# LI BRARY OF CONGRES S, i 
 
 # # 
 
 I UNITED STATES OF AMKHICA.J 
 
famestoton of ^emaquiti: 
 
 ^ A POEM 
 
 7 ^^U 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. MARIA W. HACKELTON. 
 
 READ ON THE SITE OF FORT FREDERIC, ON THE 
 
 RECEPTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE 
 
 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BY THE 
 
 CITIZENS OF BRISTOL, 
 
 AUGUST 26, 1869. 
 
 PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON. 
 
 Camfirilffle: Mitier^iJjc ^rcsfs*. 
 
 i86q. 
 
76 17^1 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 
 
 The Maine Historical Society, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Maine. 
 
 RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
 PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY- 
 
At a meeting of the Committee of the Maine Historical Society, 
 appointed in February last, to examine and report upon the re- 
 mains of military defenses, paved streets, and early habitations at 
 "Ancient Pemaquid" (Bristol), held August 26, 1869, on the site 
 of Fort Frederic, it was, on motion, — 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of this Committee, acting for the 
 Society, be tendered to Mrs. Maria W. Hackelton, for the beau- 
 tiful and appropriate historical poem written by her, for the occa- 
 sion of the gathering of the citizens of this and the neighboring 
 towns to welcome and aid the Committee in their investigations, 
 and read by her this day ; and that a copy thereof be requested 
 of the authoress for preservation in the archives of the Society, 
 and for publication. 
 
 EDWARD BALLARD, 
 Secretary of the Maine Histoi'ical Society. 
 
 Rev. Edward Ballard, D. D., 
 
 Secretary of the Maine Historical Society : — 
 In compliance with the request of the Committee of the Maine 
 Historical Society, given through yourself, I commit to your hands 
 the poem read before the assemblage at the ruins of Fort Frederic, 
 Pemaquid, August 26, 1869, for preservation in the archives of the 
 Society, and for publication. 
 
 With full appreciation of the high honor conferred upon me by 
 the gentlemen of the Maine Historical Society, I remain. 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 MARIA W. HA.CKELTON. 
 Bristol, September 2, 1869. 
 
PREFATORY NOTICE. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Maine His- 
 torical Society, held at Augusta in February 
 last, on the motion of Leonard Woods, 
 LL. D., a Committee was appointed to exam- 
 ine and report upon the remains of the an- 
 cient fortification at Pemaquid in the town 
 of Bristol, the paved street, and indications 
 of the original settlement connected there- 
 with. The following members were, on nom- 
 ination, selected for this purpose, namely : 
 Messrs. Bourne, R. K. Sewall, Poor, Bailey, 
 Dike, Woods, Ballard, C. J. Gilman, Brad- 
 bury, and North. After consultation, the 
 25th and 26th days of August were chosen 
 as the time for making the proposed investi- 
 gation. In the mean while, a correspon- 
 dence had been carried on with some of the 
 citizens of Bristol ; who, cherishing a deep 
 interest in the designs of the Committee, and 
 desirous of facilitating to the utmost their 
 
6 PREFATORY NOTICE, 
 
 work in the proposed examinations, secured 
 the appointment of a committee of the town 
 to give a welcome to the representatives of 
 the Society, provide for their hospitable en- 
 tertainment, and, aid them in all suitable 
 ways to accomplish the object of their in- 
 quiries. This local committee was com- 
 posed of William Hackelton, Esq., Hon. 
 David Chamberlain, Hon. Arnold Blaney, 
 Chandler Bearce, Cyrus Fossett, Alexander 
 Yates, James Nichols, Leander Morton, and 
 Charles P. Tibbetts, Esquires. 
 
 On the afternoon of the first of the days 
 appointed for the visit, the Committee exam- 
 ined the ancient mill-race, with its side-cuts, 
 at the village of Pemaquid Falls. This ex- 
 cavation is remarkable, principally, for the 
 fact that no tradition exists in relation to its 
 origin. Conjecture reasonably enough as- 
 cribes its construction to some portion of 
 the earliest settlers, for carrying saw and 
 grist mills to supply the wants of the 
 ancient town below. 
 
 On the next day, the 26th, the Committee 
 assembled at the site of Fort Frederic, the 
 last of the four defensive structures, erected 
 at different dates for the protection of the 
 
PREFATORY NOTICE. 7 
 
 frontier. Its foundations still remain, with 
 the traces of the bastion at the northeast 
 corner, and of the round tower at the op- 
 posite angle that was made to inclose a 
 high pointed rock, for service against future 
 beseigers, as it had before aided for attack. 
 A cannon-ball and the fragment of a shell, 
 doubtless thrown from the battery of Iber- 
 ville on the rising ground across the bay, of 
 which the outlines still remain, had been 
 taken from the western bank of the de- 
 fenses, and were presented for observation. 
 By the diligence of some members of the 
 local committee, a portion of the paved street 
 had been laid bare by the removal of the 
 superincumbent soil, to the depth of eight 
 to eighteen inches, over which the plough- 
 share had often been driven in former years. 
 The regular arrangement of the beach-stones, 
 the depression for the water-course to the 
 shore, the curb-stones, the adjoining founda- 
 tion-stones still in place, articles of house- 
 hold furniture, and implements of the arti- 
 san, — all these and other concurring facts 
 proved, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that 
 a European community had dwelt on this 
 spot, and had made this long street in imi- 
 
