The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-03-18

told Correctly III IcI hAlcl1luc anu as q
Gbost-Her Failure to Appear on March
1 and Its Meaning.
New York SUM-
Jonesboro, ME-, March 1l.-If the Older
people of this town have correctly inter.
preted the message which the ghost OF
Nell Hilton brought from spirit land on
the first day of March, there will be nc
war between the United States and
Spain or any other nation until 1899
shall have been born. So firmly are the
residents convinced that lasting peace is
in store for this nation that they are ma
king plans for work ON their farms, and
they hope to do good business catching
sardines in New Brunswick waters and
bringing them to the Maine canneries.
They argue that as Nell Hilton predicted
the French and Indian and the Revolu'
tionary wars before she died, ana as her
ghost has since correctly foretold theawar
of 1919, the Mexican war, and the great
struggle between the States, she seems to
be trustworthy person to have near in
case of emergency, and that, in view OF
her past services, no sensible citizen
should go to the trouble and expense OF
buying arms and equipments until she
gives her usual warning.
The story of Nell Hilton is more than
century and half old. She was the
daughter of Cape Cod fisherman. who
removed his family to Jonesboro before
the middle of the last century. Accord
ing to the traditions she was pretty
Puritan maiden, who resented the re-
straint that the Plymouth colony placed
upon the conduct of women. and coaxeo
her father to move away in order that sile
might have more freedom. A few months
after the family settled and put up log
house, the father returned homo from
fishing one evening and found big Fas-
samaquoddy Indian kissing his daughter,
who. instead of taking his caresses as an
insult. seemed to be enjoying the com
pany of her copper -hued admirer. There
was bounty on Indians in those days,
SO the father shot his daughters admlrer,
and, hanging the scalp over the IRE to
dry for the Boston market, asked Nell for
an explanation of her conduct. When she
informed him that the dead brave was
her promised husband the father got an
cry, and told her that if she liked lndi-
ans so we'll she would have to go where
UAcy WOICs o1CRuiJ w lis otA "a A'S INAO
took him at his word, left home at once,
and passed the rest of her life among the
tribes of Maine and New Brunswick.
The Massachusetts, Bay Colony had a
peculiar method of dealing with the In
dams. The agents brought plenty of
blankets and glass beads and rum to
tra de with the natives for furs and fish,
but for prudential reasons they refused
to sell any firearms or gunpowder. just
across the ST. Croix River in New Bruins
wick the French colonists kept gunpow-
DER, lead bullets and fiintlock guns to ex-
change for beaver skins, but owing to the
influence of the good Jesuits no Indian
was allowed to have any ardent spirits
The result was that the Passamaq uoddies
made frequent journeys between The rival
trading posts, buying rum on one side
and gunpowder on the other; and upon
all Of these trips Nell Hilton, who spoke
English, French and Indian with equal
fIuency, was the interpreter and chief
agent in driving bargains. Though she
never married she was looked upon as
queen of the tribe, and her wishes had
more influence with the braves than an
edict from a council of chiefs. When the
English drove the Acadians out of Nova
Scotia in l746 she predicted that great
war was coming, and, though she said
the English were going to win, she adj
vised the Indians TO stand by the french,
VINO udu always EcCu lIl0ANits
After the fall of Quebec in 1859 and the
overthrow of French rule in America
she went to Grand Falls, on the upper st.
John, and taught in the French schools
until ITS, when on March she appeared
in Joneshoro among her old neightors and
told them to get ready for war. AS there
was no shorthand reporter present her ex-
act language has not been preserved, but
tradition has it that she forctold the bat
tie of Bunker Hill, which was to come
soon after, and then went on and told the
whole story of the Revolution from the
Declaration of Independence to the sur
render of CORVALLIS. Two years later,
in February, 1777, she was arrested and
brought to St. John as a Yankee SPY
Though lot of Indians and several
white men who knew her well testified to
her good conduct and charitable deeds,
she WAS found guilty and hanged as a
SOY. Standing ON the gallows with rope
about her neck, she addressed the people
in English. French and Indian. After
telling the story OF her life, she informed
the spectators that she would come back
from the dead whenever the country was
threatened with war, ard let the people
know in time to arm themselves for battle.
In order that there might be no doubt
about her identity she would appear upon
the big rock on Hiltons' Neck in the
town Of Jonesboro, at sunrise on the first
give the Passamaquoddy warwhoop.
Her body was claimed by the Passama-
ouoddy Indians, who took 1t to the trial
reservation and buried it on Peter Dana's
Point, overlooking Passalnaquoddy Bay.
On March l, 1872, Charles and Edgar
Wass, two fishermen, rowing out by Hill
ton g Neck early in the morning, heard
someone utter the tribal war cry of the
Passamaquoddies. Looking up they saw
a long haired aged woman standing on
the big rock, and as they gazed the sun
came up from the Atlantic. Then, re-
mem bering the prediction Of Nell Hilton,
th,y rowed back home and told the citi
zens what they had seen. In three
months every able bodied man in Jones
boro bad enlisted in the navy to help
fight England. After that nobody doubt
ed that Nell Hilton had told the truth.
At the time of the boundary dispute in
1885, d great many were sure that war
was coming and cast slurs at the memory
of the ghostly prophecies because she
failed to appear; but as no bloodshed re-
suited the doubters were convinced. On
March /, 1861, Nell Hilton stood upon the
rock on Hilton's Neck at sunrise and
gave the Passamaquoddy, warwhoop for
half an hour, staying there until the