taken prisoner, and carried to Canada, where he remained two years. Mr. Blake afterward returned to Keene, where he lived until his death, in 1811, at the age of 99 years and 5 months. When he was 94, he married a widow of 60. The Indians burnt all the buildings in the settlement, including the meeting-house. The inhabitants continued in the fort until April, 1747, when the town was abandoned. In 1753, they returned, and re-commenced their settlements. In 1755, the Indians again attacked the fort. Their number was great, and the onset violent, but the vigilance and courage of Capt. Syms successfully defended it. After burning several buildings, killing cattle, etc., they withdrew. They again invaded the town, but with little success. Col. Isaac Wyman, an active and influential man, marched the first detachment of men from this town, in the war of the revolution, and was present at the battle of Breed's Hill. This company consisted of 30 men. The list of the foot company in Keene at this time numbered 126 men; the alarm list, 45. In the early part of the year 1746, the General Court of Massachusetts sent a party of men to Canada, for what purpose it is not now recollected, and, perhaps, was not generally known. On their return they passed through Upper Ashuelot, now Keene. On arriving in sight of the settlement, they fired their guns. This, of course, alarmed the inhabitants, and all who were out (and several were in the woods, making sugar) hastened home. From some cause or other, suspicions we entertained that a party of Indians had followed the returning whites; and for several days the settlers were more vigilant and more circumspect in their movements, seldom leaving the fort except to look after the cattle, which were in the barns, and at the stacks in the vicinity. were Early in the morning of the 23d of April, Ephraim Dormer left the fort to search for his cow. He went northwardly, along the borders of what was then a hideous and almost impervious swamp, lying east of the fort, until he arrived near to the place where the turnpike now is. Looking into the swamp, he perceived several Indians lurking in the bushes. He immediately gave the alarm by crying "Indians! Indians!" and ran toward the fort. Two, who were concealed in the bushes between him and the fort, sprang forward, aimed their pieces at him, and fired, but neither hit him. They then, throwing away their arms, advanced toward him. One he knocked down by a blow, which deprived him of his senses; the other he seized, and, being a strong man and an able wrestler, tried his strength and skill in his favorite mode of "trip and twitch." He tore his antagonist's blanket from his body, leaving him nearly naked. He then seized him by the arms and body; but, as he was painted and greased, he slipped from his grasp. After a short struggle, Dormer quitted him, ran toward the fort, and reached it in safety. When the alarm was given, the greater part of the inhabitants were in the fort, but some had just gone out to tend their cattle. Capt. Simons, the commander, as was the custom every morning before prayers, was reading a chapter in the Bible. He immediately exclaimed, "Rush out, and assist those who are to get in!" Most of the men immediately rushed out, and each ran where his interest or affections led him; the remainder chose positions in the fort, from which they could fire on the enemy. Those who were out, and within hearing, instantly started for the fort, and the Indians from every direction rushed into the street, filling the air with their horrid yells. Mrs. M'Kenney had gone to a barn, near where Miss Fiske's house now stands, to milk her cow. She was aged and corpulent, and could only walk slowly. When she was within a few rods of the fort, a naked Indian, probably the one with whom Dorman had been wrestling, darted from the bushes on the east side of the street, ran up to her, and stabbed her in the back, and crossed to the other side. She continued walking, in the same steady pace as before, until she had nearly reached the gate of the fort, when the blood gushed from her mouth, and she fell and expired. John Bullard was at his barn, below Dr. Adams'. He ran toward the fort, but the instant he arrived at the gate, he received a shot in the back. He fell, and was carried in, and expired in a few hours. Mrs. Clark was at a barn, near the Todd House, about fifty rods distant. Leaving it, she espied an Indian near her, who threw away his gun, and advanced to make her prisoner. She gathered her clothes around her waist, and started for the fort. The Indian pursued. The woman, animated by the cheers of her friends, outran her pursuer, who skulked back for his gun. Nathan Blake was at his barn, near where his son's house now stands. Hearing the cry of Indians, and presuming his barn would be burnt, he determined that his cattle should not be burnt with it. Throwing open his stable door, he let them out; and, presuming that his retreat to the fort was cut off, went out of the back door, intending to place himself in ambush at the only place where the river could be crossed. He had gone but a few steps when he was hailed by a party of Indians, concealed in a shop between him and the street. Looking back, he perceived several guns pointed at him, and at the same instant several Indians started up from their places of concealment near him; upon which, feeling himself in their power, he gave himself up. They shook hands with him; and to the remark he made that he had not yet breakfasted, they, smiling, replied, that "it must be a poor Englishman who could not go to Canada without his breakfast." Passing a cord around his arms above the elbows, and fastening them close to his body, they gave him to the care of one of the party, who conducted him to the woods. The number of Indians belonging to the party was supposed to be about 100. They came near the fort on every side, and fired whenever they supposed their shot would be effectual. They, however, neither killed nor wounded any one. The whites fired whenever an Indian presented himself, and several of them were seen to fall. Before noon, the savages ceased firing, but they remained several days in the vicinity. The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the village cemetery : Death loves a lofty mark.