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by Lyman Matthews |
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL Chapter 1 "They need no statue nor inscription, to reveal their greatness." Communities have been wont, in every age, to trace their origin to ancestors shrouded in mythologic mystery, to those distinguished for physical prowess, or for intellectual or moral excellence. The Hindoo believes himself an emanation from Brama. The Roman was proud of his connection with the nurslings of a wolf. The Hebrew glories in his descent from the “Father of the Faithful.” The people of New England ever love to trace their origin to the noble band who landed from the May Flower, and others of kindred spirit who subsequently sought an asylum on these shores. History tells us of no men of more unflinching courage, of sterner principles, of more varied excellence. To understand the movements of the Puritans, it is necessary to understand their character. Though they endured, with forbearance, the oppression of despotic monarchs; the abuse and persecution of a supercilious hierarchy; the disfranchisement of themselves and their families, they suffered not in slavish fear, or ignorance; nor without a determination, at a proper time to rebuke their oppressors and assert their rights. The Puritans who had fled to Holland, to avoid intolerance at home,”says an English reviewer,” carried with them English hearts. They could not bear to think that their little community should be absorbed and lost in a foreign nation. They had forsaken their birthplace and their family graves; but they loved their country and their mother tongue, and rather than their children should become subjects of another State, and speak another language, they exposed themselves to all the hardships and dangers of colonizing in a savage land. Life to them had little value without civil and religious freedom, to secure which their compact was formed, even before their feet touched American soil. No, people an earth may so justly pride themselves on their ancestors, as the New Englanders. The circumstances in which the first settlers of New England were placed, nurtured courage, wariness and self reliance. There was the insidious savage, who; viewing the settler as an intruder, was ever ready to take advantage of any remission of his watchfulness, for a covert assault. Upon his own vigilance and prowess depended the safety of himself and those he loved. Upon his own energy depended his supply of food and raiment. His fellow settlers were as destitute of resources as himself, and they were all too widely separated from kindred and friends, to expect relief in any emergency. In view, therefore, of the fact, too well attested to require discussion, that men are formed by the circumstances in which they are called to act, it is not surprising that our ancestors were hardy, fearless and enterprising. Without these characteristics, the colony must speedily have become extinct. As these settlements extended into the interior, each became the nucleus of a community pledged to live free or die. The spirit of these settlers was often well exhibited in the homely but expressive stanzas of their own poets:
As early as 1609, that part of Vermont bordering on take Champlain, was to some extent explored by a French adventurer, whose name the Lake bears; but no permanent settlement in this part of the State was made for more than a century afterward. The position of the territory was such as to prevent its safe occupancy by settlers. “Situated between the settlements of the French on one hand, and those the English on the other, it was constantly exposed to the invasions and depredations of both, in the almost incessant warfare maintained between them. The dense forests of the Green Mountains were the favorite lurking places of the wielders of' the tomahawk, and resounded with the war whoop of savages, who were willing to become allies of either of the contending parties. They were traversed by prisoners taken in the French wars, and were witnesses of their heroism, and of their sufferings. Previous to 1760, the territory was almost an unbroken wilderness. A few settlements existed in the extreme southern part, though with but few inhabitants. The territory was often passed over by parties of Continental soldiers, on their way to and from Lake Champlain, who were attracted by its beauty and fertility. This accounts for the rapidity with which settlers gathered from all quarters, as soon as a safe way was opened before them. Between the years 1760 and 1764, most of the towns in the State received their charters from the Governor of New Hampshire. Previous Next |
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