Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-03-10
MAIDSTONE.
BY HON. MOODY RICH.

in border-life, they gave great of
fence to the Indians. The settlers
never went into the woods to hunt
for cattle, nor into the fields to
work, but what they had firearms
always at hand. In addition to the
hatred the Indians bore to John
Hugh and sons, they had a pecuni-
airy motive in taking them prisoners,
dead or alive, for bounty was paid
the Indians by the British govern
ment for all prisoners taken alive
into Canada, and SIS for each scalp.
About this time a party of British
Indians came in from Canada by the
way of Connecticut river. They
took several prisoners as they came
along, and amongst them was James
Luther. With view of securing
John Hugh and some of his sons, the
party encamped just back of Mr..
Beattie's orchard in the woods at
that time, intending to make the at
tack the next morning at the break
of day. AS it happened by accident
that morning, Mr.. Hugh and his
eldest son, John, got up very early
intending to go over line of sable
traps which they had set, running
directly west from the river some
five miles. Thinking that their guns
might want cleaning they washed
them out, and in order to dry them
put in charge of powder and fired
them off. At this the Indians took
alarm, supposing they were discov-
cred and that large force had col
lected to give them battle. Owing
to this slight circumstance the
Hughs saved themselves from cap
tivity, and perhaps their lives.
ANNA HUGH was noble woman,
and bore the heat and burden of
those early days of toll and self
denial with a true woman's fort
tude. AS an evidence of her kind
heart, it is related that shortly after
they came into the settlement, three
captive men who had escaped from
the Indians somewhere in Canada,
made their way alone and without
food back and struck Connecticut
river on John Hugh's farm. They
were almost famjshed, having lived
several days without food except
the twigs and bark of trees. Mrs.
Hugh Immediately made soup, and
for hours fed them with a spoon in
order to allay their hunger without
periling their lives by a hearty
meal. Two of these men were very
large, and the other small one. 1t
was often said afterwards by the
small one that, on the last day, the
looks of his two large companions
told him that unless they had food
soon he would be the one first to be
killed, in order to preserve the
others.
John Hugh was plain, sober, in
dustrious man, and died respected
by his friends and neighbors, Sept.
81, 1914. His wife died the year be-
fore, and both lie side by side in the
little burying-ground in the town.
1t might perhaps be proper to add
that he raised large family of sons
and daughters, namely, John, Jesse,
James, Joab, Samuel, Anna, Sally
and Dorcas, and most of them lived
to an advanced age-all having pass
ed away except Dorcas. The three
last named sons, from 1910 to 1917,
believing that Westward the star
of empire wends its way" moved to
the Genesee valley, N. Y. Here they
and their descendants went into the
forest, as their father did before
them, and helped change it into one
of the finest, wheat growing sections
in the world. Not long afterwards
they engaged with others in the
great enterprises of the day which,
when completed, have made New
York in truth the Empire State.
These enterprises were her canals
and turnpikes, and later her steam
boats and railroads.
Like many other Westernisms,
without any reason therefor, the
name of Hughes" was substituted
for Hugh" the true family Scotch
name. Many of the descendants of
these sons and daughters have NOV
ed still farther west and are now
found in many Of the northwestern
States. Two of the sons of Joab-
Tohp M u1uh Fer ap1 Hon Ar