Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-07-04

the English government and advance
Ing his own interests with them. The
book was however, in time brought
to this country, where, Of course, its
true character was understood. In
the earliest American review oft
book, in the sAnalectic Magazine, OF
1914, the writer observes that in the
province whose settlement it processes
to record, it was called the Lying
History to distinguish it from all
others, and that it received this name
very soon after its publication. DIR.
Trumbull, the historian of Conneeti-
cut, is said to have stated that he had
been well acquainted with DIR. Peters
from early lille, and that of all men
with whom he had eve.' been &C,
quain.ed, he had thought DR.. Peter
from his first knowledge Of him, the
least to be depended upon as to any
matter OF fact, especially in story.
telling. SO extravagant are the stor-
les IN this book, that it has been said
Peters himself, on his return to this
country, was in the habit of laughing
over them and that he never sup.
posed that be would be taken as so.
Der truth. m val .s,.
but In course of time, in the sue.
ceeding generation, in the heat of po-
iltlcal and ecclesiastical CONTROVERSY,
the hook was seized upon by the en-.
emies OF New England, and its ridic.
ulous stories were used as taunts
against the people Of Connecticut But
no one at all acquainted with the his
tory OF the state ever gave the slight.
est credence to Peters statement on
any subject whatever. From the ear.
hest to The latest of the historians OF
the state, the worthless character of
the book, when considered as history
has been understood. For instance.
one OF the latest of them-Dr. Boards
ley, the historian of Episcopacy in
Conneeticut-speaks of the book as
'extravigant and incredible, 'ludicrous
and apocryphal.' Hon. J. Hammond
Irumbull, formerly Secretary of state
OF Connecticut, than whom there is
no person living more thoroughly &C.
qualnted with the written and un-
written history of the state, SAYS
there are not half dozen consecu
tive sentences in the book that will
stand sober criticism. He says Its
lies, like Fallstaff's, are gross as a
mountain, open, palpable' ~
There Is no need, then, for us to
characterize the book from a moral
point of view, any. more than it was
necessary for Mr.. De Quincy to
waste words in an attempt to prove
that murder is wrong. Considered as
history, the book is enthusiastically
worthless. As Mr.. De Quincy says,
1T hasn't leg to stand upon We
propose, then, following his example,
to make the best Of bad matter, and
shall treat the book nsthetically. And
in doing this we shall confne our
selves to an attemp: to estimate the
position which the History merits in
that department of high art to which
it belongs.
1t may be said, then, in the first
place, that in the extravaganza ofsits
stories, if it does not equal, it certain
ly does not fall far behind those to be
found in the Travels of the Baron
Munchausen.' In proof of this we have
only to transfer to our pages one or
two OF its familiar stories We will
begin with the caterpillar story
"In 1768, the inhabitants on Connecticut
River were alarmed at an army of caterpillars,
and no one found reason to Jest at their fears.
Those worms came in one night, and covered
the ground on both sides of that river to an
extent of three miles in front and two in depth.
They marched with great speed, and ate up
everything green for the-space Of 100 miles, in
spite of rivers, bitches, fires, and the united
efforts of 1000 men. They were, in general,
two inches long. had white bodies covered
with thorns, and red threats. When they had
finished their work. they went down to the
River Connecticut, where they died, poisoning
the waters until they were washed into the
sea-"
This is fully matched by the'Wind.
ham frog story
''One night in July, 1858, the frogs OF an
artificial pond three miles square, and about
five from Windhaui, finding the water dried
up, left the place in body, and marched--or
rather hopped-toward Winnomantic River.
They were under the necessity of taking the
road and going through the town, which they
entered about midnight. The bul>frogs were
the leaders, and the pipers followed without
number. They filled the road forty yards wide
for four miles in length, and were, for several
hours in passing through the town, very clamor-
Gus. The inhabitants we're equally perplexed and
frightened; some expected TO find an army of
French and Indians, and others feared an
earthquake and dissolution of nature. The
CONSERVATION was universal. Old and young,
male and female, fled naked from their beds,
with worse snriekings than those of the frogs.
The event was fatal to several women. The
men, after flight of half mile, in Which they
met with many broken shins, finding no enc
mics in pursuit of them, made halt and sum
moned resolution enough to venture back to
their wives and children, when they distinctly
heard from the enemy's camp these words
Wight, Hlderkin, Dyer, Tete. This last they
thought meant treaty; and, plucking up cour.
age, they sent trumvirate to capituiate with
the supposed French aud Indians. These
three men approached in their shirts, and beg,
ged to speak with the general; but it being
dark and no answer given, they were sorely
agitated for some time betwixt hope and fear
at length, however, they discovered that the
dreaded inimieal army was an army Of thirsty
frogs going to the river for little water"
These stories are thrown into the
shade by the famous account of Bel
lows Falls, in the Connecticut River.
Two hundred miles from Long Island
Sound is narrow of five yards only, formed
by two shelving mountains of solid rock. whose
tops intercept the clouds Through this chasm
are compelled to pass all the waters which, in
the time of the floods, bury the northern coun-
try. At the upper cohos the river spreads
twenty-four miles wide, and for five
or six weeks ships of war might sail over
lands that afterward produce the greatest
crops of hay and grain in all America. People
who can bear the sight, the groans, the tremb-
lings, and surly motion of water, trees and ice,
through this awful passage view with astonish-
meut one of the greatest phenomena in na.
ture. Here water is consolidated, without
frost, by pressure, by swiftness, between the
pinehing, sturdy rocks TO such degree Of in
duration that an iron crow cannot be forced
into it. Here iron, lead and cork have one
common weight and here, steady as time
and harder than marble, the stream passes, ir-
resistabie, if not swift as lightning. The cleo
trio fire rends trees in pieces with no greater