, they depended for subsistence upon the returns of shipments of cargoes of boards to the Boston market. If the ocean was open and lumber saleable, they lived and tlirove. If the ocean was shut or lumber unsaleable, they descended to the clam beds to ward off instant starvation. " When the war com- menced that prostrated this commerce by which they lived, there were," as Judge Jones says in a memorial addressed in 1784 to the Massachusetts General Court, " but three weeks' provisions in the place." It would be thought, that a people thus isolated and distres- sed would have had the least interest in the political questions, upon which king and colonies were about to go to war, — that their only thought would have been for their own prosperity and preservation, and that they would gladly have accepted the powerful protection of the British government for immunity for their trade or subsistence for their families. But all such pusillanimous considerations were the farthest from their thoughts. Instead of being dismayed at the fear of falling the first victims to the rage of their incensed sovereign, or appre- hensive of suffering or losses to themselves, they were planning with patriotic zeal quite disproportionate to their power, how to extend the dominions of the Continental Union, and to add new provinces to the American Republic. Just after the battle of Bunker Hill they suddenly planned and splendidly executed an attack upon a British ai'med vessel, pursued down the har- bor, thus winning the first naval battle of the Revolution. The second year of the war, the people of Machias engaged with Jonathan Eddy, who had brought them supplies from Bos- .' POPHAM CELEBEATiON. 199 ton, to invade Nova Scotia. ^ A mere handful of them started eastward, passed the St. John River, and attacked the enemy at the head of the Bay of Fundy, but being repulsed were obliged to retreat through the wilderness a distance of more than three hundred miles. Nothing daunted by this reverse, they planned a new invasion the next year on a larger scale, and were expecting the arrival of stores and continental troops, who were to rendezvous at Machias, when the place was at- tacked by a British fleet. Sir George Collier commanded the expedition, which consisted of two forty-four and one twenty- eight gun frigates and an armed brig, and arrived in the har- bor August 13th, 1777. . The inhabitants raised earth works at the jimction of the two rivers, stretched a boom across the channel, and stationing Indians and musket-men upon the banks, gave the invaders so warm a reception that after a two days fight they were compelled to retire. Although repeated alarlas of invasion occurred afterwards, the settlers were left in peace for the rest of the war, guarding this frontier post and securing our good State for the good cause, while many people farther west, who had not even been subjected to invasion, were circulating petitions to procure British protection on the promise of neutrality. These petitions were sent to Machias for signature ; and as Judge Jones's memorial states, " "We re- 1 The spirit of the Machias people is well disclosed in the admirable and pat- riotic letter of Rev. James Lyon, the first minister of the place, to Gen. Wash- ington, proposing an invasion of Nova Scotia with a thousand men. The learned and pious minister naively expresses himself thus : " I should he more at a loss for an able person to conduct tl^e enterprise. I know of fitter persons than myself in many respects, but they are strangers to the province and the people. But I have dwelt there for many years, and have a personal acquaintance with almost all the principal men, and know the country well. I should rejoice, therefore, in the appointment to the necessary business, and if your excellency, together with those only who must necessarily be acquainted with the appoint- ment, in your great wisdom should see fit to appoint me, I will conduct the ex- pedition with the utmost secrecy, and (Deo adj.) will add to the dominions of the Continental Congress another province, before our enemies are able to defend it." 200 MEMORIAL yOLUME. fusing, the steps we took prevented those places, who were in favor of it, from falling in, whereby the whole of the country, east of Bagaduce, ^ was preserved." If it be asked, why these poor eastern settlers entered so zealously into a cause, which only promised them sufferings and losses ; the answer is, that they were of Puritan ancestry, and looked upon Masschusetts, the leading colony of the Rev- olution, as their father-land. They were republican ; and in a controversy betwixt the king and his people, their sympathies were all with the people. In taking this stand they surrendered no ancient attachments. For the- wars with the French, throiAgh which their national feelings had become aroused, were quite as much wars of the American Colonies as of the British gov- ernment. Some of the eastern settlers had partaken in the invasion of Cape Breton and of Canada. When, then, the controversy arose with their own sovereign about independence, these people cast their fortunes unhesitatingly with the cause of the revolutionists, without a thought of its desperation or of their own almost assured loss. In revolution, masses of men act from passion rather than from interest, nor can any con- quests be permanent, that do not carry with them the ideas and principles of the conquerors. Tlie Yankee, whether in east- ern Maine or in Nova Scotia, was a natural rebel ; and when hostilities broke out against the home government, without much regard to his personal safety, he began to plot resistance and invasion. It thus happened that the Revolution, and with it the boundaries of our republic, extended as far eastward as Massachusetts influence and culture extended, and there stop- ped, in spite of strenuous efforts to push it farther. Nova Scotia, — the earliest battle ground of the races upon this continent ; the home of the loyalist in Revolutionary times. Distinguished for the fascina- tions of its scenery and its treasures of mineral wealth, but still more distin- guished for the intelligence of its people and the ability of its public men. 1 Now Castine. . POPHAM CELEBRATION. 201 The following letter was received from the gentleman invited to make a speech in response to this sentiment : LETTER FROM THE HON. JOSEPH HOWE. Halifax, Nova Scotia, 26th August, 1862. Dear Sir, — I have delayed till the last moment replying to the committee's kind invitation to their proposed celebra- tion, in the hope that I might be able to accept it ; and it is with great reluctance 1;hat I am compelled to decline. Lord Mulgrave is absent and I am surrounded by public duties, from which I cannot escape for some days, and am then under engagement to go to Quebec on an inter-colonial conference. Few things would afford me more pleasure than to see and hear the leading men of Maine, and to exchange thoughts with them on the day, when they meet to decorate the head" waters of that mighty stream of population, which, it may be under different banners, is destined to overflow the continent.; As I cannot come, I would gladly send a sentiment, and with all my heart I say, " May Peace be with you." Believe me, my dear sir. Very truly yours, Joseph Howe. The Saco, — the home of Vines and companions in 1616, and the first seat of justice, in which the forms of the dbmmon law were put into practice. 7%e FaU of Quebec, — under the leadership of the heroic Wolfe, in 1759, which gave peace, security, and progress to the frontier settlements of the colonies,^ and supremacy to English power in North America. Pennsylvania, — to whose archives we are indebted for the only exact account of Arnold's expedition to Canada. The following note from the Eight Rev. Dr. Stevens, a native of Bath, now Bishop of Pennsylvania, explains why a commu- nication on this sentiment could not be furnished : 202 memorial volume. bishop stetens's letter. House op Bishops, N. Y., October 4, 18§2. My Dear Sir, — Yours of the 2d inst. has just been received. Under the duties which now press upon me, and those which will devolve on me in the process of an Episcopal visitation immediately after our adjournment here, I shall be unable to prepare the desired paper for the interesting volume on the Popham Celebration. I remain, very truly yours, Wm. Bacon Stevens. Rev. Edward Ballard. The Memory of Governor SuUwan, — the earliest Historian of his native State, and the honored Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, of which Maine then constituted a part ; his residence on the hanks of the Ken- nebec fitted him for the study of the earUest annals of our State, and made him eminent not only in the department of law and of statesmanship, bnt of history. The following letter from the Hon. Thomas C. Amory, Jr., of Boston, was prepared in reply to the request of the com- mittee : LETTER OP THE HON. MR. AMORY. Boston, August 25th, 1862. Dear Sir, — I regret exceedingly that my "engagements must prevent my attending the celebration of the first settlement of Maine, and responding to the sentiment in honor of James Sullivan, its earliest historian. The preservation of whatever related to its ancient annals, was with him a constant thought ; and his first contribution to the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of which he was the first President, was an account of Georgetown, pre- pared from what he had been able to collect of its history from POPHAM CELEBRATION. 203 his neighbors, when he there commenced, about the year 1768, his professional career. ^ He selected it as a spot peculiarly favorable to fresh efforts, possibly bearing in mind that the flourishing settlements, which in his day not only lined the shore but penetrated inland, had' there their beginning. The colony at Georgetown, and also that of Jamestown, in Virginia, nine months earlier, experienced gloomy days, over- whelming the one and darkening both with disaster. This but nerved an enterprising race to more strenuous efforts, which eventually were marked with signal success. Maine has now a larger population than the whole Commonwealth, when sev- enty years ago, my grandfather published his history of the District, and nearly equal to that of the Old Dominion, out of servitude. In her material prosperity, as in the character, courage, and intelligence of her people, she compares favorably with her twin sister, while in attachment to the principles of Washington and Jefferson, she has immeasurably the advan- tage over her. For the practical application of those principles we have' been favorably placed, and also fortunate in the character of the statesmen who have moulded our opinions and shaped our destiny. We were peculiarly fortunate in the influence exer- cised over public sentiment by Governor Sullivan and his co- temporaries, who, whether republican or federalist, never lost faith in the value of free institutions as the greatest of earthly blessings. If in his published writings," he attaches more than ordinary importance to an unswerving fidelity to constitutional obligations, and carries respect for State rights beyond the measure of modern politics, if he regarded the harmony and union of the States as paramount to all other political consid- erations, it was from a faith that the maintenance of our liber- ties depended upon union, and from an apprehension that in 1 Mass. H. C, vol. 1, p. 251. 204 MEMOBIAL VOLUME. some moment of irritation we might fatally disarrange that ex- cellent system of government, which had been established for us by our fathers on mutual compromises. No one abhorred slavery imore than he did. It is a matter of historical record, that when on the bench he mainly contributed to putting an end to its existence in Massachusetts. But he recognized, both in the constitutional compact and in the national law, a limit to individual responsibility not to be overlooked. It might be pleasant to divest the mind of present anxieties, in contemplating the interesting events of the long distant past, which it is your purpose to commemorate. But this is hardly to be hoped. No one that loves his country can, for one moment, be unmindful of her peril. And if any modern subject is to be discussed at your table, I cannot but believe that the spirit of my grandfather, Governor Sullivan, would present views of the present great issue, that might, if generally received, go far to bring about a restoration of our Union, and of our na- tional prosperity and independence. I should have been glad for this and for the many ways in which he was connected with the history of Maine, to have been permitted, before the dis- tinguished assemblage this occasion is sure to attract, to re- spond to a sentiment in honor of an ancestor, whose memory I so deeply revere. It was precisely such an occasion as he thought most favorable to the encouragement of historical tastes. At the^ close of the tliird century from the discovery of America, in 1792, after an oration, he entertained the His- torical Society and all the historical characters of that day at his house, opposite the Eevere on Bowdoin Square, in Boston. This celebration of the first plantation at the north, so near in time to that of Virginia, offers fruitful themes for the sugges- tion of associations of common origin and future fellowship, which ho would have gladly improved if presented in his day. Let nic hope that some one more able to do justice to his mem- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 205 ory will be found willing to assume the task which you have assigned to me. I remain, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Thomas Q. Amoey, Je. Eev. A. D. Wheelee, D. D., for the Executive Committee. Chanife and Progress, — these make up the history of the world, mental, moral, and physical. Slowly were they written upon its pages, till Fulton, Stephen- son, Henry, and Morse, solved the problem of -intercommunication by steani and lightning. No report of the speech made by the Hon. Francis 0. J. Smith, of "Westbrook, has been received by the committee. The Heroes of 1776, — may the men of to-day prove themselves worthy to be called their sons. The Memory of Ex-Governor King,— the first Governor of Maine after she ceased to be a Province of Massachusetts, and became one of the States of the Union. The pressure of the time prevented the reverend gentleman invited, from making a speech in response, and it is now pre- sented as a communication. WrCLIAM king: PIEST GOVEENOE of MAINE. BY THE REV. JOHN O. FISKE, OP BATH. ' Some of us have had the privilege of learning to-day, more' than we ever knew before of the character and history of emi- nent men connected with the early settlement of our State. It is an honor to have descended from worthy ancestors, and to tread in the footsteps of illustrious pioneers ; but it would be no credit to a people to resemble Dr. South's apple tree, whose fruit was intensely sour and bad, but in behalf of which it was charitably argued ■ that it had rare excellencies in its roots I The inhabitants of the Pine-tree State are driven to no such 206 ' MEMORIAL VOLUME. lame methods of vindicating for themselves an honorable posi- tion among the other inhabitants of the country. The great man, whose memory it has fallen to my lot to recall to-day, is a signal proof that -whatever of natural worth or official digni- ty may have beeq concerned in our early colonial history, nar ture has not failed to place her broad seal of the truest nobility on some of the sons of Maine in later days. William King, the first Governor of Maine, was a product of the State, and shared the blood of a family whose abihties and public services have added historic honor to the annals of our country. His father, Richard King, was an eminent merchant in Scarboro'. His oldest brother, Rufus, was one of those great men, who laid deep and strong the foundations of our Republic, and the whole of his long career is a bright page in the records of our far-seeing and patriotic statesmen. Another brother, Cyrus, was also endowed with superior powers of elo- quence and wisdom ; but after a shorter public course, which afforded large promise for the future, he died at an early age, and sleeps in peace on the banks of the Saco. William King was born in Scarboro', February 9, 1768. His early education, unlike that of his brothers to whom I have referred, was quite limited, and this deficiency was sensibly felt through his life. He resided for a few years in Topsham, where he was concerned with his brother-in-law. Dr. Porter, in a store, and was engaged, laboring with his own hands, in the manufacture of lumber. About the year 1800, he removed to Bath, where he resided until his death, which took place June 17, 1852. He was a man whose whole presence and bearing attracted attention. His frame was large and well-proportioned, his hair and beard black, his eyebrows remarkably heavy and over- hanging, his eyes keen and burning, his voice deep and agree- able. No once could receive his cordial welcome at his house, or mark his caglo eye, fixed on the preacher in the house of POPHAM CELEEEATION. 207 God, as it was for years my privilege to do, or see liim rise to address a public meeting, or listen to his ordinary conversation, or hardly pass him in the street, without being impressed that his was one of those princely and uncommon natures, which are formed for great influence in the world. He became ma- ture in his intellectual powers at an early age, and from the first took his place as an acknowledged superior or equal in whatever society he was found. He was chosen for some successive years a member of the Massachusetts Senate aiid House of Eepresentatives, and in the midst of the eminent men of that day was felt to be one of the commanding minds of the State. One of his speeches, in reply to what he regarded as an unhandsome personal attack on him by a gentleman of high position and ability, was widely commented on at the time for its impressive power. Indeed, ^ower was the prominent attribute of the man. He never made long speeches ; and without the advantages of a thorough, and polished education, writing was not easy to him. He carried his points, not by arts, but by main strength ; not by long drawn arguments, nor sonorous periods of eloquence, but by a sort of irresistible rush and crushing stroke. He was terrible and severe, sometimes rough and uncourteous, in his encounters with other men in debate. What he believed was very clear to his own mind, and he threw himself on an oppo-. nent with a fiery indignation, or sought to trample him ' down with a withering contempt. His views of any business in hand on which he spoke, were well-considered and usually just, and he had so fair and plausible a method of statement, and such an oracular impressiveness of manner, as if he were closing up all that could possibly be said upon the subject, as gave to his remarks great influence. While in the Legislature he took a prominent part in secur- ing the passage of what was called the " Religious Freedom Act ; " a measure which afforded more complete religious tol- 208 MEMORIAL VOLUME. eration than had been enjoyed before. He was also equally conspiciious in the origination and enactment of the " Better- ment Act," which contributed very successfully to the settle- ment of conflicting land claims, and much promoted the inter- ests of the people. Although this Act involved a pecuniary loss to Governor King, he zealously favored it, and was accus- tomed through his life to refer with manifest gratification to his agency in accomplishing these measures for the public wel- fare. He was by far the most prominent citizen of Maine in effect- ing the political separation of this State from Massachusetts. After having been almost unanimously chosen president of the convention for forming our constitution, he was elected with similar cordiality our first governor, in 1820. His appoint- ments, while governor, w4re made with great impartiality and wisdom ; and such were the skill and good temper, with which he put the wheels of government in motion, and touched all the springs of affairs, that as he was the first, he has often been called the best of all otir governors. Such testimony concerning him has been repeatedly given by men who them- selves have occupied the gubernatorial chair with honor, as well as by others well qualified to judge. While governor, and afterwards, he strenuously urged the purchase by Maine of all the public lands, then held in com- mon by her and Massachusetts. This measure, which then could have been executed at a comparatively smaU expense, would have added very greatly to our wealth, would have pro- moted the rapid settlement of the State, and the development of its resources, and is one of the striking testimonials to Gov. King's sagacity. Ho resigned his office of governor in 1821, to accept the place of one of the commissioners on Spanish claims, a trust which- he executed with faithfulness and success. He was major-general of the militia during the war of 1812-14, and POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 209 in that capacity rendered valuable seryice. He held various other responsible offices under the general and State govern- ments ; he was a successful merchant, a generous and intelli- gent patron of institutions of learning, a firm friend of the interests of morality, and ever ready to contribute his large influence to purposes of public advantage. He mingled largely with political affairs until late in life, when his great powers of mind began to falter. He corres ponded extensively with public men ; often entertaining them with a grateful hospitality, and with a racy and animating con- versation at his home. There was a charm in that home, in the beauty, the refinement, the courtesy, the sweetness of tem- per, and piety of his wife, which threw around it all the attractions which he, or any others who resorted to it, could possibly desire. Her maiden name was Ann Prazier, and she was born, I believe, in Boston. He loved her with an almost idolatrous affection. Her amiability and love held her hus- band with a strong and instantly subduing power, whenever she approached him, though in the stormiest moments of his life. He died fuU of years and honors. His funeral was attended by the chief executive of the State, and by others who had occupied the same high position ; the president and professors of Bowdoin College, of which he had been for twenty-eight years an influential trustee ; large numbers of other gentlemen from abroad, and of his fellow-citizens at home, attended his remains to the narrow house appointed for all living. With military honors, with tolling of bells, and discharge of cannon, through the streets which he used to walk in manly pride, now draped in black and hung with flags, his venerable form was borne to its last resting-place, where now it sleeps under a monument erected by the authority of the State. A greater son, in native intellectual strength, Maine has never yet pro- duced. 15 210 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. His wife survived him about five years ; and his only living representative, — present on this occasion, — his son, Major Cy- rus W. King, has laid our Historical Society uijder lasting obligations by depositing in its charge a large body of papers and correspondence belonging to his honored father, which will shed valuable light on the history of our State and the lives of many important public men. I have said he was a man of large and comprehensive de- signs, and the truth is, he was often impatient of those minute details of arrangement, on which the success of the greatest purposes often depends. His great purchase of lands, now in- cluded in Kingfield, New Portland and adjacent towns, was designed for an estate and a general style of life, which would have done honor to the most lordly baron in the middle ages. His large farm in Bath, with its orchard, wliich, at the time it was set out, was probably the largest in the State, and its stone farm-house, with its long Gothic windows, was quite in keep- ing with the general character of the man. But the pecimiary profit of these investments was much diminished by a want of attention to, and economy in the little details of affairs. In- deed, he could hardly bear to look at these smaller matters. He was, for a considerable time, the largest ship owner in Bath. But I have heard that when some worthy shipmaster, on re- turning from a voyage, would begin to unroll before him the long columns of his accounts, the restless governor would inter- rupt the whole by the exclamation, " Ah ! that will do. We will just lay these two accoimts of debt and credit on the floor, and find the difference by pacing them off ! " A similar anecdote, illustrating this trait of lais character, is told of him, when he was engaged in the saw-mill in Topsham. Happening to be in the store one day with the business of wliich he was not very familiar, a woman came in to buy some needles. The general handed her some, and she asked the price. " All ! " said he, " I suppose about a cent apiece." The thrifty house- POPHAM CELEBEATION. 211 wife rejoined that she could buy enough elsewhere at the rate of three or four for a cent. " Ah ! " said he, " if that is the case, take the whole ; throw them out ; I will have nothing in my store that is not worth a cent ! " There are many stories of his methods of confounding an opponent with some sharp thrust in debate. As I have said, his mind grasped strongly the great main features of a ques- tion ; and then he could have little patience with hair-splitting and verbal quibbles about details. Some discussion having arisen between him and another of the citizens of Bath in a town meeting, upon a measure of public interest, his opponent seemed to Gov. King to be unduly magnifying trifling things, and to be ingeniously and tediously dwelling on what was not at all material to the case. When he sat down. Gov. King arose, and said that the fine-spun and irrelevant talk, which had just been given off with so much of the appearance of wis- dom, reminded him very much of a sort of wooden-headed, ignorant justice of the peace in some obscure town, who was once sitting, with his cocked hat, gravely listening to the argu- ments of two lawyers, in a case of assault and battery, which he very poorly understood. His confused perceptions had been thoroughly darkened by the quibbling* of the lawyers, but with a most portentous solemnity he finally gave his judgment in these words : " The whole question here seems to depend on the words which the defendant used. It might seem to a common mind very immaterial, whether he said, ' Come out here, McGartee, or McCartee, come out here ; ' but in point of law, in a high cowrt of justice, the terms are as wide apart as the poles of the earth ! " The laugh of the as- sembly and the manifest confusion of his opponent, a man not easily disconcerted, told how effectually the apposite story had done its designed work. To another, who was reflecting on him for having changed his political associations, and boasting at the same time that he 212 MEMOBIAL VOLUME. had never varied from an opinion, which he had once formed and declared ; " I perceive then," said the general, " you are one of the most extraordinary and confounded fools whom I have ever met. It is a wise man who, for good reasons, changes his opinions. A fool only never alters." • He often told me with an obvious pride, how, accompanied by a large number of personal friends, he abruptly and pub- licly took his departure from a convention of his former politi- cal associates, because they refused to cooperate with him in measures which he deemed very important to adopt. Party lines were nothing to him in comparison with measures, the success of which lay near his heart. This change was made from the Federalist to the Republican party, sometime previous to the war of 1812. He continued to be associated with the Republicans or Democrats, until about the year 1832, when ha joined the Whigs with whom he sympathized until their party was practically annihilated, the very year of his death. He becatme a member of a church soon after he removed to Bath. The organization of this church was on so liberal a basis, that evidence of true piety was not a condition of mem- bership, and it was not understood that any very rigid disci- pline and inquipy were to be instituted in regard to the private affairs of the members. A zealous brother however, felt it his duty to labor with the governor on account of his occasionally allowing the use of cards in his house. In his efforts to con- vince Gov. King of the evil influences of such amusements, his fellow-member remarked that it led to cheating, and that he always used to cheat himself whenever he played. " Ah ! " said the general, " I dare say this is true, but you need have no such fear for me ; I never allow myself to play in such com- pany as yours ! " He always had a great jealousy of the continuance of the black race in this country. He believed that if they remained, amalgamation would continue to go on, until the white race POPHAM CELEBRATION. 213 at last "would become completely depreciated and displaced. He often referr(?d to the significant lessons, presented in An- quetil's Universal History, of the inevitableness in any coun- try, -which tolerates the continued existence of two distinct races, of the destruction of both by the mixed race iwhich will take their place. "I am in favor," he used humorously to say, " of removing -the blacks to some distant part of our continent. There I would build a high wall between them and ourselves, and then would hang every one who should attempt to return." We should not, of course, precisely concur in just these fea- tures of his plan. But in regard to the desirableness and great importance of the colonization of the negro race, he was sus- tained by the concurrent opinions of the most profound states- men, philanthropists, and divines our coimtry has ever pro- duced. The memory of "William King is a valued inheritance of the State of Maine. He lived, and his commanding form now peacefully reposes on the banks of that river, at whose mouth the first formal, chartered settlement of white men was made in New England. As lon'g as Gorges shall be honored for schemes of colonial improvement, and Popham be known as an explorer, and the placid waters of the Kennebec continue to gladden an intelligent and prosperous population, i^he State of Maine will hold in reverential regard her first governor as one of her noblest sons. The Art of War, — the only guarantee of the blessings of peace. For the vast improvements in the means of attack and defense of the present day, our country is mainly indebted to the ability, caution, and consummate skill of the distinguished Chief of the Bureau of Engineers of the Army of the United States. The following letter from Gen. Totten, of the Engineer De- 214 MEMORIAL VOLUME. partment of the United States, was received in reply to the invitation of the committee : LETTER PROM GEN. J. G. TOTTEN. Bangor, Me., August 17, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. Sir, — I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 11th instant, inviting me to the " Historical Celebration," to be held on the 29th instant, in the fort at the mouth of the Kennebec. Your letter encloses a toast to be given on that occasion, to which I am invited to respond. I beg you to be assured that I feel highly complimented by these attentions, and am very grateful for them ; at the same time, I am obliged to add, that very pressing public duties will keep me at a great distance from a meeting which, in aJl that shall transpire, will, I hope, satisfy the desires of the projec- tors and patrons of the celebration, and mark the day as a bright and memorable one in the annals of New England. I am. very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Jos. G. TOTTEN. The Coast Line of Maine, — the nursery of seamen ; affordmg the highest ad- vantages for maritime and commercial pursuits ; more deeply indented than any on the globe. The efforts and skill of modern science have laid open its most secret recesses to the uses of commerce. Professor Bache, of the United States Coast Survey, sent the following letter in partial response to this sentiment. It is to be regretted that he has not been at leisure to complete his purpose of furnishing the proposed communication, as indi- cated in a letter from Washington of last January, by reason of the increasing demands upon his time and labors in the POPHAM CELEBEATION. 215 public service. As he had made a commencement of his effort in this direction, it is hoped that his paper may still be pub- lished for the benefit of the citizens of Maine. LETTEE OP PEOPESSOR A. D. BACHE. Bangoe, Mb., August 17, 1862. SiE, — I beg leave to acknowledge the honors done me by the Jlxecutive Committee of the Historical Society, in their invita- tion to attend the celebration at Fort Popham. The special interest which I take in the coast of Maine makes it a source of much regret to be obliged to decline the invitation. I have been requested by the Navy Department to take part in a com- mission in reference to the site of a navy yard for iron clad vessels, which is to meet in New London on the 26th, and which must prevent my attendance at the mouth of the Ken- nebec, on the day of your celebration. I shall have a few words to say on the " Coast Line of Maine," which I shall send you soon. With great respect. Truly yours, • A. D. Bachb. Eev. Edwaed Ballaed, Secretary, 8fc. Rhode Islimcl, — the early home of toleration, and of civil and religious free- dom, — the greatness of whose example is in inverse proportion to the extent of her territory. The letter of the Hon. Mr. Arnold, here given, assigns the reason for his inability to comply with the request of the com- mittee : HON. ME. ARNOLD'S LETTER. Peovidence, R. I., August 28, 1862. SiE, — By some delay of the mails, your favor, with invita- tion to be present at the celebration at Port Popham to-mor- row, did not reach me till last evening. 216 MEMORIAL VOLUME. I regret very much that public duties will prevent my accept- ance of the same. Our Legislature is now in session, other- wise it would afiford me much pleasure to be with you on so interesting an occasion, and to reply to the complimentary toast in behalf of Rhode Island. Respectfully yours, S. G. Aenold. Rev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. The Weft, — the proudest achievement of modem civilization. The march of empire Westward, — unlike the conquering hordes of Attila, or the advance of the Tartar tribes of Tamerlane, — diffuses peace, plenty, and content among the teeming millions, that throng the vast domain of the Mississippi valley. The following letter was received in reply to the invitation of the committee from the Hon. S. P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury : HON. MR. chase's LETTER. Washington, D. C, August 21, 1862. My Dear Sir, — I have received your card. Accept the urgency of indispensable public duties here, as an adequate apology for my omission to reply in due season to your very kind note, inviting me to attend the Historical Celebration at Fort Popham on the 29th instant, and for my necessary absence. Yours truly, S. P. Chase. Rev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. The aergy of New EngUnd, — who, by their early and assiduous devotion to popular education, became the architects of our civilization. Then- teachings and influence have saved our prosperity from degenerating into luxury, and have helped to preserve in our children the fidelity to principle and the fear of God, which characterized the fathers and founders of the New England colonies. 3%e Rights of New England, Citkemhip, — Hard Work with Freedom ; Hard Thought with Generosity ; Hard Fighting with Patience unto Victory. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 217 Poetry and AH, — twin prodacts of civilization, at once the loftiest expres- sions of human genius and the most elevating in their influence on mankind, — the works of a Longfellow and an Akers attest that their growth is native to our soil, and that after the lapse of two centuries and a half, the wilderness, in this highest efflorescence of humanity, has indeed been made " to blossom as the rose." Diplomacy : the Instrument of International Conciliation, — wisely used by the Master's hand ; may it guide us as it has guided our imperiled ship of State past the threatened dangers of foreign intervention, and while restoring our own, preserve the world's peace. The Mountain* and the Seas, — Hindrances to the sluggish, — helps to the ad- venturous. The VaUey of the Mississippi, — the garden of the world. Its development in population, wealth, and power, — in all that constitutes progress in the highest civilization, finds no parallel in history. TIte Brotherhood of JfTations, — the holiest of all brotherhoods ; requiring only that mankind should remember their parentage, their relationship, and their inheritance. The letter here given, from Walter Shanley, Esq. , of Montreal, was sent without special reference to the sentiment with which it is now connected. But as it embodies the spirit of that sen- timent, it has been deemed proper to add it in this place.^ MR. Montreal, C. B., 2d Sept., 1862. Dear Sir, — On my return from New Brunswick this morn- ing, I found among the letters awaiting me, your printed note of the 12th ult., in relation to the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary celebration at Fort Popham, of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New England ; and I re- gret very much that my inopportune absence from home should have prevented my receiving your kind and thoughtful invitar 1 Communications on "Pemaquid," "Weymouth," " The Lost Augusta," and others, not received in season for insertion in the " Proceedings" at the Pavilion, will be found -after the Lettebs," 218 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. tion in time to have allowed of my availing myself of it ; for it -would, I assure you sir, have aflForded me the highest pleas- ure to have been with you on that most interesting occasion, — one so well calculated to remind us, — us of Old and you of New England, — that we are of the same hearth, and to incul- cate the lesson that being brethren, we should " dwell together in unity." Trusting that your meeting of the 29th of August was a happy and joyous one for all present, and thanking you for your mindfulness of me, I remain, Dear sir, Faithfully yours, W. Shanley. Eev. Edwaed Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. THE CONCLUSION. At the close of the several addresses, the Chief Marshal read in order the sentiments already given in this account, to which no response was made in the Pavilion ; thus intimating to the large assemblage the design of the commemoration, and im- printing on the public mind its true historic purport. He then announced that the proceedings, for which preparation had been made by the committee, were now terminated ; and the immense gathering separated for their return to their homes, whether distant or near. It was a remarkable incident in the history of our State, that this large number of people should turn aside from the ordin- ary avocations of life, in devotion to the memory of by-gone POPHAM CELEBRATION. 219 days ; at a time, too, when the public mind was absorbed in events of the greatest magnitude, growing out of the civil war. And it was a subject of gratitude to a kind Providence that no personal injury was sustained by any individual among the thousands, whose interest, whether social or historical, had led them to the place and occasion. To this safety, as well as to the historical information imparted, was added the enjoyment, new to a large portion of tlie number, of the attractive views on the shores of the Kennebec, and the grandeur of its open- ing into the broad expanse of the ocean : — scenes which had been beheld with interest more than two centuries and a half before this day of anniversary remembrances, by the most dis- tinguished navigators to these western shores. No event great- er than adverse tides occurred to mar the festive spirit of the day. No violation of the proprieties of the occasion occurred in the vast assemblage in presence of the speakers to interrupt, for a moment, the coujse of their remarks. The interest was fuUy sustained to the close ; and both old and young left the scene and the occasion, rejoicing in the opportunity of recalling the events of the distant past, and associating the " Ancient Province of Sabino " with one of the most memorable events in the history of New England. 220 MEMORIAL VOLUME. LETTERS. PRESIDENT POPHAM'S LETTER TO THE KING. The following letter, in the Latin of his day, was written by the leader of the colony at Sabine, after an experience of about four months in the affairs of the new enterprise, and is dated two days before " the ships were to be despatched away for England," ' under " Oapt. Eobert Davies in the Mary and John." " It is addressed to his sovereign, whose divine right to rule he carefully recognized, in the adoption of language employed by writers in his own and a former age. ' A certified copy of the original, from the English archives, was furnished to the Maine Historical Society, by the attention of the Hon. George Bancroft, and has been published in the fifth volume of their transactions. Its importance, and the many errors in the printing of the document, make its reproduction a suitable addition to the present volume. The orthography and punctuation are here made to conform to common usage, and there- fore it is not presented as afac simile, and the paragraphs are sep- arated for greater convenience. 1 Gorges, in Me. H. C, vol. 2, p. 21. 2 Strachey. 3 Bucbanan, one of the purest scholars of his time, says of Henry VIII., whose virtues certainly did not entitle him to the eminence : " Te dis immortal- Ibus sequum ; " and Parmenins, the companion of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in his voyage to America (1583), speaks poetically of Queen Elizabeth as " diva " and "divina," to represent, perhaps, even more than here, "Her Most Sacred Maj- esty." Mass. H. C, vol. 9, p. 51. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 221 A few explanatory notes are added. They will show that the venerable writer, — like many of his own and the earlier time, from Columbus onward, — had his mind filled with the expectation of finding here the productions of the east, while they were hoping to reach the country of spices and fragrance, by sailing to the west. This spirit is well described in the following extract from a distin- guished scholar of our own country : " The discoverers expected to find the same animals, vegetables, minerals, and even arts, with which observation had made them familiar in corresponding lati- tudes of the eastern hemisphere. They came prepared to recognize resemblances, not to detect differences ■ * * * and naturally saw what they expected. Their early reports make constant men- tion of plants, animals, and mechanical processes, as of common occurrence in America, but which we now know never to have ex- isted on this continent.'" The chart in Irving's Life of Columbus, places the present Isles of Japan and the country of China in a position westerly from Spain, scarcely more distant than the Atlantic shore of North Amer- ica. Strachey, too, says that in Virginia, " from the topps of high hills afar off within the land, the people sale they see another sea, and that the water is there salt." ^ Mr. Major adds, " that this de- lusion was entertained for many years ; for in a Map of 1651, The Sea of China and the Indies is brought close under the Alleghany Mountains," and the distance about a hundred and sixty miles. It ' is not to be wondered at, then, that Popham should have listened to the Indians, describing rudely or extravagantly, perhaps Lake Champlain or Ontario, in the conviction that they spoke of the Austral^Sea " reaching to the regions of China." George Popham to King James I. 13 December, 1607. Ad pedes serenissimi regis sui humillimS se projecit Georgius Pophamus, Praesidens secund^ Colonise Virginise. Si divinse Majestatis Tuse placuerit patienti^, a servo obser- 1 Marsh's lect. p. 243. 2 Hist. Trar. p. 34. 222 MEMORIAL VOLUME. vantissimo ac devotissimo, quamvis indigno, pauca recipere, ab Altitudinis Tuae claritate vel minimum alienare arbitror ; quo- niam in Dei gloriam, Sublimitatis Vestrse amplitudinem, et Britannorum utilitatem redundare videantur. Peraequum igi- tur judicavi Majestati Tuae notum fieri, quod apud Virginios et Moassones, nuUus in orbe terrarum magis admiratur, quam Dominus Jacobus, Britannorum Imperator, propter admirabilem justitiam ao incredibilem constantiam, quas istarum provinciar rum nativis non mediocrem perfert laetitiam ; dicentibus insu- per nullum esse Deum verS adorandum, prseter ilium Domini Jacobi ; sub cujus ditione atque imperio libenter militare volu- erint. Tahanida, unus ex nati\d3 qui Britanniae adfuit, Vestras laudes ac virtutes hie illis illustravit. Quid et quantum, in his negotiis subeundis et illorum ani- mis confirmandis, valerem, eorum sit judicium, qui domi toIu- tarunt scienter ; agnoscens omnes conatus meos perire, cum in comparatione officii debiti erga Principem habeantur. Op- tima me tenet opinio, Dei gloriam facile in his regionibus elu- cescere, Vestrse Majestatis imperium amplificari, et Britanno- rum rempublicam breviter augmentari. Quod ad mercimonium attinet, omnes indigenae constanter affirmant, his inessse provinciis nuces amisticas, maciam et cinnamomum ; prseterea bitumen, lignum Brasiliae, cochinelam et ambergetie, cum multis aliis magni moment! et valoris; eaque maximS, quidem in abundantiS,. Insuper affirmative mecum agunt, esse mare aliquod, in ad- verse vel occidentali hujus provinciae parte, non plus [quam] septem dierum itinlris spatium i prassidio nostro Sancti Georgii in Sagadahoc, amplum, latum et profundum ; cujus terminos prorsus ignorant: quod aliud esse non potest nisi Australe, tendens ad regiones Chinse, quae long^ ab his partibus procul dubio esse non possunt. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 223 Si igitur placuerit divi|aos habere oculos Tuos apertos in subjecto certificationis mese, non dubito quin Celsittido Yestra absolvet opus Deo gratissiiniim, magnificentife Vestrse bonorifi- cum, et reipublicse Tuse maxim^ conducibile, quod ardentissimis precibus vehementer exopto ; et k Deo Optimo, Maximo, con- tendo ut regis mei Domini Jacobi Majestatem quam diutissimS servet gloriosam. In praesidio Sancti Georgii, in Sagadahoc de Virginia,, 13° Decembris 1607. Servus Vestrse Majestatis omnimodis devotissimus, GrBORGIUS POPHAMUS." The following indorsement is on the original : " To the' most heigh and mightie my gratious Sovereign Lord James of Great Brittain, France, and Ireland, Virginia and Moasson, j^inge." The translation of this document, as it appeared in the fifth vol- ume of the Maine Historical Society's Collections, is here adopted, with a few verbal alterations approved by the translator : [ TRANSLATION. J At the feet of his most serene King, humbly prostrates him- self George Popham, President of the second Colony of Virginia, If it may please the patience of your divine Majesty to receive a few things from your most observant and devoted, though unworthy servant, I trust it will' derogate nothing from the lustre of your Highness, since they seem to redound to the glory of God, the greatness of your Majesty, and the util- ity of the Britons. I have thought it, therefore, very just that it should be made known to your Majesty, that among the Virgin- 224 MEMORIAL VOLUME. ians and Moassons, ^ there is no one in the ■world''more admired than King James, sovereign Lord of the Britons, on account of his admirable justice and incredible constancy, which"gives no small pleasure to the natives of these regions ; who say, moreover, that there is no God to be truly worshipped, but the God of King James ; under whose rule and reign they would gladly fight. Tahanida,® one of the natives who was in Britain, has here proclaimed to them your praises and virtues. What and how much I may avail in transacting these affairs and in confirming their minds, let those judge who are well versed in these matters at home ; while I wittingly avow that all my endeavors are as nothing when considered in compari- son with my duty towards my Prince. My well considered opinion is, that in these regions the glory of God may be easi- ly evidenced, the empire of your Majesty enlarged, and the public welfare of the Britons speedily augmented. So far as relates to commerce-, all the natives constantly af- firm that in these parts there are nutmegs, ^ mace, * and cinna- 1 The people of the Bashaha's country, called " Moasham " by Gorges, 2d Book, in Maine Hist. Coll., vol. 2, p. 62. Probably it was another mode of writing the word, " Mavooshen," the name for the territory between the Ken- nebec and the Penobscot, given by the English, and adopted from the Indian name of some locality within the region thus denoted. The word, " Norum- bega," the name of a place, was used in the same way, and embraced a large extent of country east and west of the Penobscot ; to a part alone of which it was originally applied. 2 Usually called Nahan'ada. 3 Nuoos amisticm ; The last word is not found. The nearest to it is myriatieat, which harmonizes with the expectations of the primitive voyagers, inasmuch ■ as it indicates that these fruits were " nutmegs ; " the kernel or seed of the my- ristica moschata. The hazel-nut was probably described by the natives. The next word makes this opinion probable. * Maciam ; The hush of the hazel-nut ; which the writer, from the words of his informers, took to be " mace ; " a natural sequel to the nutmegs. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 225 moil/ besides pitch, ^ Brazil wood,^ cochineal,* and amber- gris, ^ with many other products of great importance and value ; and these, too, in the' greatest abundance. Besides, they positively assure me, thai there is a certain sea in the opposite or -western part of this province, distant not more than seven days' journey from our fort of St. George in Sagar dahoc : a sea large, wide, and deep, of the boundaries of which they are wholly ignorant ; which cannot be any other than the Southern Ocean, reaching to the regions of China, which un- questionably cannot be far from these parts. 1 Cinnamomum ; 'Williamson, (I. p. Ill), quoting Bigelow, (2, 146) says that " dimamon., cassia, the camphor-tree and sassafras belong to the same family." It, therefore, was proper for the writer, in mentioning from the natives the sas- safras, to use a word for description from the same group, when he had no knowledge of the specific term in the language of his letter. 2 Bitumen ; Pitch of the Pine ; an early indication of the resources of the " Pine-Tree State." 3 Lignum Brasilia ; The word hrasU was in use before the discovery of Amer- ica, in the sense of bright red, the color of " braise, or hot coals." It is found " in the Catalonian tariffs of 1221 ; " perhaps the African Camwood. " The prov- ince of Brazil was certainly so named because of a dye-wood, which gave a color, similar to that already known as hrasil, was found there." (Marsh's Wedgewood's Etymol. Art. Brase, Brasil). The wood of the Red-cedar corres- ponds in appearance to the well known Brazil dye-wood. As its bark was deemed to have medical properties, the natives would be ready to give a good account of it to willing listeners, and speak of its red wood as a means of de- scription. 4 Cochinelam; Capt. John Smith (Mass. H. C, 3d series, vol. 6, pp. 115, 120), speaks " of certain Ted berries called Kermes or Alkermes found on the coast, like those in the south of Europe used in dyeing." Josselyn refers to Sniith, and quoting from Gerard's' Herbal, says, " Kermes is Cutchinele," (Id. III., p. 254). Harris ('Voy.vol. 2, p. 871), says, " The Persi?ins call Cochineal, Kermes orKerm;" which is found on a kind of oak in eastern countries. But now they are regarded as different. 5 Amlieg[r]eti[m] ; "Ambergris." As formerly whales were frequent on our coast, Josselyn, also, (Id. p. 265), deemed himself authorized to speak of this, their reputed product, as having been found on our shores. 16 226 MEMORIAL VOLUME, If, therefore, it may please you to keep open your divine eyes orf this matter of my report, I doubt not but your High- ness will perform a work most pleasing to God, honorable to your greatness, and most conducive to the weal of your king- dom, which with most ardent prayers I vehemently desire ; and I beg of God, the best and the greatest, that he will preserve the glorious majesty of my Sovereign James for ages to come. At the Port of St. George, in Sagadahoc of Virginia, the thirteenth of December, 1607. In all things your Majesty's most devoted servant, George Popham. The following letter from the venerable Dr. Jenks, formerly a resident of Bath, to which reference is made in his reply to the committee, expressing his inability to comply with their invitation, is here added, as in proper connection with the letter of President Popham. REV. DR. JBNKS'S LETTER. Boston, Aug. 27th, 1862. Rev. and Dear Sir : — I have unhappily failed to find the memoranda which I mentioned, and which I was expecting to see in my Diary of 1807. And I have been equally imfortu- nate in regard to the volume containing the family coat of arms of Lord Chief Justice Popham. However, I have found a suf- ficient authority in " Bui-ke's Ai'mory," which I copy. . " Popham." Of " Popham, county of Hants [or Hampshire], tempore King John [1199 — 1216] ; also of Huntworth, county of Somerset, and of Bagborough in the same county, as like- wise of LiUk'cult, L'ounly of Wilts:, and Shaukliu, Isle of POPHAM CELEBRATION. 227 Wight ; — all bearing Argent, on a chief, Gules, two bucks' heads ca- bossed [fronting], Or." (Crest a stag's head erased.) These arms are traced to " Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England,' tempore Queen Blizar beth, second son of Alexander Popham, of Huntworth, Esq., by Jane his wife, daughter of Sir Ed- ward Stradling, of St. Donat's Cas- tle, county of Glamorgan." As George Popham was younger broth- er of the chief Justice, then prob. ably head of the family, it would be proper to place on his coat of arms " a crescent for difference." Though I have found no record of the visit paid to Point Popham in 1807, yet I feel certain of having been there, and at a bi-centennary celebration, — such as it was.' For indeed it was mostly confined to the family of Major Joshua Shaw. His son, Charles, had been a member of my family at Cam- bridge, and was author of the " Monody on President Willard," contained in Prof. Willard's " Memoirs," a scholar and man of taste. He wrote and published a brief " History of Boston," and we had many conversations respecting Maine. But ,our authorities concerning the first European colonization of the Sagadahoc region, consisted of Prince's Chronology and Sulli- van's History of Maine only. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett, in his Life of Rev. Mr. Bailey, " Pron- "tier Missionary," has given some notices taken from publica- tions of the " Hakluyt Society," which are, I think, additional to the quotations cited by Williamson. 1 A notice of this visit' will be found in Me. H. C, vol. 3, p. 285, and is cited on the introductory pages in reference to the Map. 228 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. I hope the result of this celebration will be a copious, well- digested, thorough exhibition of the history of the enterprise, from its design and inception to its close, — including what Prince had denominated the branding of the country as over- cold, and not inhabitable by men of European constitutions, — for this has long since been proved a calumny. I am fearful my letter will not reach you in due time ; and must be content if it may only show an intention to comply with my promise, had it been practicable, and that I am, Yours truly, William Jenks. Eev. President Woods. The letter here annexed, from a lineal descendant in the Popham family, introduces an extended account of its geneal- ogy, and comes in fitting connection with the letter of the Eev. Dr. Jenks. ME. POPHAM'S LETTEB. ScABSDALE, N. Y., Aug. 1, 18G2. Eev. and Dear Sib : — Your very welcome and interesting letter of the 24th of July came safe to hand. I have endeav- ored to collect all the information in my power relative to the subject of the genealogy of our family, which I herewith en- close, hoping it may be acceptable. I regret very much that it will not be in my power to accept your kind invitation to visit Brunswick and be present at the in- teresting celebration, which I assure you I should enjoy most heartily. With kind regards, Yours very truly, Wm. S. Popham. Eev. Edward Ballard. POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 229 THE POPHAM GENEALOGY. The Popham family were originally from Popham, in the county of Hampshire, England, and sprung from Gilbert Pop- ham, of Popham, who, in the year 1200, married Jane, daugh- ter and heiress of Eobert Clarke, a feofee in trust for the ma- nor of Popham. They were greatly distinguished by the favor of the Empress Maud, A. D. 1140, and held high and honor- able stations in the reign of Henry HI. To Hampshire County they gave several sheriffs ; viz., Eobertus de Popham, 1227 ; Stephanus de Popham, cir., 1428. Sixth in descent from Gil- bert, was Sir John Popham, Knight of the Bath, Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, purchaser of the Littlecott es- tate, Wiltshire, England. This individual died A. D. 1607, and his remains repose under a nlagUificent tomb in the church of Wellington, surrounded by a palisade, and on a tablet are the efBgies of himself and lady Popham. His only son was Sir Francis Popham, Knight of Littlecott. This gentleman, to- gether with his son Alexander, became so obnoxious to King Charles I., that he excepted them both out of the general par- don. John Popham, eldest son of Sir Francis, was, for many years, a gentleman of the household to King James I. On the restoration of Charles II., he removed to Ireland and there purchased the Bandon estate, county of Cork. His only son he significantly named Ichabod, "the glory is departed," Ich- abod left one son, John, the father of James and grandfather of William Popham, of Bandon, whose son was the late Major Wm. Popham, of Scarsdale, N. Y., who was born in the town of Bandon, Cork County, Ireland, September 19, 1752. He was brought to this counti-y at the early age of nine years, and his parents settled in the town of Newark, Delaware. It was his intention to enter upon the holy of&ce of the ministry ; but on the breaking out of the Eevolutionary war he was fired with military zeal, and accepting a commission in the army, imme- 230 MEMORIAL VOLUME. diately raised a company in the defense of his country. He afterwards settled in the legal profession in the city of New York. Late in life he was chosen President General of the Society of the Cincinnati, and held the office at the time of his decease at the age of about a hundred years. The writer of the foregoing letter is the oldest living repre- sentative of the family in this country. In Canada, John Pop- ham,* Esq., Advocate, Montreal, bearing the name of the Chief Justice, is a lineal descendant of the Somersetshire family. REPLY FROM THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES. ExECUTivB Mansion, ■ Washington, Aug. 23, 1862. My Dear Sir : — The President has received your kind let- ter of the 12th of August, inviting him to join in the celebra- tion of the anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England. He directs me to thank you for the courtesy of the invitation, and to express his re- gret that his engagements will not permit him to avail himself of it. Very truly. Your ob't servant, John Hay. Eev. Edward Ballard. REPLY PROM lord MULGRAVE, GOVERNOR OP NOVA SCOTIA. Government House, ) Halipax, N. S., 20th Aug. 1862, j Sir : — I am directed by His Excellency the Earl of Mul- grave, to express his regret that he is unable, in consequence of other engagements, to accept the kind invitation of the Committee of Management to be present at,the celebration of POPHAM CELEBRATION. > 231 the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of Maine. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, William Hickman, E. S. peom the governor op maine. State op Maine, Executive Department, ) Augusta, August 16th, 1862. ] Edward Ballard, Esq., Sec'y of Executive Committee. Dear Sir , — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation of the 12th inst., to attend the public celebra- tion on " the two hundred and fifty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of the First English Colony on the shores of New England," and shall be pleased to be present. Respectfully yours, • ■ I. Washburn, Jk. PROM governor ANDREW. Commonwealth op Massachusetts, } Executive Department, Boston, Aug. 21st, 1862. ) Eev. Edwaed Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. Dear Sir : — I regret that iny official engagements will pre- vent me from accepting the invitation, with which I am favored, to attend at the celebration of the anniversary of the first British colonial settlement on the shore of New England. Al- though there are not such immortal associations of great re- ligious and political ideas, with the landing of Popham and Gilbert on the Kennebec, as are inseparable from the memory of Plymouth, yet in these times there is no truer source of in- spiration for the needs of the present hour, than in recol- lection of the faith, the courage, and the principles of our fore- fathers. I have the honor to remain, ^ Respectfully, your obedient servant, John A. Andrew. 232 MEMORIAL VOLUME. PROM THE HON. MR. BANCROFT. Newport, K. I., 27th Aug. 1862. My Dear Sir : — Absence from New York prevented my duly receiving your favor of the 14th, which was addressed to me at that city, while I have been passing the month of August here. Various causes combine, at this late moment, to pre- vent my joining your party ; a celebration which otherwise it would have been most agreeable to me to have shared. I am glad to see that in reckoning 0. S. you have avoided the blunder made respecting the landing at Plymouth. Very truly your obliged, George Bancroft. Rev. Edward Ballard. PROM president SPARKS. Cambridge, Mass., 21st August, 1862. Dear Sir : — I have received your note inviting me to attend the public celebration proposed for the 29th instant. It would give me great pleasure -to be present on so interesting an occa- sion, and if -nothing should intervene to prevent it, I shall en- deavor to be there. With thanks to the Committee for this mark of their attention. Very respectfully yours, Jared Sparks. Rev. Edward Ballard. FROM HON. MR. CUSHING. Newburtport, Mass., 8th Nov., 1862. Dear Sir : — I have just received your favor of the 1st of October, which reminds me also of the invitation addressed to me during my absence from home. It will afford me pleasure POPHAM CELEBRATION. 2S3 to send you some remarks on the subject of Chief Justice Pop- ham and his connection witli America, if there be time for your purposes", in the midst of my own professional engage- ments. I beg you to let me khow the progress of your work, and th? ,period of its probable completion, by a line in return ; and I remain aieanwhile. Your ob't servant,. C. Gushing. Eev. Edwabd Ballard. FROM HON. MR. PALFREY. Boston, Mass., August 22d, 1862. Gentlemen : — It would give me very great pleasure, if it were in my power, to accept the invitation with which you honor me, to be present at your commemoration of the arrival of the English company, part of which passed the winter of 160T-8 at the mouth of the Kennebec. But I had made en- gagements for the last week of this month in another direction, before I received your note. I found it yesterday awaiting me on my return from an ab- sence of several days. But for this, your obliging attention would havd been earlier acknowledged. Be pleased to accept my best thanks for it and the assurance of my wish for the successful result of your arrangements. I have the honor to be, gentlemen. With high regard, your ob't servant, John G. Palfrey. Messrs. B. C. Bailey and others, Executive Committee, 8fc. 234 MEMORIAL VOLUME. FBOM HON. MR. GOODWIN, LATE GOV. OP. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Portsmouth, N. H., Aug. 26, 1862. Gentlemen : — It is with great regret that I am obliged to decline the kind .invitation I have received from you, on ac- count of pressing engagements. There is no place that ever gives me so much pleasure to visit as my native State ; and no place in that State would be morfe agreeable to me than the one to which I am invited, hallowed, as it is, by so many pleasant historical recollections of our forefathers. I am, gentlemen, with much respect. Your obedient servant, , ICHABOD Goodwin. Messrs. B. C. Bailey, and others, Executive Committee. FROM JUDGE TANEY. Washington, D. C, August 28, 1862. Sir : — The letter of the Executive Committee, inviting me and the ladies of my family to the public celebration on the 29th inst., of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New Eng- land, has been forwarded to me from Baltimore, but unfortu- nately, not in time to enable me to reply before the day ap- pointed for the celebration. But it is not too late to return my thanks to the Executive Committee for the honor they have done me, and to express my regret that I cannot be present upon an occasion so full of historical interest. My advanced age and the length of the journey would have put it out of my power to attend, even if the invitation had been received in time. Accept for yourself and for the Executive Committee the high respect of Your obedient servant, R. B. Taney. Rev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. POPHAM CELEBRATION, 235 PBOM HON. L. BRADISH. Saratoga Springs, N. Y., August 25th, 1862. Eev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. Dear Sir : — I am this morning honored by the receipt of your communication, inviting me individually, and officially as President of the New York Historical Society, to be present at " the Public Historical Celebration," on the 29th inst., at the site of Fort Popham, near the place of the original Fort St. George, at the mouth of the Kennebec River, 'in the ancient Province of Sabino, of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniver- sary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, August 19, 1607, 0. S. I regret exceedingly that neither my engagements, nor the present state of my health will permit me the high gratifica- tion thus politely offered in your invitation. With the ex- pression of my regrets, therefore, it only remains for me to re- quest that you will be pleased to receive, for yourself, and to communicate to the Comcgiittee and Society you represent, my cordial and due acknowledgments for your kind recollection of me, on an occasion of so great interest, as the one in ques- tion ; an occasion on which will be worthily commemorated one of the most important eras, and one of the most interest- ing events in the chronicles of our country, — an era and event which form one of the first chapters in the history Qf a great people. I have the honor to remain. Dear sir, very respectfully. Your obedient servant, L. Bradish, President of the N. Y. Historical Society. 