1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
47 
SKETCHES OF MASSACHUSETTS FARMING.* 
At South-Deerfield we called on Mr. T. S. Sargent, 
who, besides showing us the “ lay of the land” in his 
neighborhood, was so kind as to convey us, by way of 
“ old” Deerfield, to Greenfield. 
About two miles south of Greenfield, is the farm 
formerly owned by Rev. H. Colman, and where he for 
several years resided. The readers of the early vol¬ 
umes of the Cultivator, the Genesee Farmer, and the 
New England Farmer, will recollect his interesting 
communications, dated at u Meadow Banks.” It is a 
beautiful place—we scarcely know of one which, as a 
residence, we should think preferable. The house is 
situated at the base of a handsomely rounded hill, on 
an elevated shelf of land, overlooking to a large ex¬ 
tent the fertile alluvial grounds on the Deerfield river. 
The farm, when Mr. Colman owned it, consisted of 
150 acres, but it has been divided, and the homestead 
at present only Comprises 50 acres. It is owned by 
Mr. David Wait. 
The meadows here are generally overflowed in the 
spring season, and a depositeisleftby the water which 
keeps up the richness of the soil. Large crops of In¬ 
dian corn and grass are here obtained. Mr. Wait in¬ 
formed us that three tons of hay are usually taken per 
acre, and he had got nearly six tons from an acre, at 
two cuttings, in one season. In good seasons, with 
proper cultivation, he thinks fifty bushels Indian corn 
may readily be obtained per acre, without manure. 
A little below the place just mentioned, we called 
at the farm of Mr. Samuel Child. He has kept for 
several years the Durham bull Northumberland, bred by 
E. P. Prentice, Esq. This animal has been of great 
benefit to the vicinity, and might have been still more 
useful if the farmers had properly appreciated him. 
We were told by many persons that his progeny have 
proved very valuable. They are thrifty, and the hei¬ 
fers are excellent for the dairy. We saw several calves 
and some other young stock that were very promising. 
Mr. C. has a good farm, but we were so pressed for 
time that we could not go over it. 
Deerfield is an old town. Its settlement was com¬ 
menced by the English 177 years ago. The settlers 
were undoubtedly attracted by the large extent of rich 
alluvial land here, on which the Indians had, from time 
immemorial, raised large quantities of corn. Capt. 
David Hoyt estimates that there is not less than 5,000 
acres of rich intervale within the limits of the town, 
on Deerfield river. 
In answer to some inquiries, we have received a let¬ 
ter from Gen. Epaphras Hoyt —a very intelligent gen¬ 
tleman, upwards of eighty years of age—from which 
we make the following interesting extract: 
“ Our town [Deerfield] was first settled by the 
white people 1670, and at that period I believe the in¬ 
tervale was cultivated by the Pocumtuck Indians, and 
considerable quantities of corn raised. At the close 
of the Pequot war in Connecticut, the English were 
suffering for want of bread, and in 1637, agents were 
sent from Hartford and other towns on the river, to 
the Indians at Potcumtuck [Deerfield] to procure In¬ 
dian corn, and fifty loaded canoes, conducted by the 
Indians, descended the Connecticut with that article, 
which relieved the people from their distress. 
“ How long our intervale has been cultivated is Un¬ 
certain—probably for centuries before it was settled by 
the English. Manure is now required on those parts 
not flowed by the river ,* and as the floods are now less 
frequent than formerly, manure is required in increased 
quantities.” 
The settlers here soon became prosperous, and the 
neighborhood was noted for its agricultural productions 
at an early day. But it was with great reluctance 
that the Indians yielded the possession of this fine re¬ 
gion which, to them, was almost a paradise, and de¬ 
signed, as they believed, by the Great Spirit especially 
for his Red children. Their enmity was manifested by 
frequent and bloody attacks on the whites whom they 
regarded as usurpers. The town was several times 
destroyed, and mos,t of the inhabitants put to death or 
made captive. A monument at South Deerfield com¬ 
memorates an event which occurred in 1675. The In¬ 
dians made a descent upon the town, and burned nearly 
all the houses. The settlers had raised considerable 
quantities of grain, which was deposited in stacks. 
This, the neighboring inhabitants, deemed it advisable 
to secure, and a detachment of soldiers and teamsters, 
eighty-six in all, was sent with teams to convey it to 
Hadley. On their return with the grain, they were 
ambuscaded by the Indians, and the commander, Capt. 
Lathrop and seventy-six men, slain. The monument 
was erected, with appropriate ceremonies, in 1838. A 
small stream which runs near it, received the name of 
u Bloody Brook,” from its waters having been literally 
crimsoned by the blood of those who fell in this san¬ 
guinary conflict. 
A still more disastrous calamity befel the town on 
the 29th of February, 1704. It was suddenly attacked 
by a party of French and Indians from Canada; every 
dwelling but one was reduced to ashes, many of the 
inhabitants put to death, and the remainder (except a 
few who escaped) carried away captives—112 of the 
latter being taken to Canada. The house which es¬ 
caped the conflagration, commonly known as the u old 
Indian house,” is still standing, and is occupied as a 
dwelling. It was erected twenty years before the 
event referred to, and is, therefore, 163 years old at the 
present time. It is built of wood—the frame oak, and 
still in quite a sound condition. In their attack, the 
Indians cut a hole through the outer door, which still 
remains as it was, and the marks of the hatchet show 
as plainly round the edges, as 'though they had been 
made but a short time since. The enemy discharged 
their guns into the house through the door and win¬ 
dows, and in one of the rooms, several bullets are 
still visible in the timbers. The attack was in the 
night and entirely unexpected by the inhabitants, who 
were quietly sleeping in their beds. Such was the 
case with the Sheldon family, who resided in the 
house ; and one of the bullets now to be seen in the 
wall, killed Mrs. S., passing through her head, just as 
she started from her pillow to learn the cause of the 
outbreak. 
The house, being a large one, was preserved by the 
marauding party to store their plunder, and shelter 
themselves till they were ready to take their depar¬ 
ture. It is justly regarded as an interesting monu¬ 
ment of the dire event of which we have spoken. For 
the last hundred years it has been in the possession of 
the Hoyt family, and our venerable friend, from whose 
letter we have given an extract, we are informed was 
born here, in 1765.* We are much pleased to learn, 
* Continued from our December number. 
* A more detailed account of the tragic scenes connected with the 
early history of this neighborhood, will be found in the histories of 
Massachusetts relating to this period. 
