OCR Text |
Show BAEBAEIC WARTAEE. A Civilized Community ThM 0Te Scalp BountiesL Main' Historic Old ForU ud Cklr Former Promlaopc HUtorU Itrl Westsm Now Modro ' Tonstfkaat. In Augusta, Me., on the east side of the Kennebec river stands a building called Fort Western, which ia one hundred and thirty-nine years old, and built on the same point ot land where once stood the famous New Plymouth trading house in 1828. At Windsor, Me., near Waterville, accordiug to the Boston Herald, can be seen another Fort Halifaxerected Hal-ifaxerected the same year, both silent and eloquent reminders of ye olden days of bitter strife and struggle. The first Maine fort Fort St George was erected in 1607, and followed by Forts Richmond, Shirley, George and others, around which cluster hiatorieal events of thrilling interest In 175 Gov. Shirley was informed that the French were building a fort at a noted earryinjr place of the Indians on the head waters ef the Kennebec, and he commissioned Capt North, of the fort at Pemaquid, and Lieut. Fletcher, of St. George's fort, to start with a sufficient suf-ficient armed guard and request any chief officer thus engaged to remove from the ground with his soldiers, as being within the jurisdiction of his majesty the king of Great Britain. The same month a party of sixty Indians, In-dians, supposed to be spies, appeared at Fort Richmond, and were insulting and threatening;. The French were active in persuading the Indians to prevent further settlement settle-ment on the river, promising favor to those who would unite with them, and threatening Yengeanca on all who should interpose between the Indians and the English. In the emergency which thus arose, the general court decided de-cided that the French should at all events be prevented from making any settlements on the river or at the carrying car-rying places at its head, and as the Richmond fort was in a precarious state it was demolished and a new one built at Ticonnet and named Fort Bali-fax. Bali-fax. September S it was garrisoned by one hundred men under command of Capt W. Lithgow. During the building of this fort, a committee of the Plymouth company was engaged In erecting a fort on the east side of AuguBta, to be called Fort Western. The main building, which is the onehat still remains, is one hundred feet long, thirtj-wa fee wide and sixteen feet high, nH is. bui. of timber, making solid walls twelva inches thick. A road was then made between Forts Halifax and Western, and was the first military rod constructed con-structed in Maine. In the fall of 1754 a message was sent the governor from Fort Halifax, stat- ing that the Indians had fallen upon a party of six of the garrison, sent out to draw logs, and killed cm man and captured cap-tured four others, one only escaping to the fort. This act of barbarity and treachery on the part of the Indians, together with the inforrflation that the French, with the Indians, were preparing prepar-ing to make an attack upon the forts, necessitated the reenforcetaent of the garrison, and four hundred and sixty men were detailed from the independent indepen-dent companies, to be held in readineee to immediately march to the relief of the forts on the first approach of tbe enemy. The French and Indian war was finally declared the folio-wing year, and large inducements were offered to volunteer vol-unteer companies of recruits to take part. Two hundred dollars was promised prom-ised for every Indian scalp; and two hundred and fifty dollars for each cap tive. To individuals, one hundred dollars dol-lars for a scalp and one hundred and ten dollars for a captive. i Particular attention was paid to the defense to the eastern frontier. Companies Com-panies of scouts were established along the seacoast from Haco to St. George's, and Forts Western a.n4 Halifax were garrisoned with eighty men and well supplied with stores. The forts between be-tween the Kennebec add St. George's were also put In a state of defense, and the friendship of the Tarratin Indians cultivated. But their bitter rancor was aroused when James Cargill, of Newcastle, received a commission to raise a company of scouts, who on the first day of July made an excursion for the purpose of obtaining the government govern-ment price for scalps. When near Gwls Head a party of Tarratin Indian hunters hunt-ers were discovered. Without stopping stop-ping to inquire whether they were friends or enemies, they were deliberately deliber-ately shot and their sc&ips secured. On their return they met Margaret Moxa, a friendly squaw, with her child. A volley was fired upon them, killing mother and child, Cargill was apprehended appre-hended and tried on charge of murder, but discharged after a confinement of two years. The war ended in 1759, when the Indians, deserted by their French allies, proposed peace. I Fort Western U now familarly termed the "old fort," and years ago was converted into a tenement house. Despite these modern changes, the structure still bears many of its old characteristics, and even to the casual observer bears the evidences of Its early and stirring history. |