Minerals. LOCATION OF MINERALS. We shall close this short chapter by indicating some of the principal localities of interesting minerals, many of which will be still further noticed in part third, under the names of the towns in which they are situated. Actynolite.—Windham, Grafton, Newfane, Brattleboro', Norwich-the latter very beautiful. Kaolin.-Monkton, Brookline. Lime, Fetid Carbonate.-Bennington. Manganese, Oxyde.--Bennington, Brandon, Monkton, Pittsford, Chittenden, Ply Agaric Mineral.-Lyndon, Groton, Man-mouth. chester, Aluminous Slate.-Pownal, Rockingham. Argillaceous Slate.-Common. Marble.-Shaftsbury, Manchester, Dorset, Rutland, Middlebury, Swanton, Ply mouth. Marl.-Peacham, Barnard, Benson, Al burgh. Mica.--Chester, Craftsbury, Orange, Grafton, &c. Novaculite, or Oil Stone.--Thetford, Memphremagog Lake. Potstone.-Grafton, Newfane. Potter's Clay-Middlebury. Quartz.-Common. Fetid Q., Shrews- Windham. Rubollite.-Bellows Falls. Staurotide-Rockingham, Vernon. Stelactite.--Bennington, Dorset, Plymouth, Montpelier. Sulphur.-Wilmington, Bridgewater. Titanium.-Whitingham. Tremolite.-Bellows Falls, Wardsboro'. Zoisite.-Rockingham, Wardsborough. THOMPSON'S VERMONT. Part Second. CIVIL HISTORY OF VERMONT. CHAPTER I. INDIAN AND COLONIAL WARS. SECTION I. Discovery of America-Discovery and Settlement of Canada-Discovery of Lake Champlain. The discovery of the American continent by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, awakened a spirit of enterprize not only in Spain, but in all the principal nations of Europe. From each of these, expeditions were fitted out, and swarms of adventurers issued forth, either to immortalize their names in the annals of discovery, or to enrich themselves and their country with the treasures of a new world. Spain took the lead in the career of discovery, and was followed by England, France and Holland; but while Spain, invited by the golden treasures of the Incas, was pursuing her conquests and exterminating the defenceless natives in the south, the three latter nations were, for the most part, peaceably and success fully prosecuting their discoveries in more northerly regions. In 1534, James Cartier, in the service of France, while exploring the continent of America in the northern latitudes, discovered the great gulf and river of Canada, to which he afterwards gave the name of St. Lawrence. The next year he returned with three ships, entered the St. Lawrence, and, having left his ships at anchor between the island of Orleans and the shore, he ascended the river St. Lawrence with his boats, 200 miles further, to Pr. II. 1 the Indian town of Hochelaga, where he To this place he gave the name of Montarrived on the 2d day of October, 1535. real, (Mount-royal,) which it has ever since retained. This was doubtless the first voyage ever made by civilized man into the interior of North America, and the first advance of a civilized people into the neighborhood of the territory of Vermont. Cartier and his companions were every where received by the natives with demonstrations of joy, and were treated by them with the greatest respect and veneration. The savages seemed to consider the Europeans as a higher order of beings, whose friendship and favors they deemed it of the highest importance to secure. And this was true not only of the Canada Indians, but of the natives of every part of the American continent; and the suspicions of the natives were not generally aroused, nor preparations made, either for defence or hostility, till the new comers had manifested their avarice and meanness by the most cruel acts of injustice and violence. On the 4th of October, Cartier departed from Hochelaga, and on the 11th arrived safely with his party at the island of Orleans. Here he spent the winter, during which he lost many of his men by the scurvy, and in the spring returned to France. In 1540, Cartier again visited Canada and attempted to found a colony; but this colony was soon broken up,and no QUEBEC SETTLED BY THE FRENCH. LAKE CHAMPLAIN DISCOVERED. further attempts were made by the French | scalps were taken and carried to Quebec. to establish themselves in this part of the This was doubtless the first time the Incountry for more than half a century. In dians, in these regions, ever witnessed the 1603, Šamuel Champlain, a French noble- effect of European arms, and it is probaman, sailed up the St. Lawrence, visited ble the panic produced in the astonished the several places, which Cartier had de-natives, contributed, not a little, to a fascribed, and, having obtained all the in-vorable and speedy termination of the formation, which he could derive from the combat.