236 MEMORIAL VOLUME. PROM THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETT. At a stated meeting of the New York Historical Society, held at its hall, on Tuesday evening, October 7, 1862, the fol- lowing resolution was adopted : Resolved, That this Society has observed vrith pleasure the efforts of the Historical Society of Maine to perpetuate the earliest history of their State, by associating important historic events with the great works of national defense of the United States Government ; that they acknowledge with satisfaction the courtesy ex-tended by the Historical Society and the citizens of Maine, in inviting the Society and its officers to participate in the commemorative celebration of the founding of the first colony on the shores of New England on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of that event, on the 29th of August, 1862, at which time a Memorial Stone was placed' in the walls of Fort Popham, commemorating the establishment of the first Protestant civil government on the shores of New England ; and that this Society cordially approves the act of its President, in his acknowledgment and reply to the invitation to partici- pate-in that celebration. Extract from the Minutes, Andrew Wakneb, Recording Secretary. PROM THE PRESIDENT OP THE N. E. SOCIETY OP MONTREAL. Montreal, 26th August, 1862. Eev. Edward Ballard, Secretary Public Historical Celebration. Dear Sir : — I regret that business engagements wiU not al- low me the pleasm-e of accepting your kind invitation to be present at the public celebration of the two hundred and fifty- fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England ; but I beg to say that the New POPHAM CELEBEATION. 237 England Society of Montreal deeply sympathize with their New England brothers in this dark hour of their country's history, and believe that the same kind Providence that led the Popham Colony to the shores of New England in 1607, is still the God of her children, and will safely guide them through the conflict that they are now engaged in ; that the principle of civil and religious liberty will be still maintained ; and " free thought, free speech, and a free press," will yet be enjoyed in the whole United States. Yours very respectfully, H. A. Nelson, Pres. N. E. Society. PEOM CHIEF JUSTICE HOENBLOWEE. Newaek, N. J., August 29th, 1862. Messrs. B. C. Bailey and others, Executive Committee on Celebration of First English Colony in New Eng-lcmd. Gentlemen: — ^Your kind invitation to attend the public celebration of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, at Port Popham, was duly received, and would have been sooner answered had not* my increasing infirmities pre- vented me from writing. I thank you for this mark of attention, and I would have been pleased to attend the celebration had my health and strength and other circumstances permitted. But having myself lived through just one-third of the period which has elapsed since the founding of the colony referred to (viz. 85 years), I do not possess sufficient vigor to make such a long journey. And, then, the present torn and bleeding condition of my native country, and the disasters which threaten its cherished system of government, affects with sadness all the once glorious and animating associations of its history. I 238 MEMORIAL VOLUME. feel, therefore, that I should have but illy enjoyed the festivities of your anniversary, had I been able to attend. Respectfully, your obedient servant, Jos. 0. HOENBLOWEB. FROM HON. W. H. Y. HACKETT. Portsmouth, N. H., August 22d, 1862. My Dear Sir : — I have received your favor of yesterday's date inviting me in behalf of the Executive Committee to at- tend the Popham celebration on the 29th inst., and to respond to a sentiment on the early PisG9,taqua settlement. I regret to say that I am so circumstanced that it will be out of my power to be with you on that occasion. I thank you and the committee for an invitation which I would gladly ac- cept. If able to participate in your festivities the substance of my response would be : " If the Kennebec was colonized before the Piscataqua, the people on the banks of the Piscataqua will not be behind those on the banks of tlie Kennebec, in defend- ing those principles which led to the settlement and coloniza- tion of both." I hope you will not deem it impertinent in me to suggest that the Rev. Charles Burroughs, D. D., — one of my prede- cessors in the Presidency of the N. H. Historical Society, — resides in this city, and if the committee should think it proper to invite him, he would be likely to attend. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. Y. Hackett. l?cv. A. n. Wmioiot.kr. D. D., Topsliain, M,\ popham celebration. 239 from william turner, esq. St. George's Society, Montreal, C. E., August 22d, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Sir : — I am instructed by the President of this Society, (the Hon. George Moffatt), to acknowledge the receipt of a circular handed to him by John Lewis, Esq., the late President, imdt- ing him to assist at a public celebration on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, Aug. 19th, 1607, &c. The President desires me to express his thanks for the kind invitation and his regret that other engagements will not allow him to be present on an occasion so interesting. The invitation has, however, been forwarded to the First Vice President, J. J. Day, Esq., who is sojourning at Portland, or the vicinity, and who should it come to his hands in time, will doubtless do himself the pleasure of representing this Society on the occasion. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your very obedient servant, Wm. Turner, Secretwry. PROM REV. DR. HEDGE. Brookline, Mass., Aug*. 20th, 1862. To the Executive Committee for the celebration of the Armi- versct,ry of the Settlement of Fort St. George. Gentlemen : — I acknowledge with many thanks your favor of the 12th inst., inviting me to be present at the celebration of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the first settle- ment of the English in New England. The occasion is one of great interest, and like all attempts to uncover and illustrate the antiquities of our country, it has 240 Memorial volume. my warmest sympathy. I was too long a citizen of Maine not to feel a personal pride in her past, as well as in her present and her future. I glory in her historical memorials as well as in her industrial and civil promise. That early settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec carrying the history of New England farther back by several years than the landing of the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, and bringing it near to the beginning of the 17th century, is a fact well worthy of commemoration as the .first act in the annals of Maine. I rejoice to know that historical interest and patriotic feeling have combined to give it the prominence it deserves. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be present with you on that occasion, but circumstances beyond my con- trol will oblige me to forego that privilege. Hoping that the celebration proposed may prove every way successful and satisfactory to aU concerned in it, I am, gentlemen, your obliged servant, Peed. H. Hedge. Messrs. B. C. Bailey, J. 0. Fiske, Oliver Moses, &c., &c. prom president king. Columbia College, N. Y. President's Room, 25th Aug., 1862. Gentlemen :-^Your invitation to be present at the public celebration " of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New ■England," on the 29th inst., finds me and my household in deep affliction at the loss, within a few days, of my youngest son, who had just reached the age of manhood, with every promise of a vigorous, useful, and honorable life. Under other circumstances the opportunity thus offered to i^ie would have boon eagerly embraced to show my affection POPHAM CELEBRATION. 241 and respect for those founders ; and to claim, in right of my father's blood and birthright, some share in the inherited glories of such an ancestry. May that star which has thus far directed the progress of your great Commonwealth, which on every ocean has guided in safety your multitudinous shipping, and which now burns anew with undimmed lustre in the van of the great battle wag- ing by the freemen of our land for the preservation of its liber- ties and Union, contijiue to shed its heavenly light and life over the strong-handed and high-hearted race, whose begin- nings you meet to commemorate. In the bonds of a common fellowship, I remain, very truly yours, Chas. King. Eev. Edwaed Ballaed, Secreta/ry, Sfc. PBOM EEV. DE. BBAEDSLET. SEOBETAKY OF NEW HAVES" HISTORICAL SOCIETY. New Haven, Conn,, August 26th, 1862. Ebv. and Dear Sie : — My engagements will not allow me the pleasure of being present at the " public celebration on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the, first English Colony on the shores of New England." I regret this the more as I take special interest in all histori- cal researches, and in all gatherings designed to perpetuate the m.emory and the deeds of the first settlers of our country. Al- though the colony of Popham, which sought to transfer the religion and civilization of England to the wilds of North America, met with disaster and became disheartened, — still I am glad that the enterprise is to be commemorated at this late day ; and that henceforth it will be more widely known how that the shores of the Kennebec thirteen years before the land- ing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Kock, echoed to the voice of a 17 242 MEMORIAL VOLUME. * Protestant faith, and to the sound of the pure and fervent Liturgy of the Church of England. Maine, within my recollection, has risen from a province in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the dignity of a great State, and while there may be no descendants of those who be- longed to the colony at Sagadahoc, you have the descendants of noble men who shared in the earlier perils of our govern- ment, as their sons share in the later. In looking over the names of your " Executive Committee," I thought of Jacob Bailey at Pownalborough — a man of many trials and persecutions — and of Wheeler at Georgetown, for several years his only counselor and co-worker in the missions of the Church of England in Maine. I am not aware that your State contains persons of my own name — but I know that just over the line, in the British territory, there were branches that shot oif from the parent tree in the storms of the revolution ; and if they have since sprung up and had a comely growth, it will redound to the credit of an honored ancestor ; but if otherwise, it will not be the first time in history that the' branch has so degenerated as to yield no wholesome fruit. Thanking you for your invitation and wishing you a pleasant and successful gathering, I remain, Very truly your friend and brother, E. E. Beardsley. Kev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, ^c. FROM HON. MB. STEWART OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY. Washington, D. C, August 19th, 1862. Sir : — I regret that my engagements here will prevent my being able to avail myself of the invitation which you have done me the honor to address to me, in the name of the Exec- titive Committee, who have undertaken to manage the approach- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 243 r ing public celebration of the founding of the first English Col- ony on the shores of New England. I may also mention that Lord Lyons' absence in England, renders it impossible for him to be present upon that interest- ing occasion. Begging that while you express my regret to the Committee', you will, at the same time, convey to them my thanks for their courteous inAatation, I am, sir, your most obedient, Humble servant, W. Stuart. Rev. Edward Ballard, Brunswick, Me. FROM THE LATE DR. FRANCIS. Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 20, 1862. GrBNTLEMBN : — Acccpt, I beg you, my very grateful acknowl- edgments for the honor you have done me in extending to me an invitation to attend the " public celebration of the found- ing of the first .English Colony," &c., on the 29th of August. Few things, I assure you, would gratify me so much as to be with you in the enjoyment of an occasion so full of important historical interest. I regret, however, that in all probability I shall be obliged to deny myself this pleasure, as the time when the celebration is to take place coincides with the com- mencement of the next term in our Divinity School, the duties of which will require my presence here. I hope, I doubt not, that you, and all who may be with you, will enjoy highly the reminiscences and the grateful excitement of the day. Most respectfully yours, OoNVERs Francis. Messrs. B. C. Bailey, J. 0. Fiske, &c. 244 MEMORIAL VOLUME. « FROM THE BEV, H, G. STORER. Oak Hill, Scarborough, Aug. 25, 1862. Dear Sir : — Please accept my thanks for the honor done me hy your invitation of the 12th inst. Twenty-five years since, I was pleasantly attacked by what is sometimes styled " the Antiquarian Fever ; " and in its earliest stages hecame deeply interested in the Popham settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec, — painfully interested in it, because Maine came so near to being " the mother of New England," and as old as " the old Dominion " itself, and yet lost that honor by a sad mishap. Prom that day to this I have never ceased to regret that lost wreath of laurel, which should have hung on the trunk of our Pine ; and have been so long waiting for an auspicious day on which to visit the spot where our " Plymouth Eock " first appeared for one dreary winter, and then re- appeared elsewhere. Great is my regret that I cannot visit it on the day, when its attractions will be so greatly multiplied by the presence of so much learning, wisdom, wit, and beauty ; but the loss is all my own, exclusively, and may the sun shine brightly on the more favored ones who shall be there. Gratefully yours, H. G. Storer. Rev. Ebwabd Ballard, Secretary, Sj-c. PROM JOS. DOW, ESQ., PRESIDENT, OF N. H. HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Hampton, N. H., Aug. 23, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Dear Sir: — Your circular, of the 12th inst., has been received. I am very much obliged to the Executive Commit- tee and yourself, for the honor of an invitation to be present " at the public celebration on tiie two hundred and fifty-fifth POPHAM CELEBRATION. 245 • anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the. shores of New England," to take place on the 29th instant. The settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec, near the close of the summer of 1607, although it failed to be permanent, is, nevertheless important as a historical event. It is -well, there- fore, that it should be remembered ; and I am glad that novr, after the lapse of so many years, measures have been taken for having it celebrated in an appropriate manner. I feel as- sured that the occasion will be one of interest and pleasure to all Mo may enjoy the rich privilege of joining in the celebra- tion. It would afford me a great deal of pleasure to be with you on this occasion, but a previous engagement at Concord, N. H., wOl compel me to forego this pleasure. Yours sincerely, Joseph Dow. from john e. godfrey, esq. Bangor, Aug. 25th, 1862. Gentlemen : — I regret that my engagements at the time, wiU prevent my accepting your kind invitation to be presfent at the " Celebration on the two hilndred and fifty-fifth anniver- sary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, at the site of Fort Popham," on the 29th inst. I well remember the feeling of regret I experienced, when first reading the liistory of this colony, many years ago, rthat it had not succeeded, and given to our good State the advan- tages of the first permanent settlement of New England, which afterward accrued to Massachusetts. And I was disappointed at the want of pluck and perseverance in the colonists. But when I examined further, and became satisfied of the charac- ter and objects of the patrons of the colony, I was not sur- prised at its failure. 246 MEMORIAL VOLUME, • The principal individuals of the projectors of this enterprise ■were Lord John Popham and Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The former was an individual whose varied life had given him, at the age of seventy, a singularly marked character. He was of gentle parentage. In childhood he was sickly, but, having been stolen by gipsies, the life he led with them invigorated his constitution, and he was afterward strong and athletic. He was educated at Oxford in classical and theological lore, then put to the study of the law, when he became a drunkard, a gambler, and a highwayman. At thirty he changed his course of life, and applied himself so closely to study, that he became, in the estimation of Lord Coke, a " consiimmate law- yer." Many important offices were conferred upon him, and finally that of Lord Chief Justice of England. In the dis- charge of the duties of this office he exercised so great sever- ity, that he acquired the title of the " hanging judge ; " and he had such regard for the emoluments, that he accumulated an immense fortune. His coadjutor, Sir Ferdinando, was an adventurer. Under the auspices of such men, it was not difficult to im- derstand the objects of the enterprise. Nor was it difficult to believe that the forty-five of the hundred colonists who passed the winter near the " site of Fort Popham," were actuated by no higher motive, such as mfluenced the Plymouth colonists. Had they been men of strong character and high principle, like the Massachusetts men, and come here for " conscience sake," the fate of the colony would have been very different, notwithstanding the death of Sir John Popham and his brother George, the President of the colony, and the return of the sec- ond in command. Sir Raleigh Gilbert, to look after a fortime that had fallen to him ; and, notwithstanding the destruction of their store-house and provisions by fire, the supposed " steriHty and inhospitality of the climate," and the fear of the savages. And its fate would prolia))ly have been different, if the colo- POPHAM CELEBEATION. 247 nists had had even the enterprise of Gorges, who declared that, " as to the coldness of the clime, he had too nmch expe- rience in the world to be frighted by such a blast, as knowing, many great kingdoms and large territories more northerly seated, and by many degrees colder, were plentifully inhabited, and divers of them stored with no better conimodities than these parts afford." States must be .founded by the right men in order to succeed. Had these been the right men, Maine, instead of becoming for a time an appendage to the mother State, would have been it- self the mother State with all its glorious traditions. It is well to celebrate important epochs in the history of our State. There are some such. We could wish that her history were more glorious. She is, however, destined to have a glori- ous history. With such inexhaustible resources, with such a vigorous, enterprising, intelligent, and virtuous population as she possesses, she must, at some future day, become a leading State upon this continent, and, perhaps, the leading State of our great galaxy, again to be united, and to be restored to its former splendor. In the meantime, let us do justice to the history she possesses ; ' ' Nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice." I am, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, John E. Godpeby. Messrs. B. G. Bailey and others. Executive- Committee. PROM HON. MR. HALL, PRESIDENT VT. HISTORICAL SOCIETY. North Bennington, Vt., Aug. 23d, 1862. Dear Sir : — It would afford me much gratification to attend your celebration of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the first decided English attempt to establish a pernianent 248 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. colony on the shores of New England, but other engagements with which I cannot dispense, must prevent it. Trusting that the efiforts of your people and their committee to call to mind, and to cause to be duly appreciated, the merits and suflFerings of the Pophams and Gilberts and their associates of the ancient time, will be entirely and agreeably successful. I am, dear sir. Very respectfully yours, HiLAND Hall. Kev. Edwaed Ballabd, Secretary, Sfc. FROM BIGHT REV. BISHOP M^ILVAINE. Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 26, 1862. Dear Sib : — It was only yesterday that I received the note of the Executive Committee, inviting me to the approaching celebration of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England. I know well with what pleasure I should meet the thousands whom that interesting occasion will call together. But circumstances do not allow me to do more than express my kindest wishes for their mutual enjoyment, and my hope that, gathered around that birth-place of New England population and of the influences which have contrib- uted so powerfully to form the character and promote the pros- perity of our whole country, they may depart thence animated with new zeal to put down and destroy the wicked rebellion by which the very being of our country is now so imminently en- dangered. I remain, very truly youi-s, Chables p. McIlvaine. from G. p. HOUGHTON, ESQ., SEC'Y OF VT. HISTORICAL SOCIETY. St. .Vlbans, Vt., 20th Aug., 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Sccrctarij, ^c. Rev. and Deae Sib : — For the courteous invitation ex.tended POPHAM CELEBRATION. 249 through you to me to attend the public celebration of the found- ing of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, I desire to return my grateful ackno-wledgments. I regard the iuTitation as a compliment to the Vermont Historical Society, whose Recording Secretary it is my good fortune to be. That Society as well as the Maine Historical Society, which has the advantage of your services as Recording Secretary, is active- ly engaged in " bringing from darkness into light," such facts as may tend to illustrate her earliest and most interesting his- tory. The result of the action of the Historical Societies in New England in those departments of knowledge, which have but few attractions to the general student and common reader, can hardly be over-estimated. It is highly gratifying to per- ceive daily proofs that a taste for historical research is increas- iug throughout the country ; and perhaps, no better mode for awakening a love for antiquity can be devised than to celebrate in a fit maqner, such events in American history, as the one you propose to celebrate on the 29th day of August, 1862, at the mouth of the old Sagadahoc. As prior engagements will preclude the possibility of my be- ing present on this interesting occasion, will you pardon me for expressing a hope that a full and detailed report of this celebration will be prepared and suitably published and be dis- tributed far and near, that the pleasure to which the occasion gives birth may be enjoyed, in a modified manner, by those unable to be present ? Cherishing a lively remembrance of your past courtesy, and thanking your Executive Committee anew for their polite invi- tation, I am, Rev. and dear sir. Your friend and ob't servant, George P. Houghton. 250 MEMORIAL VOLUME. FROM GEORGE POPHAM SEWALL, ESQ. Bangor, 27th August, 1862. SiK : — I regret to inform you that the discharge of public duties preclude the possibility of my being present at the Fort Popham celebration. I regret it the more, as my first recollection of life was at the spot on which you will gather, and I have the honor to bear the name of its first great and distinguished tenant. I am, very respectfully, Your most obedient, Gr. P. Sewall. Hon. J. A. Poor, Portland. PROM MR. EZRA ABBOT. Cambridge, Mass., August 21, 1862. Dear Sir : — I have had the honor to receive from you an invitation to attend the public celebration, to take place on the 29th inst., of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New Eng- land. Begging you to accept my thanks for your polite invita- tion, I regret to say that my engagements are such that it will be out of my power tO be present on this interesting occasion. The historical event which you propose to commemorate, might justify the proud motto on the shield of our native State ; but the promptitude of her response to the call of the country in its hour of peril, the gallantry of her sons on the field of battle, and the noble spirit of patriotism which everywhere stirs the hearts of her men and women, show that she is still determined to bo found in tbe van. Let iis not doulit that the POPHAM CELEBRATION. 251 upas of treason shall fall, when the lumbermen of Maine lay their axes at the root of the tree ! With great respect, I am, Yours truly, Ezra Abbot. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. FROM CAPT. GEORGE PRINCE. Washington, D. C, August 25th, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. Dear Sir : — I have this day received your invitation to at- tend the public celebration of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English Colony on the shores of New England. Circumstances beyond my control, will forbid me the plea- sure of being present on that highly interesting occasion ; but I may be permitted to say that I fully believe that the site of Fort Popham, is near the place of the original Port St. George, constructed more than two centuries and a half ago, by the Popham and Gilbert colony. They entered the mouth of the " Sachadahoc," passing in by the island of " Satquin," names yet retained, and familiar to us all. They landed on the west side of the river near its mouth, on what is described as " al- most an island." ■Hunnewell's Point seems to answer to the description better than any other locality ; and the antiquarians, who, in the be-, ginning of the present century, or earlier, made observations, and thought they found evidences that the colony was located on Stage Island, must have been deceived by the remains of some ancient fishing station, but of a more recent date than the Popham colony. Two hundred and fifty-five years have hidden all traces of 252 MEMORIAL VOLUME. this little pioneer band, as effectually as the tide waters cover the anchoring ground of their gallant ships, the " Gift of God," and the " Mary and John." The discovery of the river the year before by Martin Prinn,' bid fair to turn the tide of emigration northvfard, so flattering was the account he gave of it ; and Capt. Popham's letter to the king speaking of the nutmeg and cinnamon trees abound- ing in the region, was calculated to increase the excitement, until the voluntary return of the whole colony in 1608, again turned the current southward. I remain, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Geo. Prince, from the hon. judge harvey. Concord, N. H., August 27th, 1862. Dear Sir : — I must thank you and the Executive Committee for an invitation to be present at the anniversary of the cele- bration of an important event in the history of the early settle- ment of the country on the 29th of this month. I am sorry to say that I am prevented from availing myself of the pleasure it would give me to be present. It is well for us, I imagine, to keep in remembrance events connected with the early settlement of our country, though they be in times gone by ; for amidst the gloom that now hangs over us, it is impossible to say, what, of the future, we may wish to remember. Your obedient servant, Matthew Harvey. Kcv. Edward Ballard, Secretary, lSj-c. popSam celebration. 253 pbom the eev. de, hallam. New London, Ct., -August 22, 1862. Rev, and Dear Sir : — It would give me great pleasure to join your celebration at the mouth of the Kennebec, and help you convince the world that there are other people deserving to be remembered besides the " Pilgrim Fathers." It is just the thing I should like, but I fear it is quite out of my power. You must, therefore, accept the assurance of my thanks for your courteous invitation, and of my sympathy in the object you contemplate. I trust the occasion will be altogether a success, and prove ahke pleasant and useful. Very truly yours, Rob. a. Hallam. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, 8fc. PROM PRmCIPAL DAWSON. McGiLL College, ) Montreal, August 19th, 1862. \ My Dear Sir : — I beg to thank you for the kind invitation extended to me in yours of the 12th inst., and also for the in- teresting pamphlet by which, it was accompanied. I regret, however, that my engagements here will not permit me to avail myself of your kindness. Trusting that your celebration may be eminently successful, and that it may tend to revive and perpetuate the memory of those old glories of the English race, which unite the hearts of Americans and Englishmen, through the bonds of their common ancestry, " I am, truly yours, J. W. Dawson. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. 254 - MEMORIAL VOLUME. PROM TBE HON. WM. WRIGHT. ADVOCATE OENEBAL OP THE PEOVINOE OP NEW BRniTSWZCK. St. John, N. B., August 25th, 1862. Sir : — I have postponed until now acknowledging the receipt of your favor of the 12th inst., in hopes that I might so have arranged my affairs as to have enabled me to accept the very kind invitation of the Executive Committee of the public his- torical celebration to take place at the site of Port Popham on the 29th instant. To a native born Englishman and one sincerely desirous of cultivating the most friendly relations with the people of the United States, and those of Maine in particular, the intended celebration is pregnant with lively interest. It is, therefore, with profound regret that I find myself unable to take part in it. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your obedient servant, Wm. Wright. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, Sfc. PROM GEN. WALBRIDGE. New York, August 25th, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, ^c, Brunswick, Me. My Dear Sir : — No greater pleasure could be afforded me, than to witness the interesting ceremonies to transpire at Fort St. George, on the 29th inst., under the guardianship of the committee you represent, and whose generous invitation I take the earliest moment to acknowledge. I, however, regret that other prior engagements will prevent my going and pressing, for the first time, my feet upon a soil that has reared so many illustrious sons, who have adorned POPHAM CELEBRATION. 255 every department in government, art, trade, science, learning, and business, wherever genius, energy, capacity, industry, and fidelity have secured their legitimate reward. I the more regret it, that I shall not enjoy the intellectual inspiration of your eminent fellow-citizen, whose learning and devotion to the interests of his native State, have made him the worthy orator of your patriotic anniversary. With sentiments of respect, Yours sincerely, Hiram Walbridge. from kupus mcintire, esq. Parsonspield, August 19th, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard, Secretary, ^c. Sir : — Your note inviting me to attend the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony in New England, on the 29th inst., is rfeceive(J. I regret that I shall not be able to be present and take part in the celebration on the interesting occasion pro- posed in your note. I rejoice to witness a wakening sense to the facts of our early history, too long neglected. Many me- morials of the enterprise of European adventurers to these shores, might and should now be gathered, as they are fast fading into forgetfnlness, and unless rescued will soon be lost. My health is not very firm, and makes it inconvenient to at- tend on this occasion. Yours respectfully, &c., Rupug McIntire. 256 MEMORIAL VOLUME. FROM REV. J. S. C. ABBOT. New Haven, Conn., August 18th, 1862. Eev. Edward Ballard, My Dear Sir : — It is with deep regret that I am obliged to decline the invitation to join in your interesting celebration on the 29th proximo. I should very much enjoy meeting my friends in a place of so much historic interest, to review those scenes which have been so carefully collected by our beloved and so much lamented friend, Mr. McKee'n. My own duties are now so pressing at home, that every hour comes freighted with double duty ; and inclination must be laid aside for home employments. Please present my acknowledgments to the gentlemen asso- ciated with you for your polite invitation, which I would have been only too happy to have accepted had it been in my power. With the hope of a very pleasant occasion for all who may as- semble at Port Popham, I am, my dear sir, Yours very truly, John S. C. Abbot, per 3. W. Abbot. PROM H. B. DAWSON, ESQ. MoRRiSANiA, N. Y.,- October 4th, 1862. My Dear Sir : — I have just received your circular, dated August 12th, 1862, inviting me to attend the public celebra- tion of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the found- ing of the first English Colony on the shores of New England, and I beg you will accept, for yourself and for the committee, my thanks therefor. The mis-direction of your note (to New York city), has pre- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 257 vented me from enjoying tlie privilege of meeting witli you on the occasion referred to ; but I have been much gratified with a careful report of the ceremonies in one of your papers, as well as with a verbal description by one of your members, — my friend Mr. Poor, — and I congratulate you and the Society on the result of its judicious efforts. Trusting that the cause of Historical Literature will be bene- fited, and the claims of the Society advanced among the peo- ple of Maine, from this recognition of one of her holidays, I remain, dear sir, Very truly yours, Henry B. Dawson. Eev. Edward Ballard. PROM C. J. PETERSON, ESQ., PHILADELPHIA. RiDGEWOOD, NEAR READING, Pa. Dear Sir : — I have just received your polite invitation for the celebration of the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the first English colony in New England. Had it come to hand earlier, I should have been able, probably, to be with you ; for I have been in New England for several weeks, and would have liked to have protracted my stay for such a purpose. I found your letter on my table last night, — it having been forwarded to me here from my office in Philadelphia, to await my return home. • I feel the more interest in your celebration, because I am, on my maternal side, descended from a New England stock,— my ancestors having removed to Massachusetts as early as A. D. 1632. We Pennsylvanians, even when not of New Eng- land blood, are proud of our " Yankee cousins," and send greeting, now as in 76, from Independence Hall to " old Pan- 18 258 MEMORIAL VOLUME. euil," in 'the words of Webster, —" Union and Liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable." Very sincerely, Chas. J. Peteeson. Rev. E. Ballard, Secretwry Public Historical Celebration. FROM J. LIPPINCOTT, ESQ. Columbia, Pa., August 16, 1862. To Rev. Edward Ballard, Secreta/ry of the Public Historical Celebration. Dear Sir : — It is with pleasure I acknowledge the honor of your invitation to be present at the celebration at Fort Popham on the 29th inst. ; but with deep regret that circumstances will not permit me to share in the festivities of the occasion. I can but contemplate with pride the generous spirit that will not suffer these historic memories to fade, — the persist- ence, which in conflict with circumstances, will continue to draw from the " lap of ages," and give to them tangible ex- pression, — and those considerations which are our richest legacies ; and which, at all times, it is eminently fit that we should entertain. Especially does the event, the anniversary of which gives rise to this proposed celebration, deserve our attention, — an event, which though born amid discouragements, and fostered in doubt, has nevertheless ripened into character so potent, into results so glorious. May we never fail to perpetuate the memory of our humble beginning, nor prove recreant to the earnest faith of our fath- ers ; but like them, ever rely on Liberty, Justice, and Truth. Then will the principles which have so gloriously developed the resources of oiir strength never fail us. For from their adequate might, victories come. And though Justice briefly POPgAM CELEBRATION. 259 slumbers, yet from her latent fires there shall flash out the lightnings of inherent power, till Liberty, again enthroned, shall raise o%r banner, the emblem of her life, over a chastened but a better nation. Hoping the occasion may prove one of eminent success, I remain with considerations of esteem. Your humble servant and fellow-citizen, JOTHAM LiPPINCOTT. ^ FEOM AARON HAYDEN, ESQ. Eastport, August 28, 1862. Gentlemen : — I regret that an absence from home pre- vented a seasonable answer to your note of August 12th, inviting me to act as a vice-president at the Historical Celebra- tion on the 29th inst. I regret still more that I am unable to accept an invitation by which I am so much honored. In a contest of priority between Kennebec and Plymouth, I may well stand neutral, being a native of Maine, and at the same time one of the legitimate results of the " Courtship of John Alden." If I am allowed to ofifer a sentiment, I should say : " If the sons of the Northern Colonists do not preserve and perpetuate the Union and Constitution made with the Southern Colonists, Fort St. George and Plymouth Kock are not a full success." Very respectfully, Aaron Hayden. Hon. B. C. Bailey, and others, Executive Committee. PROM REV. W. S. BARTLBTT. Chelsea, Mass., August 19th, 1862. Eev. and Dear Bro. : — In answer to your invitation as Secretary, &c., to be present at the celebration on the 29th 260 MEMORIAL VOLUME. inst., I would say, that I anticipate much pleasure from sharing in these ceremonies. Allow me to make one or two suggestions, which, it may be, have already occurred to you. 1. That a full and accurate narration of this celebration? with the names of those who may take part in it, be preserved, as of interest to those now on the stage, and of much more interest to those who shall come after us. 2. That a competent artist be invited to take one or more ■ photographic views of the company when assembled. Similar views were taken of the members of the Massachusetts Histori- cal Society when they visited Frederic Tudor, Esq., at Xahant, some three years since. A number of those then present have since passed away, and the picture wUl probably increase in interest by the lapse of time. The artist who would be at Fort Popham on the 29th would probably be remunerated for his trouble and expense by the sale of his pictures, as most of those present would be likely to purchase copies. V Trusting that I may meet you at the mouth of the Sa^da- hoc next week, I remain, Very truly yours, &c., Wm. S. Bartlett. The Rev. Edward Ballard. PROM HON. judge RICE. Augusta, August 22d, 1862. Rev. Edward Ballard. Dear Sir: — Your note of the 12th inst., inviting myself and ladies to be present at the public celebration on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New England, has been re- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 2&1 ceiYed. Official duties may prevent my personal attendance ; if so, I shall endeavor to be duly represented by " the ladies." Trusting that this celebration will bring out distinctly this initial point in the history of the settlement of New England, I am, truly yours, E. D. Rice. PROM J. MAXWELL, ESQ. Bangoe, August 16, 1862. Eev. Edwaed Ballaed. Deae Sir : — Owing to urgent business, I am obliged to de- cliae the invitation you have so kindly tendered me, to be present at the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the English colony on the New England shores. Although I cannot be there in person, yet when the 29th of August arrives, I shall feel that I am losing an opportunity to witness the anniversary of an event, which I look back upon as the era of that prosperity and Union-loving happiness which fully showed itself in the struggle for Independence, in 1776 ; and again, for the maintenance of that Independence so nobly gained by the Forefathers, by the valor and bravery of our sons in the army of the Union. Hoping that the day may be pleasant, and everything pass off as well as any could wish for, I remain. Yours truly, Jeee. Maxwell. Th^ foregoing letters, selected out of some /hundreds received by the committee, have had a place given to them in this vol- 262 Memorial volume, ume, to show the wide-spread interest in this commemoration of the " initial point ill the history of the settlement of New England," and in the cultivation of historical pursuits ingene- ral ; as well as the deep sympathy expressed in many of them with the sufferings of our common country, and love for the Union. ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATIONS. The following communications have been prepared and received ■while this volume was going through the press. Their subjects would have entitled them to an earlier position, if that had been possible ; but it is beheved they will make a valuable and interest- ing addition to the papers already presented. As intimated on a previous page, ' they are now given here. PEMAQUID. BY JOHN JOHNSTON, L L . D., PKOF. OF NATUKAL SCIENCE IN THE WESLEYAN UHIVEKSITT, MIDDLETOWN, COKN. It is proposed in this paper to give briefly a description of the place, called by the Anglo-Indian name of Pemaquid ; and also of the ancient ruins yet to be found there, — to notice some of the more important points in its early history, the eflfects of which have come down to our own times, — and then to trace the history of the four forts which were successively erected very nearly on the same site. To this will be added brief notices of two of the native Indiaiis, — Sagamores of the place. DESCRIPTION OP THE PLACE. The island of Monhegan is one of the most prominent land- marks on the coast of New England east of Cape Cod, and could not have failed to attract the attention of the early iiavi- 1 Page 217. 264 MEMORIAL VOLUME. gators, especially when they approached this part of the coast from the east, as most of them did. But the same remark would be true if they approached from the west, as was the case with Capt. Weymouth in 1605. In plain view from this island, and about ten miles distant, in a northwest direc- tion, is Pemaquid Point ; which, as it is the nearest point of the main land, could not fail to be early visited. Just at the point, boats could not land safely, except in the finest weather ; but three miles north of the extreme point, on the east side, is New Harbor, which is only a small cove, but still affords a good landing place for boats, and a tolerably good harbor for small vessels at all times. On tl^e west side, between three and four miles from the extreme point, is Pema- quid Harbor, which was destined to be the scene of most of the important transactions here during the first century of its occupation by civilized man. This harbor, though the en- trance is rather narrow, is perfectly protected from the sea on every side, and is one of the safest havens on the coast at all seasons of the year. This is the precise locality generally known in modern times by the name of Pemaquid ; but by the early writers, it is be- lieved, the name was often used to designate the whole coast from George's Islands west to the mouth of the Kennebec. The Indian name probably was Pemaquideag, ' and signified " long point ov promontory ." The peculiar formation of the harbor of Pemaquid is very interesting to the geologist, as being separated from the sea on the south side by an immense trap dyke ; which, like an arti- ficial breakwater, protects it from the waves, but allows a suf- ficient space for the passage of ships. The rocks of this whole 1 The more important variations in the orthography of this name are the fol- lowing: Pencoit, (Biard); Penaquid, (Smith); Pemquit, (Riile) ; Paincuit, (Cadillac) ; Peiiiaquin, (N. Y. Col. Doc.) j Pemicuit, (Bovven Geog.) ; Pem- kueag, Pemakeag, Pemmaquideag, and a few other modes by other writers. POPHAM CELEBEATION, 265 region are of- the kind called by geologists, metamorphic, with frequent masses and veins of granite and quartz, and occasional veins or dykes of trap or basalt. The shores in all the vicinity, denuded as they have been by the long dashing of the "waves, afford an excellent opportunity for the study of these rocks ; and in many places the peculiar relationship of the stratified gneiss and the intruded granite, quartz, and trap is beautifully exhibited. The upheaval of the stratified gneiss and mica slate, has been in lines nearly north and south, the axial lines being continued down into the promontories ; and between- these the tide flows up a greater or less distance. Pemaquid Point is the extreme point of one of these promon- tories, having the Muscongus Bay on the east, and John's Bay and the Damariscotta River on the west. The dyke of trap or basalt, alluded to above, makes its ap- pearance on the west side of the harbor, just • at the head of John's Bay, and extends a distance of several rods nearly east towards the site of the old fort ; but is suddenly broken off, as if to allow a sufficient space for an entrance to the harbor. This rock is very hard, and less liable to be worn away by the action of the elements than the adjacent metamorphic rocks ; and it is to this cause, probably, we are to attribute the exist- ence of this curious sea-wall. It is familiar to geologists, that these dykes of trap, may often be traced, usually in straight lines, to a distance of many miles ; but this one has not been sufficiently explored to enable us to determine its extent. Evidences of its existence a few rods west from the harbor are readily seen ; and probably it might be discovered at other places farther west or southwest. About three miles to the northeast, near the head of Long Cove, a narrow trap dyke is found, which is probably a con- tinuation of the same one ; and again it is seen at a place on the shore, half a mile north of the extremity of Long Cove Point. I An old man, who formerly lived in the vicinity, 266 MEMORIAL VOLtJMB. though knowing nothing of the science of geology, recognized the peculiarities of the trap rocks in this place last mentioned, calling them the " Indigo Eocks." Those who have noticed the peculiar form and appearance of blocks of indigo, as the article is imported, would not fail to observe the resemblance. This projecting sea-wall of basalt at Pemaquid Harbor, the early writers often call the " Barljacan," from its sup- posed resemblance to certain walls or watch-towers, which in ancient times were erected in connection with fortifications, and called by this name. A particular locality in the city of London was long known as the " Barbacan," and a place of worship was maintained there by some of the early dissenters. It may be that the name is still applied to the place. The several forts, — not less than four, — which were suc- cessively erected here, it is believed, were all on the east side of the entrance to the harbor, and nearly opposite to the trap dyke or sea-wall just described, but rather south of it, as was required by the peculiar conformation of the surface. This point of land, which has been the scene of so many important events, including a number of bloody conflicts, is really a small promontory, made so by an indentation fi-om John's Bay on the south, and a small cove on the north, connected vrith the harbor. This was formerly called Cox's Cove, from the circumstance that a descendant, probably a son of WU- liam Cox, one of the witnesses to John Brown's deed from the Indian Sagamores, long lived there. The name is not often heard now, and does not appear on the recent map of Lincoln County. Between this cove and the indentation from John's Bay, alluded to above, the land is quite low, and no very considerable rise of the watei' would be required to cause it to flow over at this point, and change the peninsula into an island. Mr. Sewall describes the " peninsula, which was the site of the iuicieut town and fort of Pemaquid," as having obviously POPHAM CELEBHATION. 267 been made by " the sands and debris of the river, brought down and accumnlated by the tides, in the rotary motion given by the interposing and curved shores of the Barbacan point on the west, and the immense projecting strata of in- clined granite forming the eastern shore." He also speaks of the peninsula as having once been an island, and connected with the main land by an " artificial way." But such specu- lations, in regard to the forces by which the present conforma- tion of any portion of the earth's surface was produced, amount to little ; for the reason, that on such points we really know, and can know but Very little. And, besides, geologists would probably tell us, if this peninsula ever was an island, as supposed, it could only have been in that distant pre-Adamite time, known as the " drift period," and then the theory of an " artificial way " becomes unnecessary. ' EIKST VISITS OP THE WHITE MEN. The 'Anglicised Indian name, Pemaquid, occurs first in the writings of Strachey, who, in his account of the Popham ex- pedition, informs us that " about midnight (August 7th, 1607, 0. S.) Oapt. Gilbert caused his shipp's boat to be mannde with fourteen persons, and the Indian Skidwares, (brought into England by Capt. Wayman,) and rowed to the westward from their shipp, to the river of Pemaquid, which they found to be four leagues distant from the shipp, where she road. The In- dian brought them to the salvadges' houses, where they found a hundred men, women, and children ; and their commander, or sagamo, amongst them, named Nahanada, who had been brought likewise into England by Capt. Wayman, and returned thither by Capt. Hanam, setting forth for those parts and some part of Canada the year before. At their first comyng, the Indians betooke them to their armes, their bowes and arrowes ; 1 Ancient Dominions of Maine, pp. 114, 115. 268 MEMORIAL VOLUME. but after Nahanada had talked with Skidwares, and perceaved that they were Englishmen, he himself came unto them and ymbraccd them, and made them much welcome, and enter- tayned them with mucli chierfulness, and did they likewise him ; and after two howers thus enterchangeably spent, they returned abourd againe." This was Saturday, August 8th. The Monday following, Capt. Popham, Capt. Gilbert, and fifty others, in two boats, made another excursion from the ships to " the river of Pemaquid," taking with them Skid- wares a second time, who it seems,- on the previous visit, made no attempt to escape from them. On their arrival, " Nahanada, with all his company of Indians," with arms in their hands, came out to greet them, but not without some shyness ; for, after an hour's intercourse, himself and company suddenly withdrew, taking with them Skidwares, who now chose to re- main with his old friends. The Englishmen spent the follow- ing night in the vicinity, and the next day returned to their ships, which " still road under St. George's Island." But we are not to suppose, that we have in this interesting account of Strachey, a description of the very earliest visit of Europeans to this place ; the language used plainly implies that the sitiiation of places here, and in the vicinity was well understood by the leaders of the expedition ; and further, that the excursions of the boats to Pemaquid were only incidental to the principal object, which was to find their way to the " river *Sachadelioc." To go back a little, it is altogether probable, that Capt. Hanam, by whom Nahanada was restored to liis home, was at Pemaquid in 1606 ; Capt. Weymouth, in 1605 ; and De Mont, also, in 1605. And we arc informed by Purchas, (as is well- known,) that a French seaman, named Savalet, previous to the year IGOU, had made no less than forty-two voyages to this region. May wo not, then, conclude that Pemaquid and other prominent places on the coast wore known, at least to the fish- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 269 ermen of western Europe some time before the close of the sixteenth century ; and perhaps as early as the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth. But while there seems to be sufficient evidence to warrant the above conclusion, there is also reason to believe thatipre- vious to the voyage of Weymouth, in 1605, there had been comparatively little intercourse between the natives and the strangers who 'annually made their appearance on the coast. As a good reason for this opinion, the fact may be mentioned, that up to this period, we have no information that any one had made any progress in learning the language of the natives. When Weymouth's ship rode at anchor in " Pentecost Har- bor," (G-eorge's Island Harbor,) the natives visited him freely ; but no 'one, of either party, so far as we can learn, understood a word of the language of the other party. Soon after this period, we begin to have more full accounts of events transpiring on this coast ; as in the voluminous writ- ings of Capt. John Smith, and the less pretending and simple narrative of Capt. Levett ; but it i^ not our object here to enter into details. Capt. Levett made his voyage to this country late in the year 1623, first making the coast at the Isle of Shoals. From this place he cruised eastward as far as Cape Newagen, now Boothbay, where he saw many of the natives from Pemaquid, and learned ■ that the platfe " had been granted to others ; " and determined, in consequence, to prosecute his voyage no further in this direction. By this he meant that a settlement of Europeans had already been commenced here ; but how old it was, we have no means of knowing. Capt. Dermer, in pursuit of Eoaroft, came to Monhegan in the spring of the year 1619, and found there two seamen who had spent a miserable winter on the island. They had been left at Saco the year before by Eocroft, and had, by some means not now known, found their way here. Prom tlrese circumstances, we may, withou,t question, fix the first 270 MEMORIAL VOLUME. permanent occupation, of both Monhegan and Pemaquid, as between the two dates of 1619 and 1623. In the summer of 1619, business was active at Monhegan; and Derraer made jtreparations for his voyage from the island to Virginia, which he made in the latter part of the season, by way of Long Island Sound and Sandy Hook. ANCIENT KUINS. The remains of the early settlements at Pemaquid Harbor and vicinity, still to be seen, are of considerable interest and importance. Many old cellars yet remain to indicate some- thing of the populousness of the place ; but many more, it is believed, have been entirely obliterated by the hand of im- provement. The old burying-ground, where the dust of many of the early inhabitants reposes, is about forty rods northeast of the fort ; but, most imfortunately, the stones used to mark the places of the graves were only rough pieces found in the vicinity, and are without any inscriptions. And it is believed that very many of tliis kind have been from time to time re- moved, so that the very places of the graves are lost. The oldest grave that can now be determined, is entirely alone in a cultivated field, at a distance of several i-ods from the present cemetery ; and it is believed that the graves by which it was once siirrounded have been leveled down by the plow. The stone which marks the place of this grave, is of the kind just described, and has rudely cut upon it, the letters H and M, (but they are cut together, thus, flVI,) and the date of the year, Avhich some read 1625, but probably it should be read 1695. All the other inscriptions are of a date subsequent to the last rebuilding of the fort, and the revival of the settle- ment by the English. A few rods southeast of the fort, but entirely concealed from view by several inches of loose earth and gravel, the sup- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 271 posed ancient pavements are found. This is a subject upon ■which we cannot proceed too cautiously ; and it is a question whether sufficient explorations have yet been made to enable us to decide satisfactorily whether they are to be considered real artificial pavements, and still less to determine their age and the purpose for which they were laid. It is certain, however, that at several points in the locality mentioned, by removing some six or ten inches of very loose black earth and gravel, a regular layer of stones is brought to view, wonder- fully like modern pavements, except that the stones are smaller than those now generally used. They are very uniform in size, and present the appearance of water-worn pebbles, like those found upon the shore. How extensive the pavement is, and whether it would be found to indicate the existence, at some former time, of regular streets, or whether it may have served some purpose in connection with the fort, are questions which must be left untU further and more accurate investiga- tions have been made. ^ 1 The " Ex-Editor " of the Eastern Times, who explored the place iu 1858, (see numher for Sept. 17, 1,858,) expresses himself as fully satisfied that these are the remains of ancient streets, the direction of which he can determine. But the writer has not been able to satisfy himself so fully. Certain it is that in two or three places seen by the writer, the paveiyent looked wonderfully like a real artificial work ; but the existence and direction of regular streets could not be so well made out. It is proper, however, to say that the field at the time was covered with growing corn, so that extensive explorations could not well be made, even if the party had gone there properly prepared for the ptirpose. But the " Ex-Editor," is mistaken in saying, as he does in substance, that " the traditions of the oldest inhabitants," say nothing on the subject. Sulli- van (Hist, of Maine, p. 161) alludes to it ; and the vvi'iter well remembers often to have heard several of the old inhabitants speak of the supposed pavements ;- and during the winter of 1828-9, while boarding for a time in the family of the late Capt, John Nickels, who was born and spent nearly his whole life almost on the very site of the old fort, had several conversations with him concerning the history and traditions of the place. On the subject of these pavements, he always was careful to speak very hypothetically, indicating considerable doubt in his mind in regard to them. He expressed the opinion that the date on the gravestone above described should be read 1695, and not 1625. 272 MEMORIAL VOLUME. At the place where these supposed pavements are found, the surface of the ground is a little lower than in the immediate vicinity ; and it is easy to conceive that the loose material now covering the pavements may have been washed there by the rains, but this cannot be said of the street which, it is claimed, began " near the easterly bastion of the old fort," and ran in a north-easterly direction towards the old burying ground. This, if a street, passed directly on the crest of the ridge, and the rains would constantly wash all loose material away from it rather than to it ; yet for a distance of more than forty rods in the direction mentioned, by the use of a crow-bar, we can feel that there are many loose stones a little distance beneath the surface, arranged in such a manner as to indicate the ex- istence of a street or road. But it is to be kept in mind that the soil here is stony ; and we are, therefore, specially liable to be deceived in these explorations. On the west side of the harbor, and a mile or so northerly from the fort, we find the remains of an old structure, the character of which we cannftt now determine. It may have been nothing more than a dwelling house ; but among the rubbish some pieces of a kind of freestone occur, whigh are of a character not to be found among the metamorphic rocks of this region. They were, without question, brought here from abroad, and very possibly from Europe. It is said that several copper coins were found here some years ago ; but they have not been preserved. Common re- port says that the superscriptions upon them were not in English. Fragments of tobacco-pipes are abundant among the rubbish here, as at other places in the vicinity, giving us some indica- tions in regard to tlie habits of the people here in the olden time. Near by, portions of the soil, which, it is believed, have not been disturbed in modern times, give evidence of having been POPHAM CELEBRATION. 278 cultivated by the early settlers ; and it has been ' suggested, that the mode of tillage suggests a Dutch rather than English origin. In the same field, in a low, wet place, are the remains of an ancient tannery ; and pieces of plank forming the vats, and even pieces of leather, well preserved, wfere found there a few years ago. Going another mile northeast from this place, we come to " The Falls," so called, because of the water-power that occurs there. It was a place of no little iinportance to the early inhabitants, both because it offered a good site for the erec- tion of miUs, and also for its excellent shad and alewive fisheries at the proper season of the year. As an object of special interest to the antiquarian, we find here the remains of an ancient canal or water-course, which begins near the present road on the east side of the stream, and extends down some twenty rods, curving Considerably at places so as to follow along the bank at about the same level. It was, probably, about ten feet wide and six or eight feet deep ; and evidently was constructed for the purpose of carry- ing water to mills that were situated below. On the side next to the stream, were several side-cuts to draw off the water for the use of the mills. Only a short and low dam was required exactly where the bridge now stands, for the purpose of turn- ing the water into the canal, or, in time of freshets, as much of it as was needed for the mills. Tradition informs us, that when the ancestors of the present inhabitants came here, nearly a century and a half ago, forest trees a foot in diameter were found growing in the bed of the canal and on its banks ; but no information concerning its origin or use, from any source whatever, has come down to us, except what we may derive from the appearance of the thing itself. Were these ruins, which we have now briefly described, the 19 274 MEMORIAL VOLUME. work of the early English settlers ; or are we to attribute them to a period still more distant in the past, and to a people of whom no other information has come down to us ? This question was discussed by the ancestors of the present inhabi- tants of the place ; and some of them who saw these ruins in a better condition than they now present, it is certain, enter- tained the opinion that they could not have been constructed by the English. The very judicious writer in the Eastern Times, before referred to, also adopts the same view; and inclines to attribute them to the famous Northmen, who are supposed to have visited the shores of New England at a very early period. It has also been conjectured, that a Dutch col- ony was established here, before the earliest English settlement ' was begun, but was destroyed by the Indians ; and certain very indefinite traditions to this effect were said to have been derived from the natives. But while the writer supposes these circumstances, trifling as they may seem, of sufficient importance to be noticed here, it is not with the view of giving them any special prominence. They are mentioned rather by way of suggestion to future in- quirers, than as indicating an opinion in regard to them. As it regards the canal or water-course at " The Falls," may we not consider it as affording good evidence that mills, or at least a grist-mill, was erected here by the very first Eng- lish settlers, being perhaps the first erected in New England ? How did the early colonists in different places supply them- selves with bread ? At the very first, much meal and bread were brought from the mother countiy ; but as soon as the soil began to be cultivated, mills for grinding were indispensable. When and where was the first grist-mill erected in the Plym- outh Colony ? A pounding-mill, for preparing samp, (naw- saump, Indian,,') was erected near Billington Sea in 1633, from which fact it may be inferred that there was then no mill for grinding. Probably it was several years after this that their POPHAM CELEBRATION. 275 first grinding-mill was built. It is certain they had a grist- mill in 1638, as John Jenney was that year prosecuted " for not grinding well and seasonably." ^ The first grist-mill in the Massachusetts Colony, was erected ' at Cambridge in 1632, nearly two years after the founding of the colony ; but in a few months it was taken down and re- moved to Copp's Hill, in Boston, for the reason, that, in the former place, " it' would not grind but with a westerly wind." Of course it was a wind-mill. Mason's colony at Piscataqua was begun in 1628, but for nine years, at least, they had no mill for grinding. This appears from the fact, that they brought their corn to the wind-ilhill in Boston to be ground at a period as late as October, 1632. At the Casco settlement, according to Mr. "Willis, there was a mill on the Presumpscot in 1646 ; but we. have no informa- tion as to the time when it was erected. ^ Mr. Thornton suggests that the early settlers at Pemaquid probably sent their corn to Boston to be ground ; ^ but is it not more probable that they early erected mills of their own at the place before described ? Considering that the settlement here had become of sufficient importance, as early as 1630, to Justify the building of a fort, and that it wias the chief place of resort for the multitude of fishing vessels annually visiting the coast, giving rise necessarily to considerable business, — that of agriculture we know not being neglected, — the absolute necessity for the early erection of a grist-njill is apparent. And as we know there was none nearer than Boston for some time after 1632, when the first one was erected there, is there not good reason for concluding that these remains which have come down to us, are the silent mementos of. the industry and 1 Thacher's History, p. 74. 2 History of Portland, vol. 1, p. 47. 3 Maine Hist, Col., vol. 5, p. 204. 