EXERCISES IN THE EVENING.

The citizens assembled in the evening, in the City Hall, which was crowded to its utmost capacity.

The meeting was called to order by ISAAC W. SMITH, Esq. President of the Common Council.

On motion of Mr. JOHN L. KELLEY, Hon. RICHARD H. AYER, was chosen Chairman.

On motion of DANIEL C. GOULD, Esq. ISAAC W. SMITH, Esq. was chosen Secretary.

Mr. Ayer, in a brief manner, announced the objects of the gathering, paying at the same time merited compliments to the Orator and Poet of the day. He then proceeded to call the names of gentlemen who were expected, to make remarks on the occasion.

Hon. C. E. POTTER, being the first to respond, came forward and said nearly as follows:

The Merrimack, which has so often been alluded to, as the source of our city's prosperity, has ever been a source of profit to the inhabitants upon its banks. Not only to ourselves. and our forefathers, but to that race of men whose characters have been so little appreciated, and whose history is so little known among us--the Indians. Here, in Manchester, ("old Derryfield.") the most powerful race of the time, the Pennacooks, for a long time, had their head quarters. Here at "Namaoskeag," the royal residence of their Sagamons, while at Pennacook (now Concord,) upon Sewall's island, and at Naticook (now Litchfield,) upon what is now called Reed's island, they had their summer residences, during the planting season; their most valuable planting grounds being in the neighborhood of those islands. But "Namaoskeag" was the place whence, not only the "Pennacooks," but all the neighboring tribes in amity with them, or of their confederacy, drew much of their sustenance. Their harvest, their traps or kulheags, might fail them, but "Namaoskeag," the fishing place, never failed them. The Indians pursued their fishing and agricultural operations, with much more of skill and system than they have credit for. In fishing they used the hempen dip net and seine. The seine they stretched across creeks and rivers, by means of stakes driven far into the bottom of the creek or river, and the fish, collected far above them, were taken from their bark canoes with the stone spear, or dip net, or when taken upon salt creeks, were secured by the squaws, when the tide ebbed. Their nets and seines were made, with much skill, from the wild hemp. Their harpoon, or dart of stone, was used in taking sturgeon, blue fish, &c., and was used with much adroitness, and, in fact, their whole system of canoe fishing, was pursued with consummate skill. I have not a doubt, that much of the success of the Nantucket, and New Bedford whale fisheries, is owing to knowledge obtained from the Indians in managing their canoes, approaching, wounding and securing their large fish. In fact, the dart now used by the Cape Cod fishermen, for taking the Swordfish, Albicore, &c., is the exact pattern of the stone dart of the Indian; while the whale boat, in form and lightness, is made to correspond as much as possible to the Indian birch canoe.

We first hear of the Merrimack through the Sieur De Monts, who wrote from the banks of the St. Lawrence, in 1604, thus: "The Indians tell us of a beautiful river far to the south, which they call the Merrimack." Its fisheries and planting grounds, were the scenes of Indian story at that early date. But in 1605 the Sieur de Champlain discovered the Merrimack river, its position being marked out for him, with a coal, upon a board, by some Indians whom he met upon the beach near Odiorne's point, west of the mouth of the Piscataqua. This rude map was drawn July 16th, 1605. The next day, June 17th, 1605, Champlain sailed along the Piscataqua Bay, and discovered the Merrimack, as laid down upon the Indian map. He named it the "Riviere du Gas."

This same Indian geographer gave him to understand, that there were six tribes of Indians on the coast, or upon the Merrimack, under as many chiefs; and, if upon the Merrimack, the Pennacooks of "Namaoskeag" were of the number, without a doubt. Be this as it may, as early as 1628 we have authentic information of the Pennacooks upon the Merrimack. Thomas Morton, who left the country in 1628, and printed his "New English Canaan in 1637, in London, gives an account of Passaconnaway; & among other curious matters, relates the unhappy termination of a marriage between the daughter of Passaconnaway and Winneperket, the Sagamon of Saugus. Winneperket, and the old Sagamon's daughter were married, with all the pomp and ceremony becoming their station--of the best blood in the country. Feasting, music and revelry were the order, not only of the day, but of the night, and a chosen band of warriors were sent to accompany the bride to her home, at Saugus, where they were feasted in turn, as became the royal groom. But a sumptuous feast did not make a happy marriage.

The young bride, the following spring, desired to visit her father, and Winneperket sent her to her father's home, with an escort befitting her station. When she wished to return to Saugus, Passaconnaway sent a messenger to Winneperket, to send for his wife.