5 PREFATORY NOTICE. 
 
 tation of what they had left in the mother- 
 land. In the examination in this locality an 
 essential service was rendered by the Hon. 
 Elisha Clarke of Bath, a native of Bristol, 
 whose familiarity with the place and earnest- 
 ness in laborious search brought up from 
 the ground several long concealed utensils 
 of domestic use. The cemetery at the 
 northeast end of this street, and near the 
 edge of the peninsula, contains a few ancient 
 memorials of the dead ; the one bearing the 
 date of 1695 being the oldest now remaining. 
 The more ancient have decayed, or been re- 
 moved from the plain now used as a grass- 
 field, and have been lost. The low timbers 
 of the wharf of remote days are still washed 
 by the daily tides ; and partially filled cel- 
 lars in the triple lines of parallel streets 
 show the places where the dwellings stood 
 in the early times. The inhabitants are 
 said to have numbered five hundred persons 
 and more ; and the number of houses re- 
 maining within the memory of a person now 
 living, and reported by a tradition sustained 
 by the numerous cellars, is sufficient to war- 
 rant the belief in this amount of the popula- 
 tion. ^ 
 
 1 " Ancient Peraaquid " in Me. Hist. Coll., vol. v. p. 234. 
 
PREFATORY NOTICE. 9 
 
 At eleven oclock, the hour appointed for 
 the formal reception of the Committee, the 
 large concourse of people, who from an 
 early hour had been assembling from the 
 neighboring region, gathered around the 
 platform which had been erected within the 
 outlines of the Fort for the two committees 
 and invited guests, and had been adorned 
 with the American and English flags, and 
 evergreens from the neighboring forest. 
 The Hon. Arnold Blaney of Bristol was in- 
 vited to preside. The Rev. Mr. Bean of 
 the same place offered prayer. Prof John 
 Johnston, LL. D., of the University at Mid- 
 dletown, Conn., a native of Bristol, made the 
 Address of Welcome, in the course of which 
 he gave a succinct narrative of the early 
 rise and varying fortunes of the settlement. 
 A response was made by the Hon. E. E. 
 Bourne of Kennebunk, President of the So- 
 ciety and Chairman of the Committee, in 
 which he expressed the thanks of its mem- 
 bers for their gratifying reception by the 
 citizens of the town. He explained their 
 purpose in visiting this place of numerous 
 stirring historic associations, and urged the 
 importance of knowing the history of Pem- 
 
lO PREFATORY NOTICE. 
 
 aquid, to whose waters the ships of the Eng- 
 lish nation came for business before Plym- 
 outh had a beginning. 
 
 A poem was then announced by the Pres- 
 ident, which had been prepared to add in- 
 terest to this welcome, at the earnest solici- 
 tation of the local committee, by Mrs. 
 Maria W. Hackelton, and was read by the 
 authoress, thus adding a new charm to the 
 already inspiring incidents of the day. The 
 subject was " Jamestown of Pemaquid." 
 At a subsequent stage of the proceedings, 
 the Committee, acting in behalf of the So- 
 ciety, in connection with their vote of 
 thanks for this offering, solicited a copy for 
 publication, and for preservation in its 
 archives. It accordingly is herewith pre- 
 sented. 
 
 Dr. Leonard Woods of Brunswick yielded 
 to the call of the President, and spoke of 
 the very great satisfaction experienced by 
 the Committee at finding the remains of the 
 ancient days more abundant and interest- 
 ing than had been anticipated. The exis- 
 tence of the paved street could no longer 
 be discredited. He then proceeded with 
 statements to show the high probability 
 
PREFA TOR V NO TICE. 1 1 
 
 that the settlement at Pemaquid antedated 
 the year 1620. Here were navigable waters 
 and commercial advantages of surpassing 
 excellence, well known in England by the 
 reports of Waymouth in 1605, and other 
 later navigators, who came over for the pur- 
 pose of discovering fitting places for occu- 
 pation ; and all suited to attract attention 
 to this very place. Besides, there were doc- 
 uments in existence which give confirma- 
 tion to this probability. The great New 
 England Charter of November, 1620, speaks 
 of settlements already made by the English 
 on this coast, '• in places agreeable to them- 
 selves." What place could be more " agree- 
 able" than this for enterprise, or give better 
 promise of success } Then, too, the Patent 
 granted to John Peirce in 162 1, in the judg- 
 ment of recent historians, is evidently not 
 to be regarded as the Plymouth Charter, as 
 had by some been supposed, but is to be re- 
 ferred to his purchase at Pemaquid, whither 
 " he had already transported divers persons 
 into New England," for a time sufficiently 
 long before this date to make it the basis 
 of his petition for this grant. And, thirdly, 
 in the " Brief Relation " of 1622, there is an 
 
I 2 PRE FA TOR V NO TICE. 
 
 account of thirty ships engaged in trade and 
 the fishery here, "besides those that are 
 gone for the transportation of the planters, 
 or supply of such as are already planted." 
 Moreover, can it be believed that there 
 could have been such a fleet here for these 
 purposes, and yet no settlement formed ? ^ 
 These were not all the proofs, but they were 
 enough to show that we ought to look for 
 settlements here prior to 1620. It fared 
 hard with the early occupants in Maine. 
 They had to contend with the French, the 
 Indians, pirates, sharpers, and Massachu- 
 setts' hostilities ; and the wonder is that 
 they were not exterminated. 
 