276 MBMOEIAL VOLUME. enterprise of the people of that day, employed in this manner in order to provide a great public benefit ? The water-power here is not very considerable, but for a large part of the year, was probably sufficient, at this period, for all purposes. The site was an excellent one for this pur- pose, only about two miles distant from the fort, which was the center of operations, and accessible by water. The method adopted for constructing the works was probably the least ex- pensive that could be devised ; only a short, and comparatively low dam being required, little liable to be carried away, or to suffer serious damage by freshets. • IMPORTANT EVENTS AS AFFECTING LAND TITLES. At the very beginning of the settlement here, we notice two important events, which, as they laid the foundation for two sets of claims to the soil, could not be without important results in the subsequent history of the place. The first of these, in the order of time, was the purchase from two Indian Sagamores of a large tract of land here by John Brown, a gentleman of Bristol, England ; and the second was the issu- ing of the " Pemaquid Patent " by the " Council of Plymouth," to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, also of Bristol. Brown's deed, which was dated July 25th, 1625, is to be found in that most important, but now very rare document, entitled an " Order of both Branches of the Legislature of Massachusetts, to appoint Commissioners to investigate the Causes of the Difficulties in the County of Lincoln, and the Report of the Commisioners thereon, with the documents in support thereof, Boston, 1811," and in Mr. Thornton's " Ancient Pemaquid." The tract of land conveyed by this deed, as was claimed by those who hold it, included the whole peninsula between Muscongus Sound on the east, and Damariscotta River on the POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 277 west, extending north several miles beyond the head of the tide which flows on both sides ; and the consideration men- tioned in it is " fifty skins." The deed is a curiosity of its kind, and, at the present day, would not probably be considered by the courts as of any worth. Brown subsequently conveyed to others a part of this tract ; and his heirs, many years later gave deeds of undivided parts, which they supposed of right belonged to them, until near the close of the last century, when it became necessary to take legal measures to confirm the title. At that time, the " pro- prietors " under this claim formed a numerous body and were living in nearly all the New England States. ^ For many years, and until driven off by the Indians, Brown himself and many of his descendants lived within the limits of the claim ; and after this time occasional acts of "ownership, as the making of surveys of some part of the tract, were per- formed by one or "more of the claimants ; but the whole claim was ultimately set aside as worthless, as will be more fully described further on. The other important event, alluded to above, was the issuing of the " Pemaquid Patent," February 29th, 1631, as already stated. This patent, which, in its terms, was in part conditional, conveyed, twelve thousand acres of land ; and when possession was given. May 27th, 1633, according to the legal forms then practiced, it was agreed to bound it " from the head of the river of Damariscotta to the head, of the river of Muscorigns, and between it to the sea." Of course the claim covered very nearly the same land as the Indian deed to Brown', but did not extend quite as far to the north. .Aldsworth died not long after the date of the patent, leaving Elbridge, as was claimed, sole owner of the patent ; and on the death of Elbridge, his oldest son, Thomas, came over and took possession of the patent as sole heir to his father. He re- sided many years at Pemaquid ; and, in accordance with the 278 MEMORIAL VOLUME. usage of the time, it is said he " held a court " here, and per- formed many acts of ownership. In 1651, he, by deed, conveyed one-half of the patent to Paul White, a gentleman of Charles- town, Massachusetts ; and subsequently other deeds were given until 1657, when Nicholas Davison, also of Charlestown, became sole owner. Prom Davison, the claim passed by will to several relatives of his ; and their heirs, by the names of Savage, Alford, Clarke, Winslow, Ruck, Parrott, Sweetser, Phillips, Mousell, Paine, Pitch, Kneeland, and others, who lived mostly in Boston and the immediate vicinity, became the hated " proprietors " under the " Drowne claim " so much dreaded by the inhabitants three-quarters of a century ago. Among the heirs of Davison was a Miss Russell, who mar- ried a man by the name of Shem Drownfe, a citizen of Boston of some distinction, by reason of his being often engaged in the public g,ffairs of the town. He was a man of great energy and enterprise, and an enthusiast in the matter of this eastern property belonging to the family and supposed to be very valuable ; and it was because of his being long identified as the leader in prosecuting the claim, that it became known as the " Drowne claim." Drowne began his labors in 1743, by procuring a call for a legal meeting of the claimants under the patent, which was held at the " Orange Tree" Tavern in Boston, August 31st, of the year just mentioned. Here measures were taken to have a survey of the lands made, and a division into lots of about a hundred acres each ; and plans laid for the recovery and appropriation of the property. This survey and division was in due time made, and the land distributed by lot among the claimants at several different meetings. Every thing was done according to legal form, and all the necessary signatures obtained, which, as the parties were somewhat scattered, required considerable time and / POPHAM CELEBRATION. 279 / expense. It was not until 1763, more than twenty years after the first meeting was held, that the last required signature was obtained. The documents werfe put on record in 1768, and in 1774 Drowne died. . • He was by trade a " tin plate worker," and had his place of business in Boston. A few years ago, the grasshopper vane, which had long faithfully indicated the direction of the wind over Faneuil Hall, was blown down, and in it was found con- cealed a fragment of a paper much weather worn and diifi- cult to read ; but enough was made out to determine that Shem Drowne was the maker of the vane. Thomas Drowne, a brother of Shem, lived many years at New Harbor, and married his wife there. Her maiden name was McParland. Besides these two claims to the soil at Pemaquid, there were other claims to some parts of it, but they were of secondary importance and will not be farther noticed. These claims, after producing no little trouble, and much bitterness among the inhabitants of the place, who regarded the " proprietors " as much their enemies as they did the native savages, were at length put to rest by the interference of the Legislature of Massachusetts, early in the present cen- tury. About the beginning of the century, in consequence of the law limiting the time in which actions in certain cases could be brought for the recovery of real estate, it became necessary for these non-resident claimants to bring actions to establish their supposed titles. Several actions against citizens of the place were beguii in the Supreme Judicial Court ; and in the prosecution of them it became necessary that surveys should be made, and certain lines indicated by ancient deeds re-determined. This was ordered to be done by the court, and k- surveyor appointed for the purpose, who, however, met with so much opposition from the people, that he retired from the contest and reported the facts to the court. Subsequently, in the 280 MEMORIAL VOLUME. autumn of the year 1810, a part of the militia from a neigh- boring town was ordered out by the court to support the surveyor ; but as many of the men who were drafted were laiown to sympathize strongly with the settlers, the diflSculty and danger of such a moven^ent became apparent. Wiser counsels now l^egan to prevail ; immediate action was post- poned, and the whole matter was again brought by petition before the Legislature of the State. It is not proposed to enter further into the details of this subject here ; and it will be sufficient to say that the decision finally arrived at, seemed to establish the principle that grants of land on this continent made by a sovereign of Europe were good and valid, while grants made by the natives of the country were void and of no effect ! The commissioners to whom the subject was referred, awarded to the Drowne claimants eleven thousand five hun- dred and twenty acres of wild land, to be selected from the public lands of Maine, as a proper compensation for their claim at Pemaquid ; but rejected the Brown claim as worth- less. The Kennebec Company at the same time received a township of wild land as a compensation for their claim to lands in Boothbay and Edgecomb, which were in dispute at the same time as those at Pemaquid. THE FORTS AT PEMAQUID. The exact site of the last fort erected at Pemaquid Harbor is well known, as the foundations can stiU be traced very satis- factorily ; and a small part of the wall in one place yet re- mains ; and it is very certain that all the others of more ancient date, of which there were three, occupied very nearly the same spot. As before stated, the place is a little south of the narrowest part of the entrance to the harbor, somfe fifteen POPHAM CBLBBEATION. 281 or twenty rods from the water. The shore is rocky and very bold, so that ships of considerable size may approach very near. Just at this place is the highest point of the peninsula ; but the surface, probably, is not elevated more than thirty or forty feet above the water of the bay and harbor. The first fort at Pemaquid, which was erected in 1630, it is believed, occupied this spot, but no positive evidence of the fact has come down to us ; nor is there any description of it known to be in existence. Very probably it was merely an earthwork, surmounted with a stockade. Only two years after it was built, it was taken and sacked by some pirates, led by a dariag desperado by the name of Dixy Bull. As the object of these freebooters was only to obtain all the plunder they could, it is believed that the fort itself was not destroyed. After this, for thirty years or more, the place enjoyed almost uninter- rupted peace, and no mention is made of the fort. We may, therefore, conclude that it had been allowed to fall into decay ; and when the troubles connected with King Philip's "War began, we do not learn that the inhabitants had any place of protection to which they could fly. As the difficulties with the natives, which preceded this war, were gradually increasing in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the changing conduct and temper of the Indians in the east plainly showed, that, though destitute of telegraph or post, the people of the two sections were not without means of communication with each other. Matters proceeded less rapidly in Maine than in the region of Mount Hope, but there was the most perfect sympathy between the people of the two sections. For some time after the war actually broke out in Massachu- setts, the natives about Pemaquid, though very uneasy, and much disposed to complain of the encroaclunents of the Eng- lish, were kept comparatively quiet, chiefly by the exertions of 282 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. Mr. Abraham Shurte, a leading citizen of the place, who had ever maintained towards them a kind and conciliatory course, and thereby secured their confidence. But for the injudicious and altogether unjustifiable conduct of others, it is quite pos- sible that the settlement might have passed uninjured through that perilous period of its history. But this was not to be ; and if the savages, stung with a sense of their wrongs, burned for revenge upon those whom they considered their enemies ; there were among the English those, who, judged by their con- duct, were actuated by a spirit no more justifiablo. King Philip himself was slain August 12th, 1676 ; but the* war in the east was then only just begun, and a few days later all the settlements in Maine, east of Casco, — Pemaquid includ- ed, — were utterly destroyed. Fortunately, the inhabitants of Pemaquid received timely warning, and made their escape, — first to Damariscove Island, and then to Monhegan ; but before winter all removed to the west. The second fort at Pemaquid was, like the first, only an earthwork, surmounted with heavy timber. The territory of Sagadahock, including substantially aU that part of Maine east of the Kennebec, had been granted, a few years before, to the Duke of York ; and it was for the protection of this inter- est, that the expense was incurred. June 9th, 1677, Sir Ed- mund Andros being then Ducal Governor of New York and Sagadahock, it was determined in Coimcil, " to send and take Possession and assert the Duke's Interest at Pemaquid, and parts adjacent Eastward ; " and immediately a force was dis- patched from New YOrk for this purpose, imder the direction of Captain Csesar Kiuijiton. It was also magnanimously decided if they " made Peace Arith the Indyans there, the Massachusetts to bee comprised if they Pleased." The thing having boon determined on, no' time was lost; and in the archives at the State House in Albany, are still pre- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 283 served original letters from Oapt. Brockholes, who had sailed there on this business, dated Pemaquid, July 12th and 13th of the same year. The fort which was erected in a little time, was named Port Charles, and received a " considerable num- ber of soldiers," as a proper garrison for the place. A cus- tom-house was also established in connection with the fort ; and a stringent system of rules laid down for the regulation of trade with the natives and others, and for the government of the place. This garrison was ever afterwards maintained there at the expense of the Duke's government, until the sur- render of the place to Massachusetts by a royal order, dated September 19th, 1686. The heavy guns were removed, first to Boston, but afterwards to New York. It would seem that the order for its surrender was not very promptly obeyed, for a year and a half afterwards, (March 28, 1688,) at a Council held at Port James in New York, it was agreed to send a remonstrance to His Majesty' agains.t tlje measure. The language of the document, however, implies that the thing had been done ; and the remonstrance, or ad- dress, if actually sent, amounted to nothing more than an exhibition of the signers' personal feelings and mortification. After the surrender of the place to Massachusetts, only a small garrison was kept at Port Charles, although it was known to be a special object, of vengeance on the part of the Indians. Even the destruction of Cocheco, (Dover, N. H.,) in June, 1689, was not taken as a sufficient warning to induce them to increase their means of defense. The conseqiience was, that, being attacked furiously by a body of Indians under " old Moxus," August 2d, of this year, the fort was obliged to surrender, and, with all the houses in the vicinity, was given to the flames. This attack upon the place appears to have been devised and carried into effect entirely by the Penobscot Indians, who, 284 MEIIOEIAL VOLUME. about one hundred in number, came in canoes, and landed at New Harbor. They had sent before them several of their number as spies, to learn all they could of the condition of the garrison. How successful these were, we are not informed; but it is certain that the English people saw nothing of thenj ; or, at least, had not had their suspicions excited by anything that occurred. When the savages landed, they were so for- tunate as to make a prisoner of an Englishman, by the name of Starkey, whom they met entirely alone, and compelled him to give them information in regard to the condition of afifairs in the place. Learning that Mr. Gyles, one of the chief -mei^ of the place, had gone with his men to make hay at " The Falls," and that there were only a few able men at the fort, they separated in two- parties, one going directly to the fort, and the other turning to the right so as to intercept Mr. Gyles and his party. Both parties succeeded only too well ; Gyles and several of his men were killed, and nearly ajl the others, with two of his sons, were taken captives ; all the houses in the place were burned, and the fort taken and destroyed, after a contest that lasted until sometime the next day. The " weak old fort," as Gyles calls it, was commanded by Capt. Weems, who made a resolute defense ; but being himself wounded, and several of his ablest men killed, he at length capitulated, on condition that all in the fort, with three of the captives whom the Indians had taken, should be allowed to depart unmolested from the place . in a sloop, which they had also seized, and that they sho\ild be allowed to take from the fort whatever they could carry in their hands. ^ Dr. Mather says that the vindians afterwards violated the agreement by " butchering and captivating many " of the 1 This last condition was, a few years ago, made the basis of a pleasant story, Tiy Mr. Thomas McClure, which attracted some attention at the time. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 285 prisoners ; but as Gyles, who was one of the prisoners, does^ not mention the fact, it mnst be considered doubtful. Charlevoix says, that after the capitulation, Capt. Weems " came out at the head of fourteen nien, who alone remained of the garrison, with some women, all of them with packs upon their backs. The Indians allowed them to pass unmo- lested, only saying to them, if they were wise they would never ■ return ; for the Abenaki nation had learned so mucW of their perfidy, that they would never again allow, them to live there in peace ; that they were masters of the country, ^nd would not endxire the presence of a people so officious and disposed to trouble them in the exercise of their religion." The same writer affirms further, that the savages committed no disorder, either in the fort or in the houses, — even destroy- ing, without tasting, some barrels of spirituous liquors (P eau de vie) which they found. According to Charlevoix, Capt. Weems, after his surrender, affirmed that seven men of the garrison were killed during the fight ; but he intimates that in his own opinion, the number was much greater. , .Only one of the attacking party was badly wounded. A point of some importance in connection with this fight is to be noted. A large rock which lay between the fort and the shore, aided the Indiana very considerably in their attacks, — affording them great protection from the guns of the fort, and enabling them, by climbing its sides at fit opportunities, to an- noy those within the walls more effectually. This same rock still remains in its place, buTt is iiow found within the walls of the fort. We are informed by Cadillac, that, in building the next fort, in 1692,, this rock was inclosed because of the advantagi it afforded the enemy at this time. ^ This circumstance enables us to fix very satisfactorily the. exact site of Port Charles, which we thus find stood a little to 1 Maine His. Col., ¥ol. 6, p. 283. 286 MEMORIAL, VOLUME. the east of the one that succeeded it, called Fort William Henry. The feelings of the savages, on their return, are well indi- cated by their assurances to the Catholic priest, M. Thury, that " with two hundred Frenchmen, acquainted with the places and earnest to follow, they could lead them even to Boston." The whole country east of Casco was now made ^esolate, and the Indians roved everywhere undisputed ; and the next spring, Casco also suffei'cd the same fate. The next and third fort at Pemaquid, was constructed under the direction of Governor Phips, in 1692. Sir William Phips, whose romantic history is familiar with most persons, was appointed Governor of Massachusetts early in this year ; and being well acquainted with the eastern country, he very soon, in accordance with instructions from the English Government, determined upon building here a strong fort for the protection of the country from the further incursions of the Indians, and also to serve as a chect against the increasing influence of the French in this region. Repairing here with four hundred and fifty men, a substantial stone fort was soon erected, and called Port William Henry. According to Mather, it was of a " quad- rangular figure, being about 737 feet in compass, without the outer walls, and 108 feet square, within the inner ones." " The wall on the south line, fronting to the sea, was 22 feet high, and more than 6 feet thick at the ports, wluch were 8 feet from the ground. The greater flanker, or round tower, at the western end of this line, was 29 feet high. The wall on the east line was 12 feet high ; on the north it was 10 ; on the west it was 18. It was computed that in the whole there were laid above 2000 cart-loads of stone." ^ A force of sixty 1 This description is very obscure. The language would seem to imply that the walls were double ; hut this we know could not be the case. And if the fort was only one hundred and eight feet square inside the walls, ^ supposing this to he the meaning, — how could it bo seven liundred and thirty-seven feet POPHAM CELEBRATION. 287 men was left to garrison the place, commanded at first by Capt. March, and afterwards by Capt. Chubb. This fort, in elegance and strength, far surpassed anything" tha,t had been erected in that region ; and a decidedly favora- ble impression was produced upon the minds of the natives, who were soon 'disposed to enter upon negotiations of peace. Accordingly, the next summer, many chiefs of different tribes assembled at Port William Henry, and agreed with Gov. Phips upon terms of peace and submission to the English authority, delivering up three of their number as hostages, and promising at once to forsake their former allies, the Prench. But the peace was of short continuance : the natives had become so deeply exasperated with the English, that they could not be co;ntrolled by the promises of their leaders ; and, as a consequence, the robbery and murder of the English contin- ued whenever a favorable opportunity occurred. So the Eng- lish, on the other hand, finding thai no faith could be put in the promises of the savages, often committed acts of revenge upon the Indians altogether unjustifiable. The result of this was, that, early in the season of 1696, preparations began to be made by the Prench and Indians, for an attack upon the fort at Pemaquid, which actually took place in the month of July following. Por this purpose, Iberville started from Quebec with two companies of soldiers in two war vessels ; and at St. Johns he was joined by Villebon with a company of Indians, all of them eager for the destruc- tion of the hated strong-hold. Port William Henry, at Pema- quid. Prom the mouth of the Penobscot, Castine, with two " in compass." The " greater flanker," or round tower, of the next and last fort built there, — the foundations of which still remain, was one hundred and thirty feet " in compass ; " but, including this, we cannot make the distance around the walls so much as is given. May there not have been at the eastern angle, diagonally opposite to tlio " greater flanker," a large bastion, or lesser " flanker," which increased the distance around so as to make it as stated. 288 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. hundred Indians, in canoes, proceeded to join the expedition, which now became of a formidable character. On their way to Pemaquid, the French ships were so fortu- nate as to capture the English ship Newport, which, with some others, was bound for the Penobscot ; and, with their prize, made their appearance before the fort on the 14th of July. After a summons from the French commander, Iberville, to surrender, which was refused by Capt. Chubb, the attack com- menced late in the afternoon. During the night, the French were very active, and so prepared their means of assaulting the place, that Chubb was induced to surrender. He was much alarmed by a threat of Castine, which by some mode was sent into the fort, that if they continued the defense, when the fort should be taken, they would have to deal with the savages who would show no quarter. The surrender was made on the conditions, that all persons in the fort should be sent to Boston, and exchanged for an equal number of French and Indians. On entering the fort, the French found there an Indian in irons, which greatly exas- perated the savages ; and the English account of the transac- tion says, that several of the soldiers were murdered on the spot. The rest were taken to an island in the vicinity, to pro- tect them from the savages. The loss of this fort put an end, for the time, to the English influence in these parts ; and for more than thirty years this whole region, between the rivers Kennebec and Penobscot, was utterly desolate. The fourth, and last fort at Pemaquid, was erected 'by Col. Dunbar, inl729 ; and it is the reniains of this which we now find there. The settlements west of the Kennebec were re- vived in a few years ; but east of this river little progress was made ; and-at Pemaquid nothing was done until the rebuild- ing of the fort, at the date above given. And the cause of the delay is easily understood : Gov. Phips being well acquainted with the eastern country, was prepared to appreciate the im- POPHAM CBLEBEATION. 289 portance of holding Pemaqiiid ; not to Massachusetts only, but to the whole English people, as being the extreme eastern out- post which they could then expect to hold. But it was not so with the British Government, by whom the governors of Mas- sachusetts were now appointed. Gov. Phips died in 1695, nearly a year before the destruction of the fort he had built at Pemaquid ; and his successors being in the interest of the home government, claimed that the expense of protecting this eastern territory, including the rebuilding of the fort, was properly chargeable to the people of Massachusetts, and not to the royal treasury. Peremptory orders were sent, from the government to the legislature, to make provision for the re- building of the fort; but they were disobeyed. Prom year to year, the contest was kept up, and the place remained desolate. Considering the persevering audacity of Massachusetts, for some time before this, in extending her jurisdiction over the soil of Maine, in spite of all opposition, and almost in open defiance of the British Government, it cannot be thought strange that the latter should hesitate to build and support a fort in those parts. In fact, the conduct of Massachusetts in this matter was most extraordinary. By a new interpretation of her charter, she had extended her borders so far north as to include the southern part of both New Hampshire and Maine, including most of the Pemaquid settlement ; and, almost by force of arms, actually extended her jurisdiction over the territory ; but, at the same time, refused to rebuild the fort which was absolutely necessary for the protection of this same territory. But Massachusetts had been made to feel her dependence upon the mother country in a way she dis- liked ; and in this particular contest, she had the advantage to understand, in all its relations, the question at issue. She knew well, that, sooner or later, the power of England must be used for the protection of tliis part of the empire .from the 20 290 MEMORIAL VOLUME. French, whatever other collateral issues might arise. And so it proved, after a contest between the royal governors and the legislature of the colony for nearly a quarter of a century. The ministry at length determined to rebuild the fort, and sent their agent. Col. David Dunbar, a reduced colonel of the army, to the place for the purpose. As the shrewd men of Massachusetts had foreseen, they were obliged to this course, to prevent the country from falling under the dominion of Prance ; but, as Massachusetts had not foreseen, a claim was now put forth in regard both to right of jurisdiction and the ownership of the soU, which was a little extraordinary. The territory of Acadia, without any definition of bounda- ries, was ceded to France by England by the treaty of Breda, in 1668 ; but was again restored to England '• with all its an- cient boundaries " by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. "Whether Pemaquid was within this territory, was a question that had not been decided. But the French, while in possession, claimed the country as far west as the Keimebec. What an excellent foundation there was then for the claim now brought forward ; that, whatever rights Massachusetts, or other parties, may have had to the soil here, were lost by the treaty first mentioned ; that the country being now recovered by conquest, not only the civil jurisdiction, but also the right to the soil, was vested in the crown. When, therefore, it was resolved by the British Government to rebuild the fort, it was also determined to claim the owner- ship of the soil, and to assume the civil jurisdiction. Dunbar, therefore, only acted in accordance with the design with which he was 'sent to the country, when he proceeded to introduce settlers and to make grants of the land. It is a question, whether Dunbar erected a new fort alto- gether, or whether he only repaired the old one built by Gov. Phips. But there arc some reasons for believing that the old POPHAM CELEBRATION. 291 foundations at least were preserved. Probably little more tlian tlie mere foundations, which would in a great measure be protected from the weather, after the lapse of a third of a cefftury, would be worth preserving. The foundations of the last fort, whether they be the same as laid by Phips or not, can still be easily- traced. By this, we learn that the fort was quadrangular in form, but not per- fectly square. The four sides faced towards the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast ; the four corners or angles being of course towards the four cardinal points. At the west angle was the round tower, or " greater flanker," which inclosed the large rock before mentioned, and was in form perfectly cir- cular, the distance around being one hundred and thirty feet. The southeast and northeast sides were one hundred and forty- eight feet, and the southwest and northwest sides, each one hundred and thirty feet in length. The entrance was in the northeast side ; and at the eastern angle, diagonally opposite the " greater flanker," was a proper bastion, and probably the magazine. The walls were built of small stones, which were evidently collected from the shores in the immediate vicinity. These stones, though small, were well laid in mortar ; and the walls, several feet above the foundations, were probably two feet thick. ^ But, however formidable they may have appeared to the Indians in those days, they would afford little protection against the ponderous missiles now used, hurled from ships that could approach within a few hundred yards. It was evi- dently designed rather as a means of defense against the na- tive- savages than against ships of war, which could easily 1 The writer's personal recollections of the place go hack to the year 1816, at which time the remains of the walls, at the lowest places, were two or three feet high, and not less than ten or fifteen feet in some places, and especially around the " greater flanker " next the bay. 292 MEMORIAL VOLUME, batter down walls thus made, Dunbar called his new fortifi- cation " Fort Frederic." Dunbar was dismissed in 1732 ; but during the three years . of his administration, he conducted affairs with the greatest energy. As a matter of course, a violent opposition was waked up against him, not only from Massachusetts, which still claimed jurisdiction by right of her charter, but also from all persons claiming to. be proprietors of the soil, including both sets of claimants to the soil at Pemaquid. This opposi- tion soon became too strong for him, and effected his removal as just stated. The fort was afterwards kept in tolerable repair, and a small garrison maintained there most of the time, until a few years after the taking of Quebec, in 1759. Persons now living in the place, have, heard the old people describe the scene at the time it was dismantled, and the "big guns" removed by passing them through the gate in the northeast side. The wood-work about it, of course soon decayed, but the stone walls remained in good condition until the beginning of the war of the Revolution. At a " regular town meeting," May 2d, 1774, a vote was passed to " pull down Pemaquid Fojt ; and that Tuesday next be appointed for the purpose." Tradition says, that, at the time appointed, many of the citi- zens assembled, and actually "pulled down" the walls in accordance with this vote ; and it also adds, that the reason for the proceeding was a fear that it might be seized by the British and used to the disadvantage of the cause of liberty. TWO SAGAMORES OP PEMAQUID. It is scarcely possible to hear the name of an American In- dian without associating with it thoughts of treachery, cruelty, and bloodshed. But, whatever occasion there has been for this, it is pleasing to know, that, among those whose names POPHAM CELEBRATION. 293 have come down to us, there have been some whose fair fame is entirely unsullied by any such aspersions. Such were Nahanada and Samoset, two sagamores of Pemaquid, of whose history, so far as known to us, it is proposed to give a brief sketch. SKETCH OF NAHANADA. Nahanada. This man, whose name we find occasionally written Tahaneda and Dehamida^ was sagamore of one of the tribes at or near Pemaquid, probably the Wawenocks, at the time of Weymouth's famous voyage to the coast of Maine, in the summer of 1605. "When he was at anchor in Pentecost (George's Island) Harbor, his ship was visited freely by the natives, who manifested the most friendly disposition ; and a considerable intercourse took place, although they could con- verse only by signs. Mutual confidence seemed to be estab- lished between them; until at length Weymouth and his company began to inquire among themselves, how they could best secure a number of their confiding friends, to be taken with them to England. Few natives of America had then been seen in Europe, and they attracted much attention. Having decided that they could best accomplish their object, not by the manly way of a mutual agreement, but by strata- gem and violence, it was natural that they should very soon begin to see indications of treachery and lack of good faith on the part of the Indians. They, therefore, justified themselves, as soon as a favorable opportunity occurred, in seizing upon five of the natives, and securing them on board, with their 1 The different modes of writing this name appear to have proceeded from the way in which the native word, " N'tahAnada," was caught by the English ear, by losing the first consonant and taking the second ; or, vwe versA. Tlie name is written in other forms besides those given in the toxt, which are easily resolvable into the original name. 294 MEMORIAL VOLUME. canoes and whatever else they had. Their names, as given by Rosier, the apparently faithful chronicler of the voyage, were Tahanedo, a sagamore, or commander, Amoret, Skicowaros, and Maneddo, gentlemen ; and Saffacamoit,' a servant. When, a few weeks afterwards, the ship arrived in Ports- mouth, where Sir Perdinando Gorges then had command, three of them were given to him, (probably considered as slaves,) and the other two, it is believed, were sent to Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England, who was deeply inter- ested in the projects then under discussion for the colonizing of North America. One of these last mentioned was undoubt- edly Nahanada, the subject of our notice ; who was thus favored with an opportunity to become acquainted with the English and English society. After about a year's residence with the Lord Chief Justice, he was restored to his native country, by Capt. Hanam, according to Strachey ; but by Capt. Prin or Pring, according to Gorges. * This was in 1606. Sir Perdinando Gorges, writing many years afterwards, gives the names of the three " whom he seized upon," as Manida, Skettwarroes, and Tasquantum ; but it is plain there is some mistake as to the last name. ^ Two of the five, — names not given, — were, iii 1606, put on board of a ship commanded by Capt. Henry Challong, to be restored to their homes ; but he was captured by a Spanish ship and taken to Spain, and it is not known whether the Indians ever again reached their native land. Skidwares* returned to America with the Popham expe- dition in 1607, and one of the five is unaccounted for. 1 This is a misprint in Rosier for Sassecomoit. The Abnaki Indians never use the letter /. 2 It is probable that these two men were officers of the same ship, but of different grades. See ante, p. 87, note, whore Hiue or Haines was " master imder Challons," the "oommandor.'' 3 Tasquantum is the name of an Indian taken by Hunt. Tcrhaps ho had como into the hands of Goi'gns. * 'I'hi' same aa iSkoUwaiioes. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 295 Gorges says that Skidwares accompanied Nahanada -with Pring in his voyage to this coast in 1606, but if he did (which is doubtful), he certainly returned again to England before the sailing of the Popham expedition in the spring of 1607 ; as he ■was with them when they arrived, and made one of the first company that landed at Pemaquid. When the boat landed, " he brought them to the salvadges' homes, where they found a hundred men, women, and childrene, and their commander or Sagamo amongst them, named Nahanada." ***** " At their first comyng the Indians betook them to their armes, their bowes, and arrowes ; but after Nahanada had talked with Skidwares, and perceaved that they were Englishmen, they caused them to lay aside their bowes and arrowes, and he him- self come unto them -and ymbraced, and made them much welcome, and entertayned , them, and did they likewise him ; and after two howers thus enterchangeably spent, they returned abourd againe." ^ • Another excursion to Pemaquid, by a larger company, was made a few days afterwards, who were kindly received by, Na- hanada at the head of a large body of Indians, all armed with bows and arrows. In their intercourse both parties manifested a little shyness, but no act indicated any unfriendliness. The country between the St. George's and Kennebec Rivers was inhabited by the Wawenocks ; and it is probable that Nahanada was sagamore of this tribe. Little is known of him during his residence in England, but it is believed that his character as a chief was recognized from the first. Though made an unwilling exile from his native country, we do not learn that he yielded to unmanly regrqts on the one hand, or indulged in vain vituperations against his captors, on the other. And when the next year the English made their appearance in his country, though a little cautious, he received them with a 1 Strachey. 296 MEMORIAL VOLUME. degree of respect and confidence which they themselves felt they did not deserve. After Popham's company had located themselves at Sabino, near the mouth of the Kennebec, Nahanada with Skidwares and numerous other attendants soon made them a friendly visit, as if to cultivate feelings of mutual friendship and con- fidence. Before leaving, it was agreed that Captain Gilbert, as representative of the colony, should make a visit to the great Bashaba at Penobscot, and that they should be accompanied from Pemaquid by Nahanada and a suitable number of attend- ants. Unfortunate circumstances prevented the full accom- plishment of the plan, which is greatly to be regretted, as we should then have learned something worthy of our confidence of this now quite mysterious personage, " the grand Bashaba." In the course of the autunan, Nahanada and his wife, atr tended by a brother of the Bashaba, and others, came again in two canoes to visit the new colony at Sabino, where they were kindly entertained by the English. As they remained there over the Sa,bbath they were invited to attend the religious services, which they did, " both morning and evening," be- having in all respects with propriety and reverence. Having spent as much time with their English friends as they desired, they returned home, having deported themselves in all respects in a becoming and friendly manner ; and this althoiigh at the same time they were having some difficulty with the Indians living above them on the river. Popham's colony, as is well known, was broken up the next spring and returned to England ; and we hear no more of Na- hanada until the time of Captain Smith's visit here in the sum- mer of 1614. Smith speaks of the visit he received from him in terms that appear almost extra^■agant. He says that he was the main assistance to him, under God, and calls him one of the " greatest lords of the country," " who had lived long in England." POPHAM CELEBEATION. 297 This noble testimony to the character of Nahanada is the last w6 hear of him ; and his name passes from history with- out a reproach resting upon it.^ Soon after this, those two worst scourges of the human race, pestilence and war, fell upon the natives of New England, and it ig quite probable that by one or the other our Indian friend was swept away. Certain it is^ that when, eight or nine years after the visit of Smith, we again get a glimpse of affairs at Bemaquid, the names of Na- hanada and Skidwares are no more heard, — all is changed, and their places are fiUed by others. SKETCH OF SAMOSET. Samoset. This is the name ^ of another sagamore of Pema- quid which has been preserved to us, and the history we have of him is every way honorable and interesting. The first we hear of him is at Plymouth, March 16th, 1621, where he in- troduced himseK to the " pilgrim fathers " by that generous salutation, " "Welcome, Englishmen, Welcome, Englishmen," which was so grateful to their ears. The passengers from the May Flower, we know, landed Dec. 21st, but the natives feared and avoided them ; and until this time not a word of communication had passed between them. Indeed, few Indians had been seen, all of whom manifested feelings of hostility. In " Mourt's Eolation," the account of Samoset's appearing among them is as follows : " And whilest we were busied hunting about, we were interrupted again ; for ■ there presented himself a savage, which caused alarm. He very boldly come all alone, and along the houses, straight to 1 There is, however, a prohability that he wo.s alive in 1648. ^,A deed was then given to WilUam Bradford and others, of land " from Cusenock up to Wesserunskick," by "Natahanada, son of old Natawormett, Sagamor^e of Kennebec." Copies of this instrument arc preserved in the Pejepscot Papers, and in the records of Lincoln County. 2 Written also Snmmuset, Somerset, Sameset, and Sommarset. 298 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. the rendezvous, where we intercepted him, not suffering him to go in, as undoubtedly he would out of his boldness. He saluted us in English, and bade us .' welcome,' for he had learned *some broken English among the Englishmen that came to fish at Monhiggon (Monhegan), and knew by name most of the captains, commanders, and masters that usually come. He was a man of free speech, as far as he could express his mind, and of a seemly carriage. "We questioned him of many things; he was the first savage we could meet withal. He said he was not of these parts, but of Monattiggon (Monhegan), and one of the Sagamores, or lords thereof, and had been eight months in these parts, it lying hence a day's sail with a great wind, and five days by land. He discoursed of the whole coimtry, and of every province, and of the Sagamores and their num- ber and strength. The wind beginning to rise a little, we cast a horseman's coat about liim, for he was nearly naked. * * He had a bow and two arrows, the one headed, and the other unheaded. He was a tall, straight man, the hair of his head black, and long behind, only short before, none on his face at all. He asked for some beer, but we gave him strong water, and biscuit, and butter, and cheese, and pudding, and a piece of mallard ; all of which he liked well, and had been acquainted with such amongst the English." * * * " We would gladly have been rid of him at night, but he was not willing to go this night." At length it was arranged that he should sleep on board the May Flower, which still lay in the harbor ; but the wind and tide being iinfavorable for the shallop to go to her and return, they finally concluded to lodge him at the house of Mr. Stephen Hopkins, of course keeping a watch over him. The next morning he left them, promising to return again, which he did in a day or two, bringing " five other tall and proper men " witli him. Thus commenced the first acquaintance of the Plymouth colonists with the natives, by the kind services of this native of POPHAM CELEBRATION. 299 Pemaquid, who for some time before returning to his own country, continued to make himself useful to them in giving them important information concerning the feelings of the neighboring Indians, the best places for fishing, the produc- tions of the country, &c. / He introduced to them his friend Squanto, or Tisquantum, a natire of the place, who could speak English, as he said, better than himself. This man was one of the twenty whom Hunt seized and undertook to sell into slavery sis or seven years before this, and had resided some time in England. He afterwards proved himself a real friend, and Bradford says of him that he " became a spetiall instrument sent of God for then- good beyond their expectation." WMle Samoset remained in Plymouth both he and Squanto manifested a more friendly spirit towards the colonists ; and sought always to promote good feeling between them and the Indians. Through their instrumentahty a treaty of peace and friendship was established between them and Massasoit, saga- more of a neighboring tribe, which was kept inviolate between them for more than fifty years, or until King Philip's war, as it has been called, which broke out in 1675. Philip was the youngest son of Massasoit, and succeeded an older brother as sagamore of the same tribe. Many other services of Samoset to the Plymouth Colbny cannot be here given in detail. When or by what means Samo- set retxu-ned to his native Pemaquid we are not informed ; but we hear' of him next at " Capmanwagan " (Southport) at the time of Levett's visit there in the winter of 1623-4- Levett introduces him to us as a " sagamore that hath been found very, faithful to the English, and hath saved the lives of many of our natives, some from starving and some from killing." He met Levett and his company with the same generous con- fidence he had ever before shown in his' intercourse with the English, and proposed that perpetual friendship should be main- 300 MEMORIAL VOLUME, tained between them " until Tanto earned them to his ■wig- wam, that is, until they died." He had with him, at this time, his wife and son, and several other attendants ; and all are placed before us in an interesting light by the simple narrative of Levett. Sasaoset's wife, in particular, conducted herself in truly royal style. " When we came to York," he says, " the masters of the ships came to bid me welcome, and asked what savages they were. I told them and thanked them, they used them kindly, and gave them meat, drink, and tobacco. The woman, or reported queen, asked me if they were my friends. I told them they were ; then she drank to them, and told them they were welcome to her country, and so should aU my friends be at any time ; she drank also to her husband, and bid him welcome to her country too ; for you must understand that her father was the sagamore of the place, ^ and left it to her at his death, having no more children." This, it will be observed, was only a little more than a year before the date of the celebrated Indian deed to Jolm Brown,. of which an account has already been given. This deed was given by Samoset and Werongait, sagamores of the place. We have no information as to the second signer of the deed, as his name does not again occur ; but Samoset lived many years after this at Pemaquid, in quiet and peaceful intercourse with the settlement, so far as we know. In 1641, and again in 1653, his name is mentioned. At the last date it is probable that he was an old man, and we may suppose soon passed away. It is very certain that he was not living at the time of King Philip's war. Though only an " untutored savage," he has left behind him acts highly creditable to him as a man of elevated rank among his countrymen. He appears not only to have been entirely free from the jealousies and petty vices of his race, but on all 1 It must be noticed that tliey wero now at York, which it seems was her native place, but she had married a man out of her own tribe. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 301 occasions manifested a love of truth and justice, and a generous confidence in others, quite superior to many of the Europeans ■with whom he came in contact. And the fact, that seventy- years after the last date above mentioned, his name was still remembered among the natives as that of a " famous sachem," shows that his manly character was not unappreciated by his countrymen. GEORGE WEYMOUTH AND THE KENNEBEC. BY THE BBV. EDWARD BALLAED, OF BKUNSWICK. The following Dotice of this early navigator ' and Hs discoveries has been prepared by the editor, to supply in part a connection in the events, which led to the founding of the colony under President George Popbam. In past times, the " most excellent river,'' entered and explored by him without his giving its name to the public of his day, has been claimed, more as the opinions of the diflferent writers have chosen to regard it, than as proved by an examination of all the evidence. The Penobscot, the Kennebec, the Saco, the Hudson, the James, and more recently, the George's, have each had their defenders, as the one which "Weymouth exam- ined and Rosier described. The purposed obscurity of the account naturally led to these disagreements. But fuller information and more accurate investigations, leave no uncertainty in determining the truth involved in the inquiry. Little is known of Gboege Weymouth before he engaged in his voyage to the Arctic regions, in search of a Northwest pas- sage, from which he returned in 1603. His experience " by employments in discoveries and travels from his childhood," ft 1 The sentiment in his honor will be found on page 127. 302 MEMORIAL VOLUME. and specially in this last effort in exploring, as well as his active fidelity to the duties of his commission, made him a suitable person to be employed by the Earl of Southampton and Lord Arundel of Wardour, in a new enterprise to the American shores. The fear, that the neighboring nations of Europe might be stimulated to the like efforts in the same direction, if the expectations connected with the voyage were known, caused its patrons to conceal its destination and hopes from general knowledge ; and the public mind was allowed to believe that this second attempt was to be directed to the same northern quarter as its predecessor. But in reality, it was sent to explore the coast of New England, then known as North Virginia, for the purpose of colonization and the bene- fits to accrue therefrom. With a partial equipment of men, with provisions more than enough for the time occupied, and articles for traffic with the natives, he sailed in the ship " Arch- angel " from Ratcliffe, England, March 5, 1605, " upon a right line " 1 to the new world. He first went to Dartmouth Haven to complete his crew, where he was detained by opposing winds. But on the thirty-first day he put to sea, with " the whole company, being but twenty-nine persons." The narrar tor of the voyage was James Eosier ; who says that the obscurity of his narration, by omitting to give the latitude, longitude, and names of places, was intended, so as to prevent foreign nations from gaining an advantage from the success of the English. But this account, now read with the light thrown upon it from other sources, tells us that Weymouth came to the coast of New England in the neighborhood of Cape Cod, on the 13th of May ; and that afterwards, in turning his co\irse away from the perils of that shore, he was misled in seeking land, " and much marveled that wo descried it not, wherein we found our sea-charts * very false, putting land where none is." 1 Formerly the course had been by the West Indies, 2 Prepared by former navigators, perhaps Qosnold. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 303 Pour days afterwards, he came to an island, which he called St. George's, — but by the Indians it was named Monhegan, — and anchored about a league from its northern side. From this anchorage, " the captain with twelve men rowed in his ship boat to the shore," where he erected a cross ; ^ and from the island itself, and probably its high part, " a great way (as it then seemed, and we after found it) up into the main we might discern [i. e. dimly ^ee] high mountains, though the main seemed but low land." ^ The evidence, drawn from seve- ral circumstances in the account, leads to the belief that these distant elevations were the White Mountains ; which Levett calls " the Crystal Hill," and says it can be " seen to the east so far as Monhegan." ^ The present residents say the same. * The Camden Hills can hardly be said to be " a great way up into the main" as they are not much more than twenty miles from the southern point' of the peninsula nearest to Monhegan, and scarcely more than half that distance from " the main," whence the peninsula projects into the ocean. The next day he sailed in the direction of these " moun- tains," towards the islands lying outside of the broad expanse of water, now known as Boothbay Harbor, some of which lie about twelve miles from Monhegan ; and which he says were about three leagues from it : a league being three geographical miles, or 3.45 English or statute miles. This place he called "Pentecost Harbor," in memory of the day of' his arrival there. On one of its shores he set up another cross, and " dug wells, to receive the fresh water, which they found issuing down out of the land in many places." The reasons for this opinion are, that this sheltering place then, as now, could be reached by " four several passages ; " 1 Strachey in Maine His. Col., p. 296. ■ 2 Kosier in 3d ser. Mass. His. Col., vol. 8, p. 132. 3 Maine His. Col., vol. 2, p. 8i. 4 Maine His. Col., vol. 6, pp. 309, 310. See also Id., vol. 5., p. 314. 304 MEMORIAL VOLUME. and also that the general description of the water, and the land, bating ■ the changes by settlement and cultivation, will answer well for the present day. But a special reason for this claim is found in the following fact : that in going to explore the " great river," they sailed down to " the islands ' ad- joining to the mouth thereof." This course is proved by the fact, that after the captain " had searched the soundings all about the mouth and coming to the^iver," " with a breeze from the land," they " sailed [from these islands at the mouth] up to their watering place, where they filled their casks with the fresh water from their wells," and there stopped ^ in the har- bor. This description suits the passage from the mouth of the Kennebec, — the real Sagadahoc, — and not the Penobscot or the George's. For sailing np from the islands at the mouth of either of ihese rivers, would have carried them away from their supposed harbor, amid the islands of the ocean, whether at Monhegan ^ or the George's,* and of course farther inland on the river, which they had just before left. Here the expedition made its chief tarrying place ; culti- vated acquaintance with the Indians, and collected a vocabu- lary of four or five hundred words and phrases. Of these the narrative gives but two, which show that the language was the same as has been preserved in part l)y Rale. From hence parties went out to explore " the river," which is described in terms of the highest commendation. The question here arises : Was the Kennebec the river which Weymouth entered, and from the mouth and island of which he sailed up to his anchorage in Pentecost Harbor, " with a breeze from the land ? " Belknap, who had not seen Rosier's account, but guided by Purchas, who made additions to the portions extracted, — un- 1 Ros., pp. 146. 148. 2 Ros., p. 153. 3 aio. Hist. Col., vol, 5, p. 348. * Me. Hist. Col,, vol. 6, p. 296. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 305 less his N. N. E. is a misprint for N. N. W., in wliich last let- ter lies the complete correction of Belknap's error, — decided for the Penobscot. 1 The late John McKeen, Esq., of Bruns- wick, in his long and accurate investigations in historical pur- siiits, discovered the error, and communicated his views in behalf of the Kennebec, in a paper published in the Maine Historical Collections, volume fifth. Writers since have ingeni- ously adopted the George's. But it will be a sufficient answer to these claims, to show that the Kennebec was the river that drew forth the eulogy of Eosier. The few statements to be made are mostly those which Mr. McKeen either proposed in writing and conversation, or approved when presented for his consideration. It is a pleasant duty of friendship to reproduce the thoughts of this honest and industrious investigator in re- gard to the path of Weymouth, as it would be to do the same for Popham's Colony and Gilbert's exploration on the Andros- coggin. 1. The first of these statements, in addition to the upwwrd course from the river to their watering place is drawn from an exploring march, made by Weymouth from its western shore. Having left his harbor for this purpose on the 12th of June, from his " ship riding in the river," and in his pinnace with seventeen men, he ran " up to the codde thereof," ^ where they landed, leaving six men to guard the boat. The Saxon word " codde," in this ancient orthography and application, denotes a small creek-like opening of inland water, with a narrow entrance where it is connected with the larger body. A little bay or creek of this kind, about twelve rods wide, is known to have existed, and indeed in large part still 1 So does the editor of Eosier, p. 154, note ; and also of Gorges' Brief Nar- ration, Maine His. Col., vol. 2, p. 17 ; and writers generally following Belknap, till Mr. McKeen. 2 Eosier, p. 149. 21 306 MEMORIAL VOLUME, POPHAM .CBLEBEATION. 307 remains, in the place now occupied by the city of Bath, and is shown on the accompanying 'map, having its narrow channel opening near the steamboat wharf. ' It has been sufficiently deep, within the memory of persons now living, to admit a vessel much larger than the " pinnace " is supposed to have been, and indeed could do the same now, if the entrance w,as not covered with a low culvert in the principal business street. It ran back in a south-westerly direction for fifty or sixty rods, and then abruptly turned to the north, where it re- ceived into the tide a small stream of fresh water, from the two abrupt bordering ridges between which it flowed, and little ponds at its head. Prom this inlet, ten of the men " with shot and some armed, with a boy to carry the powder and match, marched up into the country towards the mountains," which they had seen from the heights of Monhegan. ® The account dbes not say that they now saw the distant summit ; but that they proceeded in that direction as they saw it at first. As they came up the river they were so near " some of them," as the group appeared in the distance, that they deemed themselves " when they landed, to have been within a league of them," and this distance accords well with their ascribed position in " the codde." It is worthy of note in this connection, that in Strachey's account of Popham's arrival ofi" Seguin, he gives a sketch representing the highlands on the western side of the Kennebec, looking north, and calls these same elevations, " The high moun- tains ; " ^ which, from a right point of view, would make a part 1 Its outlines in its primitive state are given in Hammatt'a Map of the "Town of Bath," 1833. 2 Here Purchas perplexes hy adding that they were " continually in our view.'' This is true of the highlands in Phipsburg and Bath, near which they passed on the river, and which make the foreground of the " clump." There are, however, several places in Bath where the White Mountains can be seen. 3 Maine Hist. Col., vol. 3, p. 298. 308 MEMORIAL VOLUME. of the foreground, in which " the twinkling mount of Auco- cisco," ^ would appear as the crowning ridge. The party marched up into the country in the direction in- dicated, " about four miles in the main ; ^ passed over three hills ; at the bottom of every hill a little run of fresh water ; and the last ran with a great stream, able to drive a mill." All this is true now. Going diagonally to the right from the north side of the little bay still partly open, as indicated on the accompanying map, the pedestrian passes over a steep hill, now at one place ascended by stairs. On the other side at the bottom, formerly several feet lower than now, where the railroad track is laid, is a " little run of fresh water," flowing toward the tide of the ancient " codde," with its original course somewhat diverted by the filling up for the railroad. Thence he ascends another hill, and in descending the slope beyond the summit, comes to a second rivulet of " fresh water," flow- ing in the opposite direction ; and at a longer distance across the third rise to the " Waskeag," ^ which has been able " to drive a mill " for centuries, and does now. The rambling na- ture of the excursion will account for the estimated distance. The kind of trees and other vegetation, and the character of 1 This is Smith's description of the White Mountains, which he places on his map less than five leagues from the salt water in Casco Bay. Perhaps to such a foreground as is mentioned above, he applied on his map the name " The Base." May not " Casco " be the same as '-^Aucoc'isco," with its fii-st syllable sounded as an Indian guttural, and the accent on the second, as if pronounced " Uh-cos'-is-co 1 " The name " Koskebee " occurs in Mr. Poor's Address, [p. 68, ante], denoting the inner portion of Portland Harbor, and meaning "Crane-Water." [Me. Hist. Col., vol. 6, pp. 146, 147]. It was easy for the English to change the native word to " Casco Bay," and make it embrace the waters, with their multitudinous isles of beauty and value, between Cape Eliza- beth and Small Point. 2 i. e. " For the most part ; or about ; " afterwards he speaks of " the space of about three miles." 3 Commonly pronounced Whiskeag. POPHAM CELBBEATION. 309 the soil, harmonizes with the description given, even at the present day. As they were returning to tlie ship in the pinnace, they " espied a canoe, coming from the further part of the codde of the river eastward, whicli hasted to us," ' bearing an Indian, whom they had a special reason for knowing in Boothbay Har- bor, and who had come west through a well known inland pas- sage with a message to the captain from the Bashaba. This accuracy of expression, — "theoodde of the river eastward," was used in opposition to the ^^ coddie" westward, which, the explorers had just left. This eastward passage, appearing to these strangers like a narrow and receding bay, is the strait between Arrowsic and Woolwich, which spreads out broadly at a short distance within, and affords a passage through the " Gates " to the Sheepscote, through which the Jesuits came to the Kennebec for grain in 1611,^ and also a southerly one to the ocean. It is here believed that these striking circumstances respect- ing the western " codde," the " march," the " three hills," and as many " fresh water streams," with " the codde of the river eastward," and the return " up " to their harbor, have never been fully noticed or explained in their relation to the other rivers mentioned. 2. A second exploring excursion was made the next day, further " up to that part of the river which trended westward into the main, to search that," where Weymouth had probably been to discover on the 30th of May." The company started " by two o'clock in the morning " by reason of the favoring tide. They " carried with them a cross to be erected at that point " where the waters turn to the 1 Rosier, p. 150. 3 Biard's Rel., p. 36. 310 MEMORIAL VOLUME. west;i which, because they reached the place -before day- light, they left' there until their return, when they " set it up in manner as the former " on Monhegan, afterwards found by Popham. On the waters of the Merrymeeting " trending west- ward," they sailed up into the Androscoggin, " towards the great mountains," and found the " profit and pleasure, described in the former part of the river, wholly doubled in this." But the particular feature in these waters, bearing convincing testimony to the identity of the river, is contained in the follow- ing extract : " From each bank of the river are divers branching streams into the main, whereby is afforded an unspeakable profit by the conveniency of transpor- tation from place to place, which, in some countries, is both charge- able, and not to be fit by carriages, or wain, or horseback." ^ In no part of the account is the description more matchable with the unchangeable facts. — Personal acquaintance with these THE " BBAKCHiNo BTKEAMs " OF THE wators, Or tho map of Sagada- " GREAT BivER," (kennebec.) lioc Couuty, of wMch a section is 1. Androscoggin. 2. Paazeskfc, or Muddy. ^erC givCU, shoWS that thcSC 3. Cathanco. 4. Abagadusset. 6. Konuebec. . 6. MundooBCotook, or Enstein. 7. Butloi'a " brauchiug StrCamS, ' wMch coyo. 8. whisby. 9. waakeag. 10. winne- {^ ^j^g ^g^t paragraph are called gauco Crook. 11. Back Kiver. 12. do. 13. . . TowoBauo, or Trott's Crook, and Chops' Oreok. " armS runuiug Up iuto the 1 The aboriginal name of tliis point was " Acquehadongonock," " Sraoked- Fish-Poiut; " now called " Chops' Point," from the narrowness of the opening out of Merrymeeting Bay into the lower Kennebec. 2 Rosier, p. 151. POPHAM CELEBEATION. 311 main," — are the Androscoggin, the Psazesk^ or Muddy, Cat- hance, Abagadusset, and the Kennebec; all of them opening into the expanse of the " great river," and the smallest large enough to bear heavy boatable burdens for several miles inland, and all of them actually used for that purpose. Butler's Cove, more " arm "-like when its sides were clad with trees ; the Whisby, from which a canal was dug in later years to the New Meadows River, opening into Casco Bay ; the Waskeag, both on the western side of the Kennebec just below the Point ; the Towessuc and its neighbor stream. Chops' Creek, with their cove-like mouths, nearly opposite ; Back River, over against Bath ; the Winnegance inlet, and the river-like passage, dividing Arrowsic from Georgetown, all boatable, with others of smaller note, may be added ; as also at a short distance above the Bay, the Mundooscotook, or Eastern River, equally used for transportation by sailing vessels for miles upward. ^ The like confluence of navigable streams within so narrow a compass, is not to be found in either of the rivers into which it has been argued that Weymouth entered ; and we need not wonder that these advantages for commercial pursuits filled the mind of Rosier, beholding the whole with the admiring eyes and vivid impressions of a first voyager ; ^ and that he should celebrate its praises in terms little short of extravagant. The distances were given by estimation, and are not probably too long, if compared with the shore line, along which he must have gone to see the branching rivers and their shores covered with " clear grass." This remarkable fact of these several confluent streams has 1 Lescarbot gives the results of De Monts' researches the same year. His Map shows the Androscoggin, Merrymeeting Bay, the Kennebec, and Swan Island. 2 He says : " It floweth eighteen or twenty feet at high water." This mention of its depth has been strangely taken to mean the rise of the tUe. But the connection shows it to have been the depth of the rmr at flood tide, which is true now. 312 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. not received merited attention from the advocates of the Penob- scot and George's theory. As no similar fact is there known, this evidence alone may be deemed conclusive ; and the various incidents of the exploration, as well as the distances, can be shown to be in agreement with Weymouth's entrance into the Kennebec. 3. The testimony from ancient maps may be here intro- duced. Smith's map (1614), gives the Kennebec with the two " coddes," as far as Eichmond, and in Merrymeeting Bay places five intimations of the entrances of the " branching streams." It gives but little space to George's Bay, and less still to its river, and none to the Penobscot above its broad bay ; thus showing the value he put on the Kennebec as the river for trade and profit. The Dutch maps of 1616 ^ and 1621 give no in- dication of the George's, which they could hardly have failed to do if it had been deemed of great commercial promise. It is the same on the maps of Lescarbot, La Hontan, and Char- levoix, though they all give the Kennebec and Penobscot. A map in "Heylin's Cosmography" (1663), shows two large rivers. The easternmost is " Pentoget," an ancient name ap- plied to the Penobscot. The other with two large branches, and the only one on the New England coast thus depicted, bears the name of " "Weymouth." But the George's has no place. 4. But in addition to these testimonies there are statements in early writers to show that Mr. McKeen entertained no new theory, when he disclosed the unintended error of Belknap. In this country Hubbard had said, long before any controversy had arisen on the point, that " Att this time they discovered a great i iver in those pails, supposed to be Ivemiibecke, ueaie unto 1 -litle, p. 155, POPHAM CELEBRATION. 