The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-03-31

A special meeting of the Maine Historical
Society was held at the Common Council Room
yesterday during the day and evening. The
attendance was not large but what was lack.
ing In numbers was made up in the interest
not TO say enthusiasm of the members. Among
those present were Prof. Packard, Rev. DR.
Champlin, of this city; Bishop Neatly, B. c.
Bailey, Bath; E. P. Burnham, Saco; Hon
Marshall Cram, Brunswick; Rev DR.. Dixie
Bath; R. X. Sewall, Wiscasset; G. E B. Jack
son, Lewis Pierce, Judge Howard, Gen. J. NJ
Brown and Rev. Mr.. Hayes of Portland; 10.
seph Titcomb, Kennebunk; William Goold
Windham; Joseph Williamson, Belfast; Hon.
G. j. Gilman, Brunswick; Judge Shepley,
Hon G. f. Talbot, Hon. G. T. Davis, and e
H. Elwell, of Portland; Mr. Gardiner of Gar.
diner; DIR. Jewett of South Berwick; Varney
OF Brunswick.
The meeting was called to order at 10 o'clock
by Prof. Packard, who said that Hon. j. w.
Bradbury of Augusta, the President of the So.
ciety, had notified the committee of arrange.
ments that he was unable to be present. Hon.
q. j. Gilman of Brunswick was elected Presi-
dent pro tenn. On taking the chair Mr.. Gilman
alluded to the progress which the Society was
making in the collection and publication of
important historical papers. He thought that
the Legislature of the state should take ade.
quate measures to collect papers relating not
only to the Revolution and War of 1872 but to
The Rebellion. Men ere now living who could
furnish fuller and more accurate information
than can be obtained hereafter.
Rev. DR.. Dixie of Bath desired in this connec.
ton TO state more fully some particulars of the
contents of the seventh volume Of the papers
of the Historical Society. The papers are all
in and nearly all in type, and will be issued in
few weeks. 1t will be the most interesting
volume of the series. Among the papers is one
by Judge Godfrey on early Indian history in
the vicinity Of Bangor, one on Pemaquid by
DR.. -, one by Gen. Brown of Portland
on the VOYAGES of Champlain, one by MIR. Sew
all of Wiscasset on the early Spanish settle
ments on the coast of Maine, history of the
Bingham Purchase, paper respecting the old
families of the Kennebec by Mr.. Allen of Nor
ridgewock; also number of memorial papers,
including history of the Gardiner family aud
others. The volume will be sold at 50 per
copy.
NOROMBEGA.
Professor Packard presented a paper on
''Norombega" by Judge Godfrey of Bangor.
which, at the request of the Society, DR.. Pack
ard read. Judge Godfrey begins by stating
that between line drawn due north from
Pemaquid to the "Great River of Canada" AMI
the west line of the Province of New Bruins
wick, lies the earliest occupied region of the
State of Maine and of New England. 1t aver
ages about 20 miles in breadth by 200 in length.
1t embraces the counties Of Washington, Han
cock, Penobscot, Waldo, Knox, and part of
the counties of Lincoln, Somerset, Piscataquis
and Aroostook, and contains a population of
about 100000 souls.
In the early history of the country this terri
tory was under French jurisdiction, and, with
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, bears the
general name of Acadia The occupancy of
the French, however. probably never extended
westward of the Penobscot, although they
claimed to the Kennebec In the year 1905,
two celebrated navigators were upon the New
England coast, one Samuel Champlan.
Frenchman, the other George Weymouth an
Engishman. The former accompanied De
Mont. who left France the year previous and
passed the winter on the island near the mouth
of the ST. CrOix River which has been known
by the several names of Neutral Island, Dos
quet's Island, Big Island, and De Mont's
Island. but left it 10 the summer and sailed
along the coast eastward as far as Cape Cod
IL this voyage he explored Penobscot Bay
Weymouth lett England with a view to diseov-
erlng northwest passage, and reached the
island of Monhegan May II, 1905. From this
int hn ~, .l,1-~
succeeding June. which is supposed by some to
b. the Penobscot, by others the Georges, and
by Others still the Kennebec.