 The Hon. J. W. Bradbury of Augusta, 
 Vice President of the Society, spoke of the 
 significant fact, that three nations were in 
 early days struggling for the possession of 
 our territory — the English, the French, 
 and the Portuguese. It was well that 
 
 1 Note by the Secretary. — The events here referred to are the 
 same as appear in Winslow's Relation, Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. viii. 
 p. 245, where he says the Plymouth people were in great want, 
 and their " store of victuals was wholly spent." He went for aid 
 to "Damarin's Cove, near Munhiggen," where their need was 
 " freely " supplied. At " Munhiggen was a plantation of Sir F. 
 Gorges.''^ lb. 2d ser. vol. ix. p. 85. The name Monhegan had a 
 wider application than now, embracing Damarin's Cove, and 
 Pemaquid. 
 
PREFA TOR Y NO TICE. I 3 
 
 neither of the last two succeeded, as history 
 showed that they were not as good for 
 colonization as the Anglo-Saxon race. He 
 referred to the occupation at Sagadahoc, 
 by Popham, as securing this region to the 
 English race as against the French, and 
 thus determining the whole future progress 
 of the country. It is one of the great facts 
 on which the destinies of this nation turn. 
 
 Addresses of great practical interest were 
 also made by the Rev. President Harris 
 and the Rev. Dr. Packard of Bowdoin Col- 
 lege, Hon. J. A. Poor and E. H. Elwell, Esq., 
 of Portland, A. G. Tenney, Esq., of Bruns- 
 wick, and R. K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset; 
 the last of whom presented many interest- 
 ing facts connected with the history of the 
 place, and particularly the location of Iber- 
 ville's battery on the heights across the har- 
 bor, which commanded a former fort at the 
 time of its capture in 1696. 
 
 Before leaving the stage, on motion, a 
 copy of Prof Johnston's address was so- 
 licited by the Committee for the Society, to 
 be published with its proceedings. 
 
 After the hospitable dinner provided by 
 the local committee for their guests, the 
 
14 PREFATORY NOTICE. 
 
 Committee proceeded to visit the remains 
 of a fortification on the western side of the 
 harbor on a point of land selected with mil- 
 itary accuracy to command the upper and 
 lower passages of the bending river. The 
 outlines of the works can be easily traced, 
 with a bastion in one corner. A paved way 
 is still to be seen leading downward to- 
 wards the bank, but covered deep with turf 
 and soil. At its lower end a cellar is found, 
 floored with smooth and matched stones, 
 with a double wall of faced stone. A fossil- 
 iferous stone of foreign origin, in hewn 
 blocks, appears among the ruins. The re- 
 mains of a settlement are shown in the well, 
 the nearly filled cellars, the tan-pit and frag- 
 ments of leather, bits of iron, and the slag 
 of a blacksmith's forge. Many articles in- 
 dicating the usages of the inhabitants have 
 here come to light, as a gun-barrel, a flint- 
 lock, pipes for smoking, wrought nails, frag- 
 ments of glass and earthen ware, a spoon, 
 an iron bullet, a brass kettle, an iron pick, 
 and other objects of interest to the searcher 
 for antiquities. It excited the surprise of 
 the visitors, that no recorded or traditional 
 evidence attests the existence of such a 
 
PREFATORY NOTICE. I 5 
 
 fortification and surrounding dwellings. The 
 ruins alone bear the evidence of the activi- 
 ties of the past. 
 
 The explorations were now finished, as far 
 as the allotted time would allow. A sub- 
 committee was appointed to continue the ex- 
 aminations in portions not yet thoroughly 
 searched, and to report to the Secretary of 
 the Society. With the dispersing crowd the 
 Committee left the place where the events 
 of more than two hundred and fifty years — 
 events of frontier hardihood, busy toil, the 
 successive terrors of war, and the enjoy- 
 ments of peace and prosperity — had re- 
 appeared in lively review before them, and 
 where imagination could easily reproduce 
 the large population, the courts, the cus- 
 tom-house, the religious worship, the busy 
 streets, the ships in the harbor, the battles, 
 the desolations, the recoveries, and the slow 
 declining passage to final ruin. Before the 
 setting of the sun, the daily stillness came 
 again around the solitary farm-house on 
 Fort Hill, and the hundreds of the gathered 
 company took their homeward way, with 
 pleasant recollections of this day of historic 
 research among the remains of Ancient 
 Pemaquid. 
 
