142 



^l)c iTarmcr's iHontl)ln llisitor. 



Jrum ilii! iionli-we^l tiuiiiiig a point and tnivel- 

 linj; almost directly liack to the distaiire of half u 

 mile — tlien it lient louiid soiilheily and finally 

 noitli ol' a due easterly coiiit-e, say three fourths 

 of a inilf, nearly, t'urniinx a ton;;iic of land npoii 

 tlje east side vvhirli we call Kiinhall's Point — 

 then rnniMni; ilown almost to the hiyh hiink of 

 the (lurk plains it a^ain turns shot t southerly aHrl 

 finally westerly, lorMjiii;: a tonj^'iie of land called 

 Hale's Point npon the west side. Over the river 

 nt this point, where it had heen encroarhing liir 

 many years until it hadaluiost reached tlie house 

 and buildinirs upon one of the Suirar Ball farms, 

 for many years was kept the Kindiall ferry, which 

 shortened the distance more than a mile on the 

 road to Portsmouth to that over either of the loll 

 brid^ies aliove and below which had p,\i;ited for 

 the last fifty years. The flood which shortened 

 the distance of the river two miles in about a 

 hundred rods broke through froii] the head of the 

 Fan on the norlli, first the liase of Kimball's point, 

 crossing rlirectly so as to break in twain Hale's 

 Point, leavinjr both to the extent, say of thirty 

 acres of the first, and ten or fifteen acres of the 

 last, at fir-'t perfect islands. hnt since ijiadually filled 

 and fillin>r up until the Kimball island has he- 

 roine firmly united to the main land, hii;hest at 

 the point nearest the river, and lower as it re- 

 cedes, nearly the whole length on the north side, 

 and graihially filling on the south until at the 

 lower point nearest the old bed there has liecome 

 fordable at low water. The quantity of new land 

 nlready made of the bed of the old river is now 

 liearly if not qtiite as large iis the island itself: 

 and this, as it comes into grass, becomes first rate 

 land: all is transferred from the eastern to the 

 western shore. So on Hale's I'oitit, formerly on 

 the western shore, the channel of the river on 

 the no'ih side has become gradually filled in, 

 liighest ne.\t to the pre.seiit chaimel of the liver 

 and united to the laiul on the easterly side in the 

 entire width oi' the former stream. 'I'his break, 

 shortening the distance of the river and lessen- 

 ing the l.ibor o( the Inndier rafters, for tlie time 

 entirely broke up the tr.ivel easterly in tlial di- 

 rection and destroyed Kimball's leriy, so that 

 ever since the occupants of the Sugar Ball larins 

 have generally been obliged to pass round the 

 dist.ince of two miles in iheir ctnmiinnii'ulions 

 with the main vdlage uf the town. The new 

 channel and the filling in of the old channel have 

 constructed and left two perfect ponds, one on 

 either side of the river, in the shape of the horse- 

 shoe. 



Above the Fan and northerly from the i<'ad 

 leading from the north end of Main street over 

 the Feileral Briilge to tlie east village, another 

 bend of the river in ancient times broken through, 

 has left another llorse-shoe pond. 'I'his pond, 

 since we first knew it thirty-five years ago, has 

 lessened in size all of one half. The successive 

 freshets of the river have so filled in the shores 

 of this ponil, liirmerly the bed of the river, as to 

 add several acres of land to the island upon the 

 iiorlln'ru or inside shore ol" the horse-shoe. The 

 isl.-md, or rather now penii:snla, on the other side 

 is bounded by the Walernnminies brook which 

 runs I'roiii west to east. ThisisliUMl of more than 

 one hundred acres I'orms in itself a beaiitiliil 

 farm : it was (ormerly a part of Ilie homestead 

 of the first and second Timothy Walker, and is 

 now the propeiiy of the grandson of the latter 

 and the only child of the late Capt. Joseph 

 Walker, who if he lives, anil when his education 

 ehall be cotnpleied, will take np the occupation 

 of a farmer, can and will make it one of the 

 most profitable as it is now one of the most val- 

 uable farms in the county. In the hands of ten- 

 ants whose Intel est h;is been to take the greatest 

 present profit, this liirm has continued to rent at 

 a hii:h price lor several years. We believe the 

 island itself was never in belter condition than it 

 now is imder the directicni of Benjamin Moody, 

 Ksrj., who has farmed much to his ailvantage the 

 last few years. As a hay fiirm this is one of the 

 best. 