313 Pemmaquid, which he found navigable 40 miles up into the country, 7, 8, 9, or 10 fathome deepe, as Capt. Weymouth re- ports."^ Prince, at a later date (1732), records of the river that Weymoutli entered, " this seems to be Sagadahoc." ^ He adds, that " Sir P. Gorges doubtless mistakes in calling it Pemaquid River." It is not here known from what part of Gorges' " Nar- ration " this was taken. But it is probable that he meant the region, not the river of Pemaquid, a stream of no commercial importance. He says, " Weymouth happened into a river on the coast of America, called Pemaquid." (ch. H). It would seem that by this name he meant the coast ; and the river might then be the " great river " on this coast. Smith ^ says that Weymouth's " Relation " described " Pemaquid," which surely must denote the " coast." * Belknap stands alone in saying that the " Penobscot was sometimes called Pemaquid." * In England we have the clear and explicit testimony of Strachey. As Secretary under the charge of the Virginia Company, he had access to papers in their possession, and was also in the way of hearing the verbal reports of persons en- gaged in the discovery ; and therefore his record of facts must be regarded as ample evidence touching " the most excellent and beneficyall river of Sagadahoc;"^ He quotes largely the very language of Rosier ; gives to the world the name which Rosier studiously concealed, and adds to his description but little else. In immediate connection with tliese statements, he describes the colony of Pophanj^ as coming directly to the same river, doubtless chosen for occupancy from Weymouth's infor- mation. 1 Hist. N. E., p. 12. 2 Chron. p. 109. 3 3cl series Mass. H. C, vol. 6, p. 105. 4 Ante, p. 2G4, see a similar opinion expressed. 6 Biog., p. 150. 6 In Me. H. C, vol. 5, p. 300, it is asserted that " Sagadahoc " may be ap- plied to any river. But universal Indian and English usage restrict it to the Kennebec when employed as a local na,me.— Ante, p, 9, note. 814 MEMOEIAL VOLUME. For he says : " That upon his ("Weymouth's) returne, his goodly report with Capt. Gosnolls cawsed the business with so prosperous and faire starrs to be accompanied," that new en- terprises were commenced ; in which was actively engaged, — imder "the letters patents, the tenth of April, 1606," — '|the iipright and noble gentleman,' late Lord Chief Justice of England, chief patron of the same. Sir John Popham, knight."^ Among these enterprises were the voyages of Chalons and Prynn, destined to the Sagadahoc, but without success for set- tlement. Then came the colony of Popham and Gilbert, who sailed for the same river, and settled within it, because, as in the two previous expeditions, it had been recommended by Weymouth. For it would have been strange indeed, that if either the Penobscot or George's had been so eulogized, they should have sailed past both in good weather, and purposely have sought " Satquin " as a landmark, and the neighborhood of Sagadahoc in a storm, into which so strong was the wind, that on the first attempt, only " the fly-boat gott in." But their perseverance effected their intention, and they thus illus- trated a chief motive, which Williamson ascribes to the pro- moters of Weymouth's voyage ; namely, the advantages of . prior possession and continued claim. ^ The advocates of the other theories fail to allow Strachey a fair hearing. As a competent witness both in opportunity and knowledge, as well as fidelity in narration, his testimony, cor- roborated by the facts that tli^ first attempts at colonization were directed to the mouth of the Kennebec, is sufficient to gain a verdict in favor of this river. If the foregoing positions arc true as to the geographical re- lations of Pentecost Harbor to " the islands adjoining to the 1 Smith had the like opinion of the Cliief Justice, whom he styles "that honorable patron of virtue." — 3d Series Mass. H. C, vol. 6, p. 105. 2 Me. H. C, vol. 3, pp. 289, 290. Gorges also laments of him that he "had lost so noble a friend, and his nation so worthy a subject." — Nar., ch. 9. 8 Williamson, vol. 1, p. 191, POPHAM CELEBRATION. 315 mouth of the ' great river,' " as well as to the discoveries made therein ; if maps of the olden time can speak evidence ; and if the affirmation of American and English historians, made before any doubt or controversy had arisen on the subject, be of value ui determining facts, then is it plain that the Kennebec was " Weymouth River ; " ^ Boothbay was Pentecost Harbor ; and the course from Monhegan to the outlying islands at its opening, was " in the road directly with the mountains ; " which, by a line drawn according to this indication, a little north of " Fisherman's Island," in the Damariscove group, are shown to be the White Mountains, and which, on a nearer ap- proach, would have the smaller coast elevations in range, form- ing the foreground of the landscape. ^ In reading the narrative of Rosier, it is a pleasure to witness, the devout spirit of the writer in his frequent recognition of divine Providence in protecting the company of explorers, and the benevolent purpose for which the voyage was made. " For," he writes, " we supposed not a little present profit, but a public good and true zeal of promulgating God's holy church, by 1 Heylin says, "Weymouth Rio." In Ogilby's JVIap of New England, etc., the word " Rio " is applied to several well-known rivers. This use of a Spanish word implies that the map makers consulted Spanish authorities. Ships of this nation were on the North American coast as early as 1578, and continued after- wards engaged in fishing. It is not improbable that Weymouth's discoveries on tl^e Kennebec were known to them, which might have been learned from Chalons while their prisoner. 2 While these pages were in press, an intelligent gentleman, familiar with coast and ocean voyages, states, " that on two occasions, and early in the sum- mer, he saw the White Mountains distinctly, when about ten miles southwest of Monhegan. On one occasion the mountains were very white, the snow not having entirely melted. On both occasions no land was in sight in the direction of the mountains. They seemed to rise out of the sea." A line, drawn from the point thus indicated, to the White Mountains, shows a distance but little greater than from the supposed point of Weymouth's anchorage north of Mon- hegan. Another gentlema;n, of the like experience, once saw them clearly for several hours from the neighborhood of Nantucket, a distance perhaps even greater. The sight might have been aided by a high state of refraction. 316 MEMORIAL VOLUME. planting Christianity, to be the sole interest of the honorable setters forth of this discovery." ^ Weymouth, whose care and activity as a commander is favoraljly presented, appears to have been actuated by a similar spirit. The fact of his having " service " on ship-board on Saturday evening, at which two Indians, invited to supper, afterwards attended, and " behaved themselves very civilly ; " and the strictness of his observance of " the Sabbath day " following, are indications of regiUarity in the duties of religious worship, such as is known to have been observed by many Arctic navigators, reminding us of Smith's account of " daily common Prayer morning and even- ing," besides the services " on Sundaies," in Virginia. It is not improbable that a chaplain made a part of the complement of men in the Archangel. In opposition, may be placed his capture of five Indians, of whom "Tah^nedo" was a "sagamore or commander," '^ to carry them to England. Of these only two appear to have been taken against their will. But while this action may not be easy to be justified by present views, it may be said, that he regarded them as natural curiosities, — wild men, — to be taken as wild animals and shown to his friends at home, and thus advance the interests of the enterprise. They all received kind usage. One was specially " delighted with their com- pany ; " and the two, that were at the first surprised, never seemed discontented, " but very tractable, loving and willing by their best means to satisfy us in any thing we demand of them." On their arrival in England, three of them were taken by Gorges, who regarded their coming as most auspicious for the colonizing interests of the country, in which he was the leader, giving to them his time, venturing ^ his estate in their promotion, and suffering great losses. For he says, "This accident (of the Indians coming into his hands) must be 1 Rosier, p. 153. 2 Ante, p. 22-1, note 2. 3 Narration, cliapter 2. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 317 acknowledged the means under God of putting on foot and giving life to all our plantations." ' And thus this act of Wey- mouth and his kind treatment of the captives, became one of the connecting links between English civilization and American colonization. Nahanada prepared the way for Popham, who followed the intimations of "Weymouth, and placed his colony at the mouth of the Kennebec. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND EARLY AMERICAN DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION, BY EBV. WILLIAM STEVENS PEKRY, OP PORTLAND. The deep religious character of the colonists, preceding those of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, has been little noticed by historians, and rarely if ever alluded to in the more popular compends whence most of our countrymen gain their acquaintance with the discovery and settlement of our shores. 1 From the great risis and losses sustained by Gorges, he may well be called , as he sometimes has been, " an adventurer." But it must be in accordance with the usage of his times ; and in the same sense as Hubbard describes the members of the joint stock company, which was formed by the London mer- chants, "the adventurers," with "those of Leyden," before sailing to Plym- outh, " the poor people, who were to adventure their persons as well as estates." All persons engaging to go, above sixteen years old, are named " adventurers and planters," as members of this "joint stock and partnership for the space of seven yearsj" when the capital and profits were to be divided. [Hubbard, Appendix to Morton's Memorial, pp. 279, 280.] But " the company of adven- turers broke in pieces " in 1625. [Prince Chron.] It was no discredit to the early and constant patron of the discoverers and colonists to our shores to bear that name ; nor others to engage the services of men at a price, as did the persevering settlers at Plymouth, when they " hired the master and his company (in one of the ships engaged) to stay a whole year in the country ; " and not wasting their toil in a hopeless exploring for mines, which were a common ex- pectation, sought and found their profit in support of the settlement, from the " fishes of the sea." [Morton's Memorial, pp. 20, 29.] 318 MEMORIAL VOLUME. And yet, as might have been inferred from the condition of both Church and State in England, — at a time not very far ■ removed from the purifying of the Eeformation and the Marian fires, and when, in the ceaseless and embittered struggle with France and Spain for the Empire of the West, it was a relig- ious war that was waged, in which Ealeigh, Gilbert, Drake, and their compeers, were champions of the Protestant faith of the English Church, against the Papacy and its allies, — the leaders of colonization at home, the earliest voyagers to our shores, and the settlers here, were men influenced as much by the desire for the salvation of souls, the good of the Church of Christ, and the wide extension of the limits of a common Christianity, as any that followed them. Perhaps a few refer- ences to the well-esta}3lished facts of history, will fittingly preface and confirm the statements I propose to make, with reference to the piety and faith of the little colony at Fort St. George in Maine in 1607-8, the anniversary of whose landing day has of late received, for the first time, appropriate attention. Even at the early date of A. D. 1578, had the wilds of North America echoed with the solemn words of the service of the English Church, — words fitting, from their scripturalness and their spirituality, to be the vehicle of the first act of pubhc Protestant devotion in a new world. Martin Frobisher, who first led an English colony to oui- shores, and among whose " Articles and Orders to be observed for the Fleete," was " Imprimis, to banish swearing, dice, and card-playing, and filthy communication, and to serue God twice a day with the ordinary seruice as usuall in the churches of England," ^ was wont thus to set sail on his expeditions of discovery and col- onization : " On Monday morning, the 27th of May, ahoored the Ayde, we received all the Communion hy the Minister of Grauesend, and prepared us as good Chris- 1 Hakluyt 3, 74, in Prot. Ep. Hist'. Col. 2, 244. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 319 tians towards God, and resolute men for all fortunes. And towards night we departed for Tilberry Hope." 1 And SO when on his third voyage, Frobisher took with him a hundred colonists to settle on the lands he had discovered, the narrative of his Expedition tells of the services and char- acter of Wolfall, their Chaplain, who was certainly the first Protestant missionary as well as minister on our continent. It was after the recital of a marked deliverance that the old annalist proceeds to tell that, " They highly praysed God, and altogether vupon their tnees gave Him due, humble and hearty thanks ; and Maister Wolfall, a learned man, appointed hy her Majestie's Councell to be their Minister and Preacher, made vnto them a godley sermon, exhorting them especially to be thankeful to God for their strange and miraculous deliuerance in those so dangerous places and putting them in mind of the vncertaiatie of man's life, willed them to make themselves alwayes readie as resolute men to enjoy and accept thankfully whatsoeuer aduenture His diuine Providence should appoint. This Maister Wolfall, being well seated and settled at home in his owne countrey, with a good and large lining, having a good honest woman to wife and very towardly children, being of good repu- tation among the best, refused not to take in hand this paineful voyage, for the onely care he had to saue soules, and to reforme these infidels if it were possi- ble to Christianitie : and also partly for the great desire that he had that this notable voyage so well begunne, might be brought to perfection : and therefore he was contented to stay the whole yeare, if occasion had serued, being in euery necessary action, as forward as the resolutest men of them all. Where- fore, in this behalfe, he may rightly be called a true Pastor and Minister of God's Word, which for the profite of his flocke spared not to venture his own life." The pious faith of these brave discoverers, and the source whence their strength for endurance came, appears in further extracts such as this, under date of August 20th, 1578 : " Maister Wolfall on Winter's Pomace, preached a godly sermon, which being ended, he celebrated also a Communion upon the land, at the partaking whereof was the Captain of the Anne Francis, and many other Gentlemen and Souldiers, Mariners and- Miners with him. The celebration of the diuine mys- 1 Id. in Anderson's Hist. Colon. Ch. 1, 81. 320 MEMORIAL VOLUME. tery wag the first signs, seale, and confirmation of Christ's name, death, and passion, eiier knovven in these quarters. The said Mr. Wolfall made sermons, and celebrated the Communion at sundry other times, in seuerall and sundry ships, because the whole company could neuer meet together in any one placo."l The same year Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained his patent for discovery, which, as his son Raleigh Gilbert was connected with the " Popham " Colony, stands In close relationship with that later movement we are about to notice. This Patent con- ferred upon the worthy Knight full power and authority over the lands he should discover, and established in the Colonies to be settled under his leadership, " the true Christian faith or religion now professed in the Church of England." ^ In pur- suance of these designs, after one imsuccessful attempt, Gilbert and his company landed on the shores of Newfoundland on Sunday, August 4, 1583, and on the following day, with " twig and turf," took formal possession of the island. This done, the first of all the laws which he enacted, enjoined that the services of religion should be " in publique exercise according to the Church of England."^ Lost at sea in a fearful storm on his return voyage, Gilbert died as a Christian hero should die. Choosing the weakest vessel as his own, he was last seen " sitting abaft with a booke in his hand," and his last words were, " we are as neare to heaven by sea as by land." The sea swallowed him np ; but his faith and his example were the encouragements of those who, a few years later, settled on the coast of Maine. 1 Anderson's Colon. Ch. 1, pp. 81, 82. It is an interesting fact, that the place where Frobisher made his tarrying place in the strait, or rather bay, as it now appears, bearing his name, has recently been visited ; and undoubted traces discovered of the men, who were lost by him among the Esquimaux. [C. F. Hall, in American Geog. and Statistical Soc, N. Y., Nov. 6, 1862.] 2 Id. p. 48. Hazard's State Papers, vol. 1, p 24. The early charters, as con- tained in Hazard, are full of proof of this design of Christianizing the Indians. 3 Id. 1, p. 53. Palfrey's Hist. N. E,, 1, p. 68. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 321 The close connection of the English Church -with these early- efforts for maritime discovery and colonization, is seen in the aid given by the Rev. Richard Hakluyt, the excellent preben- dary of Westminster, iii the early expeditions following Gos- nold's return in 1602. The expedition of Martin Pring, in 1603, was undertaken by the chief merchants and inhabitants of Bristol, mainly at the solicitation and through the influence of this noble Churchman, whose name is not only inseparably connected with the efforts for settlement, but is also illustrious for the pious care with which he has preserved for posterity the quaint narratives of the old voyages. Hakluyt had earlier incited Raleigh to the work to which this nobleman afterwards gave so many of his best years, on the ground that " no greater monument could he raise ; no brighter name could he leave to future generations, than the evidence that he had therein sought to restrain the fierceness of the bar- barian, and enlighten his darkened mind to the knowl- edge of the true God." ^ And now that Raleigh's efforts to the Southward had failed of permanence, — though there had been gained at Raleigh's colony at Roanoke, in 1587, the baptism into the English Church of the first aboriginal convert to Christianity,^ — Hakluyt sought in other quarters to en- courage that spirit of adventure and colonization which should result in the gain of lands and nations to the service of Christ and His Church. ^ The expedition which Hakluyt had aided in sending to the Northeast coast of America in 1603, was followed by another, also dispatched from Bristol, under the command of George Weymouth, in 1605, fitted out by Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of Shakspeare, and Thomas, 1 Latin Epist. Dedic. to Peter Martyr's Hist. New World. 2 Anderson, vol. 1, p. 75. Bancroft, vol. 1, on Early Settlements. 3 In Anderson, 1, pp. 156-162. 22 322 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Lord Arundel, ^ who had earlier been concerned in Gosnold's expedition. We have no certain knowledge that this expedi- tion was accompanied by a chaplain, other than the fact that voyagers rarely went on such undertakings without the pres- ence of a clergyman, and the inference we may draw from * Rosier's own words in his account of the voyage, where he says they had two of the Indians " in presence at service, who behaved themselves very civilly, neither laughing nor talking all the time." ^ This whole account, to quote the fitting lan- guage of Anderson, ^ " bears evident marks of having been written by one who, whilst he recorded fresh discoveries and opportunities of extending temporal dominion, sought thereby to enlarge the borders of Christ's spiritual kingdom." An instance of this we may cite where the true objects of the ex- pedition are announced, by Rosier : " We supposing not a Httle present profit, but a public good and true zeal of promulgating God's holy Church by planting Christianity, to be the sole in- terest of the honorable setters forth of this discovery," &c. It was on the receipt of the cheering intelligence gained by these voyages, that there appeared the fii-st Letters Patent, dated April 10, 1606, granted by King James I. for the plantar tion of Virginia, lying between the 34th and 45th degrees of north latitude, and divided into two parts, called South and North Virginia. The religious character of those who sought these grants is apparent from the professed object of their efforts for Colonization as set forth in the Patent itseK, where it is expressly stated that the desire of the Patentees was granted by the King, that " So noblo a worke may by the Providence of Almighty God hereafter tend to the glorie of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian religion to such 1 Strachey, Hist. Trav. p. 158. Williamson, 1, p. 191. • 2 Sd ser. Mass. H. C, vol. 8, p. 189. 8 Col. Ch„ 1, p. 162. POPHAM CELEBBATION. 323 people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages (living in those parts) to human civility and to a settled and quiet government." 1 An ordinance under the sign-manual of the King, and the Privy Seal, explanatory of these Letters Patent, and passed November 20, 1606, before any expedition under either of these grants had sailed, further declares, " That the said presidents, councils, and the ministers, should provide that the Word and service of God be preached, planted, and vised, not only in the said colonies, but also, as much as might be, among them, according to the rites and doctrine of the Church of England." 2 Under this Eoyal Patent^ the first expedition to Virginia sailed December 19, 1606, and landed at Jamestown, May 13, 1607. This colony had for its chaplain the saintly Robert Hunt, an English clergyman chosen for this work by the cele- brated Hakluyt, with the concurrence of Archbishop Bancroft, the Primate of all England. Of his pious labors, and of the godly men who followed him, Bucke, Whittaker, and Copeland, and others like them, devoted Presbyters of the English Church, we have not time to speak. They labored not alone for the white colonists, but for the aborigines. Their efforts were not unsuccessful, and their record is on high. A little later the same year. May *1, 1607, — the expedi- tions thither of the preceding year having proved unsuccessful, — the first colony to the Northern Virginia, or, as afterwards called. New England, set sail from Plymouth, under the patron- age of Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England, and Sir Perdinando Gorges. This expe'dition, as was the case with that to the Chesapeake, had its chaplain. It is but recently that his name has been discovered. That honored name is 1 Anderson, 1, p. 165. 2 Id. 1, p. 166. Stith's Va., p. 37. Chalmers's Polit. Annals, p. 16. 324 MEMOEIAL^ VOLUME. EiCHARD Sbymottb. An ingenious conjecture has been lately advanced by one of our most exact and well-informed historical investigators, that this clergyman was connected with the Du- cal house of Somerset, the family name of which house being the same as that of our first New England missionary clergy- man, and that he was possibly a younger son of the first Duke, who was himself, but a few days afterwards, a Patentee in the company which succeeded that of which we have been speaking. Be this as it may, that Richard Seyrriour was a Presbyter of the English Church, has been acknowledged by our most pains- taking and accurate historical writers, ^ and the language of Strachey, the historian of the expedition, in which the services of the Church and the " publike prayers " themselves, are re- ferred to in language which is conclusive on this point. This colony, brought to our coast in a fly-boat called the Grift of God, under Popham's command, and the good ship Mary and John, of London, of which Raleigh Gilbert, son of Sir Humphrey, was the captain, came in August 7, to an island where " they found a crosse set up, one of the same which Captain George Weyman, in his discovery, for all after occa- sions, left," and on " Sonday, the chief of both the shipps, with the greatest part of all the company, landed on the island where the crosse stood, the which they called St. George's Island, and heard a sennon delivered unto them by Mr. Sey- mour, his preacher, and soe returned abourd againe." Having chosen a fitting place for their settlement, near the mouth of the river, on the 19th of August, 1707, as Strachey informs us, — " They all went ashoare where they had made choise of theiv plantation, and where they had a sermon delivered unto them by theirpreacher ; and after the sermon, the president's commission was read, with the lawes to be observed and kept." 1 Anti, p. 101. Bartlett in Ch. Monthly, 1, p. 66. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 325 Mindful of their professed designs for the instruction of the Indians, after several explorations, in which, though under much provocation, they abstained from firing their guns at the crafty natives, they sought to bring them to their humble church, and there acquaint them with the worship of the Eng- lishman's God. Under date of October 4th, the narrative thus details one of these efforts : " There came two canoas to the fort, in which were Nahanada and his, wife, and Skidwares, and the Basshabaes brother, and one other called Amenquin, a Sagamo; all of whome the president feasted and entertayned with qjl kind- ness, both that day and the next, which being Sondaye, the president carried them with him to the place of publike prayers, which they were at both morn- ing and evening, attending yt with great reverence and silence." 1 Thus cultivating amity with the natives, and thus mindful of their God and Church, this little colony proceeded to estab- lish themselves upon our soil, with success for a season. The church thus inaugurated in Maine, reappeared twenty- eight years afterwards, when first Richard Gibson, and then Robert .Jordan came to minister to the settlements on the coast* They were checked in their labors by the restrictions of the Massachusetts government, even so far as by imprisonment for clerical duties ; and after that colony, " under pretence of an imaginary patent line, did' invade our rights and privileges, erecting their own authority," ^ at length the Church was com- pelled to yield to that power, and depaj-t from the place, leav- ing her members without the ministrations of their affections and choice. The question has been presented, how do we know that the Common Prayer prefaced the sermon given on that memo- rable August 19, 1607, thus giving it claim to the honor of having been the first form of worship in the English tongue 1 Strachey, pp. 168, 172, 178. 2 Me. Hist. Col., vol. 1, p. 302. 326 MEMORIAL VOLUME. • sounded on the crisp air of New England ? The subsequent language of Strachey, where he refers to the " morning ana evening" and "publike prayers," is certainly conclusive, when we remember that the use of the Book of Common Prayer was then obligatory by the terms of the very patent under which these men had sailed. The nature of the service in which they were engaged confirms this statement. It was the public induction into ofi&ce of the magistrates of the new plantation ; and the statute law of England then, as was the case for many subsequent years, required the reception of the sacrament from the hands of a clergyman of the Established Church, either at the time or immediately after such formal institution. This was the case in the sister colony of Virginia, where, on June 21st, of this same year, the day after the mem- bers of the council had been fully sworn in, and the organiza- tion of the government happily accomplished, the Holy Sacra- ment was duly celebrated for the first time within the limits of the United States. ^ That a similar observance marked these inaugural rites on our Northern coast, it is hardly possible to doubt ; and the fact that special mention is not made o'f it by Strachey, who received his knowledge of the fortunes of the Sagadahoc Colony at second hand, and who has condensed his account of their proceedings into the briefest possible space, is easily explained on the ground that such a procedure was the ordinary rule, and that only the exception would be likely to receive direct notice. Surely to convince us that the Episcopal Liturgy was used in connection with this sermon, it were enough to cite, in addition to the positive injunction of the Patent, the " laws of uniformity " and " canons ecclesiastical " of England then enforced by the court of High Commission. The disuse of this service would have perilled the very exist- ence of the company, had they desired it ; while the fact that they sent out in every subsequent case none but clergymen 1 Anderson, vol, 1, pp, 174, 175. POPHAM CE/LEBEATION. 327 well affected toward the Churcli of England, ' prpves l^at no such wish was ever entertained by them. The connection of vthe principal men of the colony with England's highest noble- men as well as with her Christian worthies of an earlier day, goes to confirm the fact of the Episcopal character of both preacher and people ; and Popham's brother, holding office under the Crown, and Raleigh's nephew, and Gilbert's son, would hardly be found linked in with the " separatists " from the English Church at so early a data as this. In fact, the " separation " from the Church of England had not as yet begun ; for, if we may credit Neal, the first actual instance of " Independency " or " Congregationalism " in England was not till the year 1616, when Henry Jacob gathered hi? " Church," and openly separated from the Establishment. ^ And now, to sum up all this matter in the language of one, the weight of whose authority has secured these words of his a place in the Historical Collections of Maine, these facts are established : " That the first religious services [in the English language] of which any knowledge has been preserved, as having taken place in New England, were performed by the chaplain of this colony ; that these services were held in accordance with the ritual of the Church of England ; that the minister who celebrated this worship and preached these sermons was a clergyman of that Church, deriving his au- thority for his sacred office from ordination by the hands of a Bishop of the same Church ; and that these acts were per- Ibrmed at first on an island, and in the open air, and afterwards continuously in a church near the Kennebec Eiver,.on the west side of one of the peninsulas of the coast, in the year 1607, thirteen years before the landing of the colony on Plyrrv- outh Rock, and some time before the Puritans left England to reside for a season in Holland." ^ 1 The Eev. William Morrell in Massachusetts, and Gibson and Jordan in Maine, were pioneer clergymen of this Church. 2 Neal's History, Pt. 2, ch. 2. s Maine His. Col., toI. 6, pp. 177, 178. 328 MEMORIAL VOLUME. The celebration of this interesting event, the first real occu- pation and settlement of New England, from which the title of England to a most important share of the northern coast of America dates, would have been confessedly imperfect, and certainly unworthy of the high and holy faith of the adven- turers whom it would commemorate, without suitable religious services. It was but just that this commemoration should reproduce the words of prayer and praise first echoed on the still air of New England in August, 1607. These very words, made use of two hundred and fifty-five years ago by Kichard Seymour, Presbyter of the Church of England, are still preserved. Popham's colony bore to our shores the revised Prayer Book of the reign of James I. The old words themselves, identical, unchanged, are accessible both in the few copies of the original edition of 1604 in our public libraries, and in the reprint issued by Mr. William Pickering of London, a few years since. The words " preacher " and " sermon," employed by Strach- ey in his narrative, are indicative of the same facts, and are sustained by the recorded formularies and documents of that Church. In the " injunctions " of King Edward VI., A. D. 1547, the whole body of the English Clergy of the Establish- ment is spoken of as " preachers." ^ In the record of Purchas, speaking of " true preachers," we find in the same relation, " every Sunday, sermons twice a day, and every Thursday, a sermon."® Indeed, quotations might be multiplied to the largest extent, to prove the existence of these* names ana esteem for the men who bore the office and did its duties, in the Church, which sent out Richard Seymour as the first Prot- estant minister and missionary to our northern coasts of New England. 1 Sparrow's Collection of Articles, p. 8, seq. 2 In Anderson, vol, 1, pp. 216, 217. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 329 FROM THE HON. ME. BANCROFT. The following letter would have been assigned an earlier place,' if it had been received at an earlier date. New YoiRK, June 13, 1863. My Dear Sib : — I regret that it was not in my power to be present at the celebration of the landing of the first colony in Maine. I am very glad to find that the citizens of Maine are determined to set in a distinct light, the relation of that region to the general colonization of the country. It was the noble harbors along your coast which first raised the hope of planting a nation on your soil ; and the effort of Gorges was a sort of prophecy of the future commercial greatness of your State. I have not perhaps formed so high an idea of the importance of the essay at Fort Popham, as some others may have done ; but the charter under wliich it took place, was undoubtedly one of the means which reserved that part of New England, and indeed all New England, to the enterprise of Englishmen. I hope your historical students will not only renew attention to the various patents which covered their territory, but also be unremitting in their zeal 'to trace with distinctness the various places which successively became occupied by men of English descent. It is the fashion of the world to speak of .all New England as if it were homogeneous ; and so in one sense it is ; but more careful discrimination will show marked points of differ- ence between the several New England States. To register these differences with impartiality, and to deduce them from their causes is the duty of the historian. Time sweeps away all the influences which have interfered with just and candid judgments. Now-a-days, it will be 1 Ante, pp. 100, 232, 330 MEMORIAL VOLUME. admitted that the English Government did not sin against fairness, when it claimed that the Anglican Church should at least be tolerated in an English colony ; and had the advisers of the Stuarts demanded no more than equality, impartial his- tory must have qualified its censure of their tyranny. But it was with New England, as it was so often in the world's his- tory ; it needed intense suffering to induce the best men of England to exchange their native country for the wilderness ; and however interesting it is now to define the action of Eng- lish royalists in founding colonies, the great result was cer- tainly accomplished by men who were driven from their homes for conscience' sake. But the self-defending energy of the founders of Massachu- setts does not in the least degree take from the interest that attaches to the efforts at planting colonies in Maine ; and the country will look to your historical inquirers to persevere in collecting and analyzing all the facts which iEustrate its origin, and so to explain the shades of difference that mark its character. . I remain, my dear sir, Very faithfully yours, Geo. Bancroft. GOVERNOR WASHBURN. His Excellency, Israel Washburn, Jr., of Orono, Governor of Maine, accepted the invitation of the committee of arrange- ments, for the purpose of giving his assent in person, as the Chief Magistrate of the State, to the placing of the " Memorial Stone " in the walls of Fort Popham. But the imperative calls of the Federal Government, at this ti-ying moment in its history, upon his time and thoughts, in connection with mill- POPHAM CELEBEATION. 331 tary affairs, rendered it impossible for him to attend the com- memoration, consistently With his convictions of public duty. At the last moment, therefore, he was compelled to devolve upon the Hon. Abner Coburn, soon to be his successor in ofl&ce, the service assigned to the Governor, of which an account is given in the early part of the volume. ^ Governor Washburn has, however, at the request of the committee, favored them, for publication, with the notes of his speech as prepared for the occasion, which they are pleased to be able now to present. SPEECH OP GOVEENOB WASHBURN. We celebrate to-day, on the soil of Maine, and on the spot of the first settlement made by Englishmen in New England, and coincident with the first in America, an event the most significant and auspicious in the history of the continent, and of modern civilization. This occasion implies a retrospection and a prophecy. We shall bring before our minds the circum- stances of Popham's Colony ; its landing here, two hundred and fifty-five years ago ; its various fortunes and its fate ; the thought which created it ; its connection with, and its influence upon, the permanent occupation of the country by the Saxo- Norman race ; and the great and wise men, Sir Perdinando Gorges and others, by whom it was originated and conducted. But our highest concern is with the future which it postulated ; with the principles of civil and religious liberty which it repre- sented ; for the final expression and embodiment of which, this continent, as I beUeve, had been reserved. The recorded object of Gorges, was to lay the foundations of a Sta,te, in which the rights of human nature should be ade- quately recognized, and the progress of mankind assured. 1 Ante, p. 50. 332 MEMORIAL VOLUME. As stated in his own simple yet grand words, his purpose was to promote " The enlargement op the Christian Faith, the SUPPORTATION OF JUSTICE AND LOVE OP PeACE." Not SO much for the protection and upbuilding of a religious party or sect, as for that freedom of thought in religious matters, which is the condition of a healthy and saving faith ; not for outward prosperity mainly, but for equal and exact justice among men ; not that the ambitions and strifes of the old world should be repeated in the new, but that the reign of peace and good will might be established ; hot for the transfer hither of old prin- ciples and policies, but for the development of what has come to be known throughout the world as the " American idea," did the illustrious founder of Maine give his fortune, his thoughts and his heart. And the plant which he caused to be set in our soil, has grown to the proportions of a noble tree. It blossomed in the Declaration of Independence, and its con- summate fruit is the American Union. It was a happy thought that suggested the commemoration of his great work at this time, that we, who have profited by it, might testify our appreciation of the noble objects for which it was begun, and our unshaken faith in the perpetuity of the Government established to promote them. For in this mad revolt of barbarism and violence against that government, it is well for us to come here that we may examine the founda- tions upon which it rests ; that we may consider how well it is worth preserving, and how recreant we shall be if we permit it to be destroyed. And standing on this ground, fitly chosen of all spots from ocean to ocean, how clearly do we see that the old principles of bigotry and intolerance, of despotism and oppression, of hatred and war, are not to prevail against the nobler, more catholic, more humane, more Christian ideas to which this continent was dedicated so long ago ; and that the government which represents them so well now, shall be preserved to be POPHAM CELEBRATION. their fuller representative hereafter ; as under its protection and influence, " Christian Faith " shall be increased to the stature of that Charity which " casteth out fear ; " and " Ji\s- tice" shall be practiced more and more until oppression shall cease, and the last fetter be struck from the last slave in the land, and the " love of Peace," filling the hearts of men, shall herald the golden period foretold by our greatest poet, when " No longer from its brazen portals, The blast of war's great organ fills the skies ; But beautiful as songs of the immortals, The holy melodies of love arise ! " FROM E. P. JOHNSON, ESQ., MIDDLETOWN, CONN. This letter was act received from the writer until too late for in- sertion in connection with the appropriate sentiment in its order ; which, being prolific in the materials for a speech or an essay, is here repeated '■ as the proper introduction to the remarks which follow. Maritime Adventure and Disaovery, — illustrated by men of Bristol and the Severn ; whose Cabots and Gilberts pointed the way to the northern shoi-es of the New World. The name of Raleigh Gilbert shall ever be honored, for his fidelity in conducting to these shores'the Colony of Popham. Dear Sib : — Had it been possible for me to have attended your late celebration, on the anniversary of the founding of the fir^t English Colony in New England, I could have con- tributed nothing to the interest of the occasion, so far as knowledge connected with that settlement was concerned. But the several expeditions which came to these shores at 1 Ante, p. 111. 334 MEMORIAL VOLUME, the close of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, were a natural sequence to the fact of the prior numerous visitations to the Banks of Newfoundland for fishing purposes. That this continent was visited long anterior to this time by Europeans the evidence is now too strong to be questioned. The fleet that annually congregated in the Thames and other British ports to convey grain to the continent in the time of the Romans, is evidence that the 'art of navigation was then sufficiently advanced to justify the belief that a trans-atlantic voyage was practicable. It was indeed not only practicable, but it was possible to make it with less difficulty and danger, than was incurred in making the passage of Behring's Straits in such crafts and with such means as the natives of the east- ern coast of Asia were supposed to possess. "We know that Iceland, which is an American island, was visited and settled by Europeans at a very early date. We know, also, that from the fourth to the seventh century, Chris- tianity and civilization had made great advances in Iceland ; and that froih this time, and for a long period after, the British Isles were exposed to Scandinavian raids and invasions from the north ; and it is not unreasonable to infer, that during this period many expeditions may have left those islands and landed on the American coast never to return. The superior intelligence of those thus migrating would give them, in mingling with the natives, rank and importance. Li- termarriages with the families of chieftains would be the con- sequence. Their children would inherit their honors, and to a certain degree their intelligence, and the result would be a marked difference in the intelligence of the chieftains and their families compared with the natives generally. Indian history, so far as we have knowledge of it, confirms the superior intelligence of their chief men ; and the portraits of such of them as have come down to us, show, I think, un- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 335 mistakably the European lineaments. The mounds in the valley of the Mississippi afford important evidence in support of this hypothesis. These mounds, as they appear in northern Wisconsin, are very rude .and imperfect in form compared with those in the valley of the Ohio. The latter possess a magnitude and ac- curacy of outline which indicates sxich a knowledge of Geom- etry as might have been communicated by the early navigators in question. This reasonable supposition may be said to be confirmed as truth by the discovery of the stone tablets in the mounds of " Grave Greet," in western Virginia, having inscriptions in the old Celtic and Manks characters ; mounds upon which trees of six hundred to seven hundred years old were found growing on the first settlement of the country. In the center of the largest of these mounds at Grave Creek, which was seventy feet high and over three hundred feet in circumference, was found the smaller of the two tablets and a human skull, which answers well to. that of a European. These inscriptions have recently been deciphered, and prove, beyond a doubt, that the bodies there deposited once spoke the lan- guage of the British Isles. The translation of these inscrip-. tions, which have been made by a friend at my request, I will endeavor to procure for you, if you desire it, in time for in- sertion in the published proceedings of your celebration. The question will naturally be asked. Why, if all that I have stated is true, was there not some traditional knowledge of it in possession of the Indians ? The answer is this, that from the twelfth century to the voyage of Columbus in 1492, inter- course between the continents was probably wholly suspended, and in that period the knowledge of the early visitations had faded from the Indian mind, as had also the European com- plexion from their bodies. That this is a very proper conclusion is proved by the fact, 336 MEMORIAL VOLUME. that traditionary knowledge, unsupported by a written lan- guage, is unreliable after a few generations. A writer, who lately visited the Auracanian Indians in South America, a peo- ple whose ancestors fought the Spaniards in many pitched and bloody battles and were never subdued, states that those In- dians have, at the present time, no traditionary knowledge of those battles ; and this knowledge would have passed into ob- livion had it not been preserved in Spanish history. The researches of antiquarians and others, during the last thirty years, tend very clearly to establish the fact of the early visits of the so called Papae and of the Norsemen to this con- tinent, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that Columbus derived, on his visit to Iceland, certain evidence of our Atlantic coast, which he supposed to be the eastern coast of Cathay, ^ and of its general direction, as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Preparatory to his voyage thither, he had gone to the north- ern shores of Europe and sought out the results of the daring sea expeditions of the Danes and Norwegians. "With the ruling desire to learn all that had been known of the Atlantic waters, he would not be likely to omit to visit the most eligible point in the British Isles for obtaining a knowledge of what had been more recently done or learned in relation to discoveries in the western seas ; and hence the city of Bristol and the waters of the Severn would receive from him particular attention. Bristol was at that time the principal seat upon the Atlantic for maritime adventure and enterprise ; and it was from thence that John Cabot sailed in 1497, and Sebastian Cabot in 1798 ; the former reaching this continent on the coast of Labrador in June, 1497, and the latter the coast of Maryland in 1799. Lord Bacon, in his life of Henry VII., says: "And there had been before that time a discovery of some lands which they took to be islands, and were indeed the continent of Amer- ica to the northwest." 1 China and Japan. Ante, p. 2i;L POPHAM CELEBRATION. 337 This " discovery of some lands " had reference, evidently to voyages prior to those made by the Cabots. The voyages of the latter, made in the years named, resulted in the re-discov- ery or confirmation of what was probably previously known in respect to the northern portion of this continent. The discovery by Columbus was at a later date. He accom- plished no more on his first visit to San Salvador than did Na- dod when he discovered Iceland in A. D. 860 ; nor as much as was eflFected by those who founded a colony on the same island in 874 ; or as did Eric the Eed, when he discovered and founded a colony in Greenland in A. D. 982. Columbus landed in 1492 on the island of San Salvador, but did not see the continent until his second voyage several years later, after the Cabots had actually set foot upon it at two dif- ferent and distant points, and explored much of its coast. San Salvador and Iceland are both American islands, the former being farther from the main land than the latter from Green- land. Hence the credit of the discovery of the Amei'ican con- tinent cannot with propriety be given to Columbus. It must be given either to John Cabot or the Norsemen whb preceded him. That Columbus is entitled to very great credit for enterprise and an indomitable perseverance, all must admit ; but neither his discoveries or the difficulties he surmounted should be un- duly magnified at the expense of truth or the just claims of others equally deserving. In his journal of his visit to Iceland, prior to his voyage made in 1492, he distinctly states that he sailed three hundred miles to the north of that island ; which distance, as we now understand the Geography of that region, would bring him in close proximity to the coast of Greenland, near Cape Brewster. This view receives support from the fact of the readiness with which he pledged himself to his mutinous crew to return to 22 338 MEMORIAL VOLUME. Spain if he did not find land within tliree days. This does not detract from his great merit in being the first to traverse the widest and previously unexplored portion of the Atlantic, and as the leader of an expedition, which only his superior intelli- gence and indomitable perseverance could have organized at that period of the world. It may be asked, why, if all that is here suggested is true, there are not to be found in Iceland and elsewhere, records more complete and authentic than the meager collections al- ready made of the first visits of the Norse navigators to this continent ? The absence of such records will cause less sur- prise when it is remembered, that records of that description, at that period, were made and kept by persons who had an in- terest in maintaining the claim of the head of the Roman Church to the ownership of all lands discovered by Columbus. At that day the doctrine that " the end justified the means," was boldly avowed by the highest ecclesiastical authority ; and the search, should one be made for the desired evidence, if that evidence still exists, will be quite as likely to be crowned with success, if "made in the cloisters and convents of .Spain and Italy, as if made in Iceland or the British islands. Columbus, in his journal of his voyage to Iceland, speaks of the trade carried on with that island by the merchants of Bris- tol. I have stated my conriction of the value of the informa- tion which he must have derived from the English navigators who frequented the waters of the Severn. In those waters, it may be said, was cradled the maritime policy and power of England ; and there is paid no more than a just tribute to the memory of the Cabots and the Gilberts in the sentiment, in wlrich they are so honorably mentioned, and which connects the name of the latter with Popham and the Sagadahoc. They were, indeed, bright stars in the galaxy of nautical skill and enterprise, which has shed its luster upon the British Isles POPHAM CELEBRATION. 339 from their first appearance in history, and which, for many centuries, has placed England in the front rank of European civilization. Yours respectfully, Edwin F. Johnson. Middletown, Conn., June, 1863. THE LOST AUGUSTA. BY K. K. SEWALL, ESQ., OF WISCASSET. At the request of the committee, while this volume was pass- ing through the press, an account of a once thriving town within the limits of the " Province of Sabino," has been cheerfully prepared by the historian of the " Ancient Dominions of. Maine." It is here presented to the reader. Between the city of Bath and the town of Brunswick, an arm of the sea pushes up and in toward Merrymeeting Bay, called " New Meadows River," tlie upper portion of which was the ancient " Stevens River," on the margin of which an Indiaii truck-master or trader of this name, had his station ; and near which in later years a canal, eight feet wide and deep enough to float lumber ' to the sea, opened into the waters of the- Kennebec, one and a half miles distant, at or near the ancient dwelling-place of Thomas Purchas, an early settler on this part of the river. ^ The remains of this canal are yet traceable. 1 Williamson, vol. 1, p. 47. In some places " thirty feet wide." — Id. p, 33. 2 Williamson, vol. 1, p. 266. On the Kennebec the outlet through Whisby Creek was near the residence of Christopher Lawson, the first settler on that part of the river. [Old Map in Pejepscot Papers.] 340 MEMORIAL VOLUME. The point around which the " Stevens and New Meadows River " join the waters of Casco Bay, and enter the sea by way of Sagadahoc Beach, is termed " Cape Small Point ; " which, terminating the Peninsula of Phipsburg on the west and south, is broken into sundry headlands and rocky islets, indentations and eminences, where the tides of '" Casco " and " New Meadows " embrace each other in pools of deep shel- tered waters, forming a small but convenient harbor, behind the islets and under the headlands of the cape. The Penin- sula of Phipsburg, from which, on its eastern shore, the famous " Peninsula op Sabino " strikes out into the sea as a lateral spur, — Sagadahoc Island of the ancients forming its promi- nent feature, — makes what is now known as "Small Point Harbor," some three miles distant from the margins of " At- kins Bay," southwesterly. JOHN parkee's ownership. Mohotiwormet, or " Robin-Hood,"^ the great Sachem June 14, of Nequasset, in consideration " of one Beaver skin A. D. and a yearly rent of one bushel of corn," and a 1659. " quart of liquor" to be unto him paid, or to Ms heirs forever, by John Parker, at or before the 25th day of December, being Christmas day, at the dwelling-house of the said Parker, " let, set and sold " out to the said John ■ Parker the aforesaid peninsula, including the site of " Small Point Harbor ; " but which was then known only as " Parker's Plantation," within the jurisdiction of " Sebenoa," the ancient Lord of Sagadahoc.^ 1 Ms3. Indenture, Robin-Hood to Parker. 2 Strachey quoted in Ancient Dominions of Maine, p. 90. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 341 TRANOIS small's TEAPINQ-tOST. Francis Small, an Indian trader, owned and- occupied the lands at the mouth of New Meadows Eiver ; and A. D. from this man's relations to this point, the locality ob- 1664. Tiously derived its existing name, and which the said " Small " must have held under Parker, who, by certain stipu- lations with " Kichard "Wharton," in the reign of Charles II., A. D. 1684, engaged to " settle a town on the premises" as well as pay an annual quit rent of " two dried cusk, or two cod-fish,'" i£ demanded by the said Wharton or his heirs, as the conditions of peaceable and quiet possession of his purchase of Eobin Hood, to himself, his heirs and assigns. The indenture recites as an additional consideration in the premises, that the said " John Parker was the first of the English nation that be- gan to subdue the land there and undertook the fishing- trade ; " and the town to be settled was required (as a further condition of title in homesteads) " to submit its regulations amd affairs to such persons as the major part of the free-holders or inhabi- tants should jmnually choose." ^ Thus were laid the founda- tions of a commercial depot at ,the mouth of New Meadows, for the trade of the interior waters of the Androscoggin and Ken- nebec. DEATH or JOHN PARKER. But the ruthless savage soon invaded the peaceful homes of these enterprising frontiers-men, and the torch of barbarian hordes, preceded by the horrors of the tomahawk and scalping knife, forced all to fly. John Parker and his son James reached " Casco ^ Bay," (now Portland,) and were there 1 Wharton's Mss. papers, Indenture to John Parker.- 2 Ancient "Aucocisco." 342 MEMORIAL VOLUME. slain ' at the taking of the Fort Loyal, 20th of May, 1690, when Falmouth was sacked by the French and Indians. REVIVAL OF SETTLEMENTS. The peace, a result of the treaty at Portsmouth, the A. D. 18th of July, so far restored confidence, that the re- 1713. settlement of the " eastern frontiers," in the occupa- tion of the depopulated plantations, began with marked promise and unusual energy. The titles of the former inhabi- tants, by purchase and inheritance, in many cases had passed into fresh hands. The Parker estate changed possessors. The estate of the ancient Thomas Purchas, near the head of Stevens River, and its improvements, togetlier with that of John Parker, on the Peninsula of Phipsburg, became the prop- erty of Richard Wharton's assigns. Although the Plymouth Company first located on the site of Port George in the Prov-- ince of Sabino, where the Popham Colony^ had landed, suppos- ing and intending it to be embraced in their purchase at Ken- nebec, the subsequent removal of their ti'ading station to " Cushnoc," (Augusta, the site of the present capital of Maine,) and the determination of their rights at law, limiting their boundaries on the south above Merry-meeting Bay, admitted . the rights of the Pejepscot proprietors, under the titles of Wharton, to the settlements of John Parker and his assigns. Belcher Noyes, of Boston, ^ a physician, and secretary, or clerk, of the Pejepscot Company, liecamc interested in the Parker estate, and located himself at Small Point Harbor, and concentrated his means and energies to the execution of Whar- ton's designs, in reviving the town attempted by Parker and Da\is prior to the catastrophe of the late war. The Pejepscot 1 Deposition, Mss. John Philips, Williamson, vol. 1, page 621. 2 Williamson, vol. 1, p. 5-2. Anlf, lUS, 109. 3 iMss. Cerlificale, John Parker's Deed. POPHAIVU CELEBRATION. 343 Company sanctioned the effort, as coming within the limits of their jurisdiction ; and at a meeting of the Proprietors, May 24, 1716, passed a vote " that there be a Town laid out at Small Point Harbour." At the same time fifty' acres of land were granted to each of the first fifty families, who should build a house and occupy it for three years. A town-meeting was held for action under this vote, ".Augusta, Nov'r 6th, 1717." The trading post of Francis Small, at the cape harbor at the mouth of New Meadows Eiver, the opening of the direct trade with Merry-meeting and the Kennebec at the sea, was re-occu- pied. Capt. John Penhallow, — the niilitary leader of the inhabitants, — took up his residence here with Dr. Noyes ; and to Mr. Mountfort was set oif and assigned within that town two hundred and fifty acres of land, adjoining Dr. Noyes' harbor farms ; ^ and the newly revived town was called " Au- gusta," which now arose to adorn the margins of Casco Bay, at the mouth of New Meadows River, in the present town of Phipsburg. Emigration was stimulated ; the Halls, the Springs, the Rideouts, and the Owens, were landed here from the west- ern emigration ; two streets were laid out on which the house lots abutted ; a road eight rods wide was opened to the 'Sagadahoc from "Augusta Harbor;" and Edmund Mountfort^ who acted as clerk of " the Inhabitants of Augusta," was author- ized to lay out farms of ninety-five acres each for the settlers newly arrived ; " Lots," seventy to one hundred feet wide were surveyed and laid out at the harbor ; ^ and. a cart-way was cut across the Peninsula of Phipsburg opposite "Arrowsic." A stone fort was also reared, — esteemed the best military de- 1 Ancient Dominions of Maine, pp. 225-6. 2 N. H. Historical Collections. Pejepscot Records, Tol. 1, p. 113. 3 A special grant of land was made to " Benj» Purrington " because " his wife was of forwardness in promoting said settlement." Pejepscot Records, vol. 1, p. 97. 344 MEMOEIAL VO'LUME, fense in the east, — and maintained ^ at the public cost. The sloop " Pejepscot " regularly plied between Boston and the " Augusta" of the ancients ;^ foreign commerce here started, and it became the point of an export trade for vast quantities of pipe staves, boards, plank, and timber ; agriculture also throve ; and the fisheries were re-established by Dr. Noyes, in which some twenty vessels were by him engaged, — particu- larly the sturgeon fishery near Brunswick which, nearly a century Ijefore, had been carried on by Thomas Purchas, and many thousand kegs cured for export every season. Pine buildings were erected ; saw mills put up ; a convenient man- sion-house was built ; lots for a " Meeting House and Burying place " ^ were set apart for public use. ' To carry out the intention of increasing the settlement, an agreement, signed and sealed by the leaders in the enterprise, was made March 7, 1719, with " the Rev. James Hillhouse of Boston, New England," to grant him six hundred acres of un- inhabited land in two lots, to be chosen in Topsham, Bruns- wick, or Aiigusta, each lot having a frontage of half an Eng- lish mile on navigable water, in consideration of his going to- Ireland, to induce settlers to remove to these new towns. The allotment was to be made after his return ; and if he settled in any of these three places himself, he was promised suitable encouragement. * Such were the site and prospects of the Augusta of the an- cients, which, by the energy and skill of its founders, had con- trived to concentrate the trade of the Kennebec and Andro- scoggin at Small Point Harbor, as the nursery of the new town aspiring to the honors of commercial eminence. 1 Penhallow, p. 88. 2 Ancient Dominions of Maine, p. 2'2.V 3 Augusta Town Records. 4 Penballow says that a minister was supported in these eastern towns by the rojepscdl Company, p. 88. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 345 But the desolations of savage -warfare ^ against which Pen- hallow had been a leader, subsequently swept over this fair and promising establishment. The fort for a while was kept at public cost. But it was afterwards neglected by the govern- ment, and the inhabitants, unprotected by military force within its shelter, withdrew from the settlement, and left all to the Indians, who burnt the combustible part of the struc- ture, and with it several houses. Thus its fisheries were broken up ; its inhabitants scattered ; its fort ruined ; and its trade destroyed. The benefits of an inland water-way, devised, completed, and used in years long after, from Casco Bay as an outlet to the resources of the interior waters of the mighty Kennebec, would have added to its prosperity and wealth, if it had been protected or left undisturbed by the onsets of the savages. Its reminiscences even, are buried under its ruins, now overgrown and nearly lost amid the decay of almost a century and a half. ^ The importance of this ancient town to one of the most fer- tile and populous sections of Maine, had it survived to this ,.day, can hardly be estimated. In all probability, it would have rivalled both Bath and Portland, in extent of facilities for trade and commerce. The location df the ancient " Augusta " ^ was most eligible for commercial enterprise ; and had it re- mained in its incipient prosperity, until the Merry-meeting waters, by navigable communication with the sea by the way of Stevens River, had been laid open, a city of important relations and extent would now, doubtless, have distinguished this early appreciated spot, as a center of trade to the Andro- scoggin and Kennebec valleys, of which Brunswick would have been the great interior depot. 1 The " Four Years' War," beginning 1722,— Wiliiamson, vol. 2, pp. Ill, 119. 2 Ancient Dotainions of Maine, p. 225. , 3 Tlie knowledge of this lost town was recovered by the investigations of the late John McKeen, Esq. 346 MEMOBIAL VOLUME. The following addition is to be made to Mr. Sewall's communica- tion, under the caption, " Pemaquid," on page 143, and at the end of the first sentence, after the words " probably Pemaquid." The " Gift of God " was the Popham sKip. The writer of " Ancient Pemaquid " tells us that Capt. John Smith, — who visited Sagadahoc in 1614, six years after the abandonment of the Peninsula of Sabino by the London men under Raleigh Gilbert, — projected a map from point to point and harbor to harbor, as he had coasted along shore. " This map he pre- sented to Prince Charles, who gave Pemaquid the name of 'John's town,' and to Monhegan, 'Barties' Isles.' "^ It is obvious, therefore, that at this date the Peninsula of Pemaquid exhibited such rudiments of English occupancy, or had grown into a fair English town of such extent and importance as to entitle it to receive, by Royal donation, an English name and place on the charts of English authority I The " St. John's town " of Pemaquid must, therefore, have been nearly cotemporaneous with the " Gijorgetown " of Sa- bino and the Popham colony ; and there cannot be a reasonable doubt, that both had a common origin from the Popham enter- prise ; and that this " St. John's town " of Pemaquid, as found and described by Capt. Smith, was a fruit of Sir John Pop- ham's colonial adventure at Sagadahoc. REV. MR. NORWOOD'S SERMOX. On the Sunday following this celebration, the Rev. Francis Nor- wood, the Congregational minister of Phipsburg, "the ancient Sa- bino," — within the limits of which town the celebration was held, — preached a sermon, having special reference to the occurrence. The 1 Ancient Pemaquid iu Me. II. C, \i. 102. 3d Series Mass. H. C, vol. 6, pp. 97, 105. May not tliis name, " St. John's town," be tlie origin of the " James- town " of a ItiLin- period, which appears in the annals of Pemaquid 1 The John's RiTer may have derived its name from this early gift. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 347 following extract from this discourse is worthy of being reproduced iu this volume ; as well to show the kindly feelings of the author towards the Episcopal Church, as the reasons why the services of that Church should have been used on the occasion. EXTRACT FROM SERMON. " The day was indeed auspicious, the assemblage vast,. the scene imposing. But why this grand preparation and splendid array? It was to commemorate a historic fact; viz., the set- tlement on this spot of an English colony under George Pop- ham, in Aiigust, 1607. Certainly this was a memorable event, that should, be known, cherished and transmitted to posterity. And it was natural that the Episcopal Church should lead in this commemoration, since the colony was planted under their auspices ; and on their first landing, as was most appropriate, worship was conducted according to the forms and rites of that Church. I venerate this ancient Christian Church; the good and learned men who have ministered at its altars ; who have vin- dicated God's word -against Eomish assumptions and despo- tism ; and who, by the light of holy doctrine and example, have guided thousands on in the path to glory. I subscribe, to the Apostles' Creed embodied in its Liturgy ; to its Thirty- Nine Articles, with slight exceptions ; and especially and em- phatically to that one which declares that " Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it shquld be believed as an article of the faith or be thought requisite or^ecessary to salvation." And I rejoice in the present prosperity of that Church in the old world and new ; and pray God, that, divested of all error in doctrine and practice, she may live on for ages to bless the world." 