Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1872-08-06

now-x days have object lessens'-though
our object was not so much to have les
sons as to rovive real history.
Back Of the school.house rose n round
hill, upon which, tradition said, had stood
in colonial times, a block house. built by
the settlers for defense against the Indi-
ans. For the Indians had the idea that
the whites were not settled enough. and
used 10 come nights and settle them with
a tomahawk. 1t was called Fort Hill. II
was very steep on both sides. and the
river ran close by. It was charming
place in summer, where one could find
laurel and checkerberries, and sit in the
cool breeze. looking ut the mountains
across the river, and listening to the muir.
mur oil The DesrGeld The Methodists
built meeting house there afterwards,
but the hill was SO slippery in winter that
the aged could not climb it. and the wind
ragged so tiercely that it blew nearly all
the young Methodists away, (many oil
whom were afterwards found in the wes)
and finally the Westinghouse itself came
down into the valley and grew steeple,
and enjoyed itself ever afterward. 1t
used TO be n notion in New England that
meeting house ought to stand as near
Heaven rs possible.
The boys in our school divided them
selves into two parties; one was the early
settlers, and the other the Pequots. tho
latter The most numerous. The early
settlers built snow fort on the hill, and
u strong fortress it was, constructed Of
snow balls, rolled up to vast size, larger
than the Cyclopean blocks of stone which
form the Etruscan walls in Italy. piled
one upon another, and the whole cement
ed by pouring on water which froze and
made the wall solid The Pequots helped
the whites build it. 1t had covered way
under the snow through which only it
could be entered. and il had bastions and
towers and openings to fire from, and n
great many other things for which there
are no names in military books. And it
had glacis and ditch outside.
When il was completed, the early set.
tiers, leaving the women in the school.
house. prey to the Indians, used to re-
tire into it and there await the attacks OF
the Pequots. There was only handful
OF the garrison. while the Indians were
many and also barbarous. And it WAS in
this light that the great question was set
tied, whether Il boy might SNOWFALL with
balls that he had soaked over night and
let freeze. They were as hard as cobble
stones, and il boy should be hit in the
head with one of them, he could not tell
whether he was a Pequot or an early set.
tier. 1t was considered as unfair to use
these iced balls in an open fight. as it is
to use poisoned ammunition in real war
But as the whites were protected by the
forts, and the indians were treacherous
by nature, it WAS decided that the latter
might use the hard missiles.
The Pequots used to come swarming
up the hill with hideous war whoops, at
attacking the fort on all sides with great
noise and shower of balls. The garri-
son replied with shouts OF defiance and
well directed shots, hurting back the in
vadcrs when they attempted to scale the
walls. The settlers had the advantage ol
position, but they were sometimes over
powered by numbers, and would often
have had to surrender but for the ringing
of the school bell. The Pequots were in
great fear of the school bell.
do not remember that the whites ever
hauled down their flag and surrendered
voluntarily, but once or twice the fort
was taken by storm and the garrison mas,
sacred to boy, and thrown out OF tho
fortress, having first been scalped. To
take a boys cap was to scalp him, nnd
after that he was dead if he played fair.
There were great many hard hits
given and taken, but always cheertully,
for it was in the cause of our early his
tory. The history of Rome and Greece
was stuff compared to this. And we had
many boys in our school who could iml'
tate the Indian war-whoop enough better
than they could scan arnaa rtraanqut
cauo.- Portland Transcript.