North ot the Walker Island is another penin- 

 snla, tdmost an island, called the W.iternummies 

 intervale, taking its name as does the brook 

 which bounds it from an Indian chief of that 

 name, whose wigwam was npon tiiis ground 

 some bundled anil fifty years ago, when ihislainl 

 first came to the knowledge of the w bites iinil 

 bi'tore its first occiip;ition and settlement by them. 

 Tho Waternummies intervale was forinerlv a val- 



uable part of the homestead tiirm of the late Capt. 

 lienjamin Emery, and is still owned by a des 

 cendaiit of his by marriage: several acres of it 

 two years ago were covered to a considerable 

 depth in a winter freshet by flowing sand from 

 the bed of the river. 



At the point tiMined by the turn of the Fan at 

 the north of Sugar Ball, commences a long turn 

 of intervale land on the east side, some of which 

 is the most valuable of any land in the town. — 

 The examiners of land prior to the grant of the 

 lowii some years before its first settlement, pitch- 

 ed upon a tract of this intervale as better than 

 any other. The "Sewall Farm," as it was cal- 

 leil, to the extent of five hundred acres, was the 

 first survey and grant in the town. Afraid of the 

 occupying Indians, it is said the first grantees ob- 

 tained an actual measurement only Irom the two 

 lines rnnning from the bank of the river, not 

 daring to venture into the woods on the rear. In 

 consideration that the grant was alleged to en- 

 croach npon the first proprietors of the town, one 

 hundred acres addition upon the river on the 

 west side now constituting Col. Carter's farm, 

 with the line extended to the west side of the 

 town, was taken Irom Bow and given to Pena- 

 cook. The main part of the Sewall grant, now 

 constituting the beautiful intervale farms of 

 Messrs. Samuel Locke, Samuel Larkin and John 

 Locke, fell to the possession of the late Col. Paul 

 Rolte: about three hundred acres of this fine 

 land were purchased by Capt. Benjamin Emery 

 for the sum of $1500, making aii ample farm for 

 each of his sons. The late John Haven, of Ports- 

 mouth, ow tied perhaps the choicest liuiii upon 

 the upper end of the Sewall grant, and this still 

 remains ill the possession of his representative. 

 Mr. Larkin's crop of corn upon this intervale is 

 equal to any we have seen this year. 



Sewall's falls, which commence in a turn of 

 the Merrimack river just above this grant, are of 

 a descent of seventeen feet. Near this point a 

 new bridge was several years since constructed 

 where the river is compressed to a narrow space 

 between the two banks over the falls: this bridge 

 makes a very convenient connection between the 

 east and west sides of the river in the noitherly 

 part of the town, and brings in the main trade 

 from the north-east :is short in distance tis any 

 other bridge over the river. 



.At that part ot' the tails opposite the lower end 

 of the Haven farm, before the waters lose their 

 ripple, oil the eastei most side is Sewall's island, a 

 tract measuring forty-two acres, now increased 

 to about filty aires by the additions from the en- 

 croachment of the river on the west side. This 

 island lies almost directly op[)osiie the West Par- 

 ish village situated three miles out of the main 

 street, from which you can pass to it only down 

 a steep batik of some .-eveiity-five feet. The is- 

 land in itself is a great curiosity. Somewhat 

 difiicult of access, it was not tbouglil of for many 

 years as for cnltivaiioii : alihoiigh it fell into the 

 Sewall grant, it was probably never ineasnred. — 

 About fifty years ago it was purchased as a part 

 of the Kolle estate at the pi ice of §400, by the 

 la'.e Juhn Bradley and Jonalban Eastman, Es- 

 quires, who well iinileistood what were the best 

 and most valuable lands, as was evinced by their 

 selections here and those made for their sons in 

 the Peqiiawket country. The island was by 

 these gentlemen cleared and several years owned 

 in connection. It produced as its first crop ex- 

 cellent winter wheat and Indian corn, and these 

 crops were repealed for years \^'illlout apparent 

 deterioration. It was not conveniently situated 

 lor monnring, and very little if any stimulant of 

 this kind has been applied in the last fifty years. 

 Central in this island is a plat of several acres ly- 

 iiii; lower than the land which surrounds it on all 

 sides; and into this basin the water runs over 

 the bank and fills, in any nncommon rise of the 

 river. As well npon the higher banks as npon 

 that part of the ishinil sometimes overflowed, the 

 ground turned over by the [ilough is a deep 

 chocolate color. Althoui:li some of it is worn 

 out by the cultivation of fifty years, taking off" 

 crops annually without a return of manure, we 

 would almost be willing to warrant to the pre- 

 sent owner of this charming rural spot (Mr. 