348 MEMORIAL VOLUME. SHIP-BUILDING IN THE DISTRICT OF BATH. The following statement has been made in reply to the request of the Chairman of the Executive Committee, and should be con- nected with the remarks made on page 155. Custom House, Bath, ) June 9, 1863. } Statement of number of vessels built in the District of Bath, from January 1, 1832 to January 1, 1862, and amount of ton- nage of the same : Number of vessels, - 1170. Tonnage, - - - - 505,293 tons. Roland Fisher, Collector. HYMN: BY THE KEV. DR. WHEELER, OF TOPSHAM. The following Hymn, written with reference to the celebration, and given for this publication at tho request of the Editor, is here inserted, as an appropriate termination to the various communica- tions appearing in this volume. I. God of the firm and solid land ! God of the deep and restless sea ! Here, on this wild, surf-beaten strand, We raise our willing thoughts to Thee. II. Wliere once the wily red man stood, Where oft he dipped the plashing oar ; By river's brink, and briny Hood, We bow before Thee, and adore. POPHAM CELEBRATION. 349 III. Where men of wit, and men of toil, And Christian heroes, brave and true. First planted on New England's soil The sturdy stock from which we grew, — IV. Where first the song of praise was heard, And first the solemn voice of prayer ; And first the reconciling word Was home upon the summer air, — V. And where the first low grave was made . Beneath New England's wintry snows ; And the first Christian relics laid. To slumber in their long repose ; — VI. We meet and bend the knee to day ; Those early times bring back to view : We sing again the sacred lay. Again those ancient rites renew. VII. Lord ! Hear us in this solemn hour ; Accept our thanks for mercies given ; Dispel the storms that darkly lower. And be our Guide to peace and Heaven. It is proper to add, as supplying an omission, that in the closing exercises at the Port, after the address, the doxology " From all that dwell below the skies," was sung by the assemblage, before the Benediction. ADDENDA. It will be noticed, that the papers appearing in this volume relate to other subjects than the first English settlement on the wild shores of New England. The celebration had another purpose added to the memoiy of this leading event : that of awakening in the citizens of Maine an interest in historical research within our own territory. Reasons there may have been why, except in rare instances, these studies have not received the attention that might well be claimed for this State ; which, while nearest of the States in position to the Mother Country, was among the first to be occupied by her colonists ; furnishing a field for explorers and men of enter- prise in commercial pursuits, and beholding the first blood shed on her soil in the long contest for supremacy with France. It can now hardly be doubted that the acquaintance with tliis North Eastern Shore, and the occupancy of its land and waters by the perseverance of English navigators and settlers, had a special influence, permanently acting on the settlements farther west, — protected as they wore by the charter, procured by the labors of Gorges, for the region then known as North Virginia. As auxiliary to the true understanding of this influence, useful study might be expended on the character, purposes, and mo- POPHAM CELEBRATION. 851 tives of the men, who were prominent in counsel and action, for exploring the coast" and in its occupation. The State of Maine has not yet had her true position in the written history of our nation ; and the researches of her sons are needed to bring to light full information as to her claims, now locked \ip in archives, or perpetuated in unwritten tradi- tions. Every year is adding to the results of investigations, already commenced ; and as they proceed under the auspices of the Historical Society, local celebrations, and the Histoiies of Towns, erroneous impressions will be corrected, and true ones produced out of these recovered events of the past. It has not been the purpose of the' directors of this celebra- tion to detract from the merits of the earlier settlement at Jamestown, or the later one at Plymouth. Bach has its own history, as has also the first settlement in Maine, made from the same nation. The leading desire in promoting its com- memoration, was to bring to view facts not generally known, and to excite inquiry into the treasures of the past. The result of this gathering will be most cheering, if it become the starting point of new labors in the department of our own history. The act of the Legislature of the State in granting funds to procure papers of importance from the English archives, which have been beyond reach until the present day, will be of great aid in showing the value and effects of the early occupation and civilization of this portion of the hemis- phere. It was a generous act of that body, representing the interests of the State, thus nobly sustaining the efforts of her citizens to develope her own historical resources. In the retrospect of these facts and considerations, we have learned to say that Maine has her Epoch and her Gathbeing- Placb, which imtoward circumstances have heretofore kept concealed from her own observation. When the true bearings 352 MEMORIAL VOLUME. | of the commemorated event are properly applied and rightly appreciated, it will be seen to have hS,d no small directing influence on subsequent efforts for settlements, under the guidance of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the great Patron of Colonization on the Shores of New England. APPENDIX. NOTX: A. To enable those not familiar -with the localities of Sabino, to understand the allusions made to them, a map and a brief description are given. The Sagadahoc river, so famous in the early history of the country, is formed by the junction of two large rivers, the Androscoggin and the Ken- nebec, at Merrymeeting Bay,* twenty-five miles from the sea, from which junction the Sagadahoc is a deep estuary of very irregular width, often con- tracted into narrow limits, but carrying a large volume of water to the ocean. At its mouth, between Stage Island on .the eastern shore, and the lower end of the Peninsula of Sabino on the west, it is about a mile and a half in width. One mile above this, is its narrowest point, where the north-east point of the Sabino Peninsula projects far out into the channel, nearly op- posite which point, only a few rods higher up the river, the lower end of a sharp rocky isle, called Long Island, narrows the main channel to less than a third of a mUe. There is no navigable passage on the eastern side of this island. This outermost north-eastern point of the Sabino Peninsula is the site of Port Popham. It was occupied by a small fort in the war of 18J3. Above this point opens out Adkins Bay, extending south-west for a mile or more, where formerly it evidently connected with the ocean. In De Barre's chart, made for the British government between 1764 and 17T4, it is laid down as flats, subject to the overflow of the tide, between this Bay and the ocean. At the present time, there is enough of earth formed by action of the sea, to afford a good road-bed, free from overflow, connecting Sabino with the mainland. From Merrymeeting Bay south to the ocean, there is a constant succes- sion of narrows, formed by high, sharp, projecting points of rock, alternat- ing into broad reaches or bays. A reach of some miles in front of the city of Bath, varying from one half to a mile in width, having abundant depth of water, forms one of the noblest landlocked harbors in the world, when the river turns, first east, at right angles, then again south, between high, rocky shores, with great depths of water. Nothing can be more beautiful or pic- turesque than the sail between Merrymeeting Bay and the sea. As you descend towards the mouth of the river, the Island of Seguin, a high, rounded, rocky ridge, rising one hundred and forty feet above the sea- level, stands du:ectly in front, apparently closing the mouth of the river, though three miles distant from it, clothed with a native growth of ever- green to its summit. Above this, rises a first-class lighthouse, holding in its spacious iron lantern a Fresnel lens of the largest size, seen for more than twenty miles at sea, and for a very great distance from the high lands of the interior. The Peninsula of Sabino is the outer point of the mainland, on the right * Marimitin. See Father Dreuilletts' Journal of an Embassy from Canada to New-England, in 1850, pnblislied from a translation of John G. Shea, with valuable notes, in the Collections of the New-York Historical Society, 1857, vol. iii. Second Series, part i. page 803. The country was then occupied from Cushnoo (Augusta) to Merrymeeting Bay. 354 APPENDIX. or west bank of the river, three miles from Seguin. It is very nearly an ir- regular triangle in shape, its shortest line fronting the Sagadahoc — ^the other two side-lines formed, one by Adkins Bay, and the other by the ocean. It rises into two rocky ridges, lying nearly east and west of each other, with a deep depression running north and south the bulk of the land, lying west of it, where it rises from two to three hundred feet into two considerable peaks in a ridge running north and south. In the valley, or narrow depression running north and south, the land is free from stones, and the soil is made up chiefly of sand. Toward its southern end there is a beautifully clear lake or pond of fresh water suflBcient for the wants of the Peninsula. The level of this lake is only about thirty or forty feet above the sea, and is said at times to be reached by the flashing spray which is dashed with pro- digious force at times upon this rocky shore. Near the shore of Adkins Bay is a spring of water half a mile from the site of Fort Popham, near which, are remains of ancient habitations ; and those who have explored the localities profess their belief that the principal fort was in the " vicinity of this spring." There is an old gentleman still living, more than ninety years of age, who was present at the celebration, who tes- tifies to the ploughing across a covered way between the ruins of an old fort and this spring of water, in his early days. The whole Peninsula was originally covered with a forest growth, and materials would have been abundant for the building of houses and a stock- ade fort. As to the probable site of their fort, that must depend upon the purpose of its construction. If an European foe, Spaniard or French, was dreaded, the site of the present fort would naturally be chosen. If, on the other hand, the enemy they feared was the Indian, they would naturally select a spot conve- nient to fresh water, where they could best guard the approach of the foe, coming across the neck, that alone connected the peninsula with the main. The site pointed out as that of their fort, would, in that view of the case, be at once determined on the southern shore of Adkins Bay, near to the neck, in the vicinity of this spring. No one can fail to perceive the wonderful foresight of the men who selected this spot for their plantation. Easily approached at aU times by water, capable of being defended at aU points, those in possession of this peninsula hold complete control of the country and the rivers above, one of the finest' agricultural districts in New-England. It was also the finest river for fish on the coast. When the Pilgrims of Plymouth were considering the ques- tion of abandoning their home, from the poverty of the soil and the want of means of subsistence, Sir Ferdinando Gorges gave them a valuable tract of land on the Kennebec in 1629, at the time he established their boundaries at Plymouth, which they farmed out to advantage, deriving thence, and from the fisheries their chief means of support. The facts stated by Father Dreuilletts, at the time of his visit in 1650 and 1651, are of great historic interest. At the time of the celebration, the level floor or parade of the fort was occupied by the large assemblage of people. A platform facing east, over- looked the fort and the Sagadahoc river,- resting for its background against the end of the?large shed occupied for dressing stone. This platform was occupied by the distinguished guests from abroad, the members of the His- torical Society, the Masonic fraternity, and those taking part in the celebra- tion. The various steamers and barges in attendance, the United States revenue cutter, and a large fleet of smaller craft, all gaily dressed in flags, lay at anchor in Adkins Bay. A strong tidal current swept past the fort, aided by a stiff north-west wind. The speaker's stand commanded a com- plete view of all the localities alluded to. APPENDIX. 355 NOTE C. THE SETTIiEMEBTT OF MAINE BY GOTEKNOB GEOSaB POPHAM, AUGUST, 1607. Before the Mayflower's lonely sail Our northern billows spanned. And left on Plymouth's ice-bound rook A sad-eyed pilgrim band ; Ere scarce Virginia's forest proud The earliest woodman hewed, Or gray Powhatan's wondering eyes The pale-browed strangers viewed ; The noble Popham's fearless prow Essayed adventurous' deed ; He cast upon New-England's coast The first colonial seed ; And bade the holy dews of prayer Baptize a heathen sod ; And 'mid the groves a church arose Unto the Christian's God. And here, on Sabino's green marge, > He closed his mortal trust. And gave this savage-peopled world Its first rich Saxon dust. • So, where beneath the drifted snows . He took his latest sleep, A faithful sentinel of stone Due watch and ward shall keep ; A lofty fort, to men unborn. In thunder speak his name. And Maine, amid her thousand hills, New-England's founder claim. h. H, SlGonnHSK Haktfobd, Ct., Sept. 3, 1862. I.E SIEtTB DE CHAMFIiAIir. OirwARD o'er waters which no keel had trod, No plummet sounded in their depths below, No heaving anchor grappled to the sod Where flowers of ocean in seclusion glow ; From isle to isle, from coast to coast he prest With patient zeal and chivalry sublime. Folding o'er Terra Incognita's breast The lilied vassalage of Gallia's clime. Though Henry of Navarre's profound mistake Montcalm must expiate and France regret ; Yet yonder tranquil and heaven-mirrored lake, Like diamond in a marge of emerald set, Bears on its freshening wave, from shore to shore, The baptism of his name till time shall be no more. Habwobp, Ct., Oct. 1, 1862. L. Hustlbt Siqourhit, 366 APPENDIX, SIB I-EBDINAKDO GOKGES. Hot 'mid Ambition's sterner sons, inspired with restless rage, Wlioso wreatiis of laurel stain with blood the snow of History's page, Nor 'mid those sordid hordes who wrap their souls in cloth of gold. And smother every generous aim in that Laoeoon fold ; But with the men whom age on age complacently shall view Unostentatious in their course, and like the pole-star true, Who nobly plan, and boldly aid the welfare of their race — Sir Ferdinando Gorges' name shall find an honored place. On the new Western Continent, his earnest eye was bent, Nor rising cloud, nor rolling storm obscured his large intent ; Though Raleigh, that chivalrous friend, upon the scaffold bled, And many an unexpected foe upreared the hydra head ; Though adverse fortune ruled, and loss his flowing coffers drained. And monarchs vacillated sore, and parliaments complained ; Yet with a persevering zeal that no defeat impaired. When others failed, he onward pressed — where others shrank, he dared. Then colonizing ships went down beneath the engulfing main. Or on their cargoes fiercely fed the pirate power of Spain, And homeward from their rude abodes the baffled planters steer, Discouraged at the hardships dire that vex the pioneer ; The wily Aborigines* his proffered kindness grieved. And the great Bashaba himself all Christian trust deceived : Still as the beacon rises brave o'er desolation's fiood Sir Ferdinando Gorges, firm in faith's endurance stood. He ne'er beheld New-England's face that woke such life-long toil, Nor traversed with exploring foot his own manorial soil, « Nor gazed upon those crested hills where misty shadows glide, Nor heard her thundering rivers rush to swell old ocean's tide, Nor like the seer on Pisgah's cliff one distant glance enjoyed Of those delightful vales that oft his nightly dreams employed ; Yet still with deep indwelling thought and fancy's graphic art He bore her strongly-featured scenes depictured on h& heart She gave him no memorial stone 'mid all her mountains hoar. Nor bade one islet speak his name along her sounding shore. Nor charged a single mirrored lake that o'er her surface spread To keep his image on its wave till gratitude was dead : The woodman in the forest hews, the kingly mast to rear, And forth the fearless vessel goes to earth's remotest sphere ; But who of all the mariners upon the watery plain Gives praise to that unswerving knight, who loved the hiUs of Uaine ? Hartpoed, Ct., Nor. 6, 1862. L. H. S. * Some native Indians being brouglit to England, were kindly received by Sir Ferdinando Gorges Into hia family, from whom lie acquired much information of their country, its scenery and pro- ductions. One of them, a native of Martha's Vineyard, named Epinow, arWully invented a story of a mine of gold in tliat region. A vessel having been fitted out for the coast of New-England by Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Southampton, Epinow went in it, and when it approached his native island leaped into the eea and swam ashore. Soon a shower of arrows from about twenty canoes was discharged on deck, much dlsconcei'ting the crew. This expedition, like several other unsuccessful ones, re- turned wlthgut having performed any service adequate to tlie equipment. APPENDIX. 357 NOTE D. ESTIMATED TEEBITOEY AITB POPULATIOH" OP THE QIiOBK Square miles. Population, Europe, 8,500,000 2'76,000,000 Asia, 16,800,000 720,000,000 Africa, H,TOO,000 100,000,000 America, 16,000,000 T0,000,000 Oceanica,., 4,000,000 35,000,000 52,000,000 1,200,000,000 EUGUSH SPEAKING OR EWGLISH GOVEKITBD. Square miles. Inhabitants. United States of America 3,250,000 81,445,080 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,. . 122,556 29,334, 788 British Colonies and Dependencies, 8,124,528 189,610,666 Total 11,497,084 250,390,533 THE FOLLOWING TABLE GITES IN DETAIL THE BRITISH TEEEITOKT ABTD POPUIiATIOIT IH" 1861. COUSTRIES, BTC. ABEA. SQ. H. POPULATION. AREA. E4. U. POPDLATIOW, Europe. England, Wales Scotland,. Ireland, Channel Islands : Man, Jersey, Guernsey, with adjacent Islands, Aldemey, Sark, Ai'my, Navy, and Sailors, United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Maltese Islands, Ionian Islands, Heligoland, Total in Europe, Asia. Bengal Presidency, Madras " Bombay " North- West Provinces, . Punjab, As-Sutlej States, Oude, Nagpore or Berar Pegu,' Tenasserim Provinces, . . . Dast'n Straits Settlem'ts : Penang and Wellesley,. Malacca and Naning, . . 50,922 7,398 81,824 82,518 18,949,980 1,111,795 8,061,251 5,764,542 52,889 56,078 29,846 4,r~~ 1 808,491 122,656 2 115 1,045 5 29,334,788 17,750 186,271 229,726 2,800 29,721,355 221,969 40,852,397 132,090 22,487,297 131,544 11,790,042 105,759 38,655,198 73,585 10,486,710 8,090 2,282,111 25,000 5,000,000 76,432 4,660,000 32,250 570,180 29,168 115,481 251 90,688 1,049 19,103 Singapore, Native States subordinate to Bengal, to Madras, to Bombay, British India, Oeylon, Labuan, Hong-Kong, Aden, Total in Asia, Africa. Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Cape Colony, Caffraria, Natal, St. Helena, Mauritius, Seychelles, Total in Africa, Oceanlca. New South-Wales, Victoria, South-Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, North- Australia Australia, 275 515,535 51,809 60,575 92,749 ■ 38,702,206 5,213,671 4,470,370 1,465,331 180,377,148 24,700 1,759,523 60 1,168 29 75,508 10 80,000 1,490,120 182,293,342 2,000 5,698 3,000 88,818 6,000 151,846 104,921 267,096 22,000 120,000 18,000 121,068 47 5,490 708 288,363 200 8,276 156,876 955,650 856,480 850,553 86,940 544,677 898,880 117,967 988,980 . 14,823 450,780 80,115 698,770 6,98T 2,980,780, 1,065,123 358 APPENDIX. BKITISH TEBKITOKY AND POPULATIOBT IN ISei.-Continued. Taamanla, New-Zealand, Norfolk Island, Auckland Inland, Veejee Islands, Total In Oceantca,. , America. Vancouver, British Columbia, Hudson Bay Co.*b Ter Labrador, Canada West, Canada East, New-Brunswick, Nova Scotia, etc., Prince Edward, Newfoundland, Bermuda Islands, Balize, (Honduras,) North- America, Bahama Islands, Turk's Isl, and the Galcos, Jamaica, Cayman Islands Trinidad, Barbadoes, Grenada, AREA, SQ. u. 22,629 9S,500 18 600 8,034 8,107,461 12,766 287,250 2,260,000 170,000 147,882 209,900 27,704 18,746 2,184 35,918 19 18,600 3,260,944 6,094 430 6,250 260 2,020 166 165 POPULATIOH. 89,977 129,477: 600 100 188,500 1,418,776 2.5,000 64,000 Tl.OOO 1,660 1,896,091! 1,111,566 252,047 880,699, 80,648 122,9.'>8 11,612 18,600 8,485,871 81,402 4,428 441,264 1,760 78,845 161,201! 35,517 St. Vincent, Tobago. St. Lucia, Nevis, St. Chrlstoplier, Antigua, Montserrat, Virgin Islands,. Dominica, Barbuda, AnguiUa, WesHndies,. Guayana : Essequibo, Berbice, Demerara Falkland Islands,. South- America, Total in America,, . European,. . Asiatic, ... African, . . . Oceanic, . . . American,. . AKEA. EC U. 132 144 296 21 68 108 47 92 274 72 34 16,663 44,000 26,000 27,000 6,297 102,297 Gea>-d Total,. 3,868,904 123,723 1,490,120 156,876 3,107,461 3,868,904 80,128 16,868 26,471 9,601 28,177 87,757 7,663 6,669 25,230 1,707 3,062 942,246 22,925 29,003 76,767 4,666,360 29,721,355 182,29-3,342 955,660 1,418,776 4,656,350 8,247,084 218,946,458 The oldest of the present Colonies of Great Britain is Newfoundland, obtained by settlement in 1608; Bermuda was obtained in 1609; St. Christopher, in 1623 ; Barbadoes, in 1625 ; Nevis, in 1628 ; Bahamas, in 1629; Gambia, in 1631; and Antigua, in 1632. There are fifty distinct colonial governments over the British possessions. NOTE E. From the N. Y. Christian Times of Nov. 20, 1802. THE POPHAM OELEBKATIOlf. ' ACTION OP THE NEW-VOBK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Amono the pleasing incidents not remotely connected with the meeting of the General Convention, was the gathering of a number of the members of that body, both clerical and lay, of acknowledged interest in historical pursuits, at the October meeting of the New- York Historical Society, to notice appropriately the late celebration of the Popham settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec. Invitations were extended by the courtly and accomplished President of the New-York Historical Society, the Hon. Lu- ther Bradish, in behalf of the Society, to a number of the Bishops, to the delegation from the Diocese of Maine, and to several prominent members of the Maine and Massachusetts Historical Societies at that time in New- York, to be present on this interesting occasion. The invitation was very generally responded to ; and, among others, the Rev. James Craik, D.D,, of Ken- tucky, President of the Hou^e of Clerical and Lay Deputies ; the Hon, R, C. Winthrop, President of the Massachusetts Historical Society; Prof. APPENDIX. . 359 •Shattuck, of Boston; the Rev. Dr. Edson, of Lowell; the Hon. John A. Poor, and the Rev. William Stevens Perry, of Portland, members of the Maine Historical Society, were received by a large and brilliant assembly, consisting of prominent historical and literary characters of New- York and vicinity, in the elegant hall of the Society, on Second Avenue. _ After the paper of the evening was read, the Hon. Luther Bradish, Pres- ident of the Society, said, that in reporting upon the miscellaneous business of the Society, it was his pleasing duty to refer to an interesting event that had taken place during the vacation— the celebration in Maine of the found- ing of the English race in the New World. In many particulars, this cele- bration was one of the most memorable and successful historical commem- orations that had yet taken place. On the Peninsula of §abino, at the mouth of the ancient Sagadahoc, the modern Kennebec river, in the State of Maine, the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first English colony on the shores of New-England was celebrated on the 29th of August, 1862, at which, after the use of the old words of prayer and praise of the English Prayer-Book of that time, an eloquent aind appropriate oration, with speeches, was delivered, and other proceedings took place, at the erection of a monumental stone in the walls of Port Popham. The New- York Historical Society, through its President, was honored with an invitation to participate in that celebration. Absence from home prevented his receiving the invitation in time to be present, had his health permitted. He had replied in what he trusted were appropriate terms. He was glad to know that other members of this Society had responded for our city and State. He regretted that we had not been able to do full justice to our sense of obligation to our sister Society in Maine. He trusted the Soliety would in some form take notice of it in an appropriate manner. The Hon. George Folsom, a son of Maine, and well known as the learned historian of one of Maine's cradle homes of civilization and Episcopacy, rose, and said he fully sympathized in all that had fallen from the Presi- dent ; he regretted that absence in Canada, with his family, prevented his acceptance, in person, of the honor done him by an invitation. He asked leave to introduce the following resolution : '■'■Resolved, That the New- York Historical Society has observed with pleasure the efforts of the Historical Society of Maine to perpetuate the earliest history of their State, by associating important historic events with the great works of national defence of the United States Government ; that they acknowledge with satisfaction the courtesy extended by the Historical Society and citizens of Maine, inviting the Society and its ofBcersto parti- cipate in the commemorative celebration of the founding of the first colony on the shores of New-England, on the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniver- sary of that event, on the 29th of August, 1862, at which tinie a memorial stone was placed in the walls of Fort Popham commemorating the estab- lishment of the first Protestant civil government on the shores of New- England ; that tliis Society cordially approves the act of its President, in his reply to the invitation to participate in that celebration, and the good- will therein expressed ; that all such efforts to preserve and illustrate the history of our race in the new world are worthy of general notice." The Hon. J. Romqyn Brodhead said he seconded the resolution with great pleasure. He was pleased further to learn that several members of the Maine Historical Society had honored our meeting by their presence this evening, as had the President of the Historical Society of Massachusetts. Among others from Maine, the orator of the Popham Celebration, the Hon. Mr. Poor, was present, and he trusted this resolution would be adopted and that Mr. Poor would be called on to favor us with some reply thereto. The resolution was unanimously adopted. In reply to' a call from the 360 APPENDIX. President, Mr. Poor said his associates of the Maine Historical Society and other friends from Maine present, with himself, felt personally complimented by the action hero taken, in reference to the Popham Celebration. He rose with a feeling of embarrassment to return thanks for this cordial and un- locked for compliment. Ho doubted not that the Historical Society of Maine would, in its own befitting manner, return appropriate acknowledg- ments for this generous courtesy on the part of the New- York Historical Society. The Popham Celebration, so courteously alluded to, had already borne fruits, in awakened attention to the study of the early history of the coun- try, and we are largely indebted to eminent historical minds of New- York for much of the interest already attached to it. The fact so happily alluded to by your own historian, Mr. Brodhead, the political connection between Now- York and Maine under the charter of Charles II., in his most interest- ing and appropriate reply to the invitation to speak for the great metropolis of the New World, cannot fail to excite a feeling of mutual sympathy, at this day, with the more recent but increasing commercial intimacy of the two States. It is certainly refreshing to revive and recall, for this brief hour, the kindly intercourse of other days. It is a fact, almost forgotten, even by the active men of this time, that much the largest portion of Maine was at one time under the same government as that of New-York, and that Gyles Goddard, the renowned representative from Pemaqukl, sat in the Legislature of New-York in 1684, chosen by the free-holders of the county of Cornwall, in ancient Sagadahoc. This letter of Mr. Brodhead, already published in the Maine papers, will be preserved in our memorial volume as one of the choicest of the many interesting contributions to its pages. The courteous and appropriate letter of your President is alreadjjpublished in the papers of Maine. One from the Hon. Mr. Bancroft, the most eminent of living American historians, and another from one of Maine's honored sons, Mr. Folsom, are promised for this volume. Mr. Folsom's invaluable labors in bringing to light and preserving the earliest history of his native State, have been pub- licly acknowledged by formal resolutions of the Maine Historical Society. New- York, therefore, will have a foremost position, if not, in fact, the post of honor, in the records of that commemorative festival. That celebration was well calculated to attract attention, for in its pur- pose it appeals at once to the sympathy of all who speak the English lan- guage, or share in any proper measure a feeling of pride at the achievements of our race. It had for its object the due observance of the great fact, the planting of our race in North-America, with the language, literature, laws, and religion of England, an event, if rightly comprehended in its relations and consequences, of as much importance as any one that has taken place since the establisliment of the Roman Empire. Eight years before the Leyden Church had been gathered in Holland, under the charge of the pious Robinson, twenty ^ears before they set foot on Plymouth sands, the purpose of " planting colonies in the north-west of North-America " had been set forth in a paper on file in the British State Paper Office. More than thirteen years prior to the voyage of the May Flower, the title of Old England to New England had been secured by a formal act of possession and occupation at the mouth of the Sagadahoc by Governor Popham's colony.* No Frenchman ever set foot on the Atlantic * Tho Seven Articles of the Leyden Flock, signed by Robinson and Brewster, sent to Kin^ James before their departure from Holland, signifying their full assent to the authority of the English Church, form a striking contrast to their subsequent preten- sions, under- tho guidance of such men as Bradford and Winslow. See Poor a Vin- dication of Gorges, p. 1U8, for this remarkable document in full. APPENDIX. 361 shore, claiming title west of the Kennebec, after the planting of Popham's colony in 1607. n The Colonial Empire of Great Britain, the wonder of this age, had its root in the charter of April tenth, 1606, and its development in the New-England charter of 1620, both granted on the petitions of Sir Perdinando Gorges. The great idea of a strong central government, having extended dominions in distant lands, divided into separate provinces, communities, and states, each enjoying equal and just laws, suited to the local wants of each, fully developed in action under the rule of Cromwell, originated in an earlier day, and in the mind of him who secured those great charters, and maintained them till the soil of the New World was planted with our race, where it has gradually advanced toward universal dominion. The failure of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, of Sir Walter Raleigh, and of Sir Richard Grenville to comprehend the geographical and commercial laws that control the destiny of races and of empires, imposed on Sir Ferdinando Gorges, or rather left to him, the task of occupying the continent of North- America, from the fortieth to the forty-eighth parallel of north latitude, in which limits, in spite of individual jealousy and parliamentary injustice, he achieved the great work of English colonization in America. In their zeal against monopolies, in 1621 and 1622, the Commons of England declared ^'■fishing is of more value than plantations in Ameriea," and would have abandoned the continent to the French but for the pertinacity, foresight, and enlightened views of Gorges, and his favor with the King, from the pos- session of these great qualities. But the chief significance of the Popham Celebration, undoubtedly, is the mtroduction of a new principle in the naming of our forts, making them serve the double purpose of national defence and of preserving the memory of the great events in our history. We have seen the national honor tarnished, and the moral sense of the nation shocked, by the bestowal of unworthy names — names of mere parti- san leaders — upon national vessels, forts, and other pubhc works. This form of coarse flattery panders to the lower tastes of men and destroys the mdependence of official men, who are made the recipients of it. It was, therefore, with a feeling of rehef that ^en. Totten was pleased to accept the proposal of affixing to the great work in Portland harbor the name of Fort Gorges, in honor of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the father of Eng- lish colonization in America, and naming the new work at the mouth of the Sagadahoc or Kennebec Fort Popham, in a similar spirit, and we hope to see this rule made universal. Especially do we look forward to the con- struction of a new fort, to guard the entrance to Portland harbor, to be named Fort Gosnold, and placed on the shore of Cape Elizabeth, the first point of the northern main of New-England, touched by that great EngUsh navigator, who has left on record the details of his discovery of the New- England coast in 1602. The fitness of the policy proposed will be readily appreciated by all men endowed with any share of that quality we call the historic sense ; for all know that the reputation of no pubhc man is secure within the first hun- dred years after his death. Personal ambition, partisan motives, and nar- row views characterize the popular movements of every age— our own as of all past ones— and the value of no man's Hfe can be justly measured in his own time. We build monuments, we name towns, cities, and counties, for men that a future age will hold indisfavor. We almost execrate the memo- ry of men to-day, that a later time shall honor. We rear in affected grand- eur an obelisk in devotion to the demon of war, that the calmer reason of the coming centuries will demolish or condemn. We do homage to popular partisan leaders to-day, whose doctrines have undermined the foundations of our Gpvernment and brought upon us civil war. 362 SUBSCRIBERS. Thanks to the good sense of the people of the Empire State, they hare preserved the name of their great navigator, Hudson, from any possibility of forgetfulness or decay, by affixing it to the great river of the mountains that must forever bear to this great metropolis the treasures of an expand- ing commerce with the interior. Looking back to the first dawnings of American history, we are beginning to discover the superior lustre of the great lights that guided hitherward the adventurous and heroic spirits of that great age. Under their benignant glow we revisit the spots made sacred by self-denying labors. We hope to strengthen our love of what is noble and heroic by an annual pilgrimage to that spot where, in prayer and faith, the foundations of empire in the New World were laid. Associating the history of Maine with New- York, so appropriately done by Mr. Brodhead, may serve to increase your interest in our State. Maine — so rich in historic interest, so full of legendary romance, so marked by the fascinations of its scenery ;* the territory claimed by the great European powers, Spain, Holland, Prance, and England ; the iome of the earliest French settlers and of the first English colonists ; the Norvmibega of Mil- ton's Paradise Lost, the Mavosheen of Purchase's strange narration ; "dis- covered by the English in 1602, '3, '5, '6, '7, '8, and '9 ;" the Nexc-Eagland of John Smith in 1614, and of later times — obeys the law of historic as of commercial gravitation and gladly finds sympathy, " without reservation," in the great metropolis of the Western World. Maine, too, builds the ships that fiU the docks of the East River and the Hudson. She lifts from her quarries the granite columns that form the ornaments and support of your public edifices, and the rich colonnades and solid walls of the Treasury Extension at AVashington. She needs, most of all, the pen of the historian and the pencil of the painter, to be made as familiar as household words in the private residences of the Fifth Avenue and Madison Square, by means of landscapes that shall equal in' beauty the richest scenery of the Rhine and the Alps ; true to nature from the sea- shores, the valleys, and the mountains of Maine. With her summer retreats thus laid open, she shall annually attract pleasure tourists of other lands than our own. Rejoicing in the success of your Society, and grateful for your generous courtesy, I may be allowed to close, as I began, by expressing for our Society and its members, here present, the assurance of our hearty thanks. * " AVe, Americans, neglecting both the surpassing magnificence — nay, often sub- limity — and the rare loveliness of various districts of our own Continent, wander forth across the seas, to seek, at great expense, and amid physical and moral dangers, scenery in foreign lands, which falls short of the attractions of much we possess at homo. Thus, hsw few are alive to the glorious and varied beauty of that zone of islands, which, commencing with the perfection of Casco Bay, terminates with the precipitous, seal-frequented shores of Grand-llunan, at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. Of all the Archipelagoes sung by the poet, described by the histori.in, and depicted by the painter, there is none which can exceed, in its union of cJiarms, those two hundred mUes of intermingling land and ocean, where, lost in each other's embrace, the sea seems in love with theland, and the snore with the foam-frosted ■waves 1" — General J. Watts de Bij/ster's Dutch in, Maine, p. 44. LIST OF SUBSCEIBEES TO THE lEIOEIAL VOLUIE. Andebw, Hon. John A., Gov. of Mass Alden, Hikam 0., Anderson, John P., Andrews, Hon. Leonard, Anthony, C. J., Bancroft, Hon. George, Bache, Prof. AleX D., Ballard, Rev. Edward, Burgess, Rt. Rev. George, Beodhead, Hon. J. Rometn, Bolles, Rev. E. C, Burgess, Rev. Alexander, Barrett, E. R., Brown, Hon. J. B., Brown, J. M., BuzzBLL, Dr. J., Brown, J. Olcott, Bryant, Hubbard W., Bradley, Robert, Brackett, H. S., Beal, Geo., W., Bailey, Erbdbrick William, Brown, Hon. James S., Barker, C. H., Bourne, Hon. E. E., bupfum, j. n., Bell, Samuel D., BowDOiN College Library, Beardsley, Rev. E. E., D. D., Bbevoort, J. C, , Boston, Mass., 1 Belfast, Maine, 1 Windham, " 1 Biddeford, " 1 Worcester, Mass., 1 New York City, 1 Washington, D. C, 1 Brunswick,. Maine, 1 Gardiner, " 1 New York City, 1 Portland, Maine, 1 u a \ a a -^ a a ^ u a 1^ li a ]_ (J u -^ u u 2 ii a ^ a a ]^ u a ]^ u a j[ Milwaukee, Wis., 1 Wayne, Maine, 1 Kennebunk, Maine, 1 Lynn, Mass., i Manchester, N. H., i Brunswick, Maine, 1 Hartford, Conn., 1 New York City, 1 364 SUBSCRIBERS. COBURN, Hon. Abner, Gov. of Maine, Skowhegan, Maine, Chandler, Hon. P. W., Boston, Mass., Coast Survey Office, Washington, D. C, Clark, Dr. E., Portland, Maine, CuMMiNGS, Dr. Henry T., a Cutler, Otis, u Corey, Walter, a Clark, Charles, a Chadwick, Dr. Geo. H., a Carter, J. E, li Coney, Hon. Samuel, Augusta, Clark, Isaac R., Bangor, Cobb, Francis, Rockland, Chapman, R. M., Biddeford, Drummond, James, Bath, Maine, Drummond, Hon. J. H., Portland, Maine, Drummond, Hon. Thomas, U. S. Judge, Chicago, Illinois, Drake, S. G., Boston, Mass., Dole, Andrew T., Portland, Maine, Dow, John E., " " Dix, Geo L., Boston, Mass., DOANE, Wm. C, Rector St. John's Ch., Hartford, Conn., Davis,W. J., New York City, Dane, J., Kennebuuk, Maine, Day, Horace H., New York City, DoNNELL, Wm. B., Portland, Maine, Dow, John E., Jr., " " Dawson, H. B., Morrisania, N. Y., Day, John J., ilontreal, C. E., Danporth, F. a., [Mechanic Falls, Me., Dwight, T. B., Philadelphia, Pa., Eliot, Samuel, Pros. Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.; Eastman, Hon. Philip, Saco, Maine, Eaton, L. IL, Bucksport, Maine, SUBSCRIBERS. 365 Emery, Joshua T., Elliott, Daniel, Everett, Hon. Ebenezer, Elwell, Edward H., FoLSOM, Hon. Geo., Fessenden, D. W., Furbish, Henry H., Farwell, N. a., Fisher, Eoland, Fletcher, H. A., Fogg, 0. S., Fowler, John, Jr., Fellowe, R. S., Gardiner, Hon. R. H., GiLMAN, Hon. Charles J., Gilman, Dr. John T., GooDENOW, Hon. John H., Greene, Hon. J. D., GoDDARD, John, Griffin, C. S. D., Gibson, E. T. H., Griffin, Joseph, Howe, Hon. Joseph, Hillard, Hon. Geo. S., Hedge, Rev. F. H., D. D., HoDSDON, Gen. J. L., Hall, Hon. Joseph B., Hammond, Geo. W., Heald, J. S., Howard, Hon. Joseph, Haines, Allen, Hall, Edward W., Hull, John T., Portland, " 1 Brunswick, " 1 a u -^ Portland, " 1 New York City, 1 Portland, Maine, 1 Rockland, " 1 Bath, '' 1 Lancaster, N. H., 1 Portland, Maine, 1 New York City, 1 New Haven, Conn., 1 Gardiner, Maine, 1 Brunswick, " 5 Portland, " 1 Alfred, " 1 Cambridge, Mass., 1 Cape Elizabeth, Me., 1 Portland, Maine, 1 New York City, 1 Brunswick, Maine, 1 Halifax, N. S., 2 Boston, Mass., 1 Brookline, " 1 Bangor, Maine, 1 Portland, " 1 Westbrook, " 1 Portland, " 1 a a. i a a 1 Washington, D. C, , 1 Portland, Maine, 1 366 SUBSCRIBERS, Harmon, CO., Hubbard, T. H., Hanson, Chas. V., Inman, Henry, U. S. A., Jbwett, Hon. Jedediah, Jackson, Geo. E. B., Jones, T. K., Kingsbury, Benj., Jr., LOMAX, J., Larrabee, W. H., Library, New York State, Library, New York Society, Library, New York Mercantile, Library, Boston Public, Library, State, Maine Historical Society, Maine, State of, McCrillis, Wm. H., Morris, E. S., Moore, Kev. H. D., Morrison, J. B., Mosher, a. J., Merrill, A. R., Murray, H. J., Munsell Joel, Mercantile Library Association, norris, b. "w., NoYES, James, Nichol's, F. W., Osgood, J. R., Pierce, Hon. Josiah, Peery, Rev. Wm. S., Portland, Maine, 1 North Berwick, Me., 1 Portland, Maine, Portland, Maine, 1 Portland, Maine, 2 « " 1 a a 1 Portland, Maine, 1 Kalamazoo, Mich., 1 7th Reg. Me. V. M., 1 New York, 1 New York City, 1 (I an -t Boston, Mass., 1 (( (( -j 150 50 Bangor, Maine, 2 Portland, " 1 Farmington, Maine, 1 Westbrook, " 1 Buckfield, " 1 Portland, Maine, 1 Albany, N. Y., 2 Portland, Maine, 1 Skowhegan, Maine, 1 Portland, " 1 Boston, Mass., 1 Gorham, Maine, 2 Portland, « 1 SUBSCRIBERS. 367 Patten, James T., Poor, Henry V., Peabody Institute, Pelton, F. W., Poor, John A., Page, Moses B.., Pierce, Lewis, Pennell, Thos., Poor, Fred. A., Page, Benj. V., PuRiNGTON, George B., Richardson, C. B., Robinson, Dr. W. C, Richardson, Thomas, Rogers, Charles B., Ross, George E., Robinson, R. I., Robinson, A., ' , Robinson, R. L., Shaw, Abner 0., Shaw, Samuel P., Smith, Hon. F. 0. J., Sparrow, John, Sweat, Hon. L. D. M., Sewall, R. K., Smith, Jacob, Stevens, Rev. W. B., Sewall, W. B., Swan, Rev. J. A., Souther, Rev. Samuel, Smith, W. B., ScAMMON, Hon. J. Young, ScAMMON, Franklin, SCAMMON, 0.,T., Bath, Maine, 3 New York City, 1 Boston, Mass., 1 Portland, Maine, 5 Great Falls, N. H., 1 Portland, Maine, I Chicago, Illinois, 1 u a ^ New York City, 10 Portland, Maine, 1 " " > 1 " " 1 U (C 1 (( a 1 a u j[ Portland, Maine, 1 Cambridge, Mass., 1 Westbrook, Maine, 5 Portland, Maine, 1 Wiscasset, " 1 Bath, " 1 Philadelphia, Pa., 1 Kennebunk, Maine, 1 a u -^ Worcester, Mass., 1 Machias, Maine, 1 Chicago, Illinois, 5 a a ]_ 1 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1862, By JOHN A. POOE, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of Maine. N. A. roster & Co., Print, Portland, Mo. MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. At a meeting of the Society, held in the new City Hall Building, Portland, on Wednesday, June 29th, 1859, John A. Pooe, Esq., read a paper on "English Colonization in America," in which he claimedl for Sir Perdinando Gorges, and his associates, the honor of English colonization on this continent, and disputed the claims set up by the Massachusetts historians, in behalf of the Pilgrims and the Puritans. K. K. Sbwall, Esq., read a paper on the historical remains at Sheep- scot and Sagadahoc, concurring in the views expressed by Mr. Poor as to the claims of the Pilgrims. Votes of thanks were passed to Messrs. Poor and Sewall. Extracts from the records. EDWARD BALLAKD, Becording Secretary. NEW YOEK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. At a stated meeting of the Society, held at the Library on Tuesday evening, October 4th, 1859 : The paper of the evening was read by Mr. John A. Poor, of Portland, Maine, entitled "English Colonization in America." On its conclusion, Dr. John W. Francis submitted the following reso- lution, which, after some remarlis by Messrs. Henry O'Keilly andErastus C. Benedict, was adopted. Besolved, That the thanks of the Society be presented to Mr. John A. Poor, for his able and mterestmg paper read this evening, and that a copy be requested for the Archives, and that the same be referred to the Executive Committee for publication, or such further disposition as they may deem expedient. Extract from the minutes. ANDEEW WAENEE, Becording Secretary. NOTE. The following paper, as now printed, contains several paragraphs omitted for want of time, in the address before the New York Histor- ical Society. The authorities cited are few, compared with the works examined, having a direct bearing on the question, and conjBned mainly to such as have not, till recently been easily accessible to the public. The Documents found in the Appendix are such as seemed needM to the correction of the popular history of New England. The persistent efforts of modern writers to prejudice the name of Gorges, &om the 1 fact of his strong political and religious attachments to an unpopular sovereign and to an established church, ought by this time to cease, as the occasion that originally prompted them, has passed away. The fact that he was a royalist and a churchman would naturally excite the jealous hate of cotemporary rivals of dissenting opinions; but he did not seek to plant the established church of his nation, but the people of his race, with organized institutions of government, in the new world. If, as we have attempted to show, it is to him, that the English race owe the colonization of America, it is enough for our pvirpose ; for all admit that he left to each community its choice, in all matters of civil polity, religion, and church government. ADDRESS. Two events, of ever increasing importance, have marked tlie progress of this continent, destined hereafter to be regarded, as the great epochs of its history — the grant of authority from the British Crown, under which Colonies were planted in America,^ and the final surrender of the continent to the English race, by the conquest of Canada from France — the former obtained through the eflForts of the sagacious and enterprising Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the latter achieved by the heroic valor of Wolfe. France, at one time, dividing with Spain the whole of North America,^ saw its power broken, 1. See Appendix A. 2. On the evening in whicli this paper was read in New York, there was presented to the Historical Society, a Spanish G-lobe, dated 1542, en- graved on copper, which shows the boundaries of Florida, and of " Ver- razzan or New France" — Florida extending as high as the 33° north, — New France reaching north to Terra Corterealis. This Globe is one of the most valuable contributions yet made, to the history of North Amer- ica. It was presented to the Society, by Buctingham Smith, Esq., late Secretary of Legation at Madiid. Map of the world by Hondius. 1580. 6 and its dominion in the new world extinguished, when at the charge of the British bayonet, the hith- erto invincible columns of Montcalm, broke and fled from the Plains of Abraham, and the morning sun- light of September 18, 1759, revealed to the disap- pointed soldiers of De Levis, the proud Cross of St. George, floating in triumph over the ancient Cita- del of Quebec.^ The dominion of a continent was changed by a single encounter, and English institutions are now planted, as the fruits of that victory, over a region of territory greater than all Europe, extending from the northern ocean to the gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific seas. The future of this conquering race, no statesman or philosopher of this day is able to foretell. My purpose is, to trace the earliest practical efibrts to plant it in America, and to vindicate the claims of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Proprietor of my na- tive State, to the proud title of Father of English Colonization in America. The greatness of England is due to her coloniza- tion in America. She was but a second rate power at the commencement of the 17th century, till rais- ed to greatness by the iron will of Cromwell. Af- ter the destruction of the Dutch fleet, the conquest of Acadia from France in 1654 ; of Jamaica from Spain in 1655 ; the establishment of her navigation 1. Ilisloirr l)H ( 'aitiiihi, F. X. Ciarneiui. Vol. i. p. 329. laws, and her protective policy, she was admitted as an equal, into the community of nations. The Venetians and the Swiss sought the friendship of the Protector. All the northern nations respected his power, and the great Mazarin acknowledged his authority as the lawful sovereign of Great Britain.^ The necessity of encouraging the Colonies pre- viously planted in North America, led to the navi- gation act of Cromwell, in 1651, which was the foundation of the maritime superiority of England. That statute remained for nearly two centuries,^ and secured to England the entire trade of all her colo- nies. It stimulated the commercial enterprise of her people. It allowed strangers no importations, unless of their own products in their own vessels. This act fell with crushing weight on the trade of Holland, and left England mistress of the commerce of Europe. The protective policy of CromweU, also, gradually drew to her own shores the manufactures of Holland and Flanders, and finally those of France after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, by Louis XIV., on the 24th of Oct., 1685. This celebrated edict of Henry IV., in 1598, secured liberty of con- science and perfect toleration to the Protestants of France, with a right to share the public offices ; and 1. Heeren's Political History. Vol. i. p. 145 and seq. 2. The naTigation Act of 1651 was repealed with the corn laws, June 26, 1846. Ch. 22, 9 and 10 Victories. 8 its repeal inflicted a blow on France from which it has never recovered. Over 800,000 of her best people fled from the persecution that followed, most of them to Great Britain and her Colonies. The most skilful artizans of Prance sought refuge in England, over 50,000 taking up their residence in London. They established the manufacture of silks, jewelry, crystal glasses, and other fine works hitherto unknown in England, but since that time successfully prosecuted throughout the British realms.^ Such has since, been the increase of the productive power of England, that according to the statement recently made by Lord Brougham in the British Parliament, the machinery of England, at this time employed, in the various branches of industry, equals in effective power, the labor of 800,000,000 of men, an aggregate three-fold greater than the entire laboring population of the globe. Yet England was the latest of all the European pow- ers to encourage its subjects who came to America, by the direct aid of its government, or to take meas- ures to plant its race in the new world. It was not so much the efforts of the government, as the genius of the people, and the enterprise of individuals, that gave to its sons the inheritance of this fair land, where free institutions have developed an expan- sive energy, that demands for its race, supremacy of the sea and dominion over the land. 1. Anderson's History of Commerce. ' The discovery of North America by Sebas- ■ tian Cabot,^ in the service of Henry VII., in 1497, seventeen months prior to the time when Co- lumbus saw the mainland of the continent, and the exploration of its coast from latitude 67 deg., 30 m_ north, to 'Florida, has often been urged in modern times, as giving to England claim of title. But it was followed by no act of jurisdiction, or of occupation for nearly a century,^ while all the other maritime powers of Europe were engaged in schemes of colonization. Emmanuel, King of the Portuguese, whose " subjects, at that time, were the great naviga- tors of Europe, and whose vessels had visited the East, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, mor- tified at his neglect of the offer of Columbus, deter- mined to make up for it, by new conquests in the 1. Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, with review of the History of Mari- time Discovery. London, 1831. 2. The Government of England was the first to lay down the true doctrine as to the right to newly discovered countries. They distinctly aflSrmed in 1580, in the reign of Elizabeth, that discovery and prescrip- tion are of no avail unless followed by aotaal occupation. " Prescriptio sinepossessione haud valeat." Camden, Eliz. Annales, 1580. Hearne's Ed., 1717, p. 360. " Occupation confers a good title by nature, and the laws of nations.'' Pari. Debates, 1620-1, p. 230. DenonvUles' Memoir, on French Limits in America. N. T. Doc. His. Vol. ix. p 378. " The first discoverers of an unknown country, not inhabited by Euro- peans, who plant the arms of their Prince, acquire the property of that country." 2 10 new World. He dispatched Gaspar CortereaP to North America in 1500 ; who described its shores and forests, its stately pines, suitable for masts, &c. But traffic in slaves, then an established ■ business of the Portuguese, being esteemed the more profitable, he sailed northward, took in, by kidnapping, a cargo of over fifty natives, whom he carried to Europe and sold for slaves.^ But the Portuguese did not maintain their claim to the country. Juan Ponce de Leon, in the service of Spain, 1512. . . r J took possession of Florida in the name of his Sovereign, in 1512 ; published a map of the coun- try as far north as Newfoundland, and claiming it as a possession of the Spanish Crown. But the Spaniards chiefly sought, at that time, mines of gold and silver, and never extended their occu- pancy of the country north of Florida, at about 33° north latitude. France, on the contrary, sent out fishing " vessels manned by the Bretons and Normans^ to Newfoundland, as early as 1504.^ Those who 1. The country of Labrador is laid down as " Corterealis," on the Spanish Globe, spoken of in a previous note, and in cotemporary maps of N'orth America. 2. Bancroft, Vol. i., p. 16. 3. Kelations Des Jesuitbs. Contenant ce qui s'est passfe de plus remarquable dans Les Missions des p6res de la compagnie de Jfesus dans la nouvelle France. Ouvi-age public sous les auspices de Gouv- ernomont Oanadien, 3 yoIs., 8 vo., 1858. Quebec. Augustine Cot6, Edi- teur imprimeur. Vol. i. p. 1. Relation 1611. Documentary History of New Tork. Vol. is. pp. 1, 304, 378, 701, 781. 11 came earliest, named the country first visited, Cape Breton, from their own home. They discovered the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, visited all the creeks and harbors of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, gave names to the localities which they still retain, and published maps of the country. Jean Denys of Honfleur, made a map on " his return in 1506, and Thomas Aubert, of Dieppe, brought back natives and a plot of the country in 1508. The ocean they crossed was named the sea of the West, 800 leagues broad in its narrowest strait from France. The Western ocean they called the sea of China.-^ In 1524, Giovanni Verrazzani, a Floren- 1524. . . . . . ' tine navigator in the service of Francis I., re- turned from his last voyage of discovery to Ameri- ca. According to Champlain,^ he made two voy- ages to the new world, but we have no narrative from his own pen of more than one. He sailed to the coast of CaroUna, iu a direct passage, where he found a native population more refined in its man- ners, than that of any other country of the new world. It had never before been visited by Euro- peans. Yerrazzani, sailing northward, explored the coast, penetrated its various harbors, entered the bay of New York, and spent fourteen days in the harbor of Newport, Khode Island. 1. Kelations Des Jesuites. Vol. i. p. 2. 1611. 2. N. T. Doc. Hist. Vol. ix. p. 2. 12 At each place visited, he made acquaintance with the native population, which proved more and more warlike and unamiable as he advanced northward. Following the general line of the shore, he sailed 150 leagues along the coast of Maine, clearly defin- ing that great Bay or Gulf extending from Cape Cod to Cape Sable, known afterward, as the Bay or Gulf of Maine} To the entire tract of country nev- er before discovered or frequented by Europeans, he gave the name of New France. On reaching the 50th parallel of latitude, he sailed to France, and published a most interesting narrative of his voy- age.^ France in this way established her claims to the country. It was not Cartier, as is commonly asserted, but Verrazzani, that gave the name of New France^ to the country he discovered, which extended from the 30th to the 50th degree of north latitude. This claim France maintained, and named Carolina for Charles IX. During his reign in 1562, Eibaut built a fort there, which was called Carles- fort in honor of the King.* 1. Edingburgh Encyclopedia. Vol. xviil. p. 263. 2. New York Historical Collections, vol. i. p. 39, et seq., neui series, contains the fuU narration of Verrazzani's voyage, addressed to the French Monarch, translated by J. G. Coggswellj Esq., of the Astor Li- brary. 3. Relations Des Jesiiites. Vol. i. p. 14. Champlnin, N. York Docu- ments. Vol. ix. p. 1-4. Do. vol. ix. p. 266. Harris' Voyages, Vol. i. 4. Ganioaii's History ol' Caimdu. Vol. i. p. IIS. Curiosity has been ;nvakoneil the past, year in regard to the loca- tion of Charles-fort from the naval and military expedition to the same 13 It is a singular fact that neither Spain, France or England had furnished up to this time, any great navigator in the discovery of America. They were all Italians ; Columbus a Genoese, Cabot a Vene- tian,-^ and Verrazzani a Florentine. The French Monarch, following; out his 1534. . & " ' plans for the colonization of America, sent out Jacques Cartier in 1534, who, sailing from St. Malo on April 20, with two ships and 122 men, on May 10th, 1534, came in' sight of Bonavista, Newfound- land, a spot discovered by Cabot in 1497. In the " Relations of the Jesuits," recently pub- lished under the patronage of the Government of Canada, it is stated, that Cartier had been on this coast ten years before,^ and it is fair to conjecture that he was in the expedition of Verrazzani. But we find no other account of any such voyage. Car- tier was most fortunate in his expedition. He region, under command of Commodore Dupont and Gen. Sherman. No traces of the old fort have yet been found, hy those in the army of the Beaufort expedition. Gen. Peter Force of Washington, whose authority is most valuable, places the site of Charles-fort on the north side of St. Helen's Island. 1. John Cabot, the father of Sebastian, undoubtedly was a Venetian. There is much evidence lately brought to light, tending to prove that Sebastian Cabot was born in Bristol. In Grafton's Chronicles of Eng- land, page 1323, we find the following notice of Cabot of Bristol : " A native of that city, but who with his father removed to Venice at the age of four years." Sebastian Cabot, son of a merchant of Cathay, in London. Eden, 249. Eden says, " Sebastian Cabot told me he was born at Bristol, and at four years of age went to Venice." Page 255. 2. Vol. i. p. 2. 14 found the localities of the Gulf of St. Lawrence already known to the fishermen, having the names they now bear. He sailed around Newfoundland, took possession in various places, both on the main land and the island of Newfoundland. Taking with him two young natives of Gaspe, by their full con- sent, he sailed for France and reached St. Malo on the 5th day of September, 1534.^ The report of Cartier's voyage and discov- " eries, excited great curiosity and interest ; and with a more ample equipment in three ships, pro- vided at the Eoyal expense, he sailed on another expedition for the new world on the 19th of May, 1553, carrying back to America his two young sav- ages, who became useful as interpreters to the na- tives. Cartier on this voyage sailed up the Gulf and into the river St. Lawrence, where he spent the fol- lowing winter at the fortified town of Hochelaga, to which he gave the name it still bears, Montreal? The next spring, erecting the cross in the " name of his Sovereign at various points, and taking with him the Chief of the savages at Que- bec, Donacana, and his two young interpreters, he returned to France on the 6th of July, 1536. 1. Cartier's Voyages. Garneau's History of Canada. 2. Cartier's Voyages. Garneau's History. Vol. i. p. 21. 15 He made his third voyage in 1540, but no new discoveries were made ; and for nearly fifty years, the more northern portions of North America were apparently forgotten by the Governments of both France and England. Spain, at that time the great Europeon power, subjugated to her dominion, and planted colonies in the rich countries of tropical and southern America, held the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida to the 30th parallel of latitude. The spirit of adventure had only led the French and English to take fish in the northern seas, and fur and timber from the coast of Maine — though the coast of America, from Labrador to the Equa- tor, was accurately delineated on maps published in Europe within fifty years of its first discovery by Columbus. The French sent Kibaut, in 1562, to Florida, and joined with him Laudonniere, in 1564 but no results of importance came of these expe- ditions, as the French were driven out by the Spaniards. The French asserted their right to the country north of Florida, for nearly one hundred years after its discovery, previous to any substantial claim to it being set up on the part of England. The first act of the British Parliament, con- ' ceming America, was passed in the second year of the reign of Edward VI., in 1548, entitled "an act against the exaction of money, or other 16 dues, for licence to traffic into Iceland, Newfound- land," &c} England seemed more intent on religious 1677 disputes than on the extension of her domin- ions in America, during the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. No returns of the English fishery are found prior to 1577. Those of the French date back to 1527 — three years after the expedition of Verrazzani. In 1577 there were found one hundred and fifty French fishing vessels on the coast of Newfoundland, engaged in the cod- fishery, and only fifty English ones. The heroic exploits of Drake, the first Eng- 1578 . . ^^ ' lishman that circumnavigated the globe — ^who, sailing on this voyage from Plymouth, Nov. 15, 1577, returned to the same port, Sept. 26, 1580 — and the Discourse of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, " to prove a passage by the north west to Caihaia" printed in 1576, had filled the youthful mind of England with enthusiasm for noble undertakings, and stimulated the ambition of all classes; and Sir Hmnphrey Gil- bert led the way in the plans of colonizing the new world. He obtained from Queen Elizabeth a char- ter "for planting our people in America," June 11, 1578, in the 20th year of her reign. Under this grant, he took possession of Newfoundland, and planted the city of St. John, in the presence of thir- ty Europeans, of various nations — fishermen, who 1. Statutes at lai-ge. 17 accidentally, but not unfrequently, assembled in that secure seaport, at that early day. This port, long after this, retained the name of "the English port," and is so mentioned by the historian L'Escarbot, in his history of the voyage of De Monts to Acadia, in 1604. But the loss of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, at sea, proved fatal to his plans, and it was some years before Newfoundland became a permanent settle- ment, or colony.^ In 1584, the Queen granted letters patent for the planting of a colony in Virginia to the gallant and accomplished Sir Walter Raleigh, whose heroic efforts for the honor of his country, and whose melancholy fate, excite at this day, the sympathy of all generous minds. But the -first colony he transported to Virginia, returned — the second, per- ished by some unknown means j and thus was reserved for another, the glory of first planting the Saxo-Norman race in the new world.^ 1. John Guy was sent out as Governor of Newfoundland in 1610, and began the Colony at Conception Bay. {Furchoie.) The Newfoundland Colony is the oldest of the present Colonies of Great Britain. 2. Since the writing of this paper, a work of great interest to the student of English history has been undertaken, "A Calendar of State Papees." jildited by W. Noel Sainsbury. London, 1860. Longman, Green, Longman & Koberts." It is sub-divided into three great branches, or divisions — " Domestic," " Colonial," and " Foreign." The first volume of each, is already published. That containing an 3 18 Such is, in brief, the history of European ■ attempts at colonization in North America, to the close of the sixteenth century. There was not an European settlement from Florida to the North- ern Ocean. Two hundred and fifty years ago, Eng- land, a second rate power in Europe, had not a colo- nial possession on the globe. France and Holland were then the great maritime nations; and well did Sir Ferdinando Gorges say in the House of Corn- abstract of colonial documents, embraces tbe period from 1574 to 1660, from which we condense the following, viz : 1. 1574. Points stated in reference to proposed efforts to plant set- tlements in the northern parts of America. Petition to the Queen, dated March 22, 1574, to allow of an enterprise for the discovery of sundry rich and unknown lands "fatally reserved for England, and for the honor of your Majesty." Endorsed, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Geo. Peckham, Mr. Oarlile, and Sfr Kichard Grenville. p. 1. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's commission and charter are dated June 11, 1578. 2. 1580. Fragment of a report of persons who had travelled in America, with John Barros, Andrew Thevett, and John Walker. Sir Humphrey Gilbert did confer in person. In 1580, John Walker and his company discovered " a silver mine within the river Xorumbega." p. 2. 1600. Consideration on "a proposition for planting an English colony in the northwest of America. If the Prince would assist it, in part, his Majesty's merchants go liberally into it — the counti-y be stirred to ftirnish men ; some gentlemen moved to be adventurers, and a worthy general chosen, quaUfled to judge by sight, of the strength of the places ; it might be a glorious action for our Prince and country, honorable for the general welfare, and adventurers, and in time prolitable." p. 4. (This paper bears internal evidence, that Sir Ferdinando Gorges was its author.) 1603, Nov. 8. Copy of patent by the French King to De Monts, of Acadia, from the 40th'' to the 4(ith° of north latitude, p. 4. (The early filing of tliis copy in the British State Paper office, shows how complete was the information of the government as to the move- ments of the French towards colonizing the New World.) 