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CHAPTER III.
IN maritime towns, at a season of
the year when there is no inducement for them to wander into the fields, boys
who have nothing else to do, on play-days, are very apt to lounge, more or
less, on the wharves and in the Market Place. When quite a youngster, I
witnessed a scene on the spot last named, the incidents of which are as vivid
in my memory as at the moment when they occurred, more than half a century ago.
Though the commerce of our town had very materially declined from its former
condition of wonderful activity and enterprise, it was still kept up with
considerable semblance of its former spirit, and, besides our native vessels, a
foreign ship occasionally sailed up our beautiful river. A few miles beyond the
stream, in the neighboring State, dwelt a population chiefly agricultural, a
portion of which, pursuing the avocation of small farmers and fishermen,
alternately, for they were directly on the borders of the sea and somewhat
isolated in their position, besides, were certainly a little wild in character
and habits; though I am told that great improvement among them, in these respects,
has taken place of later years. We called them “Algerines,” from which epithet,
more opprobrious than probably just, our estimate of their pretensions to
civilization may be inferred. It was the practice of these people to bring
their fish in whale-boats to our market, which was the nearest to their homes,
and to dispose of this fruit of their often perilous labors either for money,
or for such commodities as they required. I was standing, one afternoon, near a
group of foreign sailors, believed to be Spaniards, with the natural curiosity
of a boy, and rough-looking specimens of humanity they certainly were. It
seemed that they had fallen into dispute with the crew, some three or four men,
of an Algerine boat, and though the language on one side and the other was
altogether unintelligible to the parties, the tones were uncommonly high.
Doubtless, the Spaniards were resenting some insult offered by the Algerines, —
prompted by that sort of jealousy and dislike with which the lower classes of
English blood have been in the habit of regarding those of other nationalities.
The quarrel seemed especially at its height between one of the Spanish crew and
a young man of remarkable stature in coarse seaman’s dress, with a great bush
of long yellow locks hanging over the collar of his jacket, whose name it
appeared was Souter. The Spanish champion had drawn an ugly looking knife, from
which unfamiliar weapon, flourished so near his person, the Algerine
instinctively flinched. At this critical moment, the patriarch of the Yankee
crew, a tall, gaunt old man, with grizzled hair, stepped into the arena, and,
seizing the foreigner by the collar, cried out, — “Now I’ll bet Tom Souter”
(pronounced Saouter) “could take this ‘ere fellow right here by the collar and
shake every g— right aout of him,” — using a more vulgar phrase, and suiting
the action to the word so vigorously that the reeling and astounded Spaniard
was glad enough to relinquish the field and to slink away crestfallen with his
companions. As a further illustration of the
ways of our neighbors, I will give one more anecdote of an affair which
occurred years afterwards. Not far from the hamlet of our friends, the
Algerines, but within the borders of Massachusetts, was another settlement, on
the outskirts of a thriving village, the male inhabitants of which also
followed the calling of small farmers and fishermen, some of them diversifying
these pursuits by the occupation of shoemaking, at the ungenial season of the
year. They were industrious, and far less rude than their compatriots, to whom
reference has just been made. At this point lived three young men, hard by each
other, and brothers, of the name, I will say, of Lowe. One day a tall and
respectable looking old gentleman called upon the writer of this history, announcing
himself as Colonel Lowe, and the father of the three young men in question. He
had formerly commanded, it seems, a regiment of militia, and had a sort of
semi-military bearing. He was now in great agitation and distress, occasioned
by some trouble in which his sons were involved, through forcible resistance to
the civil authorities of the Commonwealth, and he required the professional
services of the writer for their defence. He justly regarded it as a case
likely to lead to very serious consequences, and particularly dreaded for the
young men the disgraceful punishment of the State Prison. It was a case to
elicit every degree of sympathy for the worthy Colonel, and to prompt every
effort for his relief. The facts, as they appeared at the trial before the
Court of Common Pleas, were quite picturesque. A constable had appeared with an
execution against one of the young Lowes, in the matter of a claim which he
disputed as unjust; but without giving the peace-officer opportunity to
discharge his duty, he was driven from the ground by the trio, in mortal terror
of his life. The execution of the process was then undertaken by a somewhat
fantastic country deputy sheriff; who was ordered off as he attempted to
approach the parties in defence, and between them and the officer there was a
good deal of raillery, which had an important bearing upon the final result of
the trial. At length, the elder brother Lowe drew a line with a stick across
the road and defied the officer to pass it, which he declined to do, but at
once made good his retreat, smothering his indignation at such a rebuff, until
he could give it vent in more safety than the existing circumstances warranted.
Such reckless conduct was not to be endured, and no doubt the deputy was
laughed at by his neighbors for his failure to carry his purpose into effect.
The majesty of the Commonwealth had been insulted in his official person, and
he determined to summon a posse comitatus, to vindicate the power and
dignity of the law. Stories in the country, especially those involving any
extraordinary incidents, sometimes fly faster than in town, and accordingly
these young rebels forewarned, no doubt, of the peril in prospect, prepared
themselves, as well as they could, to resist the more formidable invasion presently
to be expected. Before daylight, one morning, the mustered force of some twenty
men, variously armed, led by the valiant sheriff’s officer, cautiously drew
near the premises, in the hope of catching the culprits asleep. The brothers
were too quick for their visitors, however, and evidently having been on the
watch had retreated to a barn, securely fastening the door, and awaited the
approach of the enemy. They had with them certain weapons, which were exhibited
in the court, consisting of ancient rusty halberds and spontoons, probably
borne in turn by their gallant father, in his several gradations of military
service. As they were summoned to surrender, a musket was discharged out of a
window of the barn, over the heads of the assailants, occasioning considerable
confusion in their line. Assuming courage, at length, axes and crowbars were
brought into requisition, and the door was forced. As the attacking party
entered, however, the Lowes let down the stairs leading to the story above a
heavy broad cart-wheel, and as it bounded clattering towards the floor below,
the assailants fled out of doors in a panic, and taking advantage of their
disorder, the Lowes, disregarding the vast disproportion of numbers, rushed
upon them, and a regular mêleé began. It is thought, that the smaller party
would have been victorious, but for an ugly blow on the head of the youngest
brother, which felled and disabled him; whereupon his associates escaped
unmolested and he was taken helpless into the house, where he remained until
the time of the trial. Of course, the jury found him guilty, for the facts of
the case were patent; but it was taken up, by exceptions to the ruling of the
Judge, into the Supreme Court, in which, though it would be irreverent to
intimate that the justices entered at all into the humor of such a Donnybrook
Fair sort of scrimmage, yet, after argument, and it is presumed in
consideration of some provocation on the part of the sheriff’s deputy,
especially the needlessly warlike and really ridiculous aspect he impressed on
the affair, leading the young men to look upon it rather as an invitation to
play their part, than as a serious purpose to violate the law, the sentence
imposed was only a few months’ imprisonment in the common jail. The prosecution
was never enforced against the brothers, and never was more lively gratitude
displayed, than at the escape of the convicted culprit from sentence to the
ignominious seclusion of the State Prison. |
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