 Charles II. Clougli who is both merchant and 

 liirmcrj that he may easily restore its original lier- 

 tiliiy in all parts by turning over with the plough 

 to the depth of twelve or more inches, bringing 

 into action nn entiiely new soil: with thi.s aid 



and the addition of plaster and sowing and 

 ploughing in of clover, the island may still be 

 made as a Paradise of cultivation. On its western 

 shore is a smaller miniature island covered with 

 trees and shrubbery, and along the river bank ii 

 splendid grove of walnut, maple, ash, elms and 

 butter nuts, around which the native grapes eii- 

 twrniiig their branches, hang in clusters: the 

 smaller island and others still smaller in minia- 

 ture formation show how the parent island has 

 been constructed by the fall in the river in the 

 course of time. 



The barn erected by the proprietors at the first 

 clearing of the island stands there ''solitary and 

 alone" during most of the year: it has still its 

 original roof covering of split i-lapboards or long 

 shingles which in our first settlements, fastened 

 by wooden pegs instead of nails, were a substi- 

 tute for the present boarding and shingling. 



The late Hon. John Bradley, it will be reiiieiii- 

 bered by those acquainted with the history of the 

 settlement of the town, was the son of Samuel 

 Bradley, who was waylaid and shot with linir 

 others by Indians lying in aiiibnsh on the road 

 to Hopkinton. about ninety years ago; his vener- 

 able mother, then made a widow when q.uite 

 young, lived and died in the family of her sou ul 

 the age of more than 100 years. The younger 

 Bradley, long known here as a most estimable 

 citizen, legislator and magistrate — a farmer, lay- 

 ing the foundation of his Ibrtune by the labor of 

 his own hands — grew up a tall spare man, of 

 quiet temper, bnl of great resolution and nerve. 

 Once visitius the island alone in time of winter, 

 when the snow covered the ground, he saw an 

 animal running into the barn: entering an open 

 bin, from which corn had recently been taken, 

 which extended along the west end of the floor 

 way, it crouciied behind some boards. Having 

 upon his hands a pair of deerskin mittens, which 

 came up over his sleeves, he at oiiceenconntereil 

 the crouching animal which, partly hemmed in 

 by the boards on the one hand and the barn-side 

 on the other, was thus [irevented from making a 

 direct use of his claws. The animal was held in 

 its position and choked to death by niiiiii strength. 

 Taken out it was found to be a full grown grey 

 w ild cat with the short tail of that larger class 

 called, we believe, the Siberian lyn.v. 



Sewall's ishiiid is said to have been a favorite 

 pkice of resort for the Indians: upon it, after tho 

 first clearing, the Indian corn-hills were plainly 

 perceptible. Mrs. Dustin, when taken captive 

 bv the Indians, was made acquainted with the 

 island on the way up the river to the North: tho 

 island on which she performed the daring ex- 

 ploit of slaying the Indians, lies near the month 

 of the Coiitoocook some three or four mile.s 

 above Sewall's: the last island was her first point 

 of landing when returning fiomher triumphant 

 feat to her friends who lived below, as the river 

 takes its course in Haverhill, Mass., some 75 miles. 



By the island the main current of the river 

 runs upon the westerly side, and the %vater is 

 here the deepest : on the east side there are rocks 

 in the channel raising the water as it makes 

 about half way down sons to preserve a pretty 

 uniform height of water either in drought or fre- 

 shet except when the river is very high. Tho 

 •eiitral ripple makes an eddy and deep water at 

 either end ; but it at all limes leaves a safe and 

 unitiirm lord way. The bank is quite steep against 

 tho fordway, making it difficult to take teams 

 wiih a heavy load to the island. In olden limes 

 both above and below the ripple was n fiimons 

 fishing ground for the Indians ; the oldest settlers 

 remember it as seeing the surface of the water 

 spotted thick with the backs of numerous shad, 

 interspersed with the noble salmon, too large of 

 size lo mount the ripples without exposing n 

 portion of his body. With all the obstructions 

 reated by the succeeding dams upon the !\Ier- 

 imack, salmon are yet taken annually near the 

 falls. Some have been caught almost vvciy 

 year at Garvin's falls near the southerly limits 

 of Concord : more than a hundred of these 

 fish of a size and beauty exceeding any and eve- 

 ry other kind of fish, have been caught in pots 

 near the Aiiioskeag falls during the present sum- 

 mer. It may be well supposed, when there was 

 no obstructions by dams and locks «!ind canals 

 fiom the mouth of the river npwaiil, that the 

 ftlerriinaik in its whole course from Wiiini|iissi- 

 ogee to the sea was alive and teeming with 

 fish that amiimllv go atnl rclnrn lo the ocean, and 



