St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-12-09
Indian "Reminiscences.

A writer in the New York Journal of
Commerce of November 22d gives some
very interesting "reminiscences of this
portion OF Vermont, which we are sure
our readers will appreciate. We give
below all that part of the article re-
ferred to which touches upon this To-
cality
From all this you may infer that "A
ride through Vermont and New Hamp
shire is journey of discovery. We go
by inquiring almost from mile to mile.
A good map, already marked over and
over with the lines of our old routes,
lies on the carriage seat. We start
like a ship and lay our course by COM
pass, or rather by the sun, for some
place which on the scale seems to be at
reasonable distance, and ask from
time to time whether we are on the
right road. Occasionally we go wrong.
1t is of no account. We keep on, and
arrive somewhere.
From Newport we drove sOuthward.
| will not attempt any detail of the
pleasant route through Coventry, Iras-
burg, Craftsbury and Hardwick. Leav-
ing Hardwick we followed the track of
the rail which leads from Lake Cham
plain to st. JOhnsbury, and as it turned
off from the wagon road passenger
train went by us. We beat it to the
next station, for the wagon road was
but about three miles, while the rail
winds some fifteen or sixteen. Thence
we went through Cabot to Marshtield.
| On the left of the road before reaching
Marshfield is one of the finest cascades
in New England. The water was high,
and a magnificent stream poured In
white foam with deafening roar down
a rocky precipice perhaps hundred or
more feet high, through dark forest.
On looking over old notes, | find that
once drove over the hill just at the
top of this cascade without knowing its
existence, but made then memoranda
um that in the forest below me the
stream descended among rocks with a
loud voice. The cascade is known
hereabOuts as MOlly's Falls. MOlly's
Falls are on MOlly's Brook, and MOlly's
Brook flows from Molly's Pond. Close
by that pond is JOe's Pond, whose wa
ters, by Joe's Brook, flow eastward to
the Connecticut, while Molly's Brook
flows to the Winooski and Lake Cham
plain In former year ! have written
YOU about fishing in JOe's Pond.
Joe and Molly are historical charac-
ters in the Coos country. Joe was 6
Young Indian from Nova Scotia who
on the practical destruction of his trib,
after the siege of LOuisburg, drifted tt
the st. Francois tribe, and made his
home on the Connecticut where New
bury now is. He was always on kinC
terms with the early settlers, and LIVED
to a good old age, enjoying pension
from Vermont until his death in 1919
In his early days he took wife (knOwI
to the whites as Molly who had by ;
former husband two sons named Too
malek and Muxawuxal. The latte
died. The former lived to be a grie
, to his mother. He is described as
: short, broad, fiendish looking, bad In
dian. He desired for his wife youn,
: girl, Lewa, who preferred and married
: another. Whereupon TOOmalek watch
ing for his opportunity to kill the ia
vored lover, now the husband, saw tn,
J two sitting by their camp fire in tn
2 evening, shot at the man and kille'
t the wife. The Indians tried him b,
I their law. Old chief John, a renOwne'
warrior, presided, and laid down tn
4 law that as Toomalek had shot at tn
husband and missed him, he had com
t mitted no crime as against him tina
as he had not intended to shoot tn
a woman in shooting at the man, the oc
currence was accidental so far as sh
: was concerned. So they discharge
: him. But John lived to repent hi
: small knowledge of the distinct crime
: of murder and manslaughter. Tooma
: lex shortly after killed the husband i