* natives, respecting the interior of the country, he returned to France to communicate his discoveries and to procure assistance in establishing a colony. It was not, however, till the year 1608, that the French court could be induced to fit out a fleet for the purpose of founding a colony on the river St. Lawrence. This fleet was placed under the command of Champlain, who, in the beginning of July, arrived at a place called by the natives Quebec. The situation of this place being elevated and commanding, and it being mostly surrounded by water, rendering its defence easy, Champlain had in a former voyage designated it as the most eligible spot for beginning a settlement. He therefore, immediately commenced cutting down the timber, clearing the land, building houses, and preparing the soil for cultivation. Here he spent the following winter, in the course of which his little colony suffered extremely from the scurvy and from the severity of the cli mate. In the spring of 1609, Champlain left Quebec, accompanied by two other Frenchmen and a party of the natives, for the purpose of exploring the interior of the country, particularly the southern lakes, which the Indians informed him opened a Thus, so early as the year 1609, was lake Champlain, and the western borders of the present territory of Vermont, discovered and partially explored by the French; and although, after this event, more than a century elapsed, before this tract of country became the residence of any civilized inhabitants, it was, during this period, and long after, the theatre of war, and a scene of Indian havoc and cruelty, of the most appalling character. But these wars were wholly carried on by the Canada Indians and the French, whose settlements were rapidly extending up the St. Lawrence, on one part, and by the confederated nations of the Iroquois on the other, previous to the year 1664. This year the Dutch settlement of New Netherlands, was surrendered to the English, and its name changed to New York; and from this period the country, now called Vermont, and lake Champlain became the great thoroughfare of the French and English colonies and their Indian allies in their almost incessant wars with each other. SECTION II. communication with a large and warlike Progress of the English and Dutch settle nation called the Iroquois. Champlain proceeded up the St. Lawrence and the river now called the Richelieu, till he arrived at a large lake. To this lake he gave his own name, which it still retains. Proceeding southward, he reached another lake lying to the southwest of lake Champlain, which he named St. Sacrement, but which is now known by the name of Lake George.* On the shores of lake George, they fell in with a party of the Iroquois, between whom and the Canada Indians, a war had| long subsisted. A skirmish immediately ensued, but the Frenchmen being armed with muskets, it was soon decided in favor of Champlain and his party. The Iroquois were put to flight, leaving 50 of their number dead upon the field, whose *It is said to have been called Horicon by the natives. Mr. Spafford, in his Gazetteer of New York, page 272, says that the Indians called it Canideri-oit, signifying the tail of the lake, in allusion probably to its connexion with lake Champlain. | ments, from 1607 to 1638. While the French were founding their colony at Quebec, exploring the regions of Canada, and rapidly extending their settlements along the banks of the St. Lawrence, the other nations of Europe were not inactive. The English, after several unsuccessful attempts, succeeded in 1607, in making a permanent settlement upon the banks of James river in Virginia, and about the same time planted a small colony in the present State of Maine. In 1614, Capt. John Smith explored the sea coast from Penobscot to cape Cod, drew a map of the same and * Champlain_was made governor of the colony of Canada which he established; became a prisoner to the English, when Quebec surrendered to Sir David Kirk in 1629; was restored to the government of Canada after the peace of 1632; and died at Quebec in December, 1635. He was upright and amiable in his deportment-was zealous in propagating the Roman Catholic faith, and was often heard to remark, that "the salvation of one soul was of more value than the conquest of an empire.” NEW YORK SETTLED. PLYMOUTH SETTLED BY THE ENGLISH. PEQUOT WAR. denominated the country New England. | sual hardships and a mortal sickness In 1609, Capt. Henry Hudson, at that which prevailed, reduced their number to time in the service of Holland, discovered 56 before the opening of the next spring. and gave his own name to Hudson river, Their drooping spirits were however renow in the state of New York, and in 1614, vived during the next summer, by the the Dutch began a settlement