1600, April 10. Grant of churtcr to Geo. Popham and als. by King Charles, from 34° to 45^\ p. 5. (Sec Appendix A.) 1007, March 9. Ordinance enlarging the number, and augmenting the authority of the council for the two several colonies and plantations 19 mons, when called on to show why he should not surrender the charter of New Englandj "That so valuable a country could not long remain unpossessed^ cither hy the French, Spaniard, or Dutch, hut for his efforts here to settle a flourishing plantaiion} The throne of England was filled by Elizabeth^ from 1558 to 1603. That of France from 1589 to 1610, by the liberal-minded and chivalric Henry IV., who of all the Sovereigns of his time, seems most fully to appreciate the importance of Ameri- can colonization. In the autumn of 1602, an expedition was ' fitted out by the merchants of Rouen, under charge of Seigneur du Pont Grrave, of St. Malo, and in the early part of 1603, Henry sent Cham- plain,^ the great French navigator, to the St. Law- in Virginia and America. Thii-ty members for the first colony, from 34° to 41° north latitude ; and ten members for the second colony, be- tween 38° and 45° north latitude. 1607, March 13. Letter of Gorges to Challong. (See later note.) 1607, Dec. 13. Geo. Popham to King James. Maine Hist. Coll. Vol. V. p. 341. - 1613, Oct. 18-28. Montmorency Admiral of France to, King James. Complains of Argall at Mt. Desert. Requests compensation, &o. The following are found in the Calendar of " Domestic State Papers:" 1603, July 26. Warrant, &c., to N". Parker, (Warrant Book, p. 102,) take possession of the office and papers of Sir Ferdinando Gorges on his suspension from office. 1603, Sept. 15. Warrant to pay 5Bs. per annum to Sir F. Gorges, who is restored to his former post of Captain of the new fort at Plymouth. (Warrant Book, fol. 18.) 1608, Letter. Sir F. G. to Thomas Gamel of Salisbury. Escape of Challoner (Challong) out of Spain. Bad feelings of the Spaniards to- wards the English. 1609, July 31. Warrant to deliver Ordnance Stores to Sir F. G., Captain of the forts at Plymouth Island. 1. Gorges' Brief Narration. Maine His. Coll. Vol. ii. p. 36. 2. Champlain's Voyages, p. 40, edit, 1632. 20 rence, who visited on his return from Quebec, Gaspe, the Bay of Chaleur, and the other places occupied by the fishermen in the Gulf He encomi- tered icebergs of prodigious length, between the 44th and 45th degrees north latitude, and obtained from the savages a description of the St. Lawrence, above Hochelaga. On the return of Champlain in 1603, Hen- ■ ry had granted to Pierre du Gas, Seigneur De Monts, a French Protestant, and a member of his household, all that part of North America lying be- tween the 40th and 46th parallels of north latitude, and confirmed it by letters patent, Nov. 8th, 1603.-' In this grant the King says, " fully confiding in your great prudence, and in the knowledge you possess of the quality, condition, and situation of the said country of Acadia, from the divers voyages, travels, and visits you have made into these parts, and others neighboring and circumjacent, &c., &c., we do appoint you our Lieut. General, to represent our person in the country, coasts and confines of Acadia, from the 40th to the 46th degree of lat- itude." The design was, the occwpancy of the country. De Monts sailed -from Havre De Grace, " March 17, 1604, with two vessels, in one of 1. L'Escai'bot Historie de la nouvello France, 1609. Champlain's Voyages (Ed. 1632,) p. 4-t. Hazard's Coll. Vol. i. p. 45. Williamson's History of Maine. Vol. i. app. Sainsbury's Calender of Colonial Slate Papers. Vol. i. p. 4. 21 which, Capt. Timothy, of New Haven, Master, were De Monts, Champlain, Poutrincourt, and the ac- complished scholar and historian L'Escarbot.^ In the other, commanded by Capt. Morell, of Honfleur, was Du Pont Grave the companion and associate of De Monts. They called at Isle Sablon, and reached the coast May 16, 1604, where they found a ship trading with the natives contrary to the di- 1. L'Escarbot's History of New France, is by far the most valuable of all the works on America of that date. His first edition, published in 1608-'9, 12 mo., contained a map of the country explored, a copy of which we give. This work was translated into English, and published by P. Erondelle, London, in 1609, as an original work without any allusion to the author. A 2d edition was published in Paris in 1612, under the following title, which we translate from the copy recently placed in the Astor Library. "HISTOEY OF NEW FEANCE, Containing_ the Voyages, Discoveries and Settlements made by the French, in the West Indies and New France, with the consent and authority of our Most Christian King, and the diverse fortunes of those engaged in the execution of these things, from a hundred years ago, till to-day. In which is comprised the History, Moral, Natural and Geographical, of the said Province : with the Tables and Pictures of the same. By Maec L'Escabbot, Lawyer in Parliament ; Eye Witness of a part of the things here recited. Multa renascentur qua iam occidere cadent que. p ABis: JoHsr MiLLOT, in front of St. Bartholomew with the three crowns, and in his shop, on the steps of the great hall of the Palace. 1612. WITH PATENT FBOM THE KING." In the Library of Congress is a copy of the 3d Edition, published at Paris, in 1627. The Butch and the French adopted the names of the rivers and places given them by De L'Escarbot. I am aware that Warburton and others assert, that L'Escarbot came out in the 2d Expedition in the ship Jonas, in 1606 ; butJC find notliing to justify this statement from his own writings. 22 rections of the King, which they seized and confis- cated, giving the master's name, Rossignol, to the Port, his only return for the voyage. The port is now called Liverpool, but a Lake in the interior still bears the name of the unlucky master. Exploring the coast westward, De Monts reached port Mouton, where they landed, waiting the arri- val of Du Pont Grave. The company of Plant- ers, those who designed to remain in the country, was one hundred in number, and here they erected tents, and planted the ground with grain, which two years later, was found bearing a good crop. Champlain, impatient at the delay, proceeds west in a shallop, explored the coast, and discovered the beautiful island, which he named St. Croix — from the fact, that just above it, the streams formed a natural cross, one on each side, entering at right an- gles with the main river — which river finally re- tained the name of St. Croix, or Holy Cross, and now divides New Brunswick from Maine. Cham- plain rejoined his companions at Port Mouton, after exploring as far west as the Penobscot. On the arrival of Du Pont Grave and Captain Morell, both ships sailed west, entered the Bay St. Marie, discovered the Bay of Fundy, then sailing north, reached Port Royal. Poutrincourt, who came out to select for himself a place of settlement, was so delighted with Port Royal, that he solicited, and obtained from De Monts 23 a promise of a grant of it, and with Du Pont Grave, returned to France, in the autumn of 1604, to arrange for his removal to this country, and for a fresh supply of planters. Under the advice of Champlain, De Monts' com- pany proceeded west, discovered the river St. John, followed the coast westward, and planted them- selves in the spot he had selected, known at this day as Neutral Island, in the St. Croix river, within the limits of the State of Maine. This was the first settlement of Europeans north of Florida. Here they laid out a town, and planted the ground. During the autumn of 1604, habitations were erects ed, a fort built, a magazine constructed, and a chap- el finished.^ 1. " Leaving the river St. John, tliey came, following the coast twenty leagues, to a great river — properly a sea— where they fortified themselves in a little Island, seated in the midst of this river, that the said Lord Champlain had been to reconnoitre ; and seeing it strong by nature, and easily guarded; and in addition, seeing that the season was beginning to pass, and the necessity of seeking a lodging without going further, they resolved to stop there. " The Island of St. Croix is difficult to find for one who has not been there — there are so many Islands and great bays to pass, before reaching "There are three or four mountains high above the others on the sides, but on the side of the north, from which the river descends, is a pointed one, two leagues distant. The woods of the main land hand- some, and the grass likewise. There are streams of fresh water, very agreeable, opposite the Island, where several of the people of De Monts made their home, and had built cabins there. The said Island is about half a league in circuit, and at the end of the side towards the sea, there is a mount, or small hill, and like a separate Island, where we placed the cannon of Lord De Monts ; and there also the chapel, built after the savage fashion. " At the foot of this, there are some muscles, so many that it is a wonder, which can be picked up at low tide, but they are small. ■ " Lord De Monts caused the people to work upon his fort, which he had fixed at the en'd of the Island, opposite that where he had planted 24 The winter of 1604-5 was long and severe, ■ and thirty-five of their number died of the scurvy. In the spring, De Monts, disappointed at the rigor of the winter, seeking a milder climate, proceeded to explore the country west and south, designing to settle four degrees south of St. Croix. He visited Mount Desert, the Penobscot, the Ken- nebec,^ Casco,^ and Saco ; and coasted as far south as Cape Malabar, twelve miles south of Cape Cod. his cannon. This was prudently considered to command all the river, above and below. " But there was one difficulty. The fort was on the northern side, where there was no shelter, except the trees on the bank of the Island. Without the fort was the lodgings for the Swiss, and other little houses, like a suburb of a city. Some had built cabins on the main land, near the brook. But in the fort was the house, or dwelling, of Lord De Monts, made of good carpenter work, with the flag of France floating above it. On the other side was the magazine, where reposed the safety and life of all — similarly made of good carpenter work, and covered with shingles; and opposite the magazine were the houses of Lord Orville, Champlain, Champdore, and other noble personages, and on the opposite of the dwelling of De Monts, was a covered gallery, for the exercise of play, and for workmen in rainy weather ; and between the said fort and the platform where the cannon was, all filled with gardens. Each one amused himself, or worked with a gay heart. All the autumn passed with this, and it was doing well to have lodged ourself, and cleared up the Lsland before the coming on of the winter." L'Escarbot, book iv. ch. 4, p. 460 — 2d edition, 1812. 1. " Sailing west, 1605, to find a place of settlement, they, De Monts, Champlain and Champdore, came to Norumbega, the river of Pentagouet, (Penobscot,) and thence to Kinnibeki, (Kennebec,) which shortens the way to the great river of Canada. There are a number of savages settled there, and the lands begin to be hotter peopled." L'Escarbot, book iv. ch. 7, p. 49*7. 2. "From Kinnibeki, in going farther on, they found the Bay ' Marchin,' (Portland,) from the captain who commands tliere." L'Escarbot, book iv. ch. 15, p. j"i.")7. " In 1606, Poutrincourt arrived at Jfarcliin, which is the name of the savage captain, who, on the arrival of the said Poutrincourt, cried he ! he! To which they replied in the same way. He replied, askuig in his language, " Who arr i/i>ii f To which they replied, " TO are friends." On Lho approach of Poutrincourt, he mado with him a treaty of friend- ship, and gave him jirosents of knives, axes and hatchets, made of pater- nosters, or glass tubes, (tuyaux,) white and blue, of which he was 25 Portland harbor, which he named "Marchin," from the Chief, or Sagamore, who then resided here, and who was killed in 1607, took the name of Machigonne. De Monts sailed into all the bays, harbors, and arms of the sea, from St. Croix to Cape Malabar, a distance of over four hundred leagues, " searching to the bottom of the bays." Saco still retains the name " Ghouaquet" given to it by De Monts, in 1605. South of " Pescadouet" Piscataway, (Portsmouth,) the harbors were less and less satisfactory, and the country less and less inviting ; and after reaching Cape Malabar, De Monts despaired of finding a suitable place of settlement, as he had designed. While at Cape Cod, in 1605, they carried on shore a large kettle for cooking, which the Indians seized in the absence of the cook. On discovering the theft, he attempted to rescue it from their hands ; but he was slain by them, and the kettle carried oflf.^ This was undoubtedly the same kettle that Brad- ford speaks of, which the Plymouth people found, in their first explorations in 1620.^ delighted; also, of the treaty, knowing well that that would make him a great deal of support. He distributed to some of the great number around him, the presents of Lord Poutrincourt, to whom he brought much flesh of deer, to support the company with. Thence they pro- ceeded to Chouaquet, the river of the Captain Olmuchin, where took place the next war between the Souriquois and the Btchemins. " This Marchin was killed the year we departed from New Prance. 1607. Idem." 1. L'Escarbot. p. 498. 2. Bradford's History of Plymouth. Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 1856. p. 82. 26 In the Spring of 1605, Du Pont Grave arrived at St. Croix with supplies and a reinforcement of forty men, for the colony, which gave great joy. At his suggestion, the establishment was broken up at St. Croix, and they removed to Port Royal. Here, under the advice of L'Escarbot, they cleared and cultivated the lands, and built a mill for the grinding of their corn. Though Port Royal was destroyed by Argall, in 1613, it was rebuilt, and * has ever since been peopled. A settlement was made on the St. John, above the Falls, by Du Pont Grave, and St. Croix was also soon re-occupied. In 1611, when the Jesuits, Biard, and Masse, visited the Kennebec, for the purchase of grain, but without success, Plastrier, who lived at the Island of St. Croix, gave them, on their return, two hogs- heads of beans, which rendered important aid, in supplying Port Royal with food, in the winter of 1611-12. Four French ships were at that time taking fish, at the White Rock, twenty-two leagues west of St. Croix. The whole country was familiar to the French fishermen. Champlain, and Champdore the pilot of De Monts, remained four years in the coun- try. On the return of L'Escarbot to Franee, he pub- lished his invaluable history, with a very accurate map of Acadia, or New France, as far south as Cape Malabar. Acadia became well known throughout 27 Europe. In 1609, the work of L'Ecsarbot was translated and published in England.^ De Monts sailed up the Kennebec river, as is reported, in 1605, in the expectation of reaching Hochelaga, or Montreal, by water, led into this attempt by the reports given him by the Indians. Though claiming the country as far south as the 40th parallel of latitude, there is no evidence that De Monts ever sailed south of, or attempted to extend his jurisdiction south of Cape Malabar. All east of this, was claimed as within the control of Prance. The country east of French Bay, or the Bay of Pundy, was called Acadia; between that and Canada, Norumbega.^ At the commencement of the 17th century, ■ the Dutch were the most commercial and the most powerful nation of Europe, if superiority in wealth and enterprise, is to be regarded as the true measure of greatness. Small in territory and infe- rior in point of ^ numbers to France or .England, Holland had grown superior to either in all the arts of civilized life. Tolerant of religious opinion, and enjoying unrestricted commercial freedom, the people of the low countries had accumulated wealth, reclaimed their marshes from the invasions of the sea, and cultivated the arts of peace. Their pros- perity excited the jealousy of England, and they 1. See note ante, page 21. 2. Relations of the Jesuits. 28 were finally compelled to yield to the iron will of the Protector, who infused new life into all pur- suits, not only of commerce, but of war. The people of Holland had learned to practice religious toleration long before those of any other nation, and were the first to recognize the commer- cial code, or what is commonly called the " Law of nations." They were equally in advance of other powers, in all commercial ideas and undertakings. As early as 1581, the Dutch merchants had estab- lished a profitable trade with the West Indies, and in 1597, had a still more lucrative one with the East Indies. In 1600, the realized wealth of Hol- land surpassed that of France, England or Spain. Her Batavian provinces had yielded abundant re- turns to her merchants, though following long and tedious voyages around the Cape of Good Hope, and other nations sought to reach the same covet- ed treasure by a shorter route across the Atlantic, by the long-hoped for northwest passage to Cathay. With this view the famous British East India Com- pany was chartered December 31st, 1600, with a capital of £70,000. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was chartered with vastly greater cap- ital. An expedition for the colonization of North America was one of the early objects of the Dutch government and people, and they claimed the country from the 41st° to the 45th° of north lati- 29 tude. Their ship, in command of Henrj Hudson, was off the mouth of the Penobscot river, July 18, 1609, and from that year they had actual and per- manent possession of Mamtte, or New York Island. So that France, Holland and England, started al- most simultaneously in a career of colonization in the new world. At this time appeared on the public Istage ■ Sir Ferdinando Gorges. Born 1573, at Ash- ton Philips, in Somersetshire, he became a distin- guished naval officer in the Spanish war prior to 1603, when, on the accession of James I, he was made Governor of Plymoiith. How early he be- came interested in the colonization of America, does not quite clearly appear, but being an inti- mate friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, though 21 years ^younger, it is fair to suppose that he possessed the same adventurous spirit, and in his " Briefe Narra- tion," speaking in later times of the grant to him-^ self of the Province of Mayne, which was dated April 3d, 1639, he says, " Being now seized, of what I had travailed, for above forty (40) years, together with the expenses of many thousand pounds, and the best time of my age ; laden with troubles and vexations from all parts, as you have heard, I will now give you an account in what order I have set- tled my affairs, in that, my Province of Mayne, with the true form and manner of the Government, ac- 30 cording to the authority granted me by his Maj- esty's Koyal Charter." " First. I divided the whole into eight Baih- wicks or Counties, and these again into sixteen, sev- eral hundreds, consequently, into Parishes and Tith- ings as people did increase and the provinces were inhabited," &c.^ Gorges speaks in familiar terms, at the com- mencement .of his narrative, of the efforts of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and of Sir Richard Grenville to plant colonies in America, the last of which termi- nated 1585, so that his mind was evidently familiar, at an early day, with their plans for American Colonization. It has been recently made to appear that he was directly concerned in the great voyage of George Weymouth, in 1605, regarded as the initial point in the history of New England ; and probably, in the previous ones of Gosnold, in 1602,^ and of Pring, in 1603. 1. Briefe Narration. Maine Hist. Coll. Vol. ii. p. 54. 2. Interest has of late been awakened as to the route, and the pur- poses of Gosnold's voyage, which at this time deserves notice. On the 26th of March, 1602, Capt. Bartholomew Grosnold, in the 42d year of the reign of Elizabeth, sailed from Falmouth, in the County of Cornwall, for a voyage into the north part of Virginia, in the bark CoNCOED, with thuty-tWo persons on boai-d — twelve of them sailors, and twenty " to remain in the counti-y for population." So that the priority of the English, in efforts to colonize tlie country, is clearly established. The country that invited rival efforts at colonization by the Dutch, 31 The information, recently brought to light by a publication of the Hon. Geo. Folsoni, "A Catalogue of Original Documents in the English Archives, relating to the early History of Maine," proves, what Frencli and English, extended from Cape Breton to the head of Dela- ware bay. OS those who came out with Gosnold, who was chief in command, and who died in Virginia in 1607, the only names preserved to us are Bartholomew Gilbert, second officer ; John Angel ; William Street, ship master; Robert Solterne, who came out with Pring the following year — afterwards a licensed clergyman ; John Tucker ; John Brereton, gentle- man, and journalist of the voyage; James Eosier, the journalist of Weymouth's voyage in 1605, and Gabriel Archer, gentleman, and also journalist of the voyage, who subsequently went to Virginia. The land-fall of Gosnold is thus described by Archer: " On Friday, the fourteenth of May, early in the morning, we made the land, being full of fair trees — the land somewhat low — certain ham- mocks, or hills, lying into the land ; the shore full of white sand, but very stony, or rocky. And standing fair along by the shore, about twelve of the clock the same day, we came to an anchor, where eight Indians, in a Biscay shallop, with mast and sail, and iron grapple, and a kettle of copper, came boldly aboard us ; one of them apparelled with a waistcoat and breeches of black serge, made after our sea-fashion ; hose and shoes on his feet ; all the rest (saving one that had a pair of breeches of blue cloth) were naked. These people are of tall stature, broad and grim visage ; of a black swart complexion ; the eyebrows painted white ; their weapons are bows and arrows. It seemed, by some words and signs they made, that some basques of St. John de Luz, have fished or traded in tliis place, being in the latitude of 43 degrees. " But riding here, in no very good harbor, and withal doubting the weather, about three of the clock the same day in the afternoon, we weighed, and standing southerly off into the sea the rest of that day, and the night following, with a fresh gale of wind ; in the morning, we found ourselves embayed within a mighty headland," &c. This headland was Cape Cod, a name given to it by Gosnold, from the abundance of cod taken there, and which it still retains, despite the efibrts of subsequent voyagers and writers, to affix to it the name of Cape James, in honor of the King. John Brereton, the fellow passenger and historian of the voyage, thus describes Gosnold's land-fall : " The 13th day, we landed in seventy fathoms, and observed great beds of weeds, much woods, and divers things close floating by us, when 32 ■was before only a matter of conjecture, that Gorges ■was the chief promoter of Weymouth's voyage. In Gorges' letter, on file in the State Paper Office, published in full by Mr. Folsom, dated March 13, as we find smelling of the shore as from some southern cape and Anda- lusia in Spain. " The 14th, about six o'cloclt in the morning, we discovered land, that lay north, and the northerly part we called the Xorthland, in whicjfi to another rock, upon the same, lying twelve leagues west, that we called Savage rock ; for six leagues toward the said rock is an outpoint of rising ground, the trees thereof were high and straight from the rock, east northeast. " But finding ourselves short of our purposed place, we set saU west- ward, leaving them and their coast about sixteen leagues S. W. ; from thence we perceived in that course two small Islands, the one lying eastward from Savage rock, the other to the southward of it. The coast ■we left was full of goodly lands, fair plains, with little green round hiUs above the cliffe, appearing unto us. " The 15th day we had again sight of the land, which made ahead ; being, as thought, an Island," &c. This proved to be Cape Cod. From these accounts. Dr. Belknap supposed Savage rock to be on the northerly shore of Massachusetts Bay, about Xahant. Drake, in his elaborate history of Boston, expresses the belief that " Savage rock" was in the vicinity of Great Boar's Head, in Hampton, and that Gosnold's land-fall was at Boon Island, on the Isle of Shoals, from the fact that they are nearer to the 43° of latitude than any Ii^land on the coast. The late John McKeen, Escj., of Brunswick, a thorough and accurate observer and explorer, in a paper read before the Maine Historical So- ciety, exposes the errors of modern writers, and shows that the state- ment of Strachey, that Gosnold's land-fall was at the mouth of the Sa- gadahoc, is the true one. Strachey was a cotemporai-y, and undoubtedly wrote with the narrations' of Ai'cher and Brereton before him; and in constant intercourse with those who shai-ed this adventurous voyage. R. K. Sewall, Esq., in his able work, " Ancient Dominions in Maine," concurs in fixing the land-fall of Gosnold at Sagadahoc. Mr. McKeen sums up' the case in the following brief statement : "The bark Concord, Ciipl. Gosnold, snih'd from Falmouth, England, on the 2Gth of March, O. S., 1602, and on the 14th of April, had sight of the Island of St. Mary, one of tlie .Vzori's. On the 23d of April, they were in north latitude ;>7". On the 7th of May, they first saw birds of various kinds, which was an indication that tliey were approaching the land. On the Ulh of May, they were near north latitude 43°. On 33 1607, addressed to Mr. Chalinge (Challong) he speaks of the return of the former voyage, of lut the 12tli of May, they had the " smell of land," by which it was likened they were not far from it. But on the 14th, being in north latitude 43", pursuing their course westerly, at six o'clock in the morning, they (Mscovered land, which lay directly north from the ship, and which Strachey says was "land about Sagadahock." Pursuing their course westerly, they observed the land full of fair trees, and somewhat low ; certain hammocks, or hills, lying into the land ; the shores full of white sand, but very stony, or rocky. They had not proceeded far, when they discovered land ahead, over the starboard bow. Tliis point of land called by the natives Semiamis, and by the English, Cape Elizabeth, after the name of the reigning queen. Finding this land not what was ex- pected, "being'short of their proposed place," they named it Northland, and pursued their course. From Cape Elizabeth, they veered a little south, and now commenced estimating their distances. They continued their course a fair distance from the land, till they came opposite an out- point of wooded land ; the trees tall and straight. The distance from Cape Elizabeth they estimated at five leagues. This point is now called on our maps, "Fletcher's Point." It is situated near Saco, and the estimated distance from the Cape is very nearly correct. " From this point, they shaped their course W. S. W., and sailed seven leagues to a great rock in the land, where they came to an anchor. This rock they called Salvage Kock, and it is now named on our maps, York Nubble. "This, likewise, corresponds to the course and distance as now estimated on the maps. I am indebted for the two last suggestions to a communication in the Temperance Journal (a newspaper printed in Portland) of January, 1859, which was over the signature of 'Bockport.' " To this place, ' the great rock in the land,' the Concord arrived at twelve o'clock at noon, having sailed from six o'clock in the morning, from the first point discovered, bearing north to this place about forty- eight miles. This rock was called Savage Kock." The opinion that the land-fall of Gosnold was upon the coast of Maine, between Monhegan and Cape Elizabeth, is strongly confirmed by the fact that Pring in his voyage the next year with Robert Salterne as a companion, followed the same general direction. He followed the track of Gosnold, having on board some of Gosnold's party. Pring came in sight of land further east, between 43° and 44° of latitude, at the mouth of the Penobscot Bay, and gave the name of Fox Islands to the group stiU bearing the name, from the fact of taking a silver-grey fox upon it. The only objection to this theory is the supposition that this rock was found in the precise latitude 43°, which would bring them into the neighborhood of the Isle of Shoals, or Boon Island. But the intelligent reader wUl perceive from the language as quoted from Archer, that the place "where the Basques fished" was in 43° — a loose form of ex- pression as applied to a fishing region, extending indefinitely for a con- 5 34 the five savages" whom Weymouth took as " the cipef return to us, who nRST, sent to the coast."^ siderable space along the coast. There is reason to suppose they were not particular in determining the exact latitude of the places named, from the fact, that their place fixed on for settlement, Elizaheth Isle, is 1. 1607, Mar. 13. Plymouth. Letter of Sir Ferdinando Gorges to Mr. Chalinge. Mr. Chalinge — I received your lr6 sent me by the Mr. Nicholas Hines by whom I rest satisfied for your pte of the proceedinge of the voyadge and I doubte not but you willbe able to answer"the expectacon of all your freindes. I hoope you shall receive verie shortlie, if alreadie you have not, an attestation out of the highe Courte of AdmiraJtie to give satisfaeon of the truthe of our intent, yt sett you out, let me advise you to take heede that you be not ov'shott in acceptinge recompence for wrongs received, for you know that the jorney hath bene noe smale chardge to us, yt first sent to the Coast and had for our retume but the five salvages whereof two of the principal you had with you and since within in two months after your depture we sent out an other shippe to come to your supplie, and now again we have made a nue preparacon of di- vers others, all of wch throughe your misfortune is likely to be frustrate and our time and chardge lost, therefore you' demands must be answera- ble hereunto, and accordinglie seeke for satisfaeon which cannot be lesse than five thousande poundes and therefore before you conclude for lesse attende to receive for resolucon from hence, if Uiey answere you not thereafter, for if their condicon be not such as shallbe reasonable, we do know howe to right ourselves, for rather then we wiU be loasers a penny by them we will attend a fitter time to gott us our content, and in the mean time leave all in their hands, therefore be you careful herein, and remember y' it is not the buisness of merchants or rovers but as you knowe of men of another ranke and such as will not preferre manie complayntes nor exhibite divers petitions for that they understande a shorter way to the woode, soe comendinge you to God and continuing my selfe your most assured and lovinge frifende Plymoth 13 of Ferdinando Gorges, Marche 1607 Postcript I pray you use the meanes that the salvages and the companie be sent over with as muche speede as is possible and yt you hasten yourself away if you see not likelihoode of a present ende to be had for we will not be tired with their dolaies andendlesse sutes such as commonlie they use but luavo all to time and God the just revenger of wrongs Ferdinando Gorges (Endorsed) The Coopie of Sr. Ferdinando Gorges his Irfi to Mr. Chalens. Received ye 6 day." An abstract of this letter is given in the " Calender of State Papers." See note, page 19. 35 This voyage of Weymouth was nominally un- dertaken to find the long sought for north-west passage to India, and " as set forth" by the Earl of Southampton, and Arundell, Lord Wardour. But this was undoubtedly a pretence to mislead the French who claimed the country, and were at this time, occupying the territory, and coasting along the shores of Maine. De Monts and Weymouth were in the same waters in 1605.^ Weymouth sailed from the Thames, March 31, 1605, explored the coast of Maine, and west as far as Nantucket, As Weymouth had been familiar with the coast in a previous naval service of twelve years, and knew that any idea of finding, by this route, a north-west passage to India, was absurd, the con- put down by the same authority — Brereton — as in latitude 41° lO', when it is found to be many minutes north of that point. We think the evidence fully establishes the fact we assume, that Gosnold's land-fall was at Sagadahoc ; that on the 13th day of May, 1602, he sighted the Islands from Seguin to Cape Elizabeth, and gave to the latter, the name it s4^ bears, in honor of his Queen, — that the name of Falmouth, subse- quently adopted for the site of the present city of Portland, was so affixed in compliment to the port from which the iirst voyage of exploration sailed. It was a favorite idea with the English, from the first, to give the name of their former home, or their place of embarkation, to the places visited in the new world, as in case of Bristol, Plymouth, Pal- mouth, Yarmouth, Portsmouth, Dartmouth, York, Wells, &c. The Erench, on the contrary, generally adopted the local names of the country, attempting to express in language, the sounds gathered frpm the lips of the natives. 1. Weymouth's voyage. Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. viii. 3d Series, p. 125. 36 elusion is inevitable, that Weymouth's voyage was designed to lay the foundation of the Royal Grant, which secured the Continent to Great Britain. In fact, Weymouth proposed to plant a Colony, and Owen Griffin and another man had agreed to re- main. A most interesting discussion is now going on by many able writers in Maine, as to the river visited by Weymouth, and which of the noble harbors of that wonderful coast, was the Pentecost harbor, in which he anchored his ship Archangel, in 1605.^ Weymouth carried back to England, in 1605, five natives of Pemaquid, from whom Gorges obtained full " particulars of its stately islands, and safe har- bors, what great rivers ran up into the land, what men of note were seated on them, what power they were of, how allied, what enemies they had, and the like." 2 By his glowing descriptions of the beauties of the country, he satisfied the Royal inquiry, and laid 1. Gorges calls the river Pemaquid; biit the river, at this time, hear- ing that name, does not answer to the descriptions of Weymouth's nar- rative. It is a historical and geographical question, of interest, and we are gratified in being able to say, that an accurate exploration of these localities is to be made by the officers of the United States' Coast Siu-- vey, when on duty in that region ; and that Professor Bache, its accom- plished Superintendent, with the consent of the Government, has agreed to place a steamer of his command at the service of the Maine His- torical Society for this purpose. 2. Gorges' Narration, p. 17. o 7 the foundation for the subsequent grant from the King.^ , It was through the efforts of GorgeKS that ' King James made the Royal Grant or Charter, dated April 10, 1606, granting to " the Council of Virginia" the Continent of North America, from the 34th to the 45th degrees of north latitude, and all the Islands within one hundred miles of the shore. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of South- ampton petitioned the King for this Charter, but no copy of this interesting Document has as yet been brought to light. The attacks on Sir Ferdinando Gorges, for "grasping cupidity," in obtaining charters from King James, and the Stuarts, are among the strik- ing evidences of the intolerance of the times. He, or any onej who would sacrifice his private fortune, to establish plantations in America, de- served the gratitude of the nation, and the warmest commendations of modern times. Instead of this, the historians of New England — those even, of our times, or such as follow Puritan authorities, unjust- ly represent Gorges as a man of a selfish and grasp- ing spirit, whose only ambition was private advan- tage. The grants to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and to Sir "Walter Raleigh, by Elizabeth, were as obnoxious to the charge of monopoly, as those subsequently 1. See Appendix A. 38 given to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his associates, wiiich the Puritans attacked; but no complaint was made against Elizabeth, for these grants ; although others lavishly bestowed by her, in various departments of trade and manufactures, were boldly attacked by the Commons. The Queen, with instinctive sagacity, yielding to their demands — revoked the grants, and thanked the Commons for their zeal in the public welfare. This charter of April 10, 1606, is the foundation of the title of England to North America. It was followed up by immediate acts of jurisdiction and possession. In May, 1606, the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir John Popham, having become associated in the enterprise, sent out Captain Haines, "in a tall ship belonging to Bristol and the river Severne, to settle a plantation in the river of Sagadahoc," but from the failure of the master to follow the course or- dered, the ship fell into the hands of the Spaniards, by capture, and the expedition failed of success.^ In August, of the same year, a ship, sent out by Sir Eerdinando Gorges, under command of Henry Challong, with two savages as pilots, for the same purpose — the two designed to form one expedition — shared a similar fate.^ Another vessel, sent by the Chief Justice, in 1. Strachey, p. 290, vol. iii. Me. His. Coll. 2. Gorges' Briefe Narration, p. 19. 39 command of Hanam, under charge of Martin Pring as master, sailed two months later, reached the coast of Maine; but not finding Challong, made a perfect discovery of all the rivers and harbors, and brought back a most exact description of the coast; which so encouraged the company that they de- termined to send out a greater number of planters^ with better provisions for the planting of a colony at Sagadahoc, the next year. In consequence of these mishaps, Virginia was occupied prior to Maine. The expedition of Capt. Newport, to the Chesapeake, which sailed Decem- ber 19, 1606, landed at Jamestown, May 13, 1607- On the 31st of May, 1607, the first Colony ■ to New England, sailed from Plymouth for the Sagadahoc, in two ships — one, called the " Gift of God" whereof Greorge Popham, brother of the Chief Justice, was commander ; the other, the " Mary and John" whom Ealeigh Gilbert commanded — on board which ships were one hundred and twenty persons for planters. They came to anchor under an Island, supposed to be Monhegan^ the 31st of July, and in two hours after, eight savages in Eu- ropean apparel, came to them from the shore in a Spanish shallop, and after rowing about the vessels awhile, boldly came on shipboard, where three of them stayed all night. The next day the others returned with three women, in another Biscay shal- lop, bringing beaver skins, for the purpose of trade,. 40 so familiar had those people become with the hab- its and designs of their European visitors. The fish of Monhegan were already more es- teemed than those of Newfoundland, and this spot was the common resort of all the trading vessels on the coast. By this means, undoubtedly, the Indians became possessed of French and Spanish shallops prior to 1607. After exploring the coast and Islands, on Sunday, the 9th of August, 1607, they landed on an Island they called St. George, where they had a sermon delivered unto them by Mr. Seymour, their preacher, and returned aboard again. On the 15th of August, they anchored under Seguin, and on that day the "Gift of God" got into the river of Sagadahoc. On the 16th, both ships got safely in, and came to anchor. On the 17th, in two boats, they sailed up the river — Captain Popham in his pinnace, with thirty persons, and Captain Gilbert in his long boat, with eighteen persons, and "found it a very gal- lant river; many good Islands therein, and many branches of other small rivers falling into it," and returned. On the 18th, they all went ashore, and there made choice of a place for their plantation, at the mouth, or entry, of the river, on the west side, (for the river bendeth towards the nor-east and by east,) being almost an Island, of good bigness, in a province called by the Indians "Sabino" — so called of a Sagarao, or chief commander, under the grand 41 bashaba. On the 19th, they all went ashore, where they had made choice of their plantation, and where they had a sermon delivered unto them by their preacher, and after the sermon, the President's commission was read, with the laws to be observed and kept. George Popham, gent., was nominated President, Captain Ealeigh Gilbert, James Davies, Richard Seymour, Preacher^ Captain Richard Davies, Captain Harlowe, were aU sworn assistants; and so they returned back again. Thus commenced the first occupation and set- tlement of New England, and from which date, the title of England to the new world was main- tained.^ 1. The charter of De Monts was reroked hy the Ejng, In 1607, an accomit of the intense jealousy of his rivals. This loss of title by the French, allowed the English charter of April 10, 1606, to take prece- dence of all French grants. In all subsequent contests with rival nations, the Dutch and the French, the occupation by the Popham colony, in 1607, was put forward as the ground of title. In 1632, the Dutch West India Company, in their address to the States' General, under date of May 5th, say : " In the year 1606, his Majesty of Great Britain granted to his sub- jects imder the names of New England and Virgjna, north and south of the river, (Manhattoes,) on express condition that the companies should remain one hundred miles apart. Whereupon the English began about the year 1607 to settle by the river of Sagadahoc. The English place New England between 41° and 45" of north latitude." Holland Doc, N. Y., p. 51. , 42 This act of formal possession of the country under their charter, August 29, 1607, was the con- summation of England's title to New England, and the foundation of her future greatness, and the day The Dutch contended that they had the right to occupy the one hundred miles, teserved by the charter as open territory. Count De Tillieres, French Ambassador, writing to Secretary Conway, under date of AprU, 1624, admits the claim of England to Virginia and to the Gulf of Mexico, south five hundred leagues ; but denies all right north. In answer to Tillieres, the charter of King James, in 1606, to the two companies is quoted to show that the claim of both is equally valid. Calender of Colonial State Papers, i. p. 60. In 1631, Champlain, in his great Memoir to the King, giving a state- ment of he rival claims of the French and English, says : " King James issued his charter twenty-four years ago, for the country from the 33d° to the 45th''- England seized the coast of New France, where lies Acadia, on which they imposed the name of New England." French Doc. N. Y., vol. ix, pp. 1 and 2. In 1630, September 9th, the Scotch adventurers addressed a letter to the King, from the Council of Scotland — those claiming title under the grant to Sir William Alexander, afterwards Lord Stirling — in which they assert that " the planting of New England in the north," was by Chief Justice Popham. Cal. of Colonial State Papers, i., p. 119. In a work entitled "An Encom'agement to Colonies," by William Alexander Knight, printed by William Stanly, London, 1625, it is said: " One of them. Sir John Popham, sent the first company that went, of purpose to inhabit there, near to Sagadahoc." p. 30. Capt. John Mason, writing to Sir Edward Coke, .Secretary of State, under date of April 2, 1632, says : " Plantations in New England have been settled about twenty-five years." London Doc, N. Y., vol. iii, p. 16. In the work of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, grandson of the original pro- prietor of Mayne, entitled " A Description of New England, — ^America Painted to the Life," published in London, in 1659, he says : " New England is between 41" and 45" of north latitude. In 1606, the country began to be possessed by the English by public authority. 43 should be observed as an epoch wherever there ex- ists a community, who enjoy the common law of England, or speak our mother tongue. . ■ This charter, of April 10, 1606, was "/or the planting of colonies or plantations in North Americar It placed the power in a council of thirteen.-"^ To encourage competition, and excite rivalry, it pro- vided for the planting of two distinct and separate colonies, each having a local government, of north and south Virginia, the former subsequently known as the Plymouth, the latter as the London Com- pany ; each company not to colonize or establish a plantation within one hundred miles of each other. Neither Gorges or the Chief Justice had their names inserted, for fear of exciting, as it would seem, the jealousy of rivals. Eight persons only » * * * A peninsula at the moutli of the river Sagadahoc, where they bmlt a fortress, which they named St. George." p. 18. Sir John Popham was ridiculed in his time for his efforts to plant col- onies in America. " Chief Justice Popham not only .punished malefactors, but provided for them, and first set up the discovery of New England, to maintain and employ those, that could not live honestly in the Old." Lloyd's State Worthies, p. 46. 1. The King ordauied a Council, called the Council of Virginia, November 20, 1606, consisting of the following persons : Sir William Wade, Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Walter Cope, Sir George More, Sir Prancis Popham, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Sir John Trevor, Sir Henry Montague, Sir WiUiam Komney, John Doddridge, Thomas Warr, John Eldi-ed, Thomas James, Janies B^gg. The records of this company have never been published. It is hoped that the effort now making to recover them, wOl yet prove successful. 4« 44 were named in the charter ; four for each colony, who might be expected to join the expeditions. The history of this Popham Colony is very im- perfectly known. They called their settlement " Jbr^ /St. George ;" the remains of which are still in existence ; from which place, George Popham writes to King James, under date of Dec. 13, 1607, in the Latin language, in which he says : " My weU con- sidered opinion is, that in these regions the glory of God may be easily evidenced, the empire of your Majesty enlarged, and the welfare of Great Britain speedily augmented." They finished their vessel, of fifty tons, in " the winter and spring, called the Virginia, of Sagadahoc, in which they returned to England that year. They lost their governor, George Pop- ham, during the winter, who died February 5, 1608. Captain Gilbert, who succeeded to the com- mand, was compelled to return, to settle the estate of his brother, Sir John Gilbert, who had deceased, and to whose estate he was heir. Added to these, the death in England of the venerable Chfcf Justice Popham, who died June 10, 1607, and the terrible severity of the winter through which they had passed, threw discouragements in their way, which they had not the courage to surmount. This was the" critical period in the history of the English race, in the new world. Both France and 45 England were claiming title. The occupation of the territory could alone determine the rights of the parties. Poutrincourt, inflamed with all the zeal of the Catholic faith, kept his hold on Acadia, and returning to France, with De Monts, in 1607, obtained from him a grant of Port Royal. He came out at the instance of the King, with a 1610 new grant, in 1610, with Fathers Biard and Masse, and being free from the annoyance of the Huguenots, he despatched his son Biancourt to France, to bring further recruits to his Colony. The flower of their youth were cheerfully engaged for this service, from all the Jesuit Colleges of France. As they were about to embark for Acadia, the merchants of Dieppe, who had furnished the sup- plies for the ship, refused the Jesuits admission on board, on account of their religion, so strong was tfte Protestant faith at that time in France. The zealous and elevated Madame de Guerch- Ifill ville,moved to anger by this refusal of the mer- chlnts, raised the entire sum required for the voyage by contributions among the Catholic nobility, and despatched Biancourt, and his Jesuit missionaries, who arrived at Port Eoyal just in time to save Poutrincourt and his party from starvation. Mean- while Champlain had in 1608 laid the foundation of Quebec, and held actual possession of the St. Lawrence under a new charter. 46 Emboldened by the breaking up of Popham's Colony, at Sagadahoc, the French pushed forward their possessions, claiming the territory as far south as Cape Cod. Gorges knew the importance of maintaining possession of the country, and while " all Ms associates gave up to these discouragements" his heroic spirit, so far from yielding, rose with the oc- casion that demanded still greater sacrifices ; and, as he says, " Finding I could no longer be seconded by others, I became an owner of a ship myself, fit for that employment, and under color of fishing and trade, I got a master and company for her, to which I sent Vines and others, my own servants, appointing them to leave the ship and ship's com- pany for to follow their business in the usual places. By these and the help of those natives, formerly sent over, I came to be truly informed, of so much as gave me assurance, that in time, I should want no undertakers, though as yet, I was forced to hMfe men, to stay there ; the winter quarters, at extreme rates," &c.'^ We may therefore fairly claim that the occuffen- cy of Vines and others under Gorges, saved the country from falling into the hands of the French. We find the English at Pemaquid in 160S and 1609.=^ Thither the Virginia Colony sent annually for fish, 1. Gorges' Briefo Narration. 2. Kelations Des Jesuites. 47 from 1608 and onward. Sir Francis Popham, the son of the Chief Justice, continued to send his ships to Pemaquid, and the same ship was found there by Capt. John Smith, on his first visit to the coast, in 1614. Belknap says, that Vines came over a long time before the settlement at Plymouth, and the author- ities concur in fixing it in 1609. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, though he does not name the year, speak- ing of events in the order of their occurrence^ places the settlement of Vines before the voyage of Hobson, and tradition has assigned to Vines the honor of holding Pemaquid, Monhegan and Saga- dahoc, from 1609, tUl he removed to Saco, where he spent the winter of 1616-17. Capt. Hobson came over as early as 1611. Gorges says in connection with this voyage, "■ for some years together, nothing to my private profit was realized, for what I get one way, I spent another." In 1613, Argall, from the Virginia Colony, on visiting the coast for fish, learned that the Frinch had a trading house at Penobscot, and a settlement at Mount Desert, or St. Saviour, another at St. Croix, and one at Port Royal. After procur- ing a sufficient force, he broke up these posts, and destroyed St. Saviour and Port Royal, carrying the Jesuits and some of their adherents to Virginia as prisoners, many of the French settlers fled to the woods, but returned and re-occupied the places thus* 48 laid waste by Argall.-^ French fishing and trading ships were constantly visiting these places. In June, 1614, Capt. Henry Harley, one of Popham's Colony at Sagadahoc, sailed in Gorges' employ with Assacumet, one of those na- tives first taken by Weymouth, and the famous In- dian Epenow, of Martha's Vineyard, who proposed to show them valuable mines of gold. He was as Gorges says, " a person of goodly stature, strong and well proportioned," but he escaped from them as soon as they came to the coast, and the expedi- tion' was productive of no useful results. It is not necessary to narrate all the events con- nected with the expeditions to the country, prior to 1614, when the eccentric but intrepid Captain John Smith appeared on the coast, in command of four ships. This venture of Smith paid a profit of £1,500, " by traffic in otter and beaver skins, salt fish, train oil and such other like gross commodities." Smith at this time, made a plot or map of the country, since known as Smith's map of New England, pub- lished in 1616, and he was made Admiral of New England by the Company. In 1615, Smith sailed again for New Eng- land, in two ships, which voyage proved dis- astrous. He lost his masts in a gale, returned to 1. See note on page 19. Also Appendix B. 49 Plymouth, and again sailing, was taken prisoner by the French. One of the vessels, however, in com- mand of Capt. Dermer, made its way to New Eng- land, and returned well laden.^ In the same year. Sir Eichard Hawkins, ■ President of the Plymouth Company, departed for these parts, and took in a cargo for Spain, prin- cipally fish, which proved a profitable business. In 1616, eight ships from London and Plymouth made profitable voyages to New England, and the value of the fisheries of Monhegan was fully established. There can be no doubt, th^t Monhegan was occu- pied with a trading, though changing, population, many years before Plymouth was settled, and when Edward Winslow, of the Plymouth flock, visited it, in May, 1622, as he says, "^o obtain victuals for our famishing plantaiion" he found there thirty ships. He also says, " I found there, kind entertainment, and good respect ; with a willingness to supply our wants ; through provident and discreet care, we were recovered, and preserved,, till -our own crop in the ground was ready." Such was the condition of New England affairs in 1616, before war had broken out among the Indian tribes, pestilence destroyed the native population, or the Pilgrim settlement been initiated. The country was well known along the 1. See Appendix C. 50 coast, from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Cod, and the fisheries yielded abundant profit. It was comparatively full of people, a native population, subsisting not only on game and the products of the soil, but on oysters, salmon, and the choicest fish, in which the harbors, rivers and coves abounded. The territory, now known as the State of Maine, with its numerous and well sheltered harbors; its noble rivers, swarming with the most valuable fish; its forests, of unrivaled beauty, surpassing, in the estimation of the navigators, those of the north of Europe ; its soil, bearing readily the choicest grains of Europe, in addition to Indian com, and the potato, indigenous to this continent; the charm- ing variety of scenery; its undulating surface; its climate, that for healthfulness and salubrity, left nothing to desire; attracted the most skilful of the European voyageurs to its shores. The region lying between Cape Porpoise (Ken- nebunk) and the Penobscot, was the most frequent- ed of all, for it is by far the most beautiful portion of New England, and the possession of it excited the ambition of the French and English alike. It was the seat of Indian Empire, more populous than any portion of the Continent, the home of the Bashaba, whose authority extended to Narragansett Bay. 51 The Indians always occupied the best portions of the Continent until driven from them by superior force, as seen in our day in the case of the Chero- kees and Choctaws, of the South, and the Penob- scots of our own State. The French were the first to perceive this great fact, and their possessions fol- lowed closely the grounds held by the Indians. We have not time to pursue this inquiry, but we haz- ard nothing in predicting, that the seats of Empire on this Continent, of the European races, will event- ually coincide, with those of the aboriginal inhab- tants. The coast was at that time well delineated on maps in common use ; the Dutch had a flourishing Colony on the Hudson river, and on the same day that John Smith was exhibiting to Prince Charles, for his approval of the names upon it, his map of New England, the Dutch Figurative map of New Netherlands, extending east to the Penobscot, was laid before the States General for their inspection and adoption. The early navigators saw nothing inviting between Cape Cod and Manhattan, while all the harbors east of Cape Porpoise, were filled with voyageurs from the Old World, In 1602, when Gosnold came to New England, the Indians, clothed in Indian apparel, visited his ships without any signs of surprise, as at Pema- quid in 1607, the aborigines came fearlessly on board the vessels of Popham and Gilbert; and the 52 famous Indian Sagamore Samoset, went from Pem- aquid to greet the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in March, 1621, with hearty welcome in their own language, " Welcome, Welcome, Englishmen" said Samoset, and proved his friendship to the end of his life. The welcome of Samoset was sincere, because the In- dian tribes, who valued goodly rivers, fertile fields, and abundant forests, as the best himting grounds, felt no jealousy of men who sought a resting place on the barren and deserted sands of Cape Cod ; — where the native population had been swept off by the plague. And the French looked with equal indifference on that feeble band of fishermen whose location at Plymouth in no way interfered with their plans of dominion in the new world. About this time, 1616, a bloody war broke out between the Tarratines, who lived east of the Penobscot, supposed to be incited to it by the French, and the Bashaba of Pemaquid. He was slain, and his people destroyed. At the same time, a devastating pestilence swept off the Indian race without injuring the whites. Gorges says, " Vines and the rest with him, that live in the cabins with these people that died, not one of them ever felt their heads to ache." The year 1616 brings us to what may be called the Pilgrim Period ; for at this time were initiated those measures that resulted in what Mr. Webster called the first settlement of New England. 53 The history of the times would disprove the pop- ular theory, that " religious impulse accomplished the early settlement of New England ;" by which is meant the settlement therein of the Pilgrims. But the plan of colonizing America did not origin- / ate with them, nor were they in any sense the leaders of the movement. They resorted thither from neceBsity, and while they profited by the la- bors and enterprise of others, achieved nothing be- yond those in a subordinate position. The settlement of New England was the work of many years, and was achieved by the same in- fluences as those still at work, to extend the Saxo- Norman race. It was the legitimate result of the commercial ideas and adventurous spirit of the times. The Protestant faith was struggling to maintain its foothold in the British Isles in the reigns of Henry VIII., of Edward VI., and of Mary^ and not till the reign of Elizabeth was it fully established. This consummation gave internal repose to the nation, and allowed the spirit of enterprise to ex- pand and ripen. This spirit sought employment in the new world, and drew from Elizabeth the earliest charters. The English Puritans exhibited the restless spirit of change that had grown up in the English char- acter, imder the influence of the last fifty years ; and not in the reign of the despotic Queen, but in 54 the reign of the weak James, those who had not property, or Court favor, naturally preferred a life of adventure with the hopes of profit, or prefer- ment in a new country. It was the age of private enterprise, and of in- tellectual freedom. The East India Company was laying the foundation of English empire in the East, while the Council of Virginia was> planting the seeds of a more glorious dominion over the wilds of nature in the West. The same spirit that has filled the valley of the Mississippi and the Pa- cific shore, with natives of New England and of Europe, within the last fifty years, led to the first emigration to America. That " religious impulse" led the followers of Robinson to Leyden, in 1608, is, undoubtedly, true, but religious persecution in England soon ceased, and no one there suffered death, for that cause, after 1611. The forms of the church service were as harmless then as now, and were originally adopted, after long debate, by a majority of one only, in a full convention of the English Clergy, in the reign of Elizabeth.^ The articles of the church were Calvinistic, and in no wise differed in doc- trines from those of the Puritans. Elizabeth was a far greater stickler for observ- ance of church ceremonies than any one of her suc- 1. Sanford's Histoj-y of the Great Rebellion, p. 67. 55 cessors. But the Leyden flock did not leave Eng- land in her reign. It is time to vindicate the truth of history ; to i do justice to the claims of Gorges, and to repel the , calumnious charges of the men who founded the Theocracy of New England ; who persecuted alike Quakers, Baptists, and Churchmen. Fifty years after the putting of men to death for errors of doc- trine had ceased, in Old England, from which the Massachusetts Puritans pretended to have fled " for conscience sake," they executed men of the most blameless lives for the slightest differences of opin- ion, or doctrine, in religion. On finding that Bap- tists and Quakers and Churchmen were only mul- plied the more, by this means, as persecution grew more severe, they finally passed a statute, that Qua- kers should be treated as vagabonds, whipped from town to town by the Magistrates, till driven beyond the boundaries of the Colony. In point of fact, within the boundaries of the Colony of Massachu- chusetts Bay, from the time they first landed, till the arrival of Sir Edmund Andros as Governor in 1686, the Government of Massachusetts Bay, was more arbitrary and intolerant than any despotism from which they fled from England. Stripes, im- prisonment and even death itself were inflicted, on those who regarded baptism as a sacrament, fit only to be administered to thoseice^pable of understand- ing its import. The banishment of Wheelwright • 56 and others for antinoinian heresy and his escape into Maine, show the character of the times. The Plymouth flock, a portion of those whom Robinson had gathered at Leyden, were an amiable and pious people. They gladly sought the protec- tion of Sir Ferdinahdo Gorges, the founder of the New England Company, prior to their removal from Holland, came out in view of his promise of a char- ter, from whom they obtained it in 1621. But they never, in fact, exerted any consider- able political influence on the history of the Con- tinent. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, on the other hand, was guided by the boldest set of adventurers that ever set foot on American soil. The fathers of this Colony, who first met in Nottinghamshire, 1627, and those who led the way afterwards, were men whom Charles had imprisoned for their too great freedom of speech in the House of Commons, and who gladly escaped to America to avoid a worse fate at home. Sir Ferdinando Gorges readily gave them ■ a charter, March 19, 1629. They came over the same year. One condition, as Gorges says, of the grant was, that it should not be prejudi- cial to the previous grant to his son, Robert Gorges, made in 1622, then in the actual occupation of his grantees. But writing* secretly to Endicott, their first Governor, under date of April 17, 1629, "the 57 Governor and Deputy of the New England Com- pany for a plantation in Massachusetts Bay," resid- ing in England, advise him, that Mr. Oldham had become the grantee of Eobert Gorges, and that the Rev. Mr. Blackstone and Mr. Wm. Jeffreys had been duly authorized to put Oldham in possession of the premises, yet they held it void in law, and advised that " they should take possession of the chiefe part thereof," and thus destroy the value of the grant previously given to Gorges. This was done, and Gorges' grantees were driven out — a fair speci- . men of the sense of justice of that Company. To mislead the people of England, as to their true de- signs, after leaving England, while on ship-board, they publicly requested the prayers of the English Church, for their success in planting "the Protestant faith in America." But on landing, they forcibly expelled the two brothers Brown, who came over highly recommended by the Company in London, and against all protestations and reason they were sent back to England by the first vessel that re- turned, because they absented themselves from their meeting on the Sabbath. These men, in the pri- vacy of their own chamber,, were guilty of follow- ing in their devotions, the form of the English Liturgy. Eor this they were driven out of the country. The Massachusetts Bay (Company sent their char- ter with the great seal of the King to America, to 58 render its recall the more difficult ; and when it was subsequently vacated by writ of quo warranto, refused to comply with the order of Court for its return. The disputes at home which resulted in the beheading of Charles and the Revolution of 1688, in England, alone saved the leaders and their followers from punishment. The Royal Charter, uniting the Colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, the Province of Maine, and all the territory east of it, under the Governorship of Sir William f Phipps, a native of Pemaquid, put an end to the Theocracy of New England in 1691. The modern popular history of New England, has sought to conceal the exact truth, and to throw apology over the grossest offences. Those who trust to such early writers as the Cot- tons, the Mathers and Hubbards of former days, on whom the modern historians of Massachusetts seem mainly to rely, may find abundant means of cor- recting their opinions. We may, at this time, venture to speak of these men as they deserve. The accurate and accom- plished historian of Rhode Island, in his recent his- tory, speaking of the Massachusetts historians, just- ly says : — " The opinions of men who maligned the purity of Williams, of Clatrke, and of Gorton, who bore ' false witness' to the character and the acts of some of the wisest and best men who ever lived in New 59 England ; who strove to blast the reputation of peo- ple whose liberal views they could not comprehend ; who collected evidence to crush the good name of their more virtuous opponents by casting upon them the odium of acts wherein they were them- selves the guilty parties ; who committed outrages in the name of God, far more barbarous than the worst with which they ever charged ' the usurper ;' the opinions of such men, we say, are not to be re- ceived without a challenge." — [Arnold's History of Rhode Island. Vol. I. p. 514. The impartial and graphic Macauley, thus de- scribes the Puritans of that day : — " The persecution which the separatists had un- dergone, had been severe enough to irritate, but not severe enough to destroy. They had not been tamed into submission, but bated into savageness, and stubborness. After the fashion of oppressed sects, they mistook their own vindictive feelings for emotions of piety; encouraged in themselves in reading and meditation, a disposition to brood over their wrongs, and when they had worked them- selves up into hating their enemies, imagined that they were only hating the enemies of Heaven. In the New Testament there was little indeed which, even when perverted by the most disingenuous ex- position, could seem to countenance the indulgence of malevolent passions. But the Old Testament contained the history of a race selected by God, to 60 be witnesses of his wrath and ministers of his ven- geance, and especially commanded by him to do many things which, if done without his special com- mand, would have been atrocious crimes. In such a history, it was not difficult for fierce and gloomy spirits to find much that might be distorted to suit their wishes. The extreme Puritans, therefore, be- gan to feel for the Old Testament a preference, which, perhaps, they did not distinctly avow, even to themselves ; but which showed itself in all their sentiments and habits. They paid to the Hebrew, language a respect which they refused to that tongue in which the discourses of Jesus, and the Epistles of Paul, have come down to us. They baptized their children by the names, not of chris- tian saints, but of Hebrew patriarchs and warriors. In defiance of the express and reiterated declara- tions of Luther and Calvin, they turned the weekly festival by which the church had from the primitive times, commemorated the resurrection of her Lord, into a Jewish Sabbath. They sought for principles of jurisprudence in the Mosaic law, and for prece- dents to guide their ordinary conduct, in the books of Judges and Kings. Their thoughts and dis- courses ran much on acts which were assuredly not recorded as examples for our imitation. The prophet who hew.ed in pieces a captive King, the rebel general who gave the blood of a Queen to the dogs, the matron, who, in defiance of plighted faith, 61 and of the laws of Eastern hospitality, drove the nail into the brain of the fugitive ally who had just fed at her board, and who was sleeping under the shadow of her tent, were proposed, as models, to Christians, suflfering under the tyranny of princes and prelates." — \_Macauley's History of England. Vol I.p.Q2. The most odious features of Puritan intolerance were developed in Massachusetts, with the rise of that party to power in England, and when the Com- monwealth passed away at home, the weak coun- sels of the Stuarts were unable to control the people of New England. We find the Massachusetts Pu- ritans persecutors from the outset of their career, denying the rights of citizenship to all but actual church members, and refusing to others protection even against the Indians. When the first New England league was formed in 1643, for better pro- tection against savage warfare the Delegates of Maine were excluded because they were Church- men, and those of Ehode Island, because they were Baptists.