Then Judge Godfrey gives very interesting
description OF the scenery, pc ople and resources
of this region of Noromb4ga. The scenery, es-
pecially that at Castine-formerly Pentagoat,-
Mount Desert, Sullivan, GoubsborO, is dwet
upon. 1t is said the old Spanish and Portu-
g uese sailors applied the name Norombega to
all this region Veraviani called the coast from
Cape Britain to Florida by this name. Then
follows what Peter Heylin called Nor6mbega
Sullivan, the first Maine historian, in 1895 says
Sin Acadia there was another territory east of
the county of Newcastle, which was not com
pretended in the duke's province of New York
This was perhaps the ancient Norombega 1t
extended from Pemaquid to st. Croix compre-
bending Mt. Mansel, or Mt. Desert, and the
territory of New Ponobscot When Heylin
wrote the Atlantic coast had been repeatedly
explored; communication between Europe and
America had become frequent; Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay were colonlzed; localities
had been to some extent defined, and, with as
much exactness as in his power, he described
the country,
The first settlement in Norombega was be-
fore that of jamestown, Popham, or Ply
mouth, on the islaDd near the head of Passa.
msquoddy Bay, where De Mont established
himself Then comes very interesting de
scrption of the settlement ard their sufferings
during the winter of 1904, and denotes events
of the next summer which are full of romance
Then the efforts of the Jesuits the transfer of
Port Royal to PontrincOurt; the controversy
between the missionaries and Beaucourt, son
of Pontrincourt, the departure of the mission
of LIE Sausage. to Kedesquirt--supposed to be
kenduskeag-t present site Of Bangor, with
the long and intensely absorbing story Of the
efforts OF the savages to get the colony to settle
at Mt. Desert, at the westerly entrance of Somes
Sound. Then comes Argals interesting ex-
peditiop aud bis destruction of the, settlements
at De Monts Island and Port Royal
We have no account of any attempt TO settle
any part OF the territory designated as Moron
bega, except that of Delmont's, prior to 1913,
and there was hardly any occupation of the
territory during the 18th century, except at
Pentagot Mt 1Desert, Machias and Passama-
quoddy. In 1886 the population of these places
was Ii, excluding domestics AT Pentagoet
was the fort first erected by NJ D'Aulney de
Charnisay, occupied by Baron st. Castine and
eeIVdut. "a pidC6 Cdileu DOuaQu6k, near Ma
chas, was decided, with Mt. Desert and other
islands, to Sieur Antoine de la Motto Cardilac
in 1883
Norembega does not appear to have been
much used as an apDellaton of the country
after the French and English occupancy of the
region bordering on the river, the French call
ing it Pentagoet, and the English Penobscot,
and both peoples designating the whole terri
tory east-Nova Scotia included-Acadia. 1t
is not known how the name 6Norombega came
to he applied. Verazzani must have obtained
it from the natives but no Indian traditions
exist in respect to it. The author of the 'sUni-
versal History of the West Indies published
in 1907 alleges that Norombega is well known
from its fair town and gres river, though it is
not known where the name is derived for the
barbarians call it Aggunera. Sullivan says the
inhabitants were supposed to be ancient people
who lived on the PenObscot near which, it is
believed a great city called Norombega once
stood. Ogilsby said this city was nothing but
a CT Election of wigwams called Arambeck aud
it would not be difficult to confound Arambeck
with Norembega. An aged Penobscot Indian
in 1864 stated in the old times there was VII
lage of that name back of Buckspors. In bis
mouth "n' Arambeek r" was very GOOD
"NoroInbega." DR.. Ballard says ''ner or nor,
1 suppose, was nora, meaning still; quiet-om
or am from wompi. white, clear-oe from nebs,
water-ga, locality-mor-om-b e-ga would be
saltwater place.
The reading of that we'll prepared paper was
followed by discussion. Gen. Brown hoped