on the isl- arrival of supplies from England and by a and of Manhattan, where the city of New considerable addition to the number of York now stands. To the country they settlers. From this time the affairs of the gave the name of New Netherlands and the Plymouth colony assumed a brighter astown they called New Amsterdam, in al-pect, and the settlements in these parts lusion to the country and city they had were rapidly extended. left in Europe. About the same time they built fort Orange where Albany now is, and soon after began settlements at Schenectady and other places in the vicinity. In 1620, a band of English subjects, who, to avoid persecution, had 20 years before, taken refuge in Holland, and who were denominated puritans from their scrupulous religious conduct, embarked for America, where they hoped to be allowed the privilege of enjoying, undisturbed, their peculiar notions, and of worshipping their Creator in that unadorned simplicity of manner, which they supposed the scriptures to inculcate, but more perhaps to indulge the spirit of enterprise inherent in the Saxon race, and to find room for the exercise of bodily and mental powers, which could not remain inactive nor brook to be controlled. Their place of destination was the mouth of Hudson river; and, as they contemplated forming their settlement under the protection of the English, they had obtained a patent of lands from the Virginia company in England previous to their embarkation. As early as the year 1623, the English had begun settlements at Portsmouth and Dover in the present state of New Hamp shire, and, in 1633, they had penetrated the wilderness to Connecticut river and established themselves at Windsor in Connecticut. In 1635, they had extended their settlements northward up this river as far as Springfield in Massachusetts, and soon after they established themselves at Deerfield. Thus early were the French on the north, the Dutch on the south and the English on the east advancing their settlements into the neighborhood of the present state of Vermont. A short time previous to the arrival of the Plymouth colony a mortal sickness had prevailed among the natives, by which the country, in the neighborhood of their landing, had been almost divested of inhabitants. But the natives, who remained, welcomed the English with demonstrations of joy, and seemed disposed to admit the new comers into their country upon friendly terms. But the repeated acts of injustice and extortion on the part After encountering many difficulties of the settlers, and the astonishing rapidi. and delays they finally got to sea, but ty with which their settlements were extheir pilot, either through treachery or tending over the country, at length arous ignorance, shaped his course so far to the ed the jealousy of the Indians, and in northward, that the first land they discov- 1630, a general conspiracy was formed by ered was cape Cod, distant more than 300 the Narragansets and other tribes, the ob miles from the nearest civilized settle-ject of which was the total extermination ment, and not within the limits of their patent. The season was so far advanced, it being now the 9th of November, that it was deemed expedient to attempt a settlement in the section of country where they were, and preparations for that purpose were immediately commenced. After spending some time in exploring the coasts and harbors; and after having formed themselves into a body politic under the crown of England and chosen John Carver, their governor, they landed on the 22d day of December, and began a | settlement, which they called New Plymouth, (now Plymouth in Massachusetts,) in allusion to the town they had left in England. This colony at first consisted of 101 persons; but the severity of the climate, the want of accommodations, their unu of the English. The settlers, however, were seasonably informed of the plot, and their vigorous preparations to defeat it effectually deterred the Indians from attempting its execution. But, soon after this event, the English settlers were involved in a war with the Pequots, a powerful tribe of Indians, who inhabited the northwestern parts of Connecticut. This war was prosecuted with vigor on both sides, but was terminated in 1637 by the complete overthrow of the Pequots. Seven hundred of the Indians were slain, some fled to the Mohawks, by whom they were treacherously murdered, and the Pequots, who remained in the country and the other tribes of Indians were so much terrified at the prowess of the English as to be restrained from open hostilities for nearly forty years. Although both the French and English colonies had long been in the habit of furnishing the Indians with arms, ammunition, provisions and clothing, when going to war either among themselves, or with an opposite colony; yet previously to the year 1689, no expedition had ever been fitted out in one colony for the express purpose of aiding the Indians in their depredations upon another. This year it was resolved by the French to attempt, by the aid of the Canada Indians, the conquest of the province of New York, which had now been for some time in possession of the English. They looked upon this course as the only effectual method of subduing their most inveterate and troublesome enemy, the Iroquois.