Sink or Swim

The Saco River holds no secrets. Those who brave its rapids or swimming areas knowingly face the cold, rapidly-changing water levels, fallen trees and obstacles, underwater ledges and rocks, and intense turns; the risks are evident. However, for many each year temptation trumps judgment, and sadly for some who enter, only their bodies return. There have been numerous deaths along the length of the Saco for centuries. Some say it’s the nature of the river, others say it’s the curse. 

In 1675, the amiable 50-year relationship between the English colonists and Maine Sokokis Native Americans was forever changed. Three drunken English sailors along the Saco River spotted a canoe containing an Native American mother and her infant child. Having heard a tale about Native American children, the men approached the canoe with the intention of testing the legend. Based on a folktale that the children can instinctively swim from birth, as animals do, the men forced the child from the mother’s arms and threw him in the river.  The mother quickly jumped in and rescued her child, but he died shortly after returning home. By this time, the sailors, who saw this as entertainment, had returned to their anchored ship. They had not only murdered a Sokokis child, they murdered Mikoudou, the son of Chief Squandro, a powerful, yet peaceful chief known to have the powers of a sorcerer. After three days of mourning, Squandro waded into the river, vowed revenge on the colonists, and commanded the river spirits to take three lives every year until they were driven from its banks. He then continued his vengeance by uniting the Sokokis and Androscoggin tribes against the colonists in King Phillips War.

Image by Joseph A. Citro

Cursed in New England Stories of Damned Yankeed 

This Saco River fulfilled its responsibility of taking three lives every year. The curse was believed so strongly by those who lived along the Saco, that some would not enter the waters until after it claimed its three souls. This pattern continued until 1947, when no recorded deaths occurred. However many locals along the river banks today tend to disagree. They claim the river still takes three lives a year and never in the same spot along its 135 mile long body. With this belief in mind, many never enter the water, while others wait for it to claim its quota before enjoying nature’s gift. 

Anyone for a swim?

Image by Saco River Coucil

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If you would like to learn more about Squando and the Saco River Curse please visit or review the below resources.

Thank you to all the resources that made this blog possible.

Resources:

Agostino, T., & Nicholson, A. (2013). The Saco River's Undying Curse. In Legends, Lore and Secrets of New England (pp. 64-65). Charleston, SC: The History Press.

Church, B., & Church, T. (1859). The history of the great Indian war of 1675 and 1676 commonly called Philip's war ; also, the old French and Indian wars, from 1689 to 1704 (Rev. ed., p. 309). New York: H. Dayton.

Citro, J. (2004). The Saga of the Saco River. In Cursed in New England: Stories of Damned Yankees (pp. 37-45). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press.

Curse of the Saco, or Squandro's Curse. (2010, December 5). Retrieved from https://savethesaco.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/curse-of-the-saco-or-squandros-curse/

Parker, G. (n.d.). Saco River Curse. Retrieved from http://www.historyaliveinme.com/A559A5/historyaliveinme.nsf/folklore/BEB484181D2128BA86256EC40062166D?Opendo

Saco River Recreational Council: Home. (n.d.). Image Retrieved from http://www.sacorivercouncil.org  

A Pressing Matter

The “justice” had lasted for two days…one by one the stones were put in place, forcing more and more weight downward upon the old man. “Do you submit?”… silence followed…“Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?”…again, silence followed…he knew that for the sake of his heirs, it would be best to remain silent. But alas the weight became too much for the old man, and with his last labored breath he uttered the words, “Damn you Sheriff, I curse you and I curse Salem.” And with those last words the pressing was complete. There had been no trial, no conviction, just an execution. Giles Corey was gone, but he would not be forgotten.

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          By the time Giles Corey was 80 years old, he had 4 children, been married 3 times, and owned a very prosperous 150-acre farm, which employed several farm hands. For an uneducated, church-going man, Giles had done very well for himself and his family, and created a lifestyle that anyone would have killed for. All this would begin to change the winter of 1692.

          That winter, Martha Corey, Giles’ third wife, questioned the sincerity of accusations made by teenage girls, who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft. She too would soon find herself at the end of these accusers’ pointed fingers, and eventually sent to Salem jail. Giles of course, spoke against the girls’ accusations, and in April of 1692, found himself in front of the magistrate accused of wizardry at the hands of Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. He was imprisoned with Martha, and 5 months later was brought to court. He declared himself, “Not guilty.”