-Here lies the body of the HoN. PELEG SPRAGUE, ESQ. He was born at Rochester, Mass., December 10, 1756, graduated at Dartmouth College in the year 1783; settled as a lawyer in Keene, in July, 1787, was chosen a member of congress, U. S., in the year 1797, and died April 20, 1800, in the 44th year of his age. What though we wade in wealth, or soar in fame, CATHERINE FISKE, founder and principal of the Female Seminary in Keene, N. H., and for 38 years a teacher of youth, died May 20, 1837, aged 53. Reader, whoever thou art, "Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God." To the memory of CAPT. CHARLES B. DANIELS, born August 30, 1816, graduated at the U. S. Military Academy, June, 1836, was mortally wounded while gallantly leading his company in the assault of the enemy's works at Molino-Del-Rey, Mexico, Sep. 8, 1847, and died of his wounds in the city of Mexico, Oct. 27, 1847, aged 31 years. By the purity of his life, and fidelity to the duties of his profession, he adorned it—by his valor he fulfilled its sternest demands. WILLIAM TORRENCE, aged 39, born in Enfield, Massachusetts, December 1, 1815, graduated at Amherst College in 1844, for years instructor of Keene Academy, and the first principal of the High School, died February 3, 1855, universally lamented. The pure in heart shall see God. His pupils in grateful remembrance of his virtues have erected this monument. Hanover, Grafton county, N, H., lies 52 miles N. from Concord, and about one mile E. from the railroad depot at Norwich, Vermont, on the opposite bank of the Connecticut River. The township was granted July 4, 1761, to eleven persons by the name of Freeman, and 54 others, principally from Connecticut. The first settlement was made by Col. Edmund Freeman in May, 1765: the first minister was Rev. Eden Burroughs, D.D., installed in 1772. The principal village is in the S. W. part of the town, on a beautiful plain about half a mile E. of Connecticut River, 180 feet above the level of its waters. Here is situated Dartmouth College, upon a central square or green of about 7 acres. The village which is built around it has two churches, one Congregational, and one Episcopal, and about 1,000 inhabitants. Western view of Dartmouth College, Hanover. [Dartmouth Hall appears in the central part. Reed Hall on the right. The Medical College and the Olservatory in the distance, on the extreme left.] Dartmouth College, one of the oldest and most flourishing institutions of the kind in the United States, was founded by Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, of Connecticut, who graduated at Yale College in 1723. "Soon after leaving college, he entered into the ministry, and soon received an unanimous invitation to become pastor of the second society in Lebanon (now Columbia), with which he complied. While a minister in this place, he became desirous to employ himself in a more extended field of action. The unhappy and neglected tribes of Indians in the county, and on its borders, excited his compas sion and engaged his attention. About this time (1741), Sampson Occum, a serious Indian youth, solicited instruction, as Mr. Wheelock had opened a school for a small number of young men who were preparing for college. He willingly received young Occum into his family and school, where he continued for about three years. He afterward became a preacher of considerable celebrity. Dr. Wheelock conceived, that if he could educate Indian youth for missionaries, they would be more successful among their countrymen than the whites. With these views, he undertook himself the care and expense of educating two Indian lads from the Delaware nation, in 1754; but the design was so benevolent, that a number of gentlemen soon united with him. His pupils increased, and after receiving numerous benefactions, the largest of which was the benefaction of Mr. Joshua Moor, of Mansfield, he called his institution 'Moor's Indian Charity School." In 1764, the school consisted of about thirty scholars, of whom about half were Indian youth. The Indian boys were accommodated in a part of the house given by Mr. Moor. The school-house was nigh Mr. Wheelock's dwelling, in the hall of which the students and their instructors attended morning and evening prayers. To enlarge the power of doing good, contributions were solicited not only in various parts of this country, but also in England and Scotland. The money col lected in England was put into the hands of a board of trustees, of whom the Earl of Dartmouth was at the head. From this circumstance, when Dr. Wheelock was invited by the government of New Hampshire to remove to Hanover, and establish a college in that place, it was called Dartmouth College. This seminary was incorporated in 1769, and Dr. Wheelock was declared its founder and president, with the right of appointing his successor. In 1770, Dr. Wheelock removed his family and school to Hanover, his pupils performing the tour on foot. The roads at that period were in a very rough and unfinished state, and it was in many places difficult to proceed. The site selected for the college and other buildings, was an extensive plain, shaded by lofty pines, with no accommodations, except two or three small log huts, and no house on that side of the river within two miles, through one continued dreary wood. The number of souls then with him was about seventy. Log houses were soon constructed, and a small framed house was begun, designed for the reception of Dr. Wheelock and his family. The frame of a college, eighty feet in length and two stories in hight, was soon after raised, and partially covered: a hall, and two or three rooms in it, were considerably advanced when the autumnal storms commenced. Upon a circular area of about six acres, the pines were soon felled, and in all directions covered the ground to the hight of about five feet. Paths of communication were cut through them. The snow lay four feet in depth between four and five months. 