1 6 PREFATORY NOTICE 
 
 The agency of the local committee was 
 in every way acceptable and useful in aid- 
 ing the design of the Society. It enabled 
 its members to become acquainted with 
 facts still existing amid the ruins of the 
 olden days, as communicated by the testi- 
 mony of living witnesses, or restated from 
 deeply engraved traditions, to an extent far 
 surpassing all their anticipations. Without 
 this assistance, their knowledge would have 
 been limited and imperfect. It contributed 
 largely to the success of their undertaking, 
 and to its attendant pleasures, while the 
 large assemblage from all quarters around, 
 coming by land and by water, the beauty and 
 serenity of the day, the attractive scenery of 
 the ocean, bay, harbor, hills, and forest, and 
 the deep and unfaltering attention of all the 
 multitude to the leading purpose of the visit, 
 awakened a deep interest to know the yet 
 untold history of the place, and of the other 
 early settlements on our coast so long over- 
 looked and forgotten. 
 
 For the Committee, 
 
 EDWARD BALLARD, 
 
 Sec. Me. Hist. Soc. 
 Brunswick, September, 1869. 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 Our ancient city of Jamestown was built 
 upon a peninsula, bearing the name of 
 Pemaquid, and lying on the southern coast 
 of Maine, within the large extent of ter- 
 ritory formerly called Mavooshen. This 
 peninsula is now a part of the present town 
 of Bristol, and extends from the mouth of 
 the Pemaquid River a distance of three 
 miles or more in a south-east direction, ter- 
 minating in a rocky promontory known as 
 Pemaquid Point. Its western shore is 
 washed by the waters of Pemaquid Bay and 
 Harbor. The river, a clear and beautiful 
 stream, flows from the north, widening into 
 a broad, circular basin before mingling its 
 waters with the bay. At the mouth of the 
 river, and on the western shore of the pen- 
 insula, stood once the prosperous settle- 
 ment known as the " City of Jamestown," ^ 
 
 ^ SewaiVs Ancient Dominions, pp. 175, 177. 
 2 
 
I 8 HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 and now believed to be among the first of 
 the Eno-lish settlements on the coast of 
 New England. 
 
 Of this settlement in its earliest days, 
 history gives us but little information. Cer- 
 tain facts, however, are known, which seem 
 to establish the point that at Pemaquid or 
 some neighboring location was made the 
 first permanent settlement on this coast. 
 
 This region was visited by voyagers at 
 the beginning of the seventeenth century : 
 by Gosnold in 1602, by De Monts and 
 Waymouth in 1605, by Popham in 1607-8, 
 and by Smith in 16 14. Monhegan, a large 
 island visible from the main land, some 
 twelve miles distant on the south-east, was a 
 marine station of frequent resort, and prob- 
 ably was permanently inhabited before the 
 year 1619.^ The New England Charter of 
 November 3, 1620, speaks of settlements 
 already made by Sir Ferdinando Gorges 
 and his associates under the previous char- 
 ter of James I., granted April 10, 1606. The 
 language used in the description is worthy 
 of special notice ; declaring that these per- 
 sons "have divers Years past by God's Assis- 
 
 1 Thornton's Ancieitt Pemaquid, p. 183. 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 1 9 
 
 tance, and their own Endeavours taken ac- 
 tual Possession of the Continent hereafter 
 mentioned, in our Name and to our Use, as 
 Sovereio^n Lord thereof, and have settled 
 already some of our People in Places agree- 
 able to their Desires in those Parts." As 
 the harbor of Pemaquid was well known to 
 the early navigators, who came out for the 
 purpose of discovering suitable places for 
 plantations, it is but a fair inference to sup- 
 pose that its ease of access, safety, conven- 
 ience and nearness to good fishing-grounds, 
 fed to the formation of a settlement on 
 its adjoining peninsula, as one of those 
 " Places agreeable to the Desires " of the 
 new-comers previous to the date of the 
 charter of 1620. The patent granted to 
 John Peirce in 162 1, which has hitherto 
 been supposed to relate to the Plymouth 
 settlement in Massachusetts, has been re- 
 garded by some late historians as referring 
 to Peirce's purchase in the region of Pema- 
 quid. It recites that " the said John Peirce 
 and his Associates have already transported 
 and undertaken to transporte at their cost 
 and chardges themselves and divers per- 
 sons into New England and there to build 
 
20 HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 a town and settle divers Inhabitants." His 
 settlement was on the eastern shore of this 
 territory/ 
 
 In the " Brief Relation" of 1622, there are 
 accounts of thirty ships fishing in these 
 waters, and other ships bringing supplies 
 to planters already settled here, from which 
 provisions were furnished to the settlers at 
 Plymouth. It seems incredible that so large 
 a fleet of ships should be here, unless at this 
 point a considerable settlement then existed. 
 John Brown, the original proprietor of Bris- 
 tol (embracing Pemaquid), obtained his title 
 to the soil from the Indian chieftain, Sam- 
 oset. This was the first deed ever given by 
 ai Indian to a white man. In 1630 there 
 was a fort at this point, and a considerable 
 trade was carried on with the Plymouth 
 colonists. At the time when this territory 
 was merged in Massachusetts as the " Dis- 
 trict of Maine," the citizens of this vicinity 
 forwarded a petition to the Governor and 
 Council of New York, urging the plea "that 
 Pemaquid may still remain the metropolitan 
 