          However it was not the words in court that sealed his fate, it was the silence. “Not guilty,” were to be the last two words Giles Corey muttered in court. He knew that the next question could spell disaster for his heirs. “Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?” Again he stood his ground in silence. For an uneducated man, he knew that his silence stood as a refusal for trial, and without consent from Giles himself, the court could not try nor convict him. But his silence was not for his protection, it was for his heirs. English law stated that if he did not participate in the trial, he may choose the heir of his worldly possessions. He had already deeded his farm to his sons-in-law at the time of his death, and needed to protect it. If he agreed to a trial, and was found guilty, his family’s inheritance would be handed over to the Sheriff. Trials had made the sheriff a wealthy man, and he had much to gain if Giles would agree to a trial, for he knew, just as in the many trials before, “guilty” would be the only outcome. 

          English law issued the punishment of death by pressing, an illegal and blatant violation of the “Body of Liberties.” The higher Sheriff of Essex County, George Corwin, nephew of judge Corwin, was to hand down the punishment. He had Giles stripped of his clothes and forced into an empty grave-like hole in a nearby field. “Will you submit?” Corwin asked. Silence followed. A board was placed upon Giles and stones were placed on top. This pattern of questioning and stone laying continued for two days. It became more difficult for Giles to breathe below the weight of the stones. The Sheriff became frustrated, and at times would mount the stones and question “Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?” Finally Giles broke his silence, “More weight,” his lips muttered in the hopes that God would take him and end this cruel punishment. With his body succumbing to the weight, and his chest no longer able to move the stones with every breath, Giles Corey was gone. 

          The curse of Giles Corey lived on from that September day. In 1696, while still in office, Sheriff George Corwin died of a heart attack at the age of 30. Centuries later, in 1978, former Salem Sheriff, Robert Cahill suffered a rare blood disease, heart attack, and stroke, while also in office.  After a cause of his ailments could not be found, Cahill retired and began to research Salem history. He had tracked back numerous names and records of Salem Sheriffs who had come before him; all of whom suffered from ailments of the heart or blood while in office. He also found the prognosis was no better for those who had come after him. 

          However, Giles’ curse was two fold. Not only had he cursed the Sheriff, he cursed Salem. Legend states that his ghost can be seen when tragic events occur. In 1914, witnesses stated they had seen Giles Corey before and again after the Great Salem Fire. A fire that was said to have started in the area of Gallows Hill, the same hill where his beloved Martha, and others accused of witchcraft, took their last breath.

          Eventually Corey’s grasp on Salem Village lessened and the office of Essex County Sheriff released; but not before Salem Village was renamed Danvers, and the Sheriff’s office was moved to Middleton. Giles Corey’s death on September 19, 1692, played a vital role in the history of the witch trials. His public and gruesome death did not sit well with colonists, and they began to build opposition to the trials. Shortly after Corey’s death, the hysteria surrounding witchcraft began to fade and ended in 1693, when the Governor put an end to all trials, after his wife was accused of witchcraft.

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Thank you to the following resources that made this blog possible.

References:

Brooks, R. (2011, October 12). The Curse of Giles Corey. Retrieved from http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-curse-of-giles-corey  

Citro, J. (2004). A Dreadful Wizard. In Cursed in New England: Stories of damned Yankees (pp. 15-26). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. 

Linder, D. (2009, September 1). The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM

Salem.org. (n.d.). Official Salem MA Guide. Retrieved from http://www.salem.org/salemfire

Seger, D. (2011, September 19). Giles Corey. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://streetsofsalem.com/2011/09/19/giles-corey/

USHistory.org. (n.d.). Witchcraft in Salem. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/3g.asp

  

The Palatine

Even though the “Thirty Years War” had ceased in 1648, its effects lingered throughout the 100 years that followed. The once populated Palatinate had suffered numerous years of bloodshed and religious persecution at the hands of the Roman and French Catholics. The constant battles between the German and French troops had showered the area with killings, theft, taxation, pauperism, disease, and famine. Remaining loyal to the land would surely result in death. It was time for the Palatines and other Protestants to move to the New World to free themselves from this life. However, the journey to a better life had its price.

          The Princess Augusta set sail in 1738 with 340 passengers ready for a new life and religious freedom. What a glorious name for a ship, “Princess Augusta.” However, the Princess was anything but gracious and glorious as a princess should be. Her voyage was lengthy and unforgiving. Passengers suffered from overcrowding, food and water supplies became scarce, and conditions deteriorated into disease ridden graveyards. Many lost their lives to “fever and bloody flux,” while others were robbed and deceived by those promising to escort them across the Atlantic. By the time she reached New England, her 340 passengers seeking religious freedom were a mere 150. For more than half, their journey was nevermore. However fate proved to be a worthy foe and the crew did not go unpunished for their sins. For those who did not succumb to disease and death were chastised by winter’s bitter grasp.  

