Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-03-06

Foot Prints In The History Of Maine.
MOO
NJ RURAL.
The nfst regular court for the trial OF
cases ever held within the limits Of Maine,
wss in 1895, at what V nov Biddseord.
AT this court. trader was Aned for eharg-
Ing more than s per cent proft. In lsli. +.
the city OF "GsorgiaaAa" WAS osgaaissd, i,
the drst chartered city In Ansrica known
70 history.
When GorGes retained to England to
die. he left Is his deputy. George Clesves,
the arst setsler At Casso portland. }
Cieaves-a rosgh old chsrscter-wss just
suited 70 the turbulent lines In which he
lived. He landed on the beach Il Port.
land. now covered By the made land OF The
Grand Trunk Railway. At . court held
BY him. In lss7. Kasery. the arss town 10
the State, vas formed. A petition WAS
presented to the coart. "tAas no WOMAN
shall lice on tie lsle Of SAoais." As the
wolves were the worst enemies that the
pioneers had 70 encounter. the court ord
cred, THAT every family should pay twelve
pence for every wolf killed"
The colonies In New England. were now
beset hy triple danger. hon hostile In.
diaos, the Dutch in New York. and the
French in Canada. and for greater security,
the colonists Of Massachusetts,, Plymouth.
New Haven, and Connecticut formed .
confederscy. Maine WAS shut out. be-
cause she differed from them 10 the min
istry.-
AT this date, Maine, - . matter OF fact,
waa divided in:o three districts. The re-
gion west OF the KenIebec river Was called
the frorines Of Maine, and wAs held By the
English; that, lying between the Kense-
bee and Penobscos rivers, was designated
the Coaafy Of Canada. II WAS disputed
territory. claimed both by France and
England. The region from the Penobsco,
to the st. Croix, was known ~ Acadia,
and was held BY the French, although II,
and also Nova Scotia, were claimed By the
Colony Of Massachusetts,. For many years,
the Pcnobscos river remained the tacitly
admitted boundary between Acadia and
Maine. In 1876 the Puritans erected
trading. house at Castine. At that time
the Puritans called the place Psnobscot, by
the French IL was called PentaSoss, by the
English, Basaduee. In 1885 the French
took armed possession.
Acadia was now divided into two mill
tary districts; the 81. Croix river being
the dividing line. The command Of the
western district WAS assigned to D'Aul.
ney. French catholic. who established
bis headquarters At CAstine. The eastern
district was assigned to La Tour. French
protestant, with his residence at st. Johns.
They soon quarrelled. Both wanted .u.
preme command and . bitter contest,
with vary Ing succcss, MAS waged for years.
Finally DAolney died; La Tour married
his widow, and In 1851 took possession Of
Css,ine and exercised authority over Il
until the English. under orders from Cron.
well. captured the place. Thirteen years
amer, IL was ceded to France, and remained
In French possession from 1854 to 1880,
when Sir William Phipps-a Maine-boru
man-took formal possession OF the place,
and Xadoeka,caado the Peuobscos chief
confirmed his title by deed.
From this time, the present counties OF
Hancock and Washington ceased TO be .
part Of Acadia and became . part and
parcel OF Maine, yet France did not fully
relnqulsh her claim for more than 80 years
thereafter.
No town in the State has q more varied
history than that OF Castine. Its tradi-
tiouary history runs back to 1855. 1t has
never been without garrison from 1880 to
1888. The dag Of five nations has noated
over |, and i've naval engagements have
taken place on the bosom Of Its harbor.
Following the line OF footprints" and
we reach the year Of 1850. Troubled times
have come to the settlers in Maine. Shut
our Of the New England Confeteracy, all
that called Itself Maine was shrunk into
the southwest corner Of the province when
the people entered into q voluntary organ
ization and made Edmund Godfrey, GOV
ernor, the .Sra governor Of Maine ever
chosen by the people. This, however, did
not bring domestic harmony. Continual
disputes were arising in respect to boun-
daries-the result Of overlapping claims.
The squatters, Chose who had taken up
land BY possession) wanted Massachusetts,
to assume authority over Maine, while the
clsmor OF noisy disputxnts and turbulent
fanatics filled the land, which added to
the number Of those outwearied with the
strife who desired the protection Of Mas
aachusetts; but the majority WAS opposed
to such . measure.
Massachusetts, began to regard Maine As
. dangerous neighbor. The Episcopalian
views In Maine would not harmonxe with
the paritanical ideas In Massachusetts,.
Having been shut out from the New Eng
land Confederacy. 1t was possible that
these Churchmen might prefer IN alliance
with the Catholic French, rather than with
the Plymouth Puritans. But this was
not sufhciens to justify usurpation. When
1t was found necessary 10 justify the seiz-
ure Of Maine, the Massachusetts, Colony
Set up . claim 70 all the land In Maine
south Of point near Portland. The new
lise struck the sea at Cupboard Island,
where the letters II. b. were chlselled into