Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-01-29
The Connecticut Valley in old Times

The first white settles of Grafton county
built their cabins IN the town of Haverh i'll ,
on what Is now called the Z" Little Ox-bow ;"
a small peninsula formed by sudden curve
OF the Connecticut. 1t was one OF those spots
very rare in New England, but common in
the valley OF the Mississippi, on which tie
tall grass had grown for centuries. This
was IN l76l. The first settler, Capt. John
Hazen, came from Haverhlll, Mass, and sur
veying the wide stretch of intervale, thought
that neio Haverhill might be planted in the
valley of the Connecticut. The locality, then
as now, bad rare beauty as well as fer
tilitv. On the Vermont side, separated by
the river alone, was tue Great Ok bow, with
its open prairie level of seven hundred
acres.
Now here else does this grand old river
sweep from side to side with such bod and
graceful curves, occasionally washing the
bases of the wooded hills on either side.
Another relic of the old English code
which was transferred to the statute book of
New Hampshire was the tything law
Under the BRITISH 1ule tything- men were
CHOSEN at every annual meeting in all the
New England colonies. Their duties were
to preserve order and prevent persons from
travelling on Sunday. In many towns sec
tartan and party zeal led to vigorous en-
torcement OF provisions. The ufhcers, zeal
Gus to discharge their supposed duties, fire.
quently exceeded their authority, and n n
dered themselves liable for damage MANY
humorous instances of their misadventures
might be cited. The family of Scotchman
IN Ryesate, on the other side of the Connecti-
cut, needed the services of DR.. Bartlett.
lie haQ crossed the river into Hayerhili
when the tythIng-man, in a tattered ovor-
coat, rushed from his house and seized the
horses bits. - Let 20 my horse, or I'll
make your hide laggeder than your old
coat said the Soctchman. Having the
muscles to enforce the threat, after few
minu tes' exercise, he drove on.
Old Deacon Jonathan Clement of Warren
made trio down the country; returning,
the tything- man of Boscawen arrested him for
travelling on the Sabbath, and on Monday
morning find him, costs and all, eleven dol
lars The historian of Warren relates that
the Deacon " came home with religious
enthusiasm tingllng on every nerve of his
body. Some maliciously said he was mad
der than Il March hare
In most towns the tything-law soon be-
Sohic q AOiSS. ObiJ t1oeS WIZ hsCu III cOmC
retired nook of the town were chosen "grab-
men,, as they were iacetiously called. In
1884 it was repealed by the New ampshire
Legislature, after having been for years a
dead letter on the statute book
For forty years Rice Howard was the best
known man-personal and by reputation
in all Grafton county. The type of a class
never numerous in New Hampshire, his
notoriety arose from the assiduity and skill
with which he followed the two-fold occu-
patton of gambling and counterleiting His
grandfather was one of the first settlers OF
Hayerhill, and Howard had by Inheritance a
fine farm near the ancestral estate on the
O1-bOw. He married early and respectfully,
was tall, comely, fond of society, and am
bilious to be considered "smart." The
family were in afnuent circumstances, and
it is said that young Howard was not trained
IN that ohool of industry which was nesss