          As the Princess Augusta neared Block Island on that late December day in 1738, a winter storm arose, bringing forceful gales, strong tides, and low visibility-- everything a ship fears. As the ship surrendered its body to the elements, the remaining crew attempted to steer her towards the signal fires which had directed many distressed ships in the past to safety within the cove. However, on this occasion there was no rescue, no sandy cove. Rather than guiding the ship to safety, the fires lured it to its doom upon the rocky tip of the isle. Consumed with greed the wreckers looted the ship of all her valuables and brought all passengers and their deceased companions ashore. The ship was set afire and left to the mercy of the tide as it carried her into the night. But that was not the last the islanders would see of her. To this day, the glowing, fiery ship reappears north of the island every 12th month to haunt the islanders for taking part in her destruction. The legend is known as the Palatine Light.

Block Island

Google Maps

Block Island

Google Maps

          This is just one of the many folklore versions surrounding the story of the Palatine, a ghost ship tale based on the historical wreck of the ship Princess Augusta who ran aground on Block Island on December 27th, 1738 carrying Palatine passengers. However that is where the Princess Augusta dies and the Palatine comes to life. The tale grew in popularity when writer, John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The Palatine,” recounted one version told to him by a settler. He presumably named the poem after the number of Palatines who emigrated from Germany to New England aboard the Princess Augusta, as well as many of the other ships. The Princess Augusta eventually became known as the “Palatine” and the legendary tales as the “Palatine Light.”

          Legend or not, the story brings attention to the suffering of the thousands of Palatines before and during their emigration to New England. A monument on Block Island stands to this day, marked for the Palatine passengers who never survived the journey across the Atlantic. 

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For more information on the legend of the Palatine Light or Palatine emigration to New England, please visit the following resources or perform a Google search. There is a multitude of information on these topics.

Thank you to the following resources.

Resources: 

Bell, M. (2004, April 21). The Legend of the Palatine. Retrieved from http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=92  

McCain, D. (2009). Phantom Ships. In Mysteries and legends of New England true stories of the unsolved and unexplained (pp. 81-90). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. 

Powell, N. (1971). Block Island's Fiery Ghost. In Mysterious New England (pp.106-109). Dublin, N.H.: Yankee.  

Raven, R. (2007). Haunted Providence: Strange tales from the smallest state (pp. 117-122). Charleston, SC: History Press.  

Real Unexplained Mysteries. (2015, March 4). Retrieved from http://realunexplainedmysteries.com/palatine-ghost-ship-version-of-events  

        
Zuckerman, E. (2004, December 20). Legend of 18th-century ship still haunts Block Island. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2004/12/20/legend_of_18th_century_ship_still_haunts_block_island/?page=full  

A Stone's Throw Away

Flying stones of all sizes rained with such force that those outside quickly ran for shelter. But the effort was futile: stones crashed through glass and fell down chimneys; some were hot as flames while others were bitterly cold. Hundreds at a time flew through the sky crashing down on to the tavern, making their way into walls and bruising or severely injuring anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with them. Lithobolia had arrived.

       The whirlwind of stones began furiously on the evening of June 11, 1682 on the small and peaceful isle of Great Island, New Hampshire.  There, at the home and tavern of George and Alice Walton, friends and boarders were running for shelter and protection. Small and large stones, some as hot as fire, pelted the tavern, breaking windows, causing damage, and injuring anyone who came in contact with them. These treacherous, mysterious attacks continued for three months until they came to a sudden end in September. No one ever came forward to claim responsibility, yet no one was ever seen. How could one person or even several cast hundreds of stones over four-hour periods? Some too big to lift or too hot to touch. Coincidentally, other oddities such as demonic voices and items being moved or thrown about the tavern occurred during the same three month period. There was no other answer but witchcraft.

       At the time George Walton was in a property dispute with his neighbor Hannah Jones. He accused her of resorting to using forces of the occult upon him. His proof…Hannah’s mother had been accused before of witchcraft, and those who believed knew that witchcraft was passed through the female generations. Hannah of course retaliated with a charge of wizardry against George. Unfortunately, when Hannah confronted George regarding her mother, her temper got the best of her and she threatened to cast stones at him. This was enough proof to put Hannah on trial for witchcraft.

       However, Hannah was not the only one capable of casting stones upon George. He was a successful and envied Quaker in a land of Puritans who did not take too kindly to him. In the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony, Quakers could be hung simply for stepping on Puritan land. In addition, he employed questionable characters and catered to rowdy customers including those known as “godless fishermen.” Hannah was later acquitted of witchcraft charges, but not before similar accusations began to spread through the New England Colonies, coming to a head ten years later, at what is known as the Salem Witch Trials.

A boarder at the tavern by the name of Richard Chamberlin (secretary of the British Colony of New Hampshire) witnessed the onset and wrote about it in his journal. Sixteen years later he published it and called it “Lithobolia.” Translation: the stone-throwing devil. 