 1 Willis's History of Portland considers that this patent is to be 
 applied as here stated, and thinks that the lost Patent of Plymouth 
 has not yet come to light. Thornton's Ancient Pemaquid ap- 
 pears to concur in this view. 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 21 
 
 of these parts, because it ever have been so 
 before Boston was settled. "^ Says Thornton, 
 " while the Pilo^rims were struo:o:linQ[ for life 
 at Plymouth, and Conant founding Massa- 
 chusetts at Cape Ann, Pemaquid was prob- 
 ably the busiest place on the coast." ^ 
 
 Here, then, doubtless existed one of the 
 first permanent English settlements in New 
 England. For a period of more than fifty 
 years the colony prospered, and population 
 and trade increased. The Indians were 
 friendly, and mingled freely and familiarly 
 among the colonists. Often might their 
 canoes be seen skimming the smooth sur- 
 face of the bay, or crossing the Pemaquid, 
 bringing stores of game, furs, and the rare 
 and beautiful articles of their curious work- 
 manship. Even at this day may be seen 
 marks of the ancient Indian trail at the car- 
 rying-place from the eastern to the western 
 shore of the peninsula, from New Harbor 
 to the mouth of the Pemaquid River. This 
 portage is well known to the Penobscot 
 Indians, who, passing through this region, 
 always follow the same trail. Samoset, the 
 Monhegan chieftain, held large possessions 
 
 1 Maine Historical Collectiofi, vol. v. p. 137. 
 '■^ Ibid, p. 194. 
 
2 2 HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 in Mavooshen, embracing the territory of 
 Pemaquid. Here doubtless he first heard 
 the EngHsh language, and learned to speak 
 the words with which he greeted the Plym- 
 outh colonists, " Welcome, Englishmen." 
 
 A fort was erected in 1630 as a protec- 
 tion against possible dangers, but proved 
 an insufficient defense against the maraud- 
 ing acts of the noted pirate, Dixie Bull. It 
 seems not to have been needed against 
 the Indians, whose friendliness continued 
 until after the breaking out of hostilities in 
 Massachusetts in the time of King Philip. 
 Rumors of war reached Maine from abroad, 
 and in 1676 parties of Indians from foreign 
 tribes incited the natives here to fall upon 
 the white men within their borders. A sur- 
 prise attack was made upon the fort and 
 settlement at Pemaquid, and the people, 
 being unable to defend themselves success- 
 fully, were forced to flee. They put to sea 
 in boats, pursued by the war-whoop of the 
 savage, and watching from afar the smoke 
 and flames rising above the ruins of their 
 desolated homes. 
 
 The next year (1677) the fort was rebuilt 
 by Governor Andros of New York, by au- 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 23 
 
 thority of James, Duke of York. The ad- 
 joining territory now constituted a ducal 
 province, of which Pemaquid was the capi- 
 tal. The new fort was named " Fort Charles," 
 and the settlement around it was called 
 " Jamestown." For some years the inhabi- 
 tants enjoyed a season of undisturbed peace, 
 and it is probable that during this period 
 the city attained its highest prosperity. It 
 became "the metropolis of the east, and 
 was invested with an influence and impor- 
 tance, as the mart of eastern trade, never 
 before attained." ^ It was the centre of in- 
 tercourse with the natives, and the only 
 port of entry and clearance on this eastern 
 coast. In appearance it probably bore a 
 striking resemblance to some English sea- 
 port town ; the houses, some of wood and 
 some more substantial structures of stone, 
 being built in the old English style. The 
 streets were narrow, and paved with the 
 cobble-stones of the beach. The principal 
 street ran from the fort in a northeast di- 
 rection. Two other streets ran the same 
 course on either side of it, with cross streets 
 at convenient intervals. 
 
 1 Sewall's Ajicient Do7ninions of Maine, p. 175. 
 
24 HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 Now passed the brightest hours in the 
 history of " Ancient' Jamestown," when she 
 sat in pride upon her royal seat, " Queen 
 City of the East." The voyager from Eu- 
 rope, saiHng along this wild and rugged 
 coast, found not a spot so fair. Sailing up 
 the broad bay, past green vine-covered isl- 
 ands, into the quiet waters of the harbor, a 
 scene of surpassing loveliness met his eye. 
 The harbor, filled with shipping, lay calm 
 and motionless as some enchanted sea. Be- 
 fore him rose the battlements of Fort 
 Charles, over whose summit waved the folds 
 of Brittania's flag, bearing the Cross of St. 
 George. Along the shore the busy wharves 
 were burdened with foreign merchandise, 
 and the custom-house opened its doors near 
 the water's edge. Farther back rose the 
 dwelling of the commandant, a spacious 
 mansion, with a paved court surrounding it 
 on three sides, crowned by an observatory 
 that overlooked the sea. Smaller dwellings 
 lay clustered around ; neat vine-embowered 
 cottages, whose white walls shone in brilliant 
 contrast with the dark green of the oak, the 
 hemlock, and the pine. In the distant back- 
 ground rose the dense forest, its crowded 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 25 
 