'Sometimes standing in the open air, at the head of his numerous family, Dr. Wheelock presented to God their morning and evening prayers: the surrounding forests, for the first time, reverberated the solemn sounds of supplication and praise.' President Wheelock died in 1779, and was succeeded in the college government by his son John Wheelock, who had been a tutor; after which he led a military life with Stark and Gates, until his father's death recalled him from the army. In 1782, he was sent by the trustees to Europe for the collection of funds, etc., for the benefit of the college. He was successful in his exertions abroad, and at home on his return. After thirty-six years passed in this position, his connection with the institution was violently closed. The college was managed by a body of trustees, created by the charter, who filled vacancies in their number. In 1815, differences in the college with the trustees, and questions of religious opinion led them to remove Dr. Wheelock from the presidency. A large portion of the public considered themselves as outraged by the proceedings. Gov. Plummer invited the attention of the state legislature to the subject, who asserting their claim to alter or amend a charter of which they were the guardians, and in 1816, passed acts creating a new corporation. Nine trustees were added to the old body, who were appointed by the governor and council. The old trustees set all this legislation at naught, and keeping up their organization, commenced an action for the recovery of the college property. It was decided against them in the superior court of the state: it was then carried to the supreme court of the United States, before Chief Justice Marshall, where, in 1819, the judgment was reversed, and the great principle of the inviolability of chartered corporate property fully established. It was in this cause that Daniel Webster, at the age of thirty-five, made the commencement of his great reputation as a constitutional lawyer. He had become a graduate of the college seventeen years before, in 1801, and had argued the cause for the plaintiff in the highest state court. The first college building was erected in 1771, and stood twenty years. It was 80 feet long and 36 wide, two stories high, 8 rooms on the ground floor, and 8 above: it stood at the south-east corner of the common or green, and fronted the south. Pres. Wheelock's log house was about 75 rods north-west of the colleges. He, with all his children, were owners of slaves. In 1780, there were about 18 colored persons in a population of 200. It is stated that they were as well fed, clothed, and "schooled" as the other inhabitants in the place. The first regular meeting-house was built in 1795. In digging a well through the alluvial soil, at the depth of sixty feet, a large pine tree was found lying in a horizontal position, perfectly sound. The first person born in the village was a female, by the name of Field; the first male, William H. Woodward, son of the Hon. Beezaleel W. Woodward, a professor in the college. Rev. John Maltby, of Bermuda, was the first person who DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, 1771.* died During the early period of the history of the college, it was not uncommon to have Indian youths as pupils. Prof. Woodward soon after his arrival in 1771, went out to ascertain the latitude and longitude of the place, and took the students with him, to show and explain to them the process. He is said to have remarked afterward, that his Indian pupils appeared to apprehend his remarks sooner than the other students. When the river was frozen over for the season, the Indian youths obtained permission to spend an afternoon in skating. The officers of the college and some others attended to witness their dexterity. One of them, more daring than his companions, would rail or skate up to the edge of a glade or opening, and with one foot break off a strip of ice, and with the other dart away from the glade. This was done several times, when at last he made a misstep, and went down into the water out of sight. He continued so long under the ice, that they despaired of ever seeing him again; and as they were about to return to their homes, the supposed lost one rose up to the edge of the glade, and by some peculiar Indian elasticity, threw himself out onto the ice, and bounding to his feet, gave a loud co-whoop, and then darted forward like a flash followed by his Indian brethren. One winter afternoon, in 1774-5, some eight or ten of the students, having John Ledyard (afterward the celebrated traveler) for a leader, made an excursion to the highest eminence, directly east, and about two miles from the village. The spot can be seen from the colleges, as it is marked by some granite rocks and a few tall pines rising above the surrounding forest. They went up in pairs, and arrived on the summit before dark, built a fire, and after partaking of some food, prepared a lodging place for the night. The snow was scraped away, and evergreen boughs laid down for a bed. One would then lie down in the close suit which each brought with him; his companion would then put green boughs over him, pile snow upon the boughs, and then crawl under this covering by an opening left for that purpose. In this manner the whole company lodged themselves through the long winter night in not such an uncomfortable manner as some might suppose. They returned the next morning in time for college prayers. The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the village graveyard: Hic quæseit corpus ELEAZARI WHEELOCK, S. T. D. Academiæ morensis, et Collegii Dartmuthsensis Fidatoris, et primi præsidis, evangelio barbaros indominuit; et excultis scientiæ pateficit viator, I, et imatare, si poteris, Tanta meritorum premia laturus MDCCX natus MDCCLXXIX. Here rests the body of Eleazar Wheelock, LL.D., founder and first president of Dartmouth College and Moor's Charity School. By the Gospel subdued the ferocity of the savage; and to the civilized he opened new paths of science. Traveler, go, if you can, and deserve the sublime reward of such merit. He was born in the year 1710, and died in 1799. This is from a drawing in the possession of Mr. W. Dewey, an aged inhabitant of the village, who has kept a MS. journal of all the principal events, etc., which have taken place in the town from a very early period. Mr. Dewey came into the place in 1779, with his father, the first blacksmith in the place. At the time of his arrival, what is now the college green was then covered with pine stumps. |