* SCHENECTADY DESTROYED. midst of winter, they were reduced to such extremities of hunger and fatigue, when they arrived in the vicinity of this place, that they thought seriously of surrendering themselves to the English as prisoners of war. They, however, sent forward their spies, who reported, on their return, that the inhabitants were in no apprehension of danger-that the soldiers were few and undisciplined, and that the place was in no condition for defence. Encouraged by this intelligence, the party moved forward, and on the 8th of February, 1690, at 11 o'clock in the evening, they entered the village of Schenectady, and, separating into small parties, appeared before every house at the same time, Never was a place more completely surprised. Without the least apprehension of danger the inhabitants had just retired to their beds, and, while their senses were now locked in the soundest sleep, the terrible onset was made. A general shriek aroused the place, and to many it was the shriek of death. The terrified and bewildered inhabitants attempted to rise from their beds, but they rose only to meet the tomahawk, which was lifted for their destruction. The whole village was instantly in flames; and to add to this heart rending scene, the infernal yell of the savage was incessantly commingled with the shrieks and the groans of the dying. It was proposed that a large body of Canadians and Indians should march by the way of lake Champlain, and fall upon Albany and the other northern settlements; and that the city of New York should be at the same time attacked by a fleet,ordered for that purpose from France. But while preparations were making and before the arrival of the fleet, the Iroquois made a descent upon Canada, plundered and burnt Montreal and broke up most of the frontier settlements. Frontenac, the In this massacre no less than 60 perFrench general, was so much dishearten- sons perished; and 27 were taken prisoned by these calamities, that he relinquishers and carried by the French and Ined the hope he had entertained of condians into captivity. They, who escaped quering New York, but he considered the hands of the enemy, fled nearly nasome attempt against the English settle-ked towards Albany through a deep snow, ments indispensable, in order to revive the drooping spirits of the Canadians and In dians. Two parties were therefore sent out. One of these, under the command of M. Hertel, on the 18th of March, 1690, succeeded in destroying the fort at Salmon falls in New Hampshire, where they slew 30 of the English and took 54 prisoners, whom they carried to Canada. The other party, consisting of 200 French and 50 Indians, commanded by D'Aillebout, set out from Montreal in the beginning of January, and, proceeding by the way of lake Champlain, directed their march towards Schenectady, a settlement on the Mohawk river, 14 miles northwest from Albany. But on account of the length of their march through deep snows in the *The Iroquois, or Six Nations, had their chief residence on the Mohawk river, and to the southward of Lake Ontario in the state of New York, but their predatory excursions and the terror of their arms extended to a great distance around. which had fallen that very night. Of those who succeeded in reaching Albany, no less than 25 lost some one, or more, of their limbs by the severity of the frost. The news of this awful tragedy reached Albany about day break and spread universal consternation among the inhabitants. The enemy were reported to be Albany advised to destroy the city and 1400 strong, and many of the citizens of retreat down the river towards New York. But Col. Schuyler and some others at length succeeded in rallying the inhabitants, and a party of horse soon set off for Schenectady. Not thinking themselves sufficiently strong to venture a battle, the enemy were suffered to remain in the place till noon, when, having destroyed the whole village, they returned to Canada with their prisoners, and with 40 of the best horses loaded with the spoils. sioners from the several English colonies On the first of May following, commismet at the city of New York for the pur |