Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-06-22

~ 1CAN ADs ~ n - INlJA j
and the appearance Of these. as well as
! the pistols. would seem to indicate
that they had seen service.
| Hanging on the wall IL an old flint
| lCck muske: brass mounted. This old
gun was probably among the earliest
| types of firearms brought from Eng
land, for the curve on the under side OF
| the stock reminds one to a certain ex-
tent OF the guns OF Arabian make
On brass stock plate Is the following
legend: ~ Br. LIST Bat. G No. 81"
There is another flint lock musket. at
the office, of later model and In perfect
condition. But the gun which Is per-
haps more highly cherished than the
others. on account of the associations
connected with it, is an old flint lock
which was formerly owned by Eben-
| eZer Pitts. one of the first settlers in
| the town of Livermore. That the old
gun was instrumental in the successful
| maintenance of the Pitts family there
is no question as the story connected
with 1t will show. Young Pitts began
/ his married life in true pioneer style
! Going into the woods Of what is now
| IiVcrmore. he made Il clearing and
| punt therein log cabin, to which he
| brought his wife. He was a good
| hunter ana trapper. and during the
| INST winter. with the aid of the old
gun which has long since outlived its
| usefulness. he secured skins enough to
| EuN cow the following spring. 1t
should he mentioned here that the good
wife too. had not been idle during the
| winter. When she went into the
Wilderness she had taken her flax
wheel with her, and when the SHOWS
of winter had melted she had done
enough work with her wheel to buy
another COW.
The doctor also tells another story
IN which the old gun bore prominent
part. one day. one OF the children ran
into the cabin and told his father that
there was bear down in the woods
back of the house. Now, a bear was
too valuable a prize to be allowed to |
escape, so Mr.. Pitts took the gun from |
the hooks on the wall, and was pro- |
ceedlnS TO load it for bear. when he |
discovered that he had no bullets. |
here was a dilemma. He could not !
XIII bear with shot. and bruin would
probably have escaped, had not the
housewife come to the rescue. 't.ben-
eZer, said she. why don't you chop
up one OF them pewter SpoonS?" So
the spoon was chopped up and rammed
down on top of the powder EbeneZer
went out, and when he returned he
possessed evidence that there had been |
recent decrease in the bear popula-
ton around Livermore. The old stub
OF the tree from which he shot the
bear was pointed out for years, and it
vas only recently destroyed
Among other articles of furniture that
the doctor has secured from time 10 tim- |
are several card tables of mahogany. ana
elaborately carved. and candle stand
rom rom the Knox mansion in Thomaston.
i me latter Is Of curly maple. and was
Paine from Rockland.
And then there is an old piano. which is
probably the oldest one in this section.
and compared with those Of the present
time is q curiosity. OF course il is not. in
It's present condition. OF much value as
ship it is a gem The body is venetred
with mahogany and ornamented with
brass inlaid work A feature which at
tracts ones attention at once are the
legs. There are seven of them, very
slender, of solid mahogany and exquis-
itey carved. The upper extremity of
each is surmounted by highly orna-
brass cap.
Smaller articles in the collection are
several pairs of brass candlesticks. and
choice specimens OF fancy ware. among
which is a sugar bowl of English lustre
ware. that was brought from Ireland. In
addition. the doctor has a full set of the
pretty blue china that is eagerly
sought after By lovers of the antique.
OF revolutionary relics DR. Chase has !
a collection that have been in the family
ever since this country struggled for and
won her independence. Thomas Chase. |
the doctors grandfather. was a sailor ON
the Bon Homme Richard. under Captain |
John Paul Jones Mr. Chase was a car
penter by trade. but having embarked on
n privateering expedition. was captured
by the British and thrown into Mill prison
at Plymouth. England He was allowed
to retain his chest Of tools and later. with
a gauge borrowed from him, n party OF
his shipmates dug through the prison
wall and escaped.
Afterward he was exchanged, and went
to France. where he was found by Cap
the Alliance. but was afterward trans
ferred to the Bon Homme Richard, and
was on her when she captured the Ser
apis. The relics now in possession OF
DR. Chase are brass backed saw, Il cane
head and hand wise from the armorer
room on the Serapis, and two brass draw
er pulls from a chest OF drawers IN the
cabin of Cantain Jones. on the Rlchard
themselves. but coming from a relative
who witne ssed the stirring scenes OF those
times. they are doubly So
DIR. Chase Is without doubt the owner
furniture in the State. as well as some
of the rarest specimens lie is thor
ughly in love with his pursuit and Is, as
is his son, never tired of talking on the
ject. Both are arabie gentlemen 10
meet and 1t is a pleasure to listen to