 tree-tops swaying in the wind like the bil- 
 lows of a vast sea ; while overhead flapped 
 the wild wings of sea-birds, and the gray, 
 majestic eagle soared upward to the clouds. 
 The land-breeze wafted the murmur of the 
 village from the shore. He hears the bark 
 of the house-dog, the shout of children at 
 their play, the sound of the hammer on the 
 anvil, and the voice of the distant plough- 
 man calling to his team, from the sunny 
 slope by the river-side. Thus the fair city 
 by the sea welcomed the stranger from 
 afar, inviting, with all pleasant sights and 
 sounds, the wanderer to linger on these bor- 
 ders of Mavooshen. 
 
 All went well with Jamestown until 1689, 
 when the Penobscot Indians, coming in 
 strong force, captured and destroyed it. 
 The fort was rebuilt in 1692 by Sir William 
 Phips, the son of a citizen of Pemaquid, and 
 afterward Governor of Massachusetts, and 
 was called Fort William Henry. It was 
 constructed of stone, and was at that time 
 considered the strongest defense of the kind 
 on this continent. Four years after, it was 
 attacked by French and Indians, under com- 
 mand of Iberville. In approaching the 
 
26 HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 coast, he encountered two English vessels 
 with a tender on their way to the Bay of 
 Fundy, to intercept French storeships. A 
 battle ensued in which he came off victori- 
 ous, capturing the English ship Newport. 
 The other vessels escaped. Iberville then 
 made sail for Pemaquid. He was joined by 
 Castine, with a flotilla of canoes manned by 
 two hundred Indian warriors. They suc- 
 ceeded in capturing the fort. The town 
 was plundered, and the fort dismantled. 
 Thus it remained until 1729, when it was 
 again rebuilt by Governor Dunbar, and 
 named Fort Frederic. This fort stood 
 until the War of the Revolution, when it 
 was finally pulled down by the inhabitants, 
 who feared it might be occupied by the 
 English. 
 
 Since then a heap of ruins has marked 
 the spot where once the heavy guns were 
 pointed against the invader, and where the 
 gates of refuge were thrown open to the set- 
 tlers fleeing from a savage foe. The storms 
 of war are past. The thunder of the 
 guns and the wild cry of the savage are 
 heard no more. A single farm-house stands 
 alone upon the site of the once populous 
 
HISTORIC SKETCH. 2 J 
 
 city. The slow years passing over it have 
 wrought their silent work, leaving only 
 ruins to tell the story of the past. 
 
 At the northern extremity of what was 
 once the main street, lying a little to the east, 
 is an inclosed cemetery. There, among 
 grave-stones of a more modern date, still 
 stand some ancient tablets, whereon one 
 may read the quaint characters and inscrip- 
 tions of the olden time. Outside the in- 
 closure the graves are more numerous than 
 within ; but the time-worn stones have crum- 
 bled to decay, or been removed by some for- 
 mer proprietors of the soil. Within the ru~ 
 ined inclosure of the fort sleep many of the 
 brave who fell in battle. Over the pave- 
 ments the soil has gathered to the depth of 
 many inches. There the grass grows tall in 
 summer, waving silently over the foot-prints 
 of the departed. Along the line of the 
 streets may still be counted the half-obliter- 
 ated cellars of former dwellings ; now and 
 then some curious relic is dug out from the 
 mouldering remains within. The outlines 
 of the fort may still be plainly traced. At 
 its western angle stands a high rock formerly 
 inclosed within the round tower, over which 
 
2S HISTORIC SKETCH. 
 
 the large gun of the fort was mounted. The 
 ruins are now overgrown with briers, vines, 
 and wild rose-bushes, and present a pictu- 
 resque appearance to the visitor. 
 
 The scene from the highlands on the op- 
 posite bank of the river is one of striking 
 beauty. The river flowing between sloping 
 banks of green, the quiet harbor, and the 
 broad bay widening to the distant sea, the 
 site of Jamestown, the lone farm-house 
 standing on its summit, the high rock of the 
 ancient tower with the clambering vines at 
 its base, the gleaming stones that mark the 
 field of graves, and the distant islands with 
 white sails gliding between, all unite to form 
 a rare picture in the soft light of a summer 
 day. 
 
 A wild sublimity of change sweeps over 
 it with winter and storm. Then huge waves 
 lash the trembling rocks, and break in thun- 
 der on the shore, raging in midnight revel 
 around the ruins of the silent city. 
 
 M. W. H. 
 / > 
 
JAMESTOWN OF PEMAOUID. 
 
 I. 
 The summer fields in quiet beauty sleep, 
 
 The shining river widens to the bay, 
 And glimmering sails float idly on the deep. 
 Where rocks the fisher through the 
 dreamy day ; 
 The white clouds sweep across the change- 
 ful sky, 
 The eagle soars majestic from the weir, 
 Wild odors of the woods go drifting by, 
 W^ith song of birds and laughing echoes 
 clear. 
 