 Thank you Wayne Marshall Chase for this Modern-day Tavern Image

Today, Great Island is better known as the quiet and peaceful New Castle, New Hampshire, located at the mouth of the Piscataqua River.



If you would like to learn more about "Lithobolia," the stone-throwing devil or the pre-Salem history of witchcraft and strife in the New England colonies, please read or visit the below resources. Thank you.

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Thank you to the following resources that helped make this blog possible:

References:

Baker, E. (2007). The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and conflict in early New England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Brown, J. (2007, May 7). New Hampshire Glossary: Lithobolia–The Stone Throwing Devil. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2007/05/07/new-hampshire-glossary-lithobolia-the-stone-throwing-devil/

Chamberlin, R. (1698). LITHOBOLIA. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://w3.salemstate.edu/~ebaker/chadweb/lithoweb.htm

Robertson, D. (2003, April 14). Attack of the Rock-Throwing Devil. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please041403.html

The Forgotten Massacre

With the villagers still peacefully sleeping in their beds, the cold February night slowly lessened its grip on the darkness as dawn began to awaken. As daylight slowly emerged, the silence of the winter air fell to a loud and piercing war cry. The villagers awoke to broken doors and shattered windows, sounds of gunfire, and whistling hatchets barreling down on their families. Within a matter of minutes, it was over.

On May 4th, 1702 in an effort to prevent the joining of French and Spanish thrones and therefore a shift in the balance of power, England declared war to maintain British rule. In North America, it was better known as Queen Anne’s War, and both forces wanted control of the continent. During this time, several settlements on both sides were raided. With the knowledge of the impending raids, the British-owned village of Deerfield hid behind their encompassing wooden barricade for protection and additional troops were sent for support. They knew it would only be a matter of time. The question was not “if,” but “when” would it happen. 

The colonists never saw it coming in the dead of a very snowy winter. On the morning of February 29, 1704, 200-300 French soldiers, with the Iroquois and Huron Indians as their allies, raided Deerfield, completing the attack just before sunrise, exposing the bloody massacre of 49 men, women, and children killed by gunfire and hatchet strikes. The small village of Deerfield, which once stood strong along the Connecticut River in Massachusetts Bay Colony, had been captured and partially burned to the ground. 

Out of the survivors, 112 were forcefully marched 300 miles north on foot to Canada. Any colonist who could not keep up during the 25-day march over the Green Mountains would be punished by immediate death. Eunice Williams was one of the unlucky ones. Shortly after giving birth, she collapsed and was unable to continue the trek across the Green River; with her husband Reverend John Williams and her five children looking on, Eunice’s life came to a horrid end with one swoop of a hatchet. Another 20 would die by force, illness, or weather before reaching Canada. 

Twelve families survived the raid and were not forced to march northward to Canada. Ironically their decision to remain in their homes just south of the Deerfield barricade, provided more protection than for those inside the compound. Unfortunately, they bore the responsibility of burying the dead in a mass grave which stands to this day at the Deerfield Cemetery.

After a year in captivity, 60 villagers were released and returned to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Reverend Williams and his children survived and all returned home, except for one, his 4 year old daughter Eunice (shared her mother’s name) was left behind. Her story doesn't end here, it continues in Canada with the Mohawk tribe.

Eunice Williams' life may have ended during the forced march, but her spirit lives on in the search for her newborn baby. In 1974, a covered bridge in Eunice Williams' name was erected across the Green River in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It is said that with the single beep of a car horn on a moonless night, the ghost of a dying Eunice appears begging for her baby. 

Thanks Brenda Holloway for the pictures and information!

If you are interested in learning more about the Deerfield Massacre and the Williams family consider visiting or reading :

Captors and captives: The 1704 French and Indian raid on Deerfield by Haefeli & Sweeny.

The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story From Early America by John Demos. (The continuation of the story of Eunice Williams.)

Historic Deerfield 

The Raid on Deerfield the Many Stories of 1704

Deerfield Massacre Mass Grave

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Thank you to all the resources below that helped to contribute and inspire this blog. 

References:

1702 Queen Anne's War. (2011). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://colonialwarsct.org/1702.htm

Haefeli, E., & Sweeney, K. (2003). Captors and captives: The 1704 French and Indian raid on Deerfield (p. 23, 286, 290). Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

Holloway, B. (2012, June 9). The Haunted Eunice Williams Bridge, Greenfield, MA. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://lifeonabridged.blogspot.com/2012/06/haunted-eunice-williams-bridge.html

MAP - Raid on Deerfield. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Deerfield

Ranger, R. (2015). The Family of Louis Séguin and Marie Anne Raizenne Deerfield, Massachusetts - 1704. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://rcranger.mysite.syr.edu/famhist/deerfield.htm

Raid of Deerfield, Massachusetts in Queen Anne's War. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_deerfld_1.html