^ The settlement of Plymouth is clearly due to an act of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. His aim from the first was the settlement of the country, not advantage to himself. He sought, by putting other men prominently forward, and in every 1. Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, p. 416. Brodhead's History of New York, pp. 361, 362. 62 other way to disarm the jealousy that always fol- lows upright public action. As Gorges says, " the planting of Colonies in America, was undertaken for the advancement of religion, the enlargement of the bounds of our nation, the increase of trade, and the employment of many thousands of all sorts of people." The grant obtained on his request, says, " was never intended to he converted to private mes" and in answer to the Commons, who sought to ab- rogate his charter, he publicly offered to surrender it ; " not only in behalf of himself, but of the rest of those interested in the Patent, so they would prosecute the settling of the plantation as was first intended." " Wherein," he said, " we would be their humble servants in all that lay in our power, without looking to the great charge that had been expended in the discovery and seizure of the coast, and bringing it to the pass it was come unto." This was " after they had found by our constant perseverance therein, some profit by a course of fishing upon that coast." All writers agree, that after 1616, the New Eng- land Fisheries were successful and profitable to the English. At this time, or prior to March 1617, Gorges, in pursuance of his policy of settling the country, in- vited the Leyden church to emigrate to America. He says, "before the unhappy controversy happened between those of Virginia and myself, they were 63 forced, through the great charge they had been at, to hearken to any propositions, that might give ease and furtherance to so hopeful a business. For that purpose it was referred to their consideration, how necessary it was that means might be used to draw wto those enterprises some of those families that had retired themselves into Holland for scruple of conscience, giving them such freedom and liberty as might stand with their likings. This advice being hearkened unto, there were, that undertook the putting it in practice and accordingly brought it forth," &c. " Such as their weak fortunes were able to provide," and they " with great difficulty recovered the coast of New England," &c., &c. The Council of Virginia still held the country under the origin^ charter of 1606, and it was the ) work of Gorges to draw the Leyden flock to Amer- ica. Bradford says, "they liked not the idea of \ going South." They had confidence in the success of Gorges' plan of a separate charter for New Eng- land. The Leyden flock early saw that they must soon become extinct if they remained in Holland. They could not remain longer in that country, or return to England to reside. .They had little or no means of support, and trusted to the chances of obtaining it, in the new employment of fishing and trading to New England, then so popular at home. Robert Cushman and John Carver were sent to the King, 64 asking permission to " enjoy liberty of conscience in America, where they would endeavor the ad- vancement of His Majesty's dominions, and the en- largement of the gospel." " This," his Majesty King James said, " was a good and honest motive," and asking " what profit might arise in the part we in- tended, (the most northern parts of Virginia,") 'twas answered " Fishing." " So God have my soul," said James, " 'tis an honest trade, 'twas the Apostles own calling." Winslow says, " some one of the Plymouth Colony lent them £300 gratis, for three years, which was repaid." Winslow further says, "some of the chief of the Plymouth Company doubted not to obtain our suit of the King, for liberty in reU- gion." Bradford says, " some others wrought with the Archbishop, and they prevail in sounding his Majesty's mind, that he would connive at them, and not molest them, provided they carried themselves peaceably." -^ A still greater difficulty remained, the raising of money for the expedition. This was finally done through Mr. Thomas Weston, a merchant of Lon- don, who with others, 70 in all, " some gentlemen, some merchants, some handicraftsmen ; some ad- 1. The date of their application was in 1618, as appears by the fol- lowing : 1618. Seven articles which the Chui-ch of Leyden sent to the Coun- cil of England to be considered of, in respect of their judgments, occa- sioned about tbi'ir going to Virginia. FiiilovKcd " Copy of Seven arti- cles sent unto the Council of England by tlio Browuists of Leyden." \Calcndar of Colonial Papers. Vol. I. p. 21. 65 venturing great sums, some small, as their estates and affections served." By the hard conditions agreed to, the whole Leyden Company, adventured their persons, as well as their estates. Hutchinson says, "they had no notion of cultivating any more ground than would afford their own necessary pro- visions, but proposed that their chief secular em- ployment should be, commerce with the natives." It was a trading Company, not designing a com- munity of goods, but a fair adventure in business. Any idea of founding a Colony or of remaining in the country beyond the seven years of their part- nership, no where appears in their earlier move- ments or writings. Having made up their minds to emigrate from Holland, they formed a partnership for seven years, to pursue fishing and traffic in the new world. They then applied to the Council of Virginia for a charter. Bradford says, "by the advice of some friends, the Patent was not taken in the name of any, of their own Company, but in the name of Mr. John Wincob, a religious gentleman, belonging to the Countess of Lincoln, who intended to go with them."^ The statement explains fully the relations of the parties. This Countess of Lincoln had the most intimate relations with the New England settle- ments. Some of her children afterwards emigrated 1. Bradford's History of Plimouth Plantation, p. 41. 9 6G to America, and her daughter Frances was a,t that time the wife of John Gorges, the eldest son and heir of Sir Ferdinando. Their departure from Deft Haven, their arrival in England, and their trials in getting to sea, have been narrated with a minuteness and particularity that leaves nothing unsaid, and the vojage of the Mayflower is as famous as that celebrated one of ancient times, in quest of the Golden Fleece. Capt. Smith says the Brownists found his chart or map " cheaper than his employment as a pilot," and with that in their hands they sailed to New England and sought Milford Haven, conspicuously laid down in it, now Cape Cod Harbor. Here they came to anchor, and sought New Plymouth, the precise spot designated on Smith's map, four years before. When the Pilgrims sailed. Gorges had not ob- tained the charter for New England. On the re- turn of the Majrflower, they sent to Gorges for their charter. In speaking of it, he says : — " They found that the authority they had from the Company of Virginia could not warrant their abode in that place ; * * They hastened away their ship with orders to their Solicitor to deal with me, to be a means, they might have a grant from the Council of New England's affairs, to settle in the place, — which was performed to their particu- lar satisfaction, and good content of them all." 67 Their Charter was dated, June 1, 1621, granting to John Pierce, a clothworker of London, and his associates : One hundred acres of land to each set- tler, with a nominal rent, commencing at the end of seven years, the termination of their partner- ship ; with liberal grants of land for public uses ; and also certain rights of hunting, fishing, &.g. It did not profess to grant any civil rights, or con- fer on them the power of making laws.^ In that respect it differs from the charter granted to Rob- ert Gorges in 1622, which vested ample powers for governing the country by means of a Parliament, one branch, like the Commons of England chosen by the freeholders of New England, the other ap- pointed by authority of the Crown, with an Exec- utive under the name of Governor.^ In this Charter to Robert Gorges, we find the model, or pattern, of the British Colonial Govern- ments of later times. The division of the powers of Government into three branches was unknown to the Pilgrims, or to the Puritans for a long period, and this accounts for the despotic character of their governments. It was a quarrel in the General Court of Massachusetts about Mrs. Sherman's Pig, that led to the breaking up of the General Court and its division into twa branches, in 1645.® 1. This long lost Charter has been recovered, and is printed in full in vol. ii., 4th Series of Mass. Historical Coll. 2. This Charter to Robert Gorges is found in full, in Gorges' Briefe Narration, p. 44, vol. ii., Maine Hist. Coll. •3. This amusing story is found in Winthrop's Journal, vol. ii. p. 260. 68 The Pilgrim government at Plymouth, which con- tinued till the charter of William and Mary in 1692, never attained to the knowledge of a division of the Legislative power . into two independent branches. Their government was through the church. The first charter granted to the Plymouth flock, came, therefore, from the original Council of Vir- ginia, who held at that time the entire country. Through Thomas Weston they had heard of the plan of Gorges for a separate grant of New Eng- land, and they sailed for North Virginia, trusting to Gorges for a grant. The petition of Gorges for the New England charter, was dated March 3, 1620. An order in Council was made July 23, 1620, directing the prep- aration of the new charter, and it passed, the seals, Nov. 3, 1620. In this charter it says : — " We have been humbly petitioned imto, by our trusty and well beloved servant, Sm Ferdinando Gorges, Knight, Captain of our Fort and Island by Plymouth, and by certain the principal Knights and Gentlemen Adventurers of the said Second Colonye, and by divers other Persons of Quality, who now intend to be their Associates divers of which have been at great and extraordinary charge, an'd sustained many losses in seeking and discover- ing a Place fitt and convenient to lay the Founda- tion of a hopeful plantation, and have years past, by God's assistance and their own Endeavors, taken 69 actual Possession of the Continent hereafter mentioned in our name and to our use as Sovereign Lord thereof, and have settled already some of our people in places agreeable to their Desires in those places ; and in Confidence of prosperous Success therein, by the Continuance of God's Devine Blessing, and our Royall permission, have resolved in a more plentiful and effectual man- ner to prosecute the same."^ That Gorges had complete possession of the coun- try before the Plymouth people came over, is also shown by the complaints against him for a monop- oly in fishing. He had brought the country suf- ficiently into notice to attract "thither the Pilgrim flock. To deny to Gorges, therefore, the glory of being the founder of New England because his own Colo- ny was overshadowed by that of Massachusetts Bay^ is as unjust as it would be to deny to Columbus credit as the discoverer of America, and to assign the glory of it to Sebastian Cabot, simply because Cabot first discovered the main land of the Conti- nent seventeen months before it was seen by Co- lumbus. All fair minds agree, that it was the far- sighted and gifted Genoese, who by inspiration, looked through the darkness of ages, forecast the future, and pointed the way for Cabot and Ves- pucci to the new world across the ocean, though his modesty permitted the name of another to be given 2. See Appendix D. 70 to it, that of Cabotia, which for a time gained favor, yielding to that of America. Still more clearly than Columbus did the instinctive sagacity of Gor- ges foresee and predict the fruits of his own great endeavor, and beheld a rising State in America free from European control. And yet for the last thirty- nine years, or since Mr. Webster's great speech at Plymouth on the 22d of Dec, 1820, the truth of severe history has been overlooked, in admiration of the creations of his genius. As an Epic Poem, Mr. Webster's speech stands in the same relation to history as the Iliad of Homer or the ^neid of Virgil. The war of the gods on Olympus, and the flight of Anchises, regarded at one time as historic truths, were just as real and true to history as Mr. Webster's description of the landing of the Pilgrims. Among all the achievements of Mr. Webster, there is nothing that shows his real greatness, so much as those efforts, by which, in the style and manner of the ancient historians, he embodies in an impressive form, the great facts and ideas that are supposed to govern human affairs. It is fair to apply to this composition the definition of " Classi- cal History," so clearly and beautifully expressed in his address before the New York Historical Society of Feb. 23, 1852. This Pilgrim speech is a true specimen of Classical History ; " not," as he says, " a memoir, or a crude collection of acts, occurren- 71 ces, and dates, it is a composition, a production^ T^hicli has unity of design, like a work of statuary' or of painting." As such, his Plymouth speech bears the impress of his creative mind. He transferred to the Plymouth Panorama a representation of the heroic achievelhents of Gorges, of Popham, and of Vines. Mr. Webster's poetry has been regarded as his- tory. But it is such history as are the writings of livy, or the historic plays of Shakspeare. The mission of the Poet precedes that of the historian, and the imaginary characters of a poetic mind continue for a while to walk the earth under the shadow of a great name. The Pilgrims have richly enjoyed this distinguished honor. The Hon. Edward Everett, evidently on the au- thority of Mr. Webster, says in his Plymouth speech, four years later, " This, the source of our being, the Birth Day of all New England, — this grand under- taking was accomplished on the spot where we now dwell." " A continent for the first time explored, a vast ocean traversed by men, .women and children, voluntarily exiling themselves from the fairest por- tions of the Old World," &c. Modern historians of the Massachusetts school, have since then, taken these flights of poetic fancy for historic verities, and sought to elevate them into the dignity of history. They might as well insist, that a modern fourth of July oration was the 72 cause of our Revolutionary war, though uttered some years after that event had taken place. Regarded as a political event, the Plymouth set- tlement was not of the slightest consequence or importance. It neither aided or retaraed the settle- ment of the country, and is of no moment except as the actors in that work were concerned, or those who claim thence their inheritance. As a tale of individual and personal heroism, in which patient resignation was mingled with superstitious confi- dence, it deserves sympathy and respect. But those who seek to give it political importance, con- found the Plymouth settlement with that of the Puritan Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay, two events as independent of each other in every re- spect as was the settlement of New Netherlands from that of Lord Baltimore, on the Chesapeake. The Pilgrims had at the outset no idea of found- ing a Colony. The idea may have been suggested to them by the language of the charter of June, 1621. It is true, they dignified their head officer with the title of " Governor," a term formerly ap- plied to the head of any family or company. He had no civil authority whatever, and the fact that for the first seven years no records of any sort were kept, and not a scrap of written history made prior to 1627, shows how primitive were aU their ideas of government and of property. Bradford began his history in 1630, and at a later 73 date, rejoicing over the downfall of the Bishops, in the days of the Commonwealth, he appends thereto the following comments: "when I began these scribbled writings, which was about the year 1630, and so peeced up at times of leasure, afterwards ; little did I think their downfall was so near," &c.^ The compact signed on board the Mayflower, under date of November 11, 1620, which has been eulogized as " the germ of republican freedom," was, as Bradford says, " a combination, occasioned partly by the discontented and mutinous speeches that when they come ashore, they would use their own libertie," &c.^ In 1632, the first records of Plymouth Colony were commenced, but they had before them the example of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, whose Records are of the same date as their settlement. The famous Capt. John Smith, a cotemporary, says, " about one hundred Brownists went to Ply- mouth, whose humorous ignorance caused them to 1. Bradford's History of Plimouth, p. 6. ^ 2. Bradford thus explains the matter : — " I shall a little returne backe and begine with a combination made by them before they came ashore, being y' first foundation of their govern- mente in this place ; occasioned partly by y^ discontented and mutinous speeches that some of the strangers amongst them had let fall from them in ye ship. That when they came ashore they would use their own lib- ertie ; for none had power to command them ; the patente they had being for Virginia, and not for New-england, which belonged to an- other Grovernment, with which y= Virginia Company had nothing to doe. And partly that such an aete by them done (this their condition considered) might be as firme as any patent, and in some respects more sure." The form was as followeth. p. 89. 10 74 endure a wonderful deal of misery, with infinite patience." It was under the charter given to John Wincob, and in the protection of the original Virginia Com- pany, with the map of Smith for their guide, they came to America, too poor to own their vessel, or to pay for the land they should here occupy, and yet these obligations were never repaid, or acknowl- edged. The representations of Mr. Everett and others would lead us to suppose, that the Pilgrims embarked for America across an unknown sea, to seek a resting place in thickest darkness of ignor- ance, like that deep mystery that shrouded the Atlantic, when the vessel of Columbus first turned its prow Westward from the Canaries, one hundred and twenty-eight years before. Oratory, painting and poetry, have brought their richest gifts to the Pilgrim altar, and raised this feeble band of unlettered men to the rank of states- men and heroes. The genius of Webster, the ora- tory of Everett, the industry of Bancroft, and the zeal of Palfrey, have noiiiailed to offer incense to the pride of Massachusetts as the leading commu- nity of the Western world ; — and in their devotion to her, overlooked the great influences that for a whole generation, had been preparing the way, for the secure occupation of her soil. And they have too readily followed the authority of those partizan writers, whose zeal for their own cause, has out- 75 run their sense of justice. And historic truth de- mands that the view of the character of Gorges as drawn by the two latter, should be corrected by the light of more recently discovered information. Gorges' defence against the charge of having un- justly betrayed the Earl of Essex, refutes it alto- gether, and should dispel the prejudice that Mr. Palfrey's recent work is calculated to perpetuate- The long lost history of Bradford, recovered in 1855, and published in 1856, since the first issue of Mr. Bancroft's earliest volumes, will, undoubtedly, lead to a modification of the views expressed by him as to the claims of Gorges. It seems strange that the Pilgrims should have been advanced to the condition of heroes, while the services of Gorges, in a long and illustrious life of duty should have been overlooked and forgotten. But this is not difficult of explanation. By force of accident, not now needful to relate, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, became the leading one of New England, and its population have always, beyond any other people, indulged their pride of ancestry. Mr. Webster easily sympathized with that spirit of Mass- achusetts that demanded for her the proud title of Parent Commonwealth. He enstamped on his time, beyond any man of this country, the impress of his own proud and heroic spirit. He inspired a love of country, a pride of home, a feeling of content- ment and satisfaction favorable to industry, to reli- 76 gious sentiment, and the accumulation of property. The industrial superiority of that State, the growth of the last thirty years, is largely due to the eleva- ted sentiments by him inspired. With the progress of refinement, and the in- crease of wealth in every civilized community, in every age, there is a tendency to exaggerate the past, to undervalue the present, and to question all anticipations for the future. As weary age looks at existing facts as the hmit of human experience, the poetic mind encourages future hopes, reproduc- ing from the past, all the varied forms of beauty or grandeur that the page of romance has foreshadow- ed — and every cultivated community must have its classic and romantic age, demanding a correspond- ing history. It glories in after years in the fabled greatness of a remote, but heroic ancestry, till se- vere history dispels the poetic charm. The Egyptian tradition pointed in after years to the days of its earlier grandeur a thousand years before those of Manetho, the founder of the temple of Karnac, whose dynasty commenced thirty-four centuries before the Christian Era. The Grecian poets, of its more modern times, constantly dwelt on the fabled glories of the past, the age that pre- ceded the days of Homer and Hesiod, and the Ro- man orators in the proudest days of its luxurious civilization, pointed back to the foundation of Rome, whose fabled city was but the rudest structure of 77 savage life. England glories still in the crude in- stitutions of Alfred, while France with greater glory recounts the heroic deeds of Charlemagne. New England has had her days of hero worship, and brought her devout oflerings in the same spirit to the shrine of the Pilgrims, and raised them from the humble condition of artizans and laborers to the rank of founders of Empires, and the sentimental Mrs. Hemans, under the spell of Mr. Webster's genius, has thrown the charms of her poetic fancy around the rude homes of its early settlers. All this is a pure myth. The war of the Gods on Olympus, and the mythic tales of the love of Sapho, are just as real. Had the Pilgrims landed on the rocky cliffs of Sagadahoc, of Donaquet, or of Pemaquid, the poetic fancy of Mrs. Hemans might have had the color of the truth. But to talk of " the rock bound coast" of Plymouth, amid the sands of Cape Cod, and of " the giant branches" of the scrubby, pines on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay, is simply a flight of fancy. " The bleak and death-like desolation of nature" which, as Mr. Ev- erett truly says, " met the eyes of the Pilgrims on their approach to land, are changed by the exuber- ant fancy of Mrs. Hemans into charming spots like those which the voyageurs had found in the rich forests, of that Norumbega, whose praises had been sung by John Milton. The beautiful retreats at Diamond Cove and 78 Pentecost. Harbor, — the rich forests on the banks of the Penobscot, the Sheepscot and the Kennebec, had attracted thither numerous voyagers from the old world, before the Leyden Church had been gathered, under the charge of the pious Kobinson. New England had all the attractions described by the early navigators answering the poetic de- scriptions of Mrs. Hemans. It had " good harbors, very good fishing, much fowl, noble forests, gal- lant rivers, and the land as good ground as any can desire." But this does not apply to the region where the Pilgrims made their home. Let every one read the poetic description of the landing of the Pilgrims by Mr. Webster, and study the picture of it by Sargent, with the simple history of Bradford in his hands, and he is lost in admi- ration, like that which the student of classic history feels, in the perusal of the works of the great mas- ter of Epic poetry. According to Bradford, they embarked at Deft Haven, July 21, 1620, sailed from Southampton, Aug. 5, put back twice, — persevered in their plans, and espied Cape Cod, Nov. 9, 1620, old style, and came to anchor in Cape Cod harbor, Nov. 11, 1620, and on the same day, signed their compact of Government, and chose or rather con- firmed, John Carver, Governor. Their ship remained at Cape Cod, till Dec. 25, 1620, new style. Prior to this, Bradford, Standish and others, had explored the country, setting out 79 on the 16th of Dec. On the 21st of Dec, they passed through Plymouth, and returned to the ship on the 24th. After much doubt and difficulty, and days of wandering, on Wednesday the 30th of Dec, they determined on their place of settlement. On the 4th of January, 1621, they went first on shore, and began to cut timber for a house. The May- flower remained in the harbor till Aprii 15, when she departed for England. Till then, a large por- tion of them lived on shipboard, and there is no ac- count of any distinct or specific act of landing. The winter was mild beyond example, and when Samo- set " the Sagamore of Moratiggon arrived, March 26, he was stark naked, only a leather about his waist, with a fringe about a span long, or a little or more." Had the winter been as usual, or severe as that of 1607, when Popham wintered at Sagada- hoc, not a soul of them could have survived. Modern historians have accidentally fixed on the 22d of December as the landing day of the Pil- grims, and they attempt to justify it by the state- ment of Bradford, that on that day, the explorers passed through Plymouth and pitched upon it as one spot, to be recommended for the settlement. But unfortunately for their accuracy, this day was the 21st, and the adoption of the 22d, is not justified by any fact whatever.^ 1. " Aiid this being the last day of y= week, (Saturday, Dec. 19, n. s.) they prepared 'ther to Ifieep y= Sabbath. On Mundiay they sounded y" 80 The great misfortune of Gorges was, that, as a man of true honor, he was compelled to support the fortunes of the weak and decaying Stuart dynasty, to which he remained true to the last. He also suffered in his fortunes in not emigrating to Amer- ica. In a paper on file in the English State Paper Office, quoted in the recent volume of Mr. Fol- som, it is stated that Gorges came to New England with Mason in 1619,^ but we find no confirmation of harbor, and founde it fitt for shipping ; and marched into y= land, and found diverse cornfeilds, and litle runing brooks, a place (as they sup- posed) fltt for situation ; at least it was y= best they could find, and y" season, and their presents necessitie, made them glad to accepte of it. So tliey returned to their shipp again with this news to y» rest of their people, which did much comforte their harts. On y^ 15, (25 n. s.) of Desem"', they wayed anchor to go to y* place they had discovered, and came witlun 2 leagues of it, but were faine to bear up againe; buty= 16 (26) day y« winde came faire, and they arrived safe in this harbor. And after wards tooke bett€r view of y* place, and resolved wher to pitch their dwellings ; and y'= 25 day (Jan. 4, 1621, n. s.) begane to erecte y" first house for common use to receive them and their goods." — [Bradford's History, pp. 88, 89. The above contains all that relates to the famous Landing of the Pil- grims on Plymouth Bock. The intelligent reader instinctively smiles at this recital, when he contrasts this simple statement, with the gorgeous decoration of the event by Mr. Webster. When the anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims was instituted, in 1769, the authors added eleven days for difference of style, instead of ten the true difference. They fixed on Monday, the day " they sounded the harbor and marched into the land," as the one most deserving of commemoration. From this has grown the magnificent conception of the Landing of the Pilgrims ! 1. 1674-5 March The title and case of Mohert Ma! tyme my Vice Admirall that sett forth in March arrived there in May, came home fraught with fish, Trayne oyle. Beavers skinnes, and all her men safe in August within 6 monethes and odd dayes. 4 Proofs. 1 The Londoners ere I returned sent two shippes more in July to trye 1616. ) the Winter : but such courses they took by the Canaries, and the In- dies, it was 10 moneths ere they arrived wasting in that time their seasons, victu- all & healthes yet within 3 months after the one retourned were fraughted with fish Trayne oyle & Beavers. 5 PitooFE. I From Plymouth went 4 shipps only to fish and trade some in Feb- 1616. J ruary some in March one of 200 Tonnes got thither in a moneth and went full fraught for Spaine vr"' drye fish, the rest retourned all well & safe and all full fraught with fish, furres and oyle in 5 moneths and odd dayes. 6 Pkoofe. ) From London went two more one of 220 tonnes got thither in 6 1616. I weekes & within 6 weekes after w^^ 44 men was fraughted with fish, furres and oyle & was again in England within 5 monethes & a few dayes. 7 Proofe. 1 Being atPlvmouth provided w*** 3 good shippes I was windebounde 1617. I nere 3 monethes as was many a 100 sayle more so that the season being past I sent my shippes to Newfoundland whereby the adventures had noe losse. 1618. There is 4 or 5 saile gone thither this year to fish and trade from London also there is one gone only to fish and trade, each shippe for her particular designe and their private endes, but none for any generall good, where neither to Virginia, nor to the Bermudas they make such hast. By this yo' Lop may perceive the ordinary performance of this voyage in 6 monethes, the plenty of fish that is most certainly approved & if I be not misin- formed from Cannada & New England within these 4 yeares hath been gotten by the French and English nere 36,000 Beavers skinnes : That all sorts of TTmber for shipping is most jjlentifiilly there ; AH those vf^ retourned can testifye and if ought of this be untrue is easily proved. The worst is of these 16 shippes 2 or 3 of them have been taken by Pyrates, w^i" hath putt such fearo in poore lishermen, whose powers are but wealce. And the desyro of gaine in Merchants so violent; every one so regarding his private, that it is worse than slaverye to follow any publique good, & impossible to bring them into a bodye, rule or order, unless it be by some extraordinary power. But if his Ma'i" would bo please to be perswaded to spare us but a Mnnace to lodge my men in and defend us & the Coast from such invasions the space of eight or ten monethes only till we were seated, I would not doubt but ero long to drawe the most part of Newfound Laud men to assist us if I could be so provided but in duo season : for now ere the Savages grow subtle and the Coast be too much frequented with strangers more may bo done w"" £20 than hereafter with a £100. The Charge.— The Charge of this is only Salt, Notts, Hooks, Lynes, Knives, Course Cloth, Beades, Ulasse, Uatchctts and such trasho, only for fishing & trade w'!" the savages, that have desyrcd nie to inhabitt where I mtIIo and all these shippes have been fished within a square of two leagues the Coast being of the same Condition the length of two or three hundroti leagues, where questionles within ono hundred 500 saylo may have their fraught better than in Iscland New- foundlando or elsewhere, and be at their marketts ere the other can have their fish „,,„ i „.,., in their shippes. From the west part of England the shippes goe for of Iho *'"* *'"'■'' P"^''' •'"^' '" "'I'O" ♦■><> vo,va»;e is done the goods are divided PlMitnllon. '"fo three parts (vi/.) one third for the IShippe: one for the Company tlie iillier for the \'ielimUer, wliereliv with a stock of £5000 1 goe forth will a charge of £16000 for the transporting this t'olUmx e will cost little or nothing but at the first, because the fishing will goo forward wlicther we plant it or noe, for the Ushers report it to bo best they knowo in the Sea and the land in a short time may bo more profitable. Now if a Shippe can gain 60 or £G0 in the 100 only by fishing, spending as much 107 tvme in going & coming as in staying there wore I there planted seine the flsh in their seasons sorveth the most part of the yoare and w"" a litlo labour I could make all the salt I need use I can conoeive noe reason to distrust, but double & triple their gaines that are at all the former charge & can flsh but two monethes. And if those do give 20, 30 oriO' for an acre of ground or Shipp Carpenters, Forgers of yron or Steele, that buy all thinges at a dear rate grow rich when they may have as good of all needful necessaryes for taking in my opinion should not growe poore and no oomoditye in Europe doth decay more than wood. Thus Eight honbi« & most worthy Peere I have thrown my Mite into the Treas- ure of my Countries good beseeching your Lop well to consider of it & examine whether Columbus could give the Spaniards any such certaintyes for his grounds, when he got 15 saile from Queene Isaboll of Spaiue when all the great judgments of Europe refused him ! And though I can promise noe mynes of gold the Hol- landers are an example of my project whose endeavoures by fishing cannot be sup- pressed by all the Kingo of Spaines golden powers. Truth is more than wealth & iadustrious subjects are more available to a king than gold. And this is so oer- taino a course to get both as I thinke was never propounded to any State for so small a charge, seeing I can prove it, both by exarnple, reason, and., experience. How I have lived spent my tyme & bene employed, I am not ashamed who will ex- amine. Therefore I humbly beseech To' Hon' seriously to consider of it and lett not the povertie of the author cause the action to be less respected, who desyres no better fortune than he could find there. In the interim I humbly desyre yo' Hon' would be pleased to grace me wa the title of yo' LdP" servant. Not that I desyre to shut upp the rest of my dayes in the chamber of ease and idleness, but that thereby I maybe better countenanced for the prosecution of this my most desyred voyage, for had I the patronage of so ma- ture a judgment as yo' honors it would not only induce those to believe what I know to be true in this matter who will now hardly vouchsaffe the perusall of my relations, but also be a meanes to further it to the uttermost of their powers w"" their purses. And I sh.al be ever ready to spend both and goods for the honor of my Country & yo' Loi» service, with w""^ resolution I doe in all humility rest At To' Honc^ service. To show the difference betwixt Virginia and New England I have annexed mappes of them both and this schedule w"' will shew the diiference of the old names from the new on the Map of New England : The Ould Names. The New. Cape Cod, Cape James, Milford Haven. ChawTim, Bai*wick, Accomack, Plimouth. • Sagoquas, Oxford. 'Massachusetts mount, Chevit Hill. Massachusetts river, Charles Kiver. Totant, Fawmoth. A country not discov*, Bristow. Naemkeeke, Bastable. Cape Trabigranda, Cape Anno. Aggawom, Southampton. Smithes Isles, Smiths Isles. Passataquack, Hull. Accominticus, Boston. Sassanoweo Mount, Sneddon Hill. Sowacatuck, fcswtoh. Bahana. Dartmouth. ,, 4. Sandwich. Aucocisooes Mount, Shooters Hill. Aucooisco, The Base. Aumonghcawgen, Cambridge. liinebeSc, Edenborough. Sagadahock, Leeth. . Pemmaquid, S'. Johns Towne. Monahigan, Bartios Isles. " ■ Norwich. Mattiunock, Willoughbyes Isles. Mettinicus, Houghfons Isles. Mecadacut, Dunbarton. Penobscot, Aborden. Nasket, Lowmonds. 108 ARTICLES OF THE LEYDEN CHURCH, 1618. PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON. Colonial, Vol. I. No. 43. [Tlio following I'aiicr ia referred to in note 1, page 64, ante.] Seven artiklcs w* y Church of Leydon sent to y» Counsel! of England to bee con- sidered of in respect of theor judgments occationed about theer going to Vir- finia, ann° 1618. . To y« confession of fayth published in y» name of y" Church of England & to every artikoll theerof wee do w*"* y" reformed-churches wheer wee live, and also ellswhero assent wholy. 2. As woo do aclcnolidg y" doolctryno of fayth theer tawght so do wco y» truits & eifeckts of y« same dootryne to y begetting of saving feyth in thowsands in y» land (conformists and reformists) as y" ar called w'** wiiom also as w*^ our brethcren woe do dosyer to kcepe sperituall communion in peace and will pracktiz in our parts all lawfull things. 3. The Kings Maiosty woo acknolidg for Supreme Governor in his dominions in all causes over all parsons, & y' none maye dcklyne or apeale from his authority or judgment in any cause whatsoever, but y' in all things obedience is dewe ounto hirae, other active if y« thing commanded bee not agaynst gods word, or passive yf itt bee except pardon can bo obtayned. 4. Wee judg itt lawfull for his Maiesty to apoynt bishops civill overseers or offi- cers in awthoryty ondor hime, in ye Beverall provinces, dioses, congregations, or parishes to oversee y churches and governe them civilly according to y lawes of yo land untto whom ye ar in all things to geve an account & by them to be ordered according togodlynes. 5. The authority of y« present bishops in y" land wee do acknowlidg so far forth as yo same is indeed derived from his Maiesty untto them and as y proseed in his name, whom wee will also therein honor in all things and hime in them. 6. Wee beleeve y' no slnod, classes, convocation or assembly of cclcsiasticall officers hath any power or authority att all but as y" same by y maiestraet geven unto them. 7. Lastly wee desyer to geve unto all superiors dewe honnor to preserve y« unity of y" Speritt w'*" all y* feare god, to have peace w*^ all men what in us lyeth and wheeriu wee err to bee instrucked by any. Subscribed by John Kobinson and Willyam Bruster. indorsed. Copy of Seven Artikles sent untto y" Couusull of England by yo Brownists of Loyden. APPENDIX 1), TuADE Papebs, State Paper Office, V. 55. To the Kinfjes most excellent Mnjiatie. The most bumble petioon ol y ^W>" oounooll for tho second oolonie, and otiior the adventurers In the Western partes of England for tho plantation in the North partes of Virginia in America. May It please yo' Mci.sl o.xoollont Majostio, Whoroos it pleased yo' Ma"" by y most gratious L"" patentos bearing date tho 10th of April! in tho I'oworth yearo of yo' Ma"« most blessed raigno to give 109 lyoeuce for tho estaUishingo of two colonics in Virginio in America, tho one called the First Coloule undertaken by certaine nolile men knigbtes and mer- chants about London ; tho other called the Second Colonie likewise undertaken hy certaine knightes gentlemen and merchants of the Western partes ; by vertue whereof some of the Western parts hath at their greate oharg and extreme hazard continued to eudearour to discov" a place iittto entertaine such a designe, as also to find the meanes to bring to passe soe noble a worke j in the constant pursuit whereof it hath pleased God to ayde them with his blessing so far as in the confi- dence of the continewance of His Grace, they are resolved to pursue the same with all the power and meanes they are able to make, to His glorie, yo' Ma"™ honour and the publique good of the countrye. And as it pleased y Ma" to be gracious to those of the first colonie in enlarg- inge of the first patent two seav all times with many privileges & immunities according to y princely bountye, wherebye they have bin incouraged in their proceedings : yc Peticoners do in all humilitie desire that yo' Ma"" will voutoh- afe unto them the like, that they may wa more boldness go on as they have begun to the satis&ction of y Ma"" most religious expectaoon, with the altera- con only of some few things and the additions here insueing. First, that territories where yo' peticoners make their plantaoon may be caled (aa by the Prince His Highness it hath bin named) NEW ENGLAISD, that the boundes thereof may be setled fl'om 40 to 45 degress of Northerly latitude and soe ftom sea to sea through the maine as the coast lyeth, and that yo' Ma'" coun- sell residing here in England for that plantaoon may consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and other their associates, to be chosen out of the noble men and knights adventurers home about London, & others the adven- turers both knightes gentlemen and merchants in the Western countryes ; so as the said counoell does not exoeede the number of 40 who as one incorporate body e may as often as neede requires be assembled when and where the P'sident or Viop'sident, w" the Treasurer and Secretary or any two of them, to be assisted w"' nve or three others of the oounsell shall think most convenient for that Ser- vice; whereby yo= Ma** most humble peticoners doth verily iope, by Gods holy assistance to settle their plantaoon to the imployeing of many of yc Ma" Sub- jects and the content of all that are well disposed to the prosperitie of yo' Ma"" most happy raigne. And soe yo' Ma'" most humble peticoners shalbe bound as in duty they are to pray for all increase of glory & perpetuall happiness to yo' Ma"» blessed posteritie for ever. March, 1619. Upon readinge of this petioon, their Lips, did order that the Lo. Duke of Lenox, Lo. Steward of his Ma'" Household, and the Earl of Aruudell shall take notice of thepeticon, consider of the demands for privileges, and there- upon eertlfie their opinions to their Lips, that such further order may be taken as shalbe meete. (Signed) C. EDMONDBS. Wakkant to Pbepare a Patent toe the Northern Company of Virginia. Present. — Lo. ChanceUor Lo. Digby Lo. Privy Scale Mr Comptroler E. of Arundell Mr Secy Calvert B of Southampton M' Secy Nauton Lo BpofWinfon M' of the Roles Mr of the Wardes. A Let" to S" Thomas Coventbie, Khight, his majes Solicitor General. WHEREAS it is thought fitt that a Patent of Incorporation be granted to tho Adventurers of the Northern colonye in Virginia to containe the like liberties, priviledges, powers, authorities. Lands, and all other things within their lymits viz' between the degrees of 40 and 48 as were heretofore granted to the companie of Virginia. Excepting only that whereas the said companie have a freedom of custome and subsidie for xxi yeares, and of impositions for ever, this new compa- nie is to be tree of custome and Subsidie for the like term of yeares, andof Impo. sitions for so long tyme as his Ma"" shall be pleased to grant unto them. These shall be therefore to will and require you to prepare a Patent readie for his iria'" royall signature, to the purpose aforesaid, leaving a blank for the tyme of fteedom of impositions to be supplied and put in by his Ma"» and for which this shall be your Warrant. Dated, &c. 110 THE NEW ENGLAND CHARTER. JAMBS, by tho Grooo of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Src. to all whom these Presents shall come, Greeting, Whereas, upon the liumble Petition of divers of our well disposed Subjects, that ■ Intended to make several Plantations in the Parts of America, between the De- grees of thirtj'-ffouro and fforty-flve ; We according to our princely Inclination, favouring much tlieir worthy Disposition, in Hope thereby to advance the in Largement ul' (JliiiHtlan Religion, to the Glory of God Almighty, as also by that Monnos to Htrcatcli out tho Bounds of our Dominions, and to replenish those Deserts with People governed by the Lawes and Majestrates, for the peaceable Commerce of all, that in time to come shall have occasion to trafEque into those Territoryes, granted unto Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Knights, Thomas Hanam, and Raleigh Gilbert, Esquires, and of their Associates, for the more speedy Accomplishment thereof, by our Letters-Patent, bearing Date the Tenth Day of Aprill, in the Fourth Year of our Reign of England, France, and Ireland, and of Scotland tho ffourtieth, ftoe Liberty to divide themselves into two several Collo- neys ; tho one called the first Collonye, to be undertaken and advanced by eer- taine Knights, li entlemen, and Merchants, in and about our Oyty of London ; the other called the Second Colonye, to be undertaken and advanced by certaine Knights, Gentlemen, and Merchants, and their Associates, in and about our Citties of Bristoll, Exon, and our Towne of Pljonouth, and other Places, as in and by our said Letters-Pattents, amongst other Things more att large It doth and may appeare. And whereas, since that Time, uiion the humble Petition of the said Adventurers and Planters of the said first Collonye, We have been gp:a- ciously pleased to make them one distinct and entire Body by themselves, giving unto them their distinct Lymltts and Bounds, and have upon their like numble Request, granted unto them divers Liberties, Privileges, Enlargements, and Im- munityes, as in and by our severall Letters-Patents it doth and may appeare. Now forasmuch as We have been in like Manner humbly petitioned unto by our trusty and well beloved Servant, Sir fferdinando Gorges, Knight, Captain of our ffort and Island by Plymouth, and by certain the principal Knights and Gentle- men Adventurers of the said Second Collonye, and by divers other Persons of Quality, who now Intend to be their Associates, divers of which have been at great and extraordinary Charge^ and sustained many Losses in seelung and dis- covering a Place fltt and convenient to lay the Foundation of a hopenil Planta- tion, and have divers Years past by God's Assistance, and their own Endeavours, taken actual Possession of the Continent hereafter mentioned, in our Name and to our Use, as Sovereign Lord thereof, and have settled already some of our People in Places agreeable to their Desires in those Parts, and in Confidence of prosperous Success therein, by the Continuance of God's Devlne Blessing, and our Royall Permission, have resolved in a more plentiflill and effectual Manner to prosecute the same, and to that Purpose and Intent have desired of Us, for their better Encouragement and Satisfaction herein, and that they may avoide all Confusion, Questions, or Differences between themselves, and those of the said first Collonye, We would likewise be graciously pleased to make certaine Ad- venturers, intending to erect and establish fEshety, Trade, and Plantacion; within the Territoryes, Precincts. and Lymitts of the said second Colony, and their Successors, one several distinct and entire Body, and to grant unto them, such Estate, Liberties, Priveleges, Enlargements, and Immunityes there, as in these our Letters-Patents hereafter particularly expressed and declared. And forasmuch as We have been certainly given to understand by divers of our good Subjects, that have for these many Yeares past firequented those Coasts and Ter- ritoryes, between the Degrees of Fourty and Fourty-Eight, that there is noe other the Subjects of any Christian King or State, by any Authority from their Soveraignes, Lords, or Princes, actually in Possession of any of the said Lands, or Precincts, whereby any Right, Claim, Interest, or Title, may, might, or ought by that Meanes accrue, belong, or appertaine unto thom, or any of them. And also for that We have been further given oertanly to knowe, that within these late Yeares there hath by God's Visitation raigned a wonderftill Plague, together with many horriblis Slaughters, and Murtliers, committed amoungst the Sauages and bruitish People there, heertofore inhabiting, in a Manner to the utter Des- truction, Deuastacion, and Dopopulaoion of that whole Territoryo, so that there is not left for many Leagues together in a manner, any that doe olaime or chal- lenge any Kind of Interests theroln, nor any other Superior Lord or Souveraigne to make Claime thereunto, whereby Wo in our Judgment are persuaded and satisfied that the appoiiituil Timois come in which Almighty God In his great Goodness and Bountle towards Us and our Pooplo, hath thought fitt and deter- mined, that thoBO largo mul goodly Territoryes, deserted as it were by their natuvall Inhabitants, should bo possessod and enjoyed by such of our Subjoots and Pooplo as hoortoforo havo and hereafter shall by his Morclo and Favour, and byl)is Poworltall Armc, bo directed and oonduotod thither. In Coutomplaoion Ill and serious Considcracion whereof, Woe have tliouglit it fltt according to om Kingly Duty, see much as in 0s lyeth, to second and foUowo God's sacred Will, rendering rbverend Thanlfs to his Divine Majestic for his gracious favour in lay- ing open and revealing the same unto us, before any other Christian Prince or State, by whioh Meanes without Offence, and as We trust to his Glory, Wee may with boldness goo on to the settling of so hoijefull a Work, which tendeth to the reducing and Conversion of such Sauages as remaine wandering in Desolacion . and Distress, to Civil Societie and Christian Religion, to the Inlargement of our ' own Dominions, and the Aduancement of the Fortunes of such of our good Sub- ' jeots as shall willingly intresse themselves in the said Imployment, to whom We cannot but give singular Commendations for their soe worthy Intention and Enterprize ; We therefore, of our espeoiall Grace, mere Motion, and certaine Knowledge, by the Aduioe of the Lords and others of our Priuy Counoell have for Us, our Heyrs and Successors, graunted, ordained, and established, and In and by these Presents, Do for TJs, our Heirs and Successors, gi'ant, ordaine and establish, that all that Circuit, Continent, Precincts, and Limitts in America, lying and being in Breadth from Fourty Degrees of Northerly Latitude, from the Ei^noctiall Line, to Fourty-eight Degrees of the said Northerly Latitude, and in Length by all the Breadth aforesaid throughout the Maine Land, from Sea to Sea, with all the Seas, Rivers, Islands, Creelies, Inletts, Ports, and Havens, within the Degrees, Precincts, and Limitts of the said Latitude and Longitude, shall be the Limitts, and Bounds, and Precincts of the second CoUony : And to the End that the said Territoryes may forever hereafter be more partlculalrly and certainly known and distinguished, our Will and Pleasure is, that the same shall from henceforth be nominated, termed, and called by the Name of New England, in America ; and by that Name of New-England in America, the said Circuit, Precinct, Limitt, Continent, Islands, and Places in America, aforesaid. We do by these Presents, for Us, our Heyrs and Successors, name, call, erect, found and establish, and by that Name to have Continuance for ever. And for the better Plantaoion, ruling, and governing of the aforesaid New-England, in America, We will, ordaine, constitute, assigne, limitt and appoint, and for Us, our Heyrs and Successors, Wee, by the Advice of the Lords and others of the said priule Counoill, do by these Presents ordaine, constitute, limett, and appoint, that from henceforth, there shall be for ever hereafter, in our Towne of Plymouth, in the County of Devon, one Body pollticque and corporate, which shall have per- petuall Succession, which shall consist of the Number of fourtie Persons, and no _ more, which shall be, and shall be called and knowne by the Name the Councill 1 " ' "^ " .' ' iting, ruling, order- b Purpose Wee have, .-„ , granted, ordained, established, and confirmed ; and by these Presents, for Us, our Heyres and Suc- cessors, doe grant, ordaine, establish, and confirme, our right trusty and right well beloved Cosins and Councillors Lodowick, Duke of Lenox, Lord Steward, of our Household, Geoige Lord Marquess Buckingham, our High Admiral of England, James Marquess Hamilton, William Barle of Pembroke, Lord Chamber lalne of our Household, Thomas Earl of Arundelj and our right trusty and right well beloved Cosin, William Earl of Bathe, and right trusty and right well beloved Cosln and Councillor, Henry Earle of Southampton, and our right trusty and right well beloved Cousins, William Earle of Salisbury^ and Robert Barle of Warwick, and our right trusty and well beloved John Viscount Haddington, and our right trusty and well beloved Councillor Edward Lord Zouch, Lord Warden of our Cinque Ports, and our trusty and well beloved Edmond Lord Sheflfleld, Edward Lord Gorges, and our well beloved Sir Edward Seymour, Knight and Barronett, Sir Robert Manselle, Sir Edward Zouch, our Knight Marshall, Sir Dudley Dlggs, Sir Thomas Roe, Sir fferdinando Gorges, Sir Francis Popham, Sir John Brook, Sir Thomas Gates, Sir Richard Hawkins, Sir Richard Bdgoombe, Sir Allen Apsley, Sir Warwick Hale, Sir Richard Catchmay, Sir John Bouchier, Sir Nathaniel Rich, Sir Edward Giles, Sir Giles Mompesson, and Sir Thomas Worth, Knights ; and our well beloved Matthew Sutolifie, Deane of Exeter, Robert Heath, Esq; Recorder of our Cittie of London, Henry Bourchier, John Drake, Rawleigli Gil-/ bert, George Chudley, Thomas Hamon, and John Argall, Esqijires, to be in and| by these Presents ; We do appoint them to be the first moderne and present Councill establislied at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New-England, in America ; and that they, and the Suruiuours of them, and such as the Suruiuours and Suruiuor of them shall, from tyme to tyme elect, and chuse, to make up the aforesaid Number of fourtie Persons, when, and as often as any of them, or any of their Successors shall happen to decease, or to be removedfrom being of the said Councill, shall be in, and by these Presents, incorporated to have a perpetual Succession for ever, in Deed, Fact, and Name, and shall be one Bodye corporate and politicquei and that those, and such said Persons, and their Successors, and such as shall be elected and chosen to succeed them as aforesaid, shall be, and by these Pres- ents are, and be incorporated, named, and called by the Name of tha Councill established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon for the planting, ruling, order- ing, and governing of N ew-England, in America ; and for that Purpose Wee have, at and by the Nomination and Request of the said Petitioners, granted, ordained. 112 OHtablishod nt Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the planting, ruling, and KovorninK of New-England, in America ; and them the said Duke of Lenox, Jlavquoss Buokingliam. Marquess Hamilton, Earle of Pembroke, Barle of Arun- doll, Earlo of Bathe, Earle of Southampton, Barle of Salisbury, Earle of War- wick, Viaoount Haddington, Lord Zouch, Lord Sheffield, Lord Gorges, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir Robert MariHoU, Sir Edward Zouoh, Sir Dudley Diggs, Sir Thomas Eoo, Sir fferdlnando (jora;o«, Sir f&anoisPopham, Sir John Brooks, Sir Thomas Gates, Sir Richard Hawkins, Sir Richard Edgcombe, Sir Alien Apsley, Sir War- wick Iloalo, Sir Richard Catohmay, Sir John Bouchier, Sir Nathaniel! Rich, Sir Edward Giles. Sir Giles Mompesson, Sir Thomas Wroth, Knights: Matthew Suttclinb, Robert Ueath, Henry Bourohier, John Drake, Rawleigh Gilbert, Ge-nted, That then it sbalbe lawiull for tbem with the pryvitie & allowaunce of the Presi- dent & Counsell as aforesaid to make choyce of to enter into and to haue an addi- tion of iiftie acres more for euy pson transported into New England with like res- racons coudicons & priviledges as arc abouc graunted to be bad and chosen in such place or places where no English shalbo then settled or inhabiting or baue made choyce of and the same entered into a booke of Acts at the tyme of such choice so to be made or within tonne Myles of the same (excepting on the opposite side of some great Navigable Ryver as aforesaid ; And that it shall and may be lawtiill for the said John Peirce and his Associates their heires and assignes from tyme to tyme and at ail times hereafter for their seuall defence & savetie to encounter ex- pulse repell & resist by force of Armes aswell by Sea as by Land and by all wayes and raeanos wbatsoeu all such pson & psons as without the especiall lycense of the said President or Counsell and their successo" or the greater pt of them shall at- tempt to inhabit within the seuall psincts & lymytts of Their said Plantacon, Or shall enterpryse or attempt at any tyme hereaner distrucon, Invation, detryment or annoyaunce to the said Plantacon. AKD THE SAID John Feirce and his associates and their heires & assignes do corennt & promise to & with the said Pr^ident & Counsell and their successors, That they the said John Peirce and his Associate from tyme to tyme during the said Scaven Yeeres shall make a true Certiticat to the said President & Counsell & their successors from the chief Officers of the places respecty vely of euy pson transported & landed in New England or shipped as aforesaid to be entered by the Secretary of the said President & Counsell into a Ke^ister book for that purpose to be kept AND the said John Peirce and bis As- sociates Jointly and seually for them their heirs & assignes do covennt promyse & graunt to and with the said President & Counsell and their successors That the psons transported to this their pticuler Plantacon shall apply themselves & their Labors in alarge and competent mann to the planting setting making and pro- curing of good & staple comodyties in & vpon the said Land hereby graunted vnto tbem as Come & silk grasse hemp flaxe pitch and tarre sopeashes and potashes Tron Clapboard and other the like raaterialls. IN WITNESS whereof the said President & Counsell haue to the one pt of this pnte Indenture sett their scales And to th'other pt hereof the said John Peirce in the name of himself and his said Associates haue sett to his seale geven the day and yeeres first aboue written. LENOX (Seale.) BK. (Scale.) HAMILTON (Seale.) WARWICK (Seale.) SHEFFIELD (Seale.) FEED. GORGES (Seale.) On the Verso of the instrument is the following indorsment: — Sealed and Delivered by my Lord Duke in the Psence of EDWARD COLLINGWOOD, Clekk. NOTB. The signatures, are those of the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Buck- ingham, the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl of Warwick, Lord Sheffield, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges. 121 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON. Colonial, Entey Book, No. 59. pp. 101—108. A Grant of the Province of Maine to S' Ferdinando Gorges, and John Mason, Esq'. W^ of August, 1622. This Indenture made the 10* day of August Anno Dom : 1622, & in the 20th yeare of the Eeigne of our SoTereigue Lord James by the grace of God King of Eng- land, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, fee. Betweene the President & Councell of New England on y« one part, and S' Ferdinando Gorges of London, Knight and Captalne John Mason of London Esquire on y« other part Wittnesseth that whereas our said Sovereigne Lord King James for the makeing a Flantacon & establishing a Colony or Colonyes in y" country called or Icnowne Dy yn name of New England in America hath by his Highness Letters Patents under the Great Seale of England bearing date at Westm': tlie 3^ day of Novembe'. in the 18ih yeare of his Beigne given granted and confirmed vnto the Eight Honorable Lo- dowick Duke of Lenox George Marquiss of Buckingham, James Marquiss Hamilton, Thomas Earle of Arundell, Robert Earle of Warwick, S' Ferdinando Gorges Kn«. and diverse others whose names are expressed in y said Letters Patents, their successors and assignes that they shalbe one Body Politique and Corporate per- ]^etuall and that they should have perpetuall Succession & one Comou Sealo or ' beales to serve for the said Body and that they and their Successors shalbe knowne caUed and incorporated by the name of the President & Councill established at Plymouth in the County of Devon for the planting ruling and governing of New ^ England in America. And also hath of his especiall grace certaine knowledge and meer motion for him his heyres and successor : & given granted and confirmed vnto the said President and Councill and their successo"'^ imder the reservacons, Umitacons and declaracons in the said Letters Patents expressed. All that part or porcon of that country now comonly called New England w"'ds situate lying and beuiB between the Latitude of 40 and 48 Degrees northerly Latitude together w"" the Seas and Islands lying w*Mu one hundred miles of any part of the said Coasts of the Country aforesaid and also all y« Lands, Soyle, grounds, havens, ports, rivers, mines as well Royal mines of Gold and Silver as other mines minerals pearls and pre- tious stones woods, quaryes, marshes, waters fishings hunting, hawking fowling comodities and hereditaments whatsoever together w*"* all prerogatives jurisdictions royaltys privileges franchises and preheminences within any of the saidTerritoryes and precincts thereof whatsover. To have hold possess and enjoy all and sin gular the said lands and premises in the said Letters Patent granted or menconed to bee grant- ed unto y said President and Councill their Successo" and assignes for ever to be holden of his Mai his heyeres and suceesscs as of his highness Mano' of East Green- wich in the County of Kent in free and common Soccage and not in capite or by Kn*» service — Yeelding & paying to the King's Ma''« his heyers and successo™ the one fifth part of all Gold and Silver oare that from time to time and att all times from the date of the said Letters Patents shall be there gotten had or obtayned for all servfces dutyes or demands as in & by his highnes said Letters Pattents amongst other divers things therein contayned more fully and at large it doth appeare. And whereas the said President & Councill have upon mature deliberacon thought fitt for the better furnishing and furtherance of the Plantacon in those parts to ap- propriate and allott to several! and particuler persons diverse paroells of Lands within the precincts of the aforesaid granted p'misses by his Ma'" said Letters Pa- - tents. Now this Indenture witnesseth that ye sd President and Councill of their full free and mutuall consent as well to the end that all the Lands, woods, lakes, rivers, waters. Islands and fishings w* all other the Traffiques proffits & comodi- tyes whatsover to them or any of them belonging and hereafter in these presents menconed may be wholly and intirely invested appropriated severed and settled in and upon ye said S' Ferdinando Gorges & Cap' John Mason their heyres and assignes for ever as for diverse speciall services for the adyancem' of the sd Planta- cons and other good and suflicient causes and consideracons them especially there- unto moveing have given granted bargained sould assigned aliened sett over en- feofifed & confirmed — And by thfese presents doe give grant bargaine sell assigne alien sett over and conflrme unto y" s^ S' Ferdinando Gorges & Cap' John Hason their heirs and assignes all that part of y" maine land in New England lying vpon y' Sea Coast betwixt y" rivers of Merimack & Sagadahock and to y« furthest heads of y» said Elvers and soe forwards up into the land westward untill threescore miles be finished from Vo first entrance of the aforesaid rivers and half way over that is to say to the midst of the said two rivers w"' bounds and limitts the lands aforesaid togeather w"" all Islands & Isletts w" in five leagues distance of yo pre- misses and abutting vpon ye same or any_part or parcell thereoff. As also all the lands, soyle, grounds, havens, ports, rivers, mines, mincralls, pearls, pretious stones woods qnarryes marshes waters fishings hunting Ijawking fowling and other 16 122 Gomodityes and hereditam" whatsoever w'** all and singular their apurtenances together w"» all prerogatives rights royaltyes jurisdictions privileges franchises libertyos prehcminonces marine power in and vpon y said seas and rivers as alsoe all escheats and casualtyes thereof as flotson petson lagon w^^ anchorage and other such dutyes immuuityes sects isletts and apurtenances whatsover w^ all ye estate right title interest claimo and demands whatsoever w«'' y* said President and Coun- coll and their successo" of right ought to have or claime in or to y said porcons of lands rivers and other y promdBses as is aforesaid by reason or force of his high- nos said Letters Patents in as free large ample and beneiiciall maner to all intents constructions and purposes whatsoever as in and by the said Letters Patents y» same aio among other things granted to y^said President and Councell afores* Ex- cept two fifths of y Oaro of Gold and Silver in these pnts hereafter expressed w«^ said porcons of lands w**" y" appurtenances the said Sr Ferdinando Gorges and / Capt. John Mason w"" the consent of y« President & Councell intend io name y^ / Province of Maine To havoand to hould all the said porcons of land, Islands riv- / ers and premises as aforesaid and all and singler other ye comodytyes and heredit- am'» hereby given granted aliened enfeoffed and confirmed or menconed or in- tended by these presents to be given granted aliened enfeoffed and confirmed w*i» all and singuler y appurtencea and every part and parcel] thereof nnto y« said S"^ Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason their heyres and assignes for ever, To be holden of his said Ma"^ his heyres and successo" as of bis Uighnes Manor of East Greenwich in y County of Kent in free and common Soccsge and not ia capite or by Kn'* service. Nevorthelcsse w*"" such exceptions reservacons liraita- cons and declaracons as in y^ said Letters Patents are at large expressed yeeldiug & paying unto our Soveraigne Lord the Kinj^ his hey^res & successo" the fifth part of all y oare of gold ancTsilver that from time to time and att aU times hereafter shall be there gotten had and obtayned for all services dutyes and demands. And alsoe yeelding and paying unto the said President and Councell and their Successors yerely the sum of Tenn shillings English money if it be demanded. And the said President and Councill for them and their Snccesso" doe covenant and ^ant to and w"i the said S"" Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason ther heires and assignes from and after the ensealing and delivery of these presents according to y purport true intent and meaning of these presents that they shall from hence- forth from time to time for ever peaceably and quietly have hold possess and en- joye all y aforesaid Lands Islands rivers and premises w"> y^ appnrtenences here- by before given and granted or menconed or inteoded to be hereby given and granted and every part & parcell thereof w^^ out any lett disturbance denyall trouble interrupcon or evicon of or by y*" said President and Connciiror any per- son or persons whatsoever claiming by from or under them or their successo** or by or under their estate right title or Interest, And y said President and Councill for them and thwr Succcsso" doe further Covenant and grant to & w"» y said S' Ferdinando Gorges & Capt. John Mason their heyres and assignes by these presents that they yo said President and Council! shall at all tjmes hereafter vpon reasonable request at y only proper cost and charges in the Law of y said S» Ferdinando G or- ges& Capt. John Mason their heyres and assignes doe makeperforme suffer execute and willingly consent unto any further act or acts conveyance or conveyances as- surance or assurances whatsoever for y" good and perfect investing assuring and conveying and sure making of all the aforesaid porcons of Lands Islands rivers and all and singuler their appurtences to y» said S' Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason their heyres and assignes as hy them their heyres and assignes or oy his their or any of their Councill learned in y Law shall nee devised advised or , required. And further it is agreed by and between the said partyes to these pres- ents and y« said S'' Ferdinando Gorges and Captaine John Mason for them their heyres executors administrators and assignes doe covenant to and w^y said Pres- sident and Council! and their successor by these presents that if at any time hereaf- ter there shall be found any oare of gold and silver within y grouud in any part of ye said premises that then they y said S"^ Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason their heyres and assignes shall yield & pay vnto y said Presiaentand Council] their succcsso'" and assignes oneufthpart of all such gold and silver oare as shall be found within and vpon y premises and digged and brought above ground to be delivered above ground & that always ^vithin reasonable and convenient time if it be demanded after y« finding getting and digging vp of such oare as aforesaid w^' out fraud or covin and according to y true intent and meaning of these Pres- ents. And ye s* S' Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason doe ftirther cove- nant for them their heyres and assignes that they will establish such government in y s"! porcons of lands and Islands granted unto them and yo same will from time to time continue as shall be agreoonlQ as nere as may be to y Laws and Cus- toms of y realm© of England, and if they shall be charged at any time to have neglected their duty therein that then they will roforme the same according to y directions of the President and Councill or in defaultc thereof it shall be lawfujl for any of y agricvod inhabitants or planters being tenn" vpon y« said Lands to appeale to y« Chief Courts of Justices of y» President and Councill. And vo s^ S' I'erdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason doe covenant and grant to and w*^y 123 said President and Councill their successo^^ & assignes by these presents, that they y; said S' Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason shall and will before y» ex- piracon of three years to be accompted from y" day of ye date hereof have in or vpon the said porcons of lands or some pt thereof one parte w''^ a competent guard and ten famillyes at y least of his Ma" subjects resident and being in and vpon ye same premises or in default thereof shall and will forfeite and loose to the said President & Councill the sum of one hundred pounds sterling money and further that if ya said S^ Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason their heires and assignes shall at any time hereafter alien these ijremises or any part thereof to any forraigne nations or to any person or persons of any forraigne nation without y" speciall licence consent and agreement of y« said President and Councill their successo'e and assignes that then ye part or parts of the said lands so alienated shall immediately returne back againe to ye use of ye said President and Councill. And further know yee that ye said President and Councill have m^de constituted dep- uted authorized and appointed and in their place & stead doe put Capt. liob^ Gor- ges or in his absence to %ny other person that shall be their Governo' or other officer to be their true and lawfell attorney and in their name and stead to enter the said porcons of Lands and other the premises -w^^ their appurtences or into some part thereof in ye name of ye whole, for them and in their name to have and take possession and seizin thereof, or some part thereof in ye name of ye whole soe had and taken there for them and in their names to deliver the full and peaceable possession and seizin of all and singuler the said granted premises unto ye said S' Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason or to their certaine attorney or attor- neys in that behalf according to ye true intent and meaning of these presents, rat- ifying confirming all and allowing and whatsoever their said attorney shall doe in or about ye premises by these presents. In Witnesse whereof to one parte of these 5 resent Indentures remaining in the hands of S' Ferdinando Gorges and Captaine ohn Mason the said President and Councill have caused their comon scale to be afSxed and to the other of these present Indentures remaining in the custody of the said President and Councill the said S» Ferdinando Gorges & Capt. John Ma- son have put to their hands and seales. Given ye day and yeare first above written- PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON". Colonial Vol. II. No." 6. pp. 5 — 7. MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL OF NEW ENGLAND. Wednesday ye 24Hi of July 1622. The Earle of Arundell. Sr. Ferd : Gorges. Mr. Secretary Calvert. Sr. Sam'- Argall. Lord Dukes It is ordered and agreed that the Lord Duke of Lenox have for his derition. devident and part of the mayne Land of New England in America, fl:om ye middle of Sawahq^uatock towards Sagadahoc, and his bounds that way to reach mid way betweene Sawahquatock and Sagadahoc upon ye Coast. And to reach 30 miles backward into ye Mayne. And 3 Leagues into ye sea. Mr. Secretary Mr. Secretary Calvert to begin his devident ye middle of Sagada- Calverts hoc and to goe close to ye Lord Duke his bounds. And to have fur- devident. ther into his devident the Island called by ye name of Setquin. The Earle of The Earle of Arundele to have for his devident from ye middle of Arundles Sagadahoc, and to goe Northeast soe much on his side, as Mr. Sec- devid'- retary goes on ye other side upon ye Coast. And to reach miles backward into ye Mayne, and 3 leagues into ye Sea. And to have further into his Devident ye Hand called Menehigan. Tenure of the It is propounded that ye Tenure in ye grand pattent is thought grand pattent. meet to bee held of ye Crowne of England by ye sword. Tenure of pri- And that private Planters shall hold of the Chamber of State rate planters, to bee established there, and ^hall have power to create their owner Tenures to such as shall hold under them. Nova Albion. The Country to bee called Nova Albion. That there may bee power given in the grand pattent to create Titles of Honour and precedency, soe as ye differ in nominacon from the titles used heere in England. Tonching the Mr. Ratcliffe is sent for by a Messinger of the Chamber to attend staying of the Earle of Arundell, to morrow by two of ye clock, touching Timber Timber. stayd by his appointment in ye woods at Whiteby. 