NUMBER OF NEGRO SLAVES IN THE PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, SIXTEEN YEARS OLD and upWARD, TAKEN BY ORDER OF GOVERNMENT, IN THE LAST MONTH OF THE YEAR 1754, AND THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 1755.

0331

2202

[The above has been copied from the original Returns sent to the Secretary's Office, by the Assessors of the several towns. Where there are blanks, the Returns have either been lost, or were not made.]

TO THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATIONS. Gentlemen,

AGREEABLY to my promise, I send you notices of a few towns in New Hampshire. They were collected on a hasty journey, through a part of that State, during the last summer. This circumstance will account for the paucity of facts; but such as they are, they were derived from respectable and intelligent sources, and I think may be relied on. Considering your work as intended for a depositary of facts merely, I have not felt myself at liberty to wander in the fields of imagination, nor to make any attempts at glowing description, but have confined myself to sober, simple detail. If you should think my humble labours of any value, I shall be fully repaid for them, and shall be stimulated to greater diligence on future excursions. C. L.

DEC. 24, 1814.

NOTE ON LANCASTER, N. H. JUNE 27th. 1814.

Situation, boundaries. LANCASTER is a post town in the county of Coos.* It is situated in latitude 44° 29' N.

The county of Coos was taken from Grafton county; and was incorporated June, 1805.

Its distance from Portsmouth is about one hundred and twenty-five miles, N. W.; from Concord about one hundred and twenty-four miles; from Haverhill about forty-six miles; and from the Canada line about fortyfive miles.

It is bounded as follows; from the northwesterly corner, which is on Connecticut river, and is also a corner of Northumberland, it extends south, fifty-five degrees east, about seven miles, joining four miles and an half on Northumberland, and about two and an half on Kilkenny; thence south, sixty-nine degrees west, ten miles to Dalton line, bounding on Barker's location nearly six miles, on Jefferson a few rods, and the remainder of the way on Whitefield; thence north, twenty-six degrees west, two and an half miles to Connecticut river, bound. ing on Dalton; from thence up said river to the corner first mentioned eight miles on a strait line, ten by the road.*

Face of the country, soil, &c. Lancaster is situated in the vicinity of lofty mountains, but is not itself mountainous. There are three hilis of a considerable elevation, in the southerly part of the town, which have the name of Martin meadow hills.

A range of mountains lying to the north-east, in the towns of Northumberland, Percy, and Kilkenny, are distinctly seen from this place, and form the back ground of a very beautiful picture. They formerly served to guide the hunters to Connecticut river, and are called land pilot hills."

The soil is productive; the intervales on the Connecticut and Israel.rivers are particularly rich and fertile. The quantity of wheat is from eight to twenty, or (it is said) thirty bushels an acre; corn, thirty bushels; grass, from one to three tons; potatoes from one hundred and fifty to four hundred bushels.

It is principally a grazing township; but a large portion of the land is as yet uncleared.†

This description of the boundaries of Lancaster, with a large portion of the information contained in this article, was furnished me by the Rev. Mr. Willard, minister of the place. Vir pius, intelligens, facetus, et hospitalitatem sectans,

† Mr. Willard, in a M9. letter, gives the following account of the method of clearing the land. "We fall the timber, as it is expressed, in June. In Septem

The price of upland is from two to ten dollars; of in-tervale about twenty dollars.

The principal kinds of wood are spruce, maple, and birch; but there is also beech, elm, bass, pine, and a small quantity of red oak.

There is at present but little fruit besides that which is the spontaneous growth of the soil. There are a few orchards of apples, but no cyder has been made..

Market. The principal market is Portland. The inhabitants usually carry their produce once a year. Waggons, however, go at other times. The price of carriage is one dollar a hundred weight in winter, and two dollars in summer.

Mineral.

Iron ore has been found in small quan

tities, but no other mineral.

*

Rivers and ponds. Connecticut river, as has already been stated, forms a part of the boundary of this town; and here, as in all its course, imparts richness and fertility to the soil.

Israel river, which takes its rise on the western side of the height of land, and empties into the Connecticut, is a river of considerable magnitude, and of great importance. It furnishes extensive intervales, and many valuable mill seats. It is said to bear the christian name of a hunter, whose brother John, his associate in his expedition to this quarter, has given his name to another river in the vicinity.

There is one pond of an oval form, two miles in length, and one mile in breadth, which has the name of Martin Meadow pond, from Martin, a hunter; another, called Little pond, which communicates with the above, and a

ber following, if a dry time, we put fire into the piece, which in a great measure consumes the limbs and small stuff. The timber is then cut of suitable length, piled into heaps and burnt off. When the land is thus cleared, early the spring following we sow wheat and grass seed, and harrow it in faithfully. Sometimes, however, we plant our new land with potatoes or corn, without any ploughing ; the potatoes are planted in large hills. Corn and potatoes thus planted require no houghing, except to cut down the fire weed which prevails in all newly burnt lands. In this mode of planting, we often obtain large crops. The year following, we seed down the land, as above described."

Connecticut is said to signify long, and to have been applied by the Indians to this river on account of its length.