The Portland daily press., 1882-05-01

the old Bay State. "For lack of a nail the ri
der was lost" Everybody knows that old saw.
Greenfield is very pretty town, beautifully
situated in the valley of the Deer6eld river
surrounded by large and fertile meadows and
in the distance shut in by q circle of hills.
There are charming drives all about the town,
especially that to the neighboring village OF
Deerfeld, SO famous in Indian story. My host
and drove there this afternoon; l was anxious
to see the town whose name is famous IN our
old colonial annals, for the attack upon 1t by
the French and Indians, and for the wonder
full defense against them by Dame Sheldon,
whose "men folks were away from home at
the time 1t was in FEBRUARY 1704 that the
town, then very small, was destroyed, many OF
the inhabitants slain, some houses burned and
some people carried into captivity; but Dame
Sheldon, with stout heart in the gun and axe,
defended her little home.
The log house, strongly built, has passed
away, years ago, but the stout oaken door,
studded full of heavy nails, yet remains, show
ing the marks of thu blows upon it of the Indi-
ans tomahawks. The Old Brick Academy has
been converted into Memorial Hall, .
where great many relics of colonial times are
carefully preserved, among them, this door, and
many tomahawks, some of them perhaps be-
longing to the Indians who assaled the door
and were slain by the brave Dame Sheldon.
! In the 3 all is a large collection of arrow
heads of flint rudely made; indian tomahawks
of stone and iron, and Indian axes and clubs
of stone. There are also many relics OF house
hold conveniences,or rather. inconvenience,
of that old time; the wooden "Samb-mortars'
in which the corn was pulverized for the
"mush" or for bread. There were spinning
wheels OF many kinds, and looms, all of the
rudest forms and make, with the help Of which
the housewives fabricated patiently and pain
fully, all the clothing and bedding of the
household, except such as were made of the
skins of wild animals. There are few books
of that day; rudely printed and manuscripts,
deeds, accounts, letters, memoranda, all plain
ly indicating that the hand which held the
pen had bsen longer trained to hold the mat
took and the gun, and could do better work
with them.
With what intense interest one fingers
among these poor memorials Of that wonder
full time, when the people took their lives in
their hands, and amid incredible hardships
and imminent dangers OF many kinds, they
laid broad and deep the foundations of that
glorious temple where we may now worship
the Good God, each in his own way, with none
to molest or make him afraid; the memorials
and founded for their children those institu-
tions of personal and political and religious
liberty, now so.dear to us their children's chill
dren, of which they had had themselves no ex-
ample and no experience. 1t was reward
enough to them for all their toll and all their
trials, that they were to leave to future gener-
ations, an inheritance in this new world, of
priceless value, which they could clearly see
in the future, but in which they could have
no share, except as they should live in their
children and children's children, whom we
are, with great debt upon us, of reverence,
gratitude and love for them whose sacrifice
was SO great that we, their children might
not suffer or want.
NEAL Dow.