The Portland daily press., 1891-08-10
Hamlin's Grant and its Bea rs.

lkev. DIR. Cyrus Hamlin In New York Inde-
pendentl
Enoch Lincoln, one of the first LAWYERS In
the state, boarded lin DR.. Hamlin's family
for many years. He had fine library, cul-
tivated poetry as we'll as law, was sent to
Congress from 1918 to 1896, and was governor
of the state from 1927 to 1929. The Hamlin
residence in Paris was the "head-center" of
literary and political intelligence for IOxford
county, and Hannibal seemed from child
hood to be born politician. We lived 12
miles distant in the town of Waterford. and
although. like other boys. we ihad our own
notions, we never cared to dispute anything
that came from our Cousin Hannibal and
That brilliant center of enlightenment. Had
anybody told us at that time, more than 70
years ago, that Oxford county was down
East" and. as the backwoods of Maine,
chiefly celebrated for its bears, we would
have been as ready to fight him as we were
the bears. Indeed, an Oxford boy never
felt bigger and ipr0uder than when, with a
ball rammed down on top of a partridge
charge, he was pursuing bear which he
had seen at some distance, but never saw
again.
The General Court" gave our grand
father Hamlin tract OF land In the
Province OF Maine" in consideration of the
Del Vi ulnooil anu Ills tuI66 SONS III L1o
Revolution. He went down to view IL in
high expectation of fhome for his old age
and for his posterity. When he sreturned he
reported to the General Court" that there
was an abundance Of rocks and caves and
bears, but hardly soil enough Ito grow de-
cent spruce tree. The caves seemed to be
already well supplied with bears. They
were In possession. they were the only right
full, or indeed, possible iinhabitauts, and he
hoped the 2lslature of Massachusetts would
mt dieturh tham tn this daU IL ic aalind
Hamlin's Grant and only bears inhabit it.
Bears are very good element In early So
ciety. They call forth skill, pluck and dash.
We boys were all passionately fond of ''gun-
We actually killed partridges. hawks. crows,
squirrels, red, black and gray, woodchucKs
and occasionally fox, and theoretically we
killed bears. We always had bullets In our
pockets and should we come across bear we
would let him know what to expect from an
Oxford boy.
We acknowledged ,Hannibars primacy in
almost everything without speck Of envy,
but we did not want him to kill bear before
we did. And he didn't. Bears had begun
to respect Oxfordenses and with reason.
Our JUNGLE Merrick (Americau) Rey0lu-
tionary soldier, met bear and stoned him
to death. 1t must be confessed, however,
that he had an unfair advantage Of suitable
stones lying all around him and OF a position
some feet higher than the bears. AS he saw
uiu uiopUocO lOA au dttdChy u6 uuIlcu lOI
dear life heavy stone which struck his bare
pate and stiffened him for o moment. Such
rain Of stones followed as reduced his poor
head to a pulp. The hill is called Bear
mountain to this day. The neighboring
peak is called Hawk mountain. Bears and
hawks reigned below and ON high till those
revolutionary Yankees came.
One of our neighbors, Mr.. Whitcome, was
| at work In his field and heard the scream of
| his wife for help. She was in the pasture
near by after the cows, and a bear was after
her. The man seized pine knot and went
| for him in such fashion that the bear had an
| instructive dread of the encounter and took
| himself off with such diligent pace that the
| Peace to the bears of Oxford county. They
are diminished and brought low. They are
confined to Hsmlin's Grant, and we pity the
boys that have no bears In their woods.