 II. 
 The restless sea resounds along the shore. 
 The lio-ht land-breeze flows outward with 
 a sigh, 
 And each to each seems chanting ever- 
 more 
 A mournful memory of the days gone by ; 
 
30 JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 
 
 All underneath these tufted mounds of 
 grass 
 Lies many a relic, many a storied stone, 
 And pale ghosts rise as lingering footsteps 
 pass 
 The ruined fort with tangled vines o'er- 
 grown. 
 
 III. 
 Green is the sod where, centuries ago, 
 The pavements echoed with the throng- 
 ing feet 
 Of busy crowds that hurried to and fro, 
 
 And met and parted in the city street ; 
 Here, where they lived, all holy thoughts 
 revive, 
 Of patient striving and of faith held fast; 
 Here, where they died, their buried records 
 live ; 
 Silent they speak from out the shadowy 
 past. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The white-winged ships slow sailing toward 
 the west 
 To lands unknown, from Old World 
 shores afar. 
 
JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 3I 
 
 In search of fairer climes and homes more 
 blest, 
 Seen but in dreams, like some bright dis- 
 tant star, 
 Cast anchor here ; sad eyes, with watching 
 dim. 
 Beheld these shores in native wildness 
 clad. 
 And thanks arose in many a joyful hymn : 
 The land was goodly, and their hearts 
 were glad. 
 
 V. 
 
 First dwellers on New England's rock- 
 bound soil. 
 Amid these wilds their humble homes 
 they made ; 
 Children of luxury, hardy sons of toil. 
 
 Together suffered and together prayed ; 
 Here rose, among the hills and forests grand, 
 
 The growing tumult of a striving race ; 
 The sounds, still wandering through the 
 echoing land. 
 Like spirits haunt their ancient dwelling- 
 place. 
 
32 JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 
 
 m 
 
 VI. 
 
 From year to year the prosperous hamlet 
 grew, 
 The valleys echoed with the sounds of 
 toil, 
 The axe and hammer rang the forest 
 through, 
 And rich grain ripened on the virgin soil ; 
 The fearless hunter tracked the bounding 
 prey. 
 The fisher drew his heavy nets with glee, 
 Full freighted ships came crowding up the 
 
 bay 
 With costly store from lands beyond the sea. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The hum of schools, the shout when tasks 
 were done. 
 The din of shops, the court-room's mur- 
 mur, rose 
 In mingling uproar, till the sunset gun 
 Flashed from the frowning fort at day- 
 light's close. 
 From happy homes the earnest tones of 
 prayer 
 Went floating upward through the twi- 
 light dim. 
 
JAMESTOWN OF PE MA QUID. 33 
 
 And by the hearthstone smiHng in her chair 
 The saint-hke mother sang her cradle 
 hymn. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Young hearts beat light amid the gathered 
 throng, 
 Where rosy hours flew by on silver feet, 
 And lingering notes of laughter and of 
 song 
 With softened echoes filled the lighted 
 street ; 
 The young moon, smiling through her va- 
 pory vail. 
 Looked tenderly the twining branches 
 through, 
 Where maidens listened to the oft-told tale, 
 Old as the world, and yet forever new. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The holy benediction here was shed 
 
 On loving hearts^ the husband and the 
 wife. 
 And faith's triumphant requiem blessed the 
 dead : 
 " I am the Resurrection and the Life ; " 
 Sweet Sabbath sounds of worship charmed 
 the ear, 
 3 
 
34 JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 
 
 The grand Church service of the olden 
 time ; 
 And savage crowds in silent awe drew near 
 When " Gloria in Excelsis " rose sublime. 
 
 X. 
 
 Thus smoothly passed their lives of calm 
 content, 
 Their days of peace, their nights of safe 
 repose, 
 Ere foreign foes, on murderous errand bent, 
 Began the lingering torture of their woes ; 
 The hunter found a welcome frank and free. 
 Where painted braves in smoky wigwam 
 hid, 
 And oft beneath the settler's household tree 
 Sat Samoset, the " Lord of Pemaquid." 
 
 XI. 
 
 The light canoe, swift glancing o'er the tide, 
 Bore curious treasures from the wilds 
 along. 
 And through the echoing forest wandering 
 wide. 
 The Indian maiden sang her plaintive 
 song; 
 
JAMESTOWN OF'PEMAQUID. 35 
 
 The star-eyed daisies bloomed in valleys 
 fine, 
 The scarlet lilies flamed among the trees, 
 And spicy breath of hemlock and of pine 
 Came wafted sweet on every passing 
 breeze. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Happy the lives that drew to peaceful close 
 
 Before the dawning of a darker day ; 
 No cry of horror broke their deep repose, 
 No midnight tocsin called them to the 
 fray, 
 When wild the war-whoop clove the quiver- 
 ing air. 
 With crash of cannon and the trumpet's 
 clang, 
 When wails of woman and the voice of 
 prayer 
 With moans of death through fair Ma- 
 vooshen rang. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The frantic mother wept and prayed in vain, 
 While savage hands the smiling infant 
 slew, 
 And burning ruin smoked along the plain, 
 So wild, so sharp, the fiendish warfare 
 grew; 
 