124 Tiro Islands reaorved for It in thought meet that the two great Islands lying in publike plantaoon. ye river of Sagadahoc bee reserved for the publike plantacon. A place for the publike Further that a place bee reserved betweene the branch- Cltty. ea of the two rivers for a publike Citty. Touching yo renewing of M'. Thompson is appointed to attend the Lords for a the pattent. Warrant to Mr. Attorney generall for drawing ye new Pattents, and Sr. Henry Spilman is desired to attend M.'- Attorney thereaoouts. The Lord Dukes and yo Earle of Arundells devidents, sett downe by S'' Ferd : Gorges upon view of ye mapps. The Lord Dukes The Lord Duke of Lenox is to have for a part of his Devident Devident, of ye lands in New England, from the midst of the river called Sawahq uatock 15 English Miles in a straight line upon the sea coast, to ye East- ward ot ye River. And 30 English miles backward of all the breadth afore-sd upp into the Mayne Land, North or North and by west, as ye Coast and River of Bawahquatock lyeth, accounting 1760 yards to every mile, with all ye fishings, Eayes, Havens, Harbours and Islands lyeing or being within 9 miles directly in- to ye sea (Excepting such Island, as are allready granted etc. All lyeing be- tweene the degrees of 43 and 44 etc.) The Earle of Arun- The Earle of Arundell to have for a part of his divident dies Devidt. from ye Southermost poynt of Pethippscott East 12 Miles in a straight lyne as the coast lyeth on ye sea shoare. And 30 miles by all that breadth upp into the Mane Land due North accounting 1760 yards to everj' mile, with all ye Fishings, Havens, Islands, etc. Lying and being within 9 miles direct- ly into the sea, etc. Together with ye Islands of Menehiggan etc. All lyeing be- tweene the Degrees of 43 £ 44. PUBLIC EECOED OFFICE, LONDON. Colonial, Vol. II. No. 16. A Cattalogue of such Pattentes as I know granted for making Flanta- cons In New England. The Councell of Imps the Originall Patent granted to divers Lords some New England.- times in the Custody of Tho. Eyres, The Lords granted others. 1622. 1. A Pattent to David Thompson M Jobe, M Sherwood of Plimouth for a pt of Pisoattowa Riuer in New England 2. A Pattent for a Plantation att New Plimouth to make a Corporation wek is pformed (See ante p 118) 1628. 3. A Pattent of the bay of the Massechusets Bay 3 my. South of Charles Riuer and 3 myles North of Merrimake 50 myles by sea shore but now haue subiugated most of the Cuntery wOiin thes 10 yeares 4. A Pattent granted to Cap'- Jo. Mason of Agawam now pos'sed by the peple of the Massechusets. 6. A Pattent granted to Capt. Jo. Mason and Sir Fir : Gorges for discouery of the Great Lakes- nothing thcr in done 6. A Pattent to Sir Fir : Gorges Oapl Norton and others for the Riuer of Acca- mentlesweh was renewed by JEdward Godfrey 1638: & p'palated w* inhabi- tanoe most att his charge and regulated 25 years, but now ould by the vnlimated power of the Mathesusets and by them caled Yorke a.s by pet'o" may appeer. 7. A Pattent to Sir Fir : Gorges and divers others of a plantation and the sea coast of Pasoatowae now it and sundery others, vnder the Massechusets. 8. A Pattent granted to Ed. Hilton, by him sould to mchants of Bristoll they sould it to my Lo. Say and Brokes, they to sume of Shrusbery : in Fassatowa many towns now gouerned by ye Mathesusets 9. A Pattent granted to Jo. Stratton for Cape Porpase. 11, 12. Two Pattents to Rio. Vines & Tho; Liaa forpt of Saco Riuer. 13. Jl Pattent to Capt. Tho : Camoke (Cammock) for Blake (Black) poynt. 14. A Pattent to Mr. Trelany of Plimouth for Cape Elizabeth. 16. A Pattent to Capt Leint for a Plantation att Casoo. 16. A Pattent for a plantation att Pechipsoot. 125 17. A Pattent for the Corporation of New PUmouth for Kenebeoke (Jan. 13, 1629.) ' 21. A Pattent to Oliuer Godf . . . & others for Cap. Nosiok, (Neddiok.) 18. A Pattent for Mr Crispfe and others for Sagadahook. 19. A Pattent for Mr Aldsworth and other of Bristoll for a plantation att Pem- aquard 20. A Pattent of Kiohmonds Hand and 1500 ackers one the Mayne. Quere what other Pattents haue binne granted by the Barle of Warwick, Lord Gorges, Sir : Gorges and others president of New England Company. Noal in all thes Pattents ther is conditions to bee pformed and bounded w'h re- serrations of Rentes And sundery plaoes yet to grant, as I humbly oonceue by this Ho. Stat and not by the State of the Mathesusets wch yf not louked into may bee the inuinsible State of Amerrioa The Pattents aboue out of the bounds of The Mathesusets or the vnited Collones andofwhome thesd vaited CoUones as Oonectiout, Hands, of Brras Newhaven and The rest had ther Pattents noe appcales suffered from the Mathesusets in New England to ould England. ueather the Pattents to the Estwards euer had Id. of their vast beueualenoe they haue had out of England and yearly haue what hath binne collected and heere disposed of is knowne to them and ther Agents heere, wheather Godfteys letter to the Ho. State heere ware soe Capitall a crime as to lose his Estate yf the Mathesusets bee suffered to Dee a free State the danger great may as yet onely by letter bee pruented yf by Comittiou or a generall Gouernor at prsent the consequence X leave. indorsed. A. List of sundery Pattents that haue binne granted for New England. APPEl^DIX E. [The popular belief has been that the Plymouth Colony designed to settle within the limits of the Dutch territory in the neighborhood of Manhattan, and such is the statement of Bradford. They negotiated with the Dutch for this pur- pose prior to their departure from Holland, and the application in their behalf was rejected. This is shown by the following papers, copied from the Holland Documents, published by the State of New York. Doc. Hist. Vol. 1.] PETITION OF THE DIBECTORS OP THE NETHERLAND COMPANY. To THE Prince oe OEAuaE, &c. Referred to the Deputies The Directors of the Company trading to New of the Board of Admiralty Netherlands, situate in latitude from 40 to 45 de- who are invited here for the grees, between New France and Virginia, rever- 15th instant. Done 12th Feb. ently represent that they, the petitioners, have, 1620. (signed) C. Aerssens as discoverers and first finders of said countries, 1 620. traded hither now several years, in virtue of a cer- tain "-eneral Charter ii:om the High and Mighty Lords States General, dated the 10th March 1614 ; that they, also, have delivered to their High Mightinesses their written report, with a map of the situation and usefulness or said countries. And whereas the petitioners' Charter has expired so that every one is now at liberty to trade there, they have again sent thither two ships, in order to pre-* 126 Dorvo the repatatlon of said trade ; some vessels have been like^se sent by oth- ers traders, ozoluslre of the Compaa y. Now It happens, that there is residing at Leyden a certain English Preacher, versed in Dutch language wlio is well inclined to proceed thither to live, assur- ing the petitioners that ne has the means of inducing over four hundred families to accompanji him thither, both out of the country and England, provided they would bo guarded and preserved fi'om all violence on the part of other potentates, by the authority and under the protection of your Princely Excellency and the High and Mighty Lords States General, in the propagation of the true, pure Christian religion, in the instruction of the Indians in that country in true learn- ing, and in converting them to the Christian Faith, and thus through the mercy of the Lord, to the greater glory of this country's government, to plant there a new Commonwealth, all under and command of your Princely Excellency and the High and Mighty Lords States fieneral. And whereas they, the Petitioners, have experienced that his Majesty of Great Britain would be disposed to people the aforesaid with the English nation, and by ibrce to render ftnitless their pos- session and discovery, and thus deprive this State of its right and apparently with ease surprise the ships of this country which are there, and are ordered to remain there the whole year i wherefore th6y, the petitioners, pray and request that your Princely Excellency may beningly please to take all the aforesaia into favorable consideration, so that, for the presen-ation of this country's rights, the aforesaid Minister and the four hundred families may be taken nnder the pro- tection of this country, and that two ships of war may be provisionally despatch- ed to secure to the State the aforesaid Countries, inasmuch as they would be of much importance, whenever the West India Company is established, in respect to the large abundance of timber St for ship bnilduig &e., as may be seen by the accompanying report. On all which (Endorsed} Petition of the Directors of the Company trading to New Netherlands. 12 Februaj-y, 1620. FOSTHBR ReSOLUTIOK OF THE STATES GENERAL Oil THE PRBCEDI9C PeTITIOH. Tuesday, the 10th Mareh 1620. Folio 75. Kesolved that the opinion of his Excellency shall be first ob- New Netherland tained on the Petition presented by the Directors of the Corn- Company, pany trading to New Netherland, before acting on it and on the advice of the Deputies from the Board of Admiralty. FrETHER Resolutioss op the States Gbserai^ Friday the 10th of April, 1620. Folio 113. Head the Petition of the Directors of the New Netherland Hew Netherlatad Company, that their request should be favorably disposed, and Company. resolved to obtain his Excollency's opinion thereon. RESOMiTioif OP the States General ow the Pbtitioh op the New Nethir- LASD Company. Saturday, thjB 11th April, 1620. Folio US. The petition of the Directors of the New Netherland Com- Hew Netherland pany, that they, for the people of said Island, may be assisted Company. with two ships of war, is again rejected. 127 APPENDIX F COMMISSION TO SIE FERDINANDO GORGES AS GOVERNOR OF NEW ENGLAND. BY THE KING. Many festing Our Royall pleasure for the establishing a generall Govern'tat in Our Territorye of New England for prevention of those evils that otherwise zu^ht ensue for default thereof. Forasmuch as we have understood and been credibly informed of the many in- consistencies and mischiefs that have growue and are like more and more to arise amongst Our Subjects already planted in the parts of New England by reason of the severall opinions differins humors, and many other differences springing up hetween them and daily like to encreass and for that it rested not in the power of the CounoiU of New England (By our Gracious ffather's royall Charter establish- ed for those affaires) to redress the same, without we talie the whole managing thereof into Our owoe hands, and apply vnto Our immediate power and author- ity, which being perceived by the principall undertakers of those businesses, They have humbly resigned the said Charter unto us. that thereby there may bee a speedy order ta ken for reformation of the aforesaid Errors and mischiefs. And knowing it to be a Duty proper to our Royall justice not to suffer such numbers of Our people runne to ruine and so religious and good intents to languish for want of timely remedie and Soueraigne assistance Wee have therefore graciously accepted of the said Resignation and doe approve of their good affections to a service soe acceptable to God and to Us, And we have seriously advised with Our Gouncill both of the way of Reformation and of a. person meet and able for that employment by whose grauity, moderation and experience wee have hopes to repair what is amiss and settlemc of those affaires to the good of Our people and honour of our Governmen*. And for that purpose we have resolved with Our selfe to imploy Our Servant fferdinando Gorges Knight, as well for that Our Gracious ffather of blessed memory Eis Wee have had for a long time good experience of his iidelity, circumspection and knowledge of his Governm* in Martiall and Civill affaires, besides nis understanding of flie state of those Coun- tryes wherein he hath been an immediate mover, and a principall Actor, to the great prejudice of his estate, long troubles and the loss of many of his good ffriends and servants in making the first discovery of these Coasts, and taking the first seizure thereof as of right belongs to Us Our Crowne and dignity, and is stiU resolved according to his Gracious pleasure to prosecute the same in his own person, which resolution and most comendable affection of his to serve Us therein, as We highly approve. So We hold it a property of Our princely care to second him with Our Royall and ample authority Such as shall bee meet for an employ- ment soe eminent and the performance of Our Service therein, whereof Wee have thought it fitt to make publick declaration of Our said pleasure That thereby it may appear to our good Subjects the resolution We have graciously to provide for the peace and future good of those whose affection leads them to any such vndertaking, and withall to signifye that Our further will and pleasure is. That none bee permitted to goe into any those parts to plant or inhabit- But that they first acquaint our said Gouernor therewith, or such other as shall bee deputed for that purpose during his ahead heer in England. And who are to receive i^om him or them allowance to pass with his or their further directions where to sitt downe most for their pertiouler oommodityes and publiidc good of our Service (saving and reserving to all those that have joyned in the Surrender of the Great Charter of New England and have grants immediately to bee holden of Us, for their severall plantations in the said Countrye, ffree liberty at all times hereaf- ter to go to themselves and also to send such numbers of people to their Planta- tions as iby themselves shall be thought convenient,) Hereby strictly charging and commanding all our Officers and others to whom it shall or may appertains, to take notice of this our pleasure and to be careful the same bee firmly observed as they or any of them shall answer the same at their uttermost penll. Given at the Court of Whitehall the 23d day of July 1637, and in the Sixteenth Yeare of Our Raigne. 128 APPENDIX G. Tlio following paper filed in the British State Paper Office, in the year 160D, was brought to notice by Sainabury, in his Calender of Colonial State Papers, Vol. 1 , page 4, a copy of which has been obtained since the foregoing pages were in type. It is referred to in note 2 on page IS, as bearing internal eridence that Sir Ferdinando Gorges was its author. PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON, A. D. 1600. Colonial Cokeespondence, Vol. I. No. 9. Yt beinge a rerrye noble action to inlarge a dominion, wheath' yt be by ope conquest, wheare resistance is made, or by plantinge vpon plases neclected thor- oughe the barbarousnes of the inha bitaints or neyghbors, the most rertuous minds are easly talien w->> falseste hopes, ambision makinge a quicke sence of the good and easeines, and conferminge the/minds againste a}l difficulties, and th'fore in this proposition of planting an Englishe Collonee in the no'the weste of America: eonceivinge that the vttermoste argumentts w* the greateste hopes are expreste for the actio*>> I tbinclce yt is intended that the difficulties should be examined, thatt by the comparison ; the possibility or glory of the worke mighte be for scene : yt is graunted the atrengthe o' navy giues vs, the necessity of th main- tenance butt how owre State stands more dangerous than eur is not proved, and as itt is to bee wishte, that wee had plases of o' owne to fnmishe soe necessary a comoditye as apertinentts to o' shippinge, soe muste yt be examined, wheathr o' ountry should not bee as muche wrested or more to record them thence then by the wayes they haue them ; and to the argument that god foresawe or necessities to come of these provisions and tlierfore discouered to henry the 7"" thes cuntries, yt weare to be ansured largely, butt heare this only god foresaw iVom the begin- ninge, his purpose to haue loue amongcste all men. and tlierefore gane abon- daunce and necessitie to countries to mak traffike, and expresse an Tse one of an- oth'-^ by which way of tratlike wee are fUrnishte plentiouslye of all those com- modities, neth' is yt to bee feared, that any tyme oanne bridge forth a matter sav of trade to us except all the world att once should tome againste vs, and then wee muste keepe the new gotten by miracle and defend the ould hardly, and many examples make plaine and nowe w"> vs wee see, thatt soe longe ns a State resists the sword and cane ilirnishe mony or oth' matter for exchange, trafflcke, will bringe the enemies mosto forbidden comoditye in sufficiently, soe as yf the only benefltt weare the havinge a land fVom whence to fetche things necessary for our shippinge, yt weare like to bee bonghte to deere, since w" the bringinge in of those trades llrom the caste, wee carry out our aboundinge commodities to the inrichinge of o' state w"' is sayde should likewyse bee downe this way, in two kindes, one by traffioke w" those nations tljat come thetli' forflsbc, and then over land, both w" wayes require much tyme to bringe them to a ripenes, and in the trade ouer land theare riseth many difficulties, first accordinge to the expression made yt seemed to bee an infinite greate mayne of land, & wheare yt is said the in- habitants speake of a bitter water w" aSbction would vnderstand for salto yt may rightlier be oonoeaved to bee some lake w"** are common in waste countries and oi^suohe nature, the watters of them, thorrowe the seprament of the earth, and the saileioge in of the levcs havinge noe ourrantes to dense, that they euer yeld a bitter taste. & all thoughe at the firste and vpon the vttermoste skirte of a land weo find butt a naked people, & suohe as while wee stay not to giue them law butt flatter them w"' toyes, and exchange to theyre advantange, iCso depte, apear well inclined & apte to rescue vs, yett by the comparison of this plasses w* others that haue bine discouered yt may be oonseaved Uiat they haue more with in land townea peopled, & will wnen they shall soe that wee attempte vpon them, as a people that, will p'swade accordinge to owre knowledges theyre good or forse yt, then will they putt them selves into resistance, nothinge beinge able to change the forme of religion in the moste barbarous ; but the spirite of revela- 129 tion or an absolute conquestej neyth' is oxample only in many ages able to alter the habite of a lyfe confirmed in libertye and idleness to order & industrye, espes- sially in could regions w" brings forth a dull inflexible people, obstinately affeotinge barbarous liberty, & ielious of all authority throughe much to theyre good, yf they had sence of civility to examine yt byj soe as 1 finde little foundation for hope of traffioke into eyth' partts tintell longe tyme had made vs masters of att least all the convenient passages & those secured hy fortifications or inhabitants subjecte to o"- lause w-^t' must firste haue a besinniuge, & that is to bee examined how yt may rise from commodities of the fiaheinge & exchange of trafficke &. to invite vs the rath' lefct vs admitt, the trafficke to Muscouia, is a hevey jorney to c marchants, in respeete of the leugthe of the voyage & couldness of the region w*^ suffers but one voyage in a yeare, & there owne marchants subiecte att pleasure of the prinse to arrests of th^ psons & goods and to passe by a straighte sea of the denmarks stronge in shiijpinge and of whome wee cane haue noe security, and thatt the easterlings may increase in there mislike and injuries towards vs wheare- of they have given aparent marks, and from hence lett vs conclude that anoth' trade were more convenient for vs, and that this land of new found land, for the shortenes of the passage and openesse of the sea, & lesse intemperate could then Muscouia, havinge the commodities necessary for shippinge & trade settled there is more convenient, admittinge the necessities lor ower navye to be there in abun- dance lett vs examine how a trade may be settled there & whatt may be the diffi- culties in their trade as well as in the settlinge; wherein wee mustee somethinge examnine the nature of the countrey, w^ii the state and inclinacon of o"" people, & the correspondansye of that contry w^ oth' new discoueries, peopled w*'*' p'adven- ture at the firste aprehension make this worke seeme the easier: The contrye seems by the preposicon to be coulde, and to bringe forth commodities as coulde countries doth w*^ industery, 0=" contry people, havinge euer bine bred w'"^ plenty in a more temperate ayre, and naturally not very industrious, att home and lesse to seeke out plases, wheare th' labo™ are present and ther hopes a littell differed, wheareof we nave too good experience by Ireland, w^"" beinge neere vs, a tempe- rate and fertile contrye, subjecte to our owne lawes and halfe sivill, the portts and many plases friendly inhabited, notW-standinge many of good repucacon, became undertakers there in the tyme of pease, could not invite our people, ney- ther in any compotent numbers^ nor constantly .in th' action, the reason beinge cheefely that in olimatts that bringe forthe, butt yearely riches and that w'** labo% a stocke and Industrie must be adventured vpon expectacon: o' able men are in the same trade at home allreddy, and loue ease and securitie and the poore men wantts welthe to disburse any thinge, wants wisdome to foresee the good, & wants vertu to haue patiens, and constantly to attend the reward of a good worke & industry: Those new aiseoueries inhabited by the portingalls & Spaniards, was in regions that althoughe they were intemperately hotte, yett bringe forthe by reason of there heate and fertillity, gould, silver, pretious stones, spises, riche flies & druggs, w^h they have eyther for the gatheringe or by trafficke for small exchange w"'' was such a profitable increase, as att there returne both the prinses and people we are incurraged to inhabite not only there butt vpon all the passages and borders, that mighte eyth' winne those cuntries to them or serue to keep out others or them in th' trade theath', the countries for the mostp'te all wheare they doe inhabite yieldinge abundance of all things both for vse and pleasure wth small industry; and for the intemperateness of the some for heate, by caues and forme of th'howses they Wth as little labo' and coste saue themselues fro that ayre, as wee in america are to doe by stoues from the could. The generall discouery beinge made, a particular discovery is to be made, of the plase wheare o' nation should settle, yf there be hope eyther of mines or other good returne that may draw one a seeondinge of the action, w'^ is moste to be doubted; for yf her Ma^'o shall only countenance yt and recommende yt to her march tts whoe may have for incor- ragm* the difficulties of the esterne fruits and a gratious fredo' of the trafficke of America to bee only res'"ued to the firste adventurers, 3''ett when soe great a charge muste be firste issued as the sendin^e of a compotent nomber to inhabite w"^ all necessaries requisitt for new inhabitants, and victualls for a hole yeare for them, & that th' retorne shall bringe home nothinge aboue the ordinarye fraj'te of fish and a narration of the sighte of Cuntrey and hope of better by the next adven- ture, yt is feared that the ordinary wayes of traed, beinge less chargeable, they will content themselves, and looke vpon the dangers and alterations afarrof, and eyther slowlye or not all giue second ; and wheare yt is propounded that o' poore of England, may be easly sent theth'- by the shippes that go to fishe yeare- ly they beinge deliuered a . . . the portts, w'** victualls for a yeere, o' common people of England are not riche, & doe almoste repine att those most behouefuU impositions w«*» are layed vpon them, for leveinge of souldiers & yett those will- inge subsidies and payments they graunt to her Ma^''=' for juste reasons deputed in open p'liment, then we muste remember whatt pore they are thatt arre requi- site to people a new Conqueste, not the impotente they muste remaine bur- den to the parishes, and then what charge would be regiusite to eu'y man, W^is not onely compotent ap'rell for one yeare, money to bringe hime to the portei, fc 17 130 armes of defbnoe and oflfenoo, bntt vl&tualls for a year & to plante and build wUi all, for wantlnge eyther sufflolenBy vntill the freute of there labor" shalbe Teapte to them, or wantlnge Indvstry to make snfficensy, & not havinge wheare- w'li to exchange for viotualls w"> the savadge people they shalbe forste to doe out- rages woh willBhutt vp all way of trafScke or Intelligens w* those people, and oause them to stand vpon fbrce, before we . . . shalbe able to force them, or well to defend o^ selves : the number for the firste and seconde is likewyse to bee had in consideration, for the flrste ytt cannott be lesse then may bee thoughte com- petent, to fortefye and secure tlje harboare, to plante and geather provision for the nexte yeare, & to defend what soeuer they shall take for theyrs wib out they bee lodgings, and att the flrste to avoyde the losse of tyme in the trade, there would bee Duilded convenient lodgings and storchowses, for the safe-keepinge and exohanginge of sache commodities, and should a trafficke betweene vs the people or others toe flshe, & the second moste p'forme as much wt>i an in- crease fiirthr of a competent troope or troopes, to dfscouer the riuers and the lande, wheather w* mines or other marchandise may bee presently putt in vse to giue incorragemt to th . . . adventurers, for certaine charge & vncertaine re- tornes will qui&ely quaile ... an action thowghe well founded, and this may well bee lookte for, that the inhabitants, will giue vs noe better way then wee can forse, & will easly insulte vpon or weakenes yf they can find an advantage, besids wee are to ooneeaue, thatt the frenche whoe naue pretenses, & bane a secreat trafGcke thethr ; will repine & resiste yf they can or dare, all vnder the sublection of the Spaniards are declared opositts, &, wee muste resolne that the kinge & thatt state will have his eyes open vpon ower actions, and will yf hee eane forse vs iVom any beniflte, att leaste wee muste looke that&om all hispartts or wheare his seas thatt hee can com'and . . . lett vs in any trafficke fi-om the sowthe he will barr thatt, neytber shall he need any of those traffiicks thatt plase will yeald vs, since bothe the easterlinges and dutches whoe haue greater trade into muscouia then . . . will furhishe hime of all needfnll things thence thatt are to bee had in th . . . p'te of America we pretend toe. Now thorowe all these diffl- enlties, yf the prinse would assiste yt in p'te & her marchants thatt are well af- fected goe liberollye into yt, & that the countries mighte bee stirred to an assist- amoe by men in some meante measure, and some gentlemen moued to bee ventur- ers, thatt should fbresee not only the vndertakinge butt the secondinge ; then I oonoeavB that a worthye generall beinge chosen thatt mighte haue a Royall com- mission, and weare quallifide to judge of the sighte of plases for strengthe, & for eomodities, would exercise justice in the to the presise the merchants adven- turers & gentleman or others that should thr p'sone . . . would keepe Ills troopes In obedience, industrye, & vse clemensy & justice t>o the inhabitinge, and yt mighte be a glorious action, for or prinse and countrie, honorable for the gen- erall and adventurers and in tyme profitable, to the generall and p'ticular, & I doubte not an acceptab. service to god, the purpose and execution beinge to Mag- nifie his name in the extending of his worde, thoughe the example of or savior and his desiples is preachinge, butt not compellinge, vnlesse we may make vse of this thatt the firste tyme he sente forthe bis desiples hee willed tbem to carry nothinge nor to care for any thinge, and the nexte tyme he commanded hime thatt had a Coate to seU itt and buji 131 APPEl^DIX H, Oa page 42, note, reference ia made to a paper addressed to the King, by the Sootoh adventurers, Rbasons Alledged for HoLDise Poet Eotal, which is of so much historic interest and value that we glre the same in full, copied from the British State Paper OfUce, and not heretofore published. PUBLIC EECORD OFFICE, LONDOX. Colonial, Vol. 5. No. 102. t Immediately about the time that Columbus discovered the Isle of Cuba, Sebas- tian Ghabot set out from England by Henrie the seuenth did first disoouer the continent of America, beginning at the Newfoundland, and thereafter going to the Gulph of Canada and from thence hauing scene Cap Bretton all along the Coast to Florida, By which discouery his Ma"" hath the title to Virginia, New England and New Scotland, as being then first diseouered by Chabot at the charges of the K of England. The French after this neglecting the knowledge they had thereafter by Jaques Cartler of the riuer of Canada as a cold climate, or as it may bee in regard it was challenged as first diseouered by the English, having a great desire to possesse themselues in some part of America, they planted first a Colony vnder the charge of Mons' Villegas now in Brasill, and an other vnder the charge of Moos' Laudo- niere in Florida, from both whion they were expelled by the Spaniards. Then giving ouer all hope of attempting anything that was belonging to the Spaniards and pressing by all meanes to have some interest in America, notwith- standing that the English (though they were not able to possesse the whole at first) had possessed themselves of that continent, diseouered by them, by a Colonic in the South part thereof now called Virginia, and by an other in the North part thereof now called New England and New Scotland planted by Justice Popham. The French in the time of Henry the Fourth vnaer the charge of Mons' Pou- trincourt hauing seene all the coasts of Newengland and Newscotland to both which parts tliey did then beginne to claime right. They seated themselues in Fort Roy- al, out of which as soone as it was made knowne to the English they were dis- planted by S'. Samuel Argall, as having wrongfully intruded themselues within those bounds, which did belong to this Crowne, both by discouery and possession- The remainder of this French CoUony not hauing occasion to bee transported to France, stayed still in the Countrie, yet they were so neglected by the State, not owning them any more and hardly supplied in that which was necessary for them by voluntary adventurers, who came to trade in hope of their commodities in exchange of what they brought, and during the time of King James there was no complaint made vpon S'- Samuel Argall for hauing displanted them, and they were now lately glad to demand thatprotection from his Ma*" which was not afford- ed them from any other. Whereby it may euidently appeare that his Ma"» title was thought good. Otherwise it is likely that the French King, if any wrong had beene done unto him, would haue sought to haue had the same repaired, either by Treatie or otherwise. But without making either any priuat complaint, or yet doing any publick Act against the same. They went next and seated them- selues vpon the Nortliside of the river of Canada at Kebeok, a place whereunto the English by a preceding title might likewise haue claimed right. But small notice was taken thereof till during the time of the late waire, a Commission was giuen by his Ma'" to remoue them from thence, which was accordingly per- formed, the place being taken a little after the peace was concluded, whicn at that time had not come to the takers knowledge, and a Colonie of Scottish was planted at Port Eoyal, which had neuer beene repossesed nor claimed by the French since they were first remoued from the same. This businesse of Port Royall cannot be made lyable to the articles of the peace, seeing there was no Act of hostilities comitted therebj-, a Colonny onely beeing planted vpon his Ma* owne ground, according to a patent granted by his Ma" fate deare father and his Ma" self, hauing as good right thereunto as to any part 132 of that Contlnont, and botli the patent and possession taken thereiipon was in tlie timo of his Ma^ late duaro fiither, as is set downe at length in the voyages written by Purohaa. But neither by that possession nor by the subsequent pla- ta'on hath any thing beene talcun from the French whereof they had any rignt at all, or yet any possession for the time, and what might haue beene done either before the warro or since the warro without a breach of peace, cannot justly bee complained rpon for being done at that time. After that the Scottish Colony was [ilantcd at Port Eoyal, they and the French who dwelled there hauing met with the Commanders of the Natives, called by them Sagamoos dld'maiie choice of one of the clicefu of them called SagamoSigipt to come In name of the rest to his Ma"" for aelinowlodging of his title, and to be- come his Ma^ ' subjects, crauing onely to bee protected by his Ma'''« against their enemies, which demand of his was accepted by his Ma™ who did promise to pro- tect them, as he reported to the rest at his returne. Mons'- La Tour, who wascheefe comand' of the few French then in that conn- trie beeing neglected (as is said) by his owne C'ountriemen, and finding his Ma"" title not so much as questioned after theyr beeing expelled from Fort Koyall and the coming in of the Soottish^necessary for his securitie did come along with the same Sagamo olTring and demanding the lilce in name of the French who liue there, so that his Ma'« hath a good right to New Scotland by discouere, by pos- session of his Ma' subjects, by remouing of the French who had seated them- selves at Port Royall and by Mens. La Tour the comander of them there his turn- ing Tenant and by the volontario turning tenants of the rest to his Ma''« . And thatjno obstacle might romaino the very aauages by their Commiasioner willing- ly offering their obedience vnto his Ma*^ so that his Ma^" now is bound to main- taine them both in regard of his subjects that have planted there vpon his war- rant and of the promise that he made to the Commissioner of the Natiues that came to him from thence, as he promised to the Commissioner of the Natiues, and as all the subjects of his Ma" ancient Kingdome of Scotland did humbly entreat at their last conueution, as may appeare by a letter to his Ma" from his Counsel to that effect. indorsed. Reasons alleagod by the Scottish adventurers for the holding of Tort Royal. Discours Concerning his Ma*" riglit and title to the port Royall and whole Canada, &c. 9 Sept- 1630. Canada. APPENDIX I CONSTITUENT CODE OF LAWS. On pat];o '.U. Appendix A., Section 7 of the Virginia Charter of April 10, 1606, will be found a proviaion, that eaoli of the Colonies is to have a Council which shall govern ' ' according to such Laws, Ordinances and Instructions as shall be in that behalf, yivni and si.jUGd by our Hand, or Sign Manual, and pass under the Privy Se.al of our nation of England,'*'* ^r. This Constituent Code iy contained in the following papers, under which the government at Sabhio was oiilaiuod and established. On the 19th of August, U. S., 1607, iiftor taking possession, first came acts of religious worship — the C'uuiuussion of Governor Popham was then read, author- 133 izingthe conducting hither of a Colony — then the Charter of April 10, 1606; after that, the " Laws to be observed and kept." Then followed the election of President and other ofBoors, in conformity with the instructions of the following Constituent Code of Laws, signed by King James, under date of Nov. 20, 1606, and of March 9, 1607. Articles, Instructions and Orders made, sett down and established by us, twen- tieth day of November, in the year of our raigne of England, France, and Ire- land the fourth and of Scotland the fortieth, for the good Order and Government of the two several Colonies and Plantations to be made by our loving subjects, in the Country commonly called Virginia and America, between uiirty four and forty five degrees ftom the ^q^uinoctial line — Istructions, Wheras, wee, by our letters pattents under our great seale of &c for the 2 England, bearing date att Westminster, the tenth day of Aprill, Colonies of in the year of our raigne of England, France, and Ireland the Virginia fourth, and of Scotland the 39tii have given lyoence to sundry our loving subjects named in the said letters pattents and to their as- sociates, to deduce and conduct two several collonies or plantations of sundry our loving, people willing to abide and inhabit in certains parts of Recital of Virginia and America, with divers preheminences. privileges, au- fbrmer char- thorities and other things, as in and by the same letters pattents ter more particularly it appeareth, wee according to the e&ct and true meaning of the same letters pattents, doe by these presents, si^ed with our hand, signe manuel and sealed with our privy seale of our realme ofBngland_, establish and ordaine, that our trusty and wOll beloved Sir William Wade, Kmght, our Lieutenant of our Tower of London, Sir Thomas Smith, Knight, Sir Walter Cope, Knight, Sir George More, Knight, Sir Francis Popham, Knight, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Knight, Sir John Trevor, Knight, Sir Henry Montague, Knight, recorder of the Citty of London, Sir William Bomney, Knight, John Dodderidge, Esq,. Sollioitor General, Thomas Warr, Esq'. John El- dred of the citty of London, merchant, Thomas James of the citty of Bristol, merchant, and James Bagge of Plymouth, in the countyof Devonshire, merchant, shall be our councel for alTmatters which shall happen in Virginia of any the terri- tories of America, between thirty-four and forty-live degrees from the SBquinoo- tial line northward, and the Islands to the several collonies limited and assigned, and that they shal be called the King's Councel of Virginia, which councel or the most part of them shal have full power and authority, att our pleasure, in our name, and under us, our helres and successors, to give directions Nov. 20" to the counoels of the several collonies which shal be within any 4"' James part of the said country of Virginia and America, within the de- !•'■ grees first above mentioned, with the Islands aforesaid, for the v^-v-^ good government of the people to be planted in those parts, and for the good ordering and disposing or all causes happening with- in the sflme, and the same to be done for the substance thereof, as neer to the common lawes of England, and the equity thereof, as may be, and to passe under our scale, appointed lor that councel, which councel, and every Councillors, or any of them shall from time to time be increased, altered how nomina- or changed, and others put in their places, att the nomination ted — of UB, our heires and successors, and att our and their will and pleasure, and the same councel of Virginia, or the more part of them, for the time being shall nominate and appoint the first severall concell- ours of those several counoells, which are to be appointed for those two several _ colonies, which are to be made plantations in Virginia and Amer- ■i"* *iO°°- oa, between the degrees before mentioned, according to our said oil to choose letters pattents inlhat behalfe made ; and that each of the same a president i gjmnoels of the same several colonies shal, by the major part of his continu- tjmm^ choose one of the same councel, not being the minister of uance m of- (jod's word, to be president of the same councel, and to continue noe. in tji^t office, by the space of one whole year, unless he shall in the mean time dye or be removed tiom. that oflioe ; and wee doe ftirther hereby establish and ordaine, that it shal be lawful for the major part of either of the said counoells, upon any just cause, either absence or Vacancies otherwise to remove the president or any others of that Councel, how suppli- from being either president or any of that councel, and upon the ed. deathes or removal of any of the presidents or councel, it shal be lawfuU for the major part of that councel, to elect another in the 134 place of the party soo dying or removed, ao aliraies, as they shal not be above n rintinii rii thirteen of either of the said coanoelloure, and we doe establish itiHnn fn hn "''"* ordaine, that the president shal not continue in his ofQoe of iiroinhort n presidentship above the space of one year ; and wee doe specially mnnS Jho i-nl ordalnc, charge, and require, the said presidents and councells, mong me coi- ^^^ ^^^ ministers of the said several colonies respectively, within Hn vn »n^ *'>o''' Several limits and precincts, that they, with all diligence, aavaoCS. gj^^g^ g^^^ respect, doe provide, that the true word, and service of God and Christian fliith be preached, planted, and used, not only within every of the said several colonies, and plantations but alsoe as much as they may amongst the salvage people which doe or shall adjolne unto them, or horder upon them, according to the doctrine, rights, and religion now professed and established within our realme of Kngland, and that they shall not suffer any person, or per- sons to withdrawe any of the subjects or people inhabiting, or which shall inhab- it within any of the said several colonies and plantations from the same, or from their due allegiance, unto us, cur heirs and successors, as their immediate sove- ralgne under God, and if they shall And within any of the said Penalty for colonies and plantations, any person or persons soe seeking to withdrawing withdrawe any of the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, or any of the any of the people of those lands or territories, within the pre- people f^om olncts aforesaid, they shall with all diligence, him or them soe of- their religion fending, cause to be apprehended, arrested, and imprisoned, until or allegiance, he shall fully and throughly reforme himselfe, or otherwise, when the cause so requireth, that he shall, with all convenient speed be sent into our regime of England, here to receive condigne punishment for his or their said offence or offences, and moreover wee doe hereby ordaine and establish for us, our heirs and successors, that all the lands, tenements, How lands and hereditaments to be had and enjoyed by any of our subjects to descend within the precincts aforesaid, shal be had and inherited and in- and pass. joyed, according as in the like estates they be had and enjoyed by the lawes within this realme of England ; and that the offiences of tumults, rebellion, conspiracies, mutiny and seditions in those parts which may he dangerous to the estates there, together with murder, manslaughter, in- cest, rapes, and adulteries committed in those parts ^tUn the How certain precincts of any the degrees above mentioned (and noe other of- offences to be fences) shal be punished by death, and that without the benefit of punished. the clergy, except in case of manslaughter, in which clergy is to he allowed, and that the several presidents and coancells, and the greater number of them, within every of the several limits and precincts, shall have full power and authority, to hear and determine all and every the offences aforesaid, within the precinct of their several colonies, in manner and forme following, that is to say, hy twelve honest and indifferent Trial by jury, persona sworne upon the Evangelists, to be returned by such ministers and officers as every of the said presidents and coun- cells, or the most part of them respectively shall assigne, and the twelve per- sons soe returned and sworne shall according to their evidence to be given unto them upon oath and according to the truth, in their consciences, either convict or acquit every of the said persons so to be accused and tried hy them, and that all and every person or persons, which shall voluntarily confesse any of the said oftences to be committed by him, shall, upon such his confession thercof,^e con- victed of the same, as if ne had been fbund guilty of the same. Judgement by the verdict of any such twelve jurors, as is aforesaid ; and that on standing every person and persons which shall he aconsed of any of the said mute, or by offences, and whicn shall stand mute, or refusing to make direct confession. answer thereunto, shall be, and he held convicted of the said offence, as if he had been found guilty by the verdict of such twelve jurors, as afbresaid ; and that every person and persons soe convicted either President and ^^ verdict, his own confession, or by standing mute, or by refusing Counoel to directly to answer as afbresaid of any the offences beformcntioned, nromounoo ^^^ ^'"^ presidents, or councells, or the greatest number of them ludament within their several precincts and limits, where such conviction ju g 111;. shall be had and made as afbresaid, shall have fall power and authority, by these presents, to give judgment of death upon every such offender without the benefit of the clergy, except only in case of man- Reprieve by slaughter, and noo person soe adjudged, attainted, or condemned the president shall be reprieved from the execution of the said judgment, wlth- and council — out the consent of the said president and oouncol or the most part pardoning by iif thorn by whom such judgment shall be given ; and that noe the King. person shall receive any pardon or be absolutely discharged of any the said otlbnoes, fbr which he shall be condemned to death as aforesaid, but by pardon of us, our heirs and successors, under our great scale of England ; and woe doe in like manmor establish and ordaine, if any either of 135 the Bald collonies shall offend in any of the offences before men- Onenders to tioned, within any part between the degrees aforesaid, out of be tried in the precincts or his or their coUony, that then every such offend- their colony, er or offenders shall be tried and punished as aforesaid within his or their proper collony ; and that every the said presidents and counoells, within their several limits and precincts , and the more part of them President shall have power and authority by these presents, to hear and de- & council to termine all and every other wrongs, trespasses, offences, and mis- have power to demeanors whatsoever, other than those before mentioned, upon hear and de- accusation of any person, and proofe thereof made, by sufficient termine all witness upon oath j and that in all those cases the said president & civil causes, couneel, and the greater number oftliem, shall have power and authority, by these presents respectively, as is aforesaid, to punish the offender or offenders, either by reasonable corporal punishment and imprisonment, or else by convenient fine, awarding damages or other satisfaction, to the party grieved, as to the said president and councell, or to the more part of them, shall be thought fitt and convenient, having regard to the quality or the offence, or state of the cause ; and that also the said president and couneel, shall have power and author- ity, by virtue of these presents, to punish all manner of excesse. To punish through drunkennesse or otherwaise, and all idle loytering and excesses and vagrant persons, which shall be found within their several limits drunltenness. and precincts, according to their best discretion and with such convenient punishment, as they or the most part of them shall How judicial thinli fitt 5 alsoe our will and pleasure, concerning the judi- proceedings eial proceedings aforesaid, that the same shall be made and done to be entered, summarily, and verbally without wri^ng, until it come to the judgment or sentence, and yet nevertrflless our will and pleasuref is, that every judgment and sentence hereafter to be given in any causes the afore- said, or in any other of the said several presidents and councells or the greater number of them, |within their several limits and precincts, shall be breifely and summarily registered into a book, to be kept for that purpose, together with the cause for wliich the said judgment or sentence was given ; and that the said judg- ment and sentence, so registered and written, shall be subscribed with the hand? or names of the said president, and couneel, or such of them as gave the judg- ment or sentence ; aisoe our will and pleasure is, and wee doe hereby establi^ and ordaine, that the said several collonies and plEtntations, and How the col- every person and persons of the same, severally and respectively, onists are to shall within every of their several precincts, for the space of iive trade for the years, next after their first landingupon the said coast of Virginia first 5 years. and America, trade together all in one stocke or devideably, but in two or three stoelcs at the most, and bring not only all the fruits of their labours there, but alsoe all such other goods and commodities which shall be brought out of England, or any other place, into the same collo- nies, into severall magazines or store houses, for that purpose to be made, and erected there, and that in such order, manner and form, as the couneel of that colony, or the more part of them shall sett downe and direct ; and our will and pleasure is, and wee doe in like manner ordaine, that in every of the said collo- nies and plantations there shall be chosen there, elected yearely, by the presi- dent and councell of every of the said several colonies and plantations or the more part of them, one person, of the same colony and plantation, to be treasurer or cape-merchant of the same collony and plantation to take charge and man- nageinge of all such goods, wares and commodities which shall be brought into „ or taken out of the severall magazines or store houses ; the same Cape-mer- treasurer or cape-merchant to continue in his ofHoe by the space chant. gfi Qjjg whole year, next after his said election, unless he shall happen to dye within the said year, or voluntarily give over the same or be re- moved for any just or reasonable cause ; and that thereupon the same president & councell, or the most part of them, shall have power and authority to elect him again or any other or others in his room or stead, to continue In the same office as aforesaid ; and that alsoe there shall be two or more persons of good discretion within every of the said colonies and plantations elected and chosen yearely during the said terme of five years, by the president and councell of the same collony, or the most part of them respectively, withm their Clerks several limits and precincts, the one or more of them to keep w book in which shall be roistered and entred all such goods. goods wares, and merchandizes which shall issue or be taken ouK ofany the BBveral magazines or store-houses of that collony, which darks shall continue in their said places but att the will of the president and councell of that colony whereof he is or of the major part of them -, and that every person or 136 every the said several colonies, and plantations shall be ftirnlsh- „ ! . I ed with ali necessaries out of those several magazines or store- fliagazines. j houses which shall belong to the said colony and plantation, in which that person is, lor and during the terme and time of five years, by the ap- pointment, direction and order ol the president and oouneell there, or the said cape merchant and two clerks or of the most part of them, within the said several limits and preoinots of tlie said colonies and plantations ; alsoe our will and n In- pleasure Is, and woo doe hereby ordain, that the adventurers of uompanies. ^j^ ^^^^ j^gj colony and plantation, shall and may during the said terme of five years, elect and choose out of themselves one or more compan- ions, each company consisting of three persons att the least who shall be resident att or neor London, or such ouier place, and places, as the councell of the colony for the time being, or the most part of them during the said five years shall thinit fltt, who shall tliere fVom time to time talce charge of the trade an accompt of all such goods, wares and merchandizes, and other things which shall be sent from thence to the company of the same colony, or ^plantation in Virginia, and like- wise of all such wares, goods and merchandizes, as shall be brought from the said colony or plantation unto that place within our realme of England, and of all things concerning the mannaging of the afb.ire8 and profits concerning the A/ivnntiiFnrti odvonturors of that company which shall soe passe oat of or come f^rtw. orf nnin '"'''' '^^^ place Or port i and likewise our will and pleasure is, motiiith that the adventurors in the said second colony and plantation irf nve! vBBrs ^'^"'"^ "''"^ """y during the said terme of five years elect out of io?t n t nf themselves, one or more companies, each company consisting *ifomJiiio» "1' "ii'6« persons ait the least, who shall be resident att, or near onp m- mnrn Plymouth in our county of Devon, within our realme of Bng- „n^r'— In this island there is such a quantity of hirds that all r«^?ni? ^L.^r n'"'"!^^"'"'.^''^.?'.^^!^^^ ^'"i *1>«" without its being perceived , se*ntli"samethin^"*' '^ ^^' *"'!. ^ "'Bl'^'^e it, indeed, for I Mve almost 4. Golfe des Chateaux. 5. Port de Carpunt. 6. Cap Raze, where there is a harhor, called Rougnenst. 7. Cap and Port de Degrad. 8. lie Sainte Catherine, and there eyen the Port des Chateaux . 9. Port des Qouttes. 10. Port des Balances. 11. Port de Blanc^ablon. 12. He de Brest. 13. Port des liettes. 14. Port de Brest. 15. Port Saint Antoine. 16: Port Saint Servain. 17. JT/euDe Saint Jacques, and Port de Jaques Quartier. 18 Cap Tiennot . 19. Port Saint Nicholas, 20. Cap de Rabast. 21. Bays de Saint Laurent, 22. lie Saint Guillaume. 23. iZe Sainte Marthe, 24. /^e iSoznt Germain, 25. Zes 5ep£ i/es. 26. Riviere called CMschedec, where there is a great quantity of aquatic hors- es called Hippopotami. 27. //ede i'^JsrampKon, otherwise called .^nKcosii, which is about 30 leagues long, and is at the entrance of the great river of Canada. 28. Detroit Saint Pierre. Having pointed out the places in Newfoundland which look towards the East, and those which are along the main land on the North, let us return to the said Newfoundland and go entirely round it. But we must know that there are two principal passages to enter the great gulf of Canada. Jacques Quartier, in his two voyages, went by the Northern passage. To-day, to avoid the ice and for the shortest way, several people take the Southern passage, through the Strait which is between Cape Breton and Cape de Eaye. And this route having been followed by Champlain, the first land discovered on his voyage was 29. Cap Sainte Marie, 30. lies Saint Pierre. 3L. Fort du Saint Esprit. 32. Cap de Lorraine. 33. Cap Saint Paul, 34. Cap de Raye, which I consider to be the Cap pointu of Jacques Quartier. 35. Les Mons des Cabanes. 36. Cap double. Nowletuspass to the other land towards Cap Saint Laurent, which I should willingly call the island of Bacaillos, that is to say, of codfish, (as Postel has very nearly marked,) to give it a proper name, although I may name thus all around the Golfe de Canada : for, as far as Gachepe, all the harbors are suitable for the fishery of the said fish, and also, even the harbors which are outside and look towards the South ; such as the harbor of the English, of Campseau, and of Sava- let. Now, beginning at the Strait between Cape de Raye and Cap Saint Laurent (which is 18 leagues broad) are found : 37. Les Isles St. Paul. 38. Cap Saint Laurent . 39. Cap Saint Pierre. 40. Cap Dauphin. 41. Cap Saint Jean. 42. Cap Royal. 43. Golfe Saint Julien, 44. Passage, or Detroit of the bay of Campseau, which separates the island of Bacaillos from the main land. Since so many years, this Strait is scarcely known, and nevertheless, it serves very much to shorten the way (or at least will serve when New France is inhab- ited) to the great river of Canada, We saw it last year, being ourselves in the harbor of Campseau going to look for some stream to supply us with fresh water before our return. We found one little one which I marked near the end of the said 144 ■bayo of Campsean, at which plaoo I had groat fishing of cod. Now, when I con- slifer Jacques Quartier's route, in his first voyage, I und it so obscure, that noth- ing is more so, for want of having noticed this passage. For our sailors the often- ost use the names placed by the Savages, such as Tadausaac, Avticosti, Gachepe, Tregate\ Miramichis, Campaeau, Kebec, Battscan^ Smjeunay, Chitshedec. Man- taune, and others. In this obscurity I have thought that what he calls the lies Oo- lombaires, are the Islands called Ramees, which are several in number, as he had said in his speech that a tempest had carried them from Cap pointu to 37 leagues distance, for he had already passed fVom the Northern bend towards the South. 45. Ilea Cotombairea alias iiameea. 46. Ilea Manjeaux. There are three islands filled with these birds like a mea- dow with grass, as Joxjques Quartiersaid, 47. lie de Brian, where there are Hippopotami, or sea horses. 48. lie d' Alezay. From there it is said that they sailed 40 leagues and found 49. Cap d^Orleana. 50. Fleuve dea Barquea, which I take to be Miramichis. 51. Cap dea Sauvagea, 62. Qolfe Saint Laurent, which I take to be Tregate. 53. Cap (2' Eaperance. 54. Baye or Golfe de Chaleur, at which it is hotter, Ja«qnes Quartier says, than in Spain. In which I shall noi voluntarily believe him, until another voyage has been made, as regards the climate. But it may be that a«cidental]y it was very warm there when he was there, which was in the month of July. 65. Cap du Pre. 66. Saint Martin. 67. Baye dea Moruea, 58. Cap Saint Louia. 59. Cap de Montmorency. 60. Gachepe. 61. lale percee. 62. lie de Bonaventure. Let us now enter the great river of Canada in which we shall find few harbors in the space of more than 350 leagues, for it is very full of rocks. At the bend of the South, Gachepe being passed, there is : 63. Cap a L'Evegue. 64. Riviere de Mantaune. 65. Lea lleaux Saint Jean, which I take to be Le Pic. 66. Riviere des Iroquois. At the bend of the North, after Chiachedec, placed above at number 27. 67. Riviere Sainte Marguerite^ 68. Port de Leaquemin, where the Basques go to fish for whales. 69. Port de Tadouaaac, at the mouth of the river of Saguenay, where is tho greatest traffic in skins of all the country. 70. Riviere de Sageunay, at 100 leagues from the mouth of the river of Canada. This river is so hollow that the bottom is almost not to be found. Here the great river of Canada is only 7 leagues broad. 71. He de Lievre. 72. He aux Coudrea. These two islands were thus named by Jacques Quartier. 73. He d"* Orleans, which Jacques Quartier named He de Bacchva, on account of tho great quantity of .vines which are there. Here the water of the great river is fresh, and tlie tide flows more than 40 leagues beyond. 74. Kebec. It is a Strait of the great river of Canada, which Jacques Quartier named Achelaoi, where Sire De Monts made a fort, and a settlement of French. Near which place there is a stream which falls trom a rock very high, and very straight. 73. Port de Saincte Croix, where Jacques Quartier wintered, and Champlain says that he did not pass beyond ; but he is mistaken, and the remembrance of those who have done well ought to be kept. 76. Riviere de Batiacan. Tl. Ue Saint Etoy. 78. Riviere de Foix, named by Ohamplain Lea Troia Rivierra. 79. Hochelaga, a city of tho Savages, hom whose name Jacques Quartier called the great river that wo name Canada. 80. Mont Royal. Mountain near Hochelaga, team which the great river of Can- ada is soon till lost from sight beyond tho Grand Saut. 81. Saut of tho great river of Canada, which lasts a league, this river fUUing among the rooks below with a strange noise. 82. Lagrande Riviere de Canada, whose souroo is not known. Jfore than 800 leagues of which are known, either fi'om aotual sight, or fVom the report of the Savages. I find in Jacques Quartier's second voyage, that it is 30 leagues broad at its entranoo, and more than 200 fatlioms deep. This river has boon called Hochelaga. by the same Jacques Quartier, fl'om the name of tho people who, in his time, inhabited about this Saut.