The Portland daily press., 1896-12-16
CHAMBERLAIN AND PAuGUs.
NIr, C. w. Lewis Shows that the Single
Combat Never Took Place Between Them
at the f ryeburg Battle.

AT meeting of the New England His
toric Genealogical Society, is Somerset
street, Boston, on the afternoon OF "ea-
nesday, December g. Mr.. G. W. Lewis
read paper on the alleged Staying, In
Lovewell's Fight, of the Indian saehem
Paugus by John Chamberlain in a single
combat between them. Mir. Lewis's
paper required an hoar and halt IN the
reading. and his full and exhaustive e1-
position of his su hjeot made 1t cl that
the tradition Of this killing OF Paugus sy
Chamberlain in single combaRt has no
foundation in truth. Mr.. Lewis showed
hat there is no mention of the alleged
single combat in the accounts OF Love-
wells Fight to be found in either OF the
three new spapers published at the time IN
Boston (which were all the newspapers
then published in New England) or In
the accounts of the fight written by his
torians who were living at the tlme,
though those newspapers and HISTORIANS
gave minute and circumstantial deScrlp-
tions Of the battle. TO suoh sihgie
com bat not the slightest reference can Do
found anteGating the year 1882 whlsh
wes seyenty-four years after LoveWell's S
Fight took place, and forty. three years
after the death of Chamberlain. Ii Cnhm-
herain had slain Paugus, Rs the TRADITION
says, he would have been a notable man
for the rest of his life, and yet, after thls
alleged feat of his in killing rhe famous
fo1I inf ench
plets oblivion that it is impossible TO dls-
coyer the dute of his death. On Marcn
~. 17g6. nm application was made for the
anpoi ntment of an ad ministrator OF the
estate which, he left at his death, and MS
death undoubtedly took place shortly
before that date. This application tor
the appointmen of an administrators Vi
his estate which is one of the legal papers
on file in the Middlesex Probate Of1ce at
East Cam bridge, Mass, is the only
means by which the date Of hls death can
be appropriated. If he had performed
such feat as the Staying OF the Indian
chief Paugus, 1T is incredible tnas We
should beSobliged to rummage among the
musty, time-stained files OF a propabe
office, to find out when he dled. Aitel
such an achievement he would nave peen .
| notable man TO the END OF MS ne, anu
at his death the newspapers would nave
made some mention of SO d1s5lngulsneo
a person apd of the achievement when
gave him his distinction; and the fact
| that no such posthumons mention OF hlm
can be foundSshows that at the time OF
his death hs did not have the honor OF
being known as tho slayer OF FauRus.
This man Chamberlain, who, since MS
death. has been singled out as the lead
ing hero of Loveweli's Fight, and upon
whom posthumous fame has been az
| Iayishly heaped as though he mad per-
formed the twelve labors of Hercules,
did nothing in the fight to s1gnallze
himself above his companions Ia arms,
and there is as little justification for the
clouds of incense burned In his honor as
there was for the remark of the fly on the
wheel of the stage coach, "See what 9
dust am reisjnal" The story of this
single combat is no more entitled to bt
regarded as vsracious history tina is tne
story which the notorious Rev. Samuel
Peters. in his "History of Connecticut, .
tells to The effect that the water o1
| Connections river, in passing between the
rocks at Bellows Falls, ls compresse.o1
9sto such a degree of induration that II
| is "harder than marble, ana tnas ~ !,
iron crow (barl can he forced into IL.
The story of this single combat petweeI
| Cham berIain and Paugus Is as devoid o.
| truth as the fctions OF Swlft ana Deioe
and belongs, therefore, noc tn history
but to farce. The history 1s the proouc'
of the inventive faculty of an unscrupu
lous romancer who let his imaginatlor
run smuck, and this frosewofk OF I'M
imaginatio is at once dissipated as soor
as the sunlight of truth is Brought tt