36 JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 
 
 And o'er the sea the darkening horror swept, 
 Where flame-wreathed vessels battled all 
 in vain, 
 And o'er the land pale Fear with Famine 
 crept, 
 Dark Desolation's slow and silent train. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Then sad and lingering was the sure decay. 
 That dragged the dying city to its doom. 
 Till this fair valley where we walk to-day, 
 
 From hill to river, blossoms o'er a tomb ; 
 The happy homes so bright, so full of song, 
 Lie mouldering here beneath the crum- 
 bling clay ; 
 The happy hearts, with faith and courage 
 strong, 
 Sleep on beside them, cold and still as 
 they. 
 
 How calm they lie ! how sweet their sleep ! 
 
 A silent age of dreamless rest ; 
 While viewless hosts forever keep 
 
 Their loving guard around the blest. 
 
 The sun and cloud above them pass. 
 
 The moonbeam silvers o'er their graves, 
 
JAMESTOWN OF PEMAQUID. 37 
 
 The wind creeps sighing through the grass, 
 And rocks resound with dash of waves. 
 
 And still, as in those distant years, 
 The wild rose blossoms o'er the plain ; 
 
 The robin still the summer cheers, 
 Sweeps on the river, falls the rain. 
 
 The rolling years like dreams go by, 
 And life glides swiftly to its goal, 
 
 And swifter than the eagles fly 
 
 Comes on the triumph of the soul, — 
 
 When faith and love like stars shall shine 
 Immortal o'er decay and gloom. 
 
 And human hope, like flowers divine. 
 In gardens of our God shall bloom. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Smile on, fair river, flowing to the sea. 
 
 And chant, O sea, your anthem evermore ; 
 Seasons shall roll, and human life shall be 
 Golden with hope as life hath been be- 
 fore ; 
 The sacred records of the dead remain. 
 And faithful history calls them from the 
 past; 
 
38 JAMESTOWN OF PE ATA QUID. 
 
 Their feet shall tread with ours the distant 
 plain, 
 Whose shining space outspreads sublime 
 and vast. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The tumult of the nations rises still, 
 
 The shout of war, the grateful hymn of 
 peace ; 
 The torch of science gleams from hill to 
 hill. 
 While glowing stores in realms of art in- 
 crease ; 
 And some more prosperous city yet may 
 rise 
 O'er ancient Jamestown with its field of 
 graves, 
 And passing ships may hail with glad sur« 
 prise 
 Its white towers gleaming o'er the glitter- 
 ing waves. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Verse I. " The eagle soars,'" etc. — The white-headed eagle and 
 the fishing eagle are common to this region, and on almost any- 
 pleasant day may be seen soaring above the waters of the river 
 and harbor of Pemaquid. 
 
 Verse IX. ^'' The grand Church service,^'' etc. — The following 
 extract is taken from the " Pemaquid Papers," pp. 79, 80 : " And 
 for the promoting of piety it is requisite that a person be ap- 
 pointed by the Comissioners to read prayers and the holy Scrip- 
 tures." — Me. Hist. Coll. vol. v. A paper in manuscript is still 
 preserved, showing that this design was carried out. Ibid, vol. 
 vi. p. 191. It would appear therefore that " the rites and services 
 of the Church of England were the established religious feature 
 of the population of Jamestown at Pemaquid." — Sewall's Ancient 
 Dominions of Maine, p. 184. 
 
 Verse X. '•'■ Pemaqnid.'''' — This aboriginal name has been 
 transmitted in several different forms, of which the present has 
 been the most enduring. It denotes the character of the stream 
 as it " bends " around the headlands in its tidal flow to the ocean ; 
 and, as the word means, it may be fitly called " The Winding- 
 River." 
 
 Verse XL " The star-eyed daisies bloomed,'''' etc. — It is said that 
 the daisy is not a native of this soil, but was brought from Eng- 
 land in the earliest days of the settlement, and planted in gardens. 
 From these they spread so rapidly that soon the fields and mead- 
 ows were white with them. They are now the most common 
 flower in the fields of Maine, and are known by the familiar name 
 of " white weed." 
 
 The scarlet lily is a native of these woods. During the month 
 of August the forests and fields are brilliant with its showy bios- 
 
40 NOTES. 
 
 Verse XII. '^ Mavooshen.''^ — Of the several modes of writing 
 this word found in ancient narratives, this form, though not the 
 most accurate, is the best adapted to poetic measure. The name 
 ** Ma-woo-shen," originally denoted a locality, but was extended 
 by Europeans to embrace the chief part of the coast of Maine- 
 
 Verse XIV. " From hill to river, blossoms o'er a iombP — The 
 ground once occupied by the city of Jamestown might at most be 
 said to constitute a vast grave-yard. The proprietors of the soil, 
 within the last half-century, have found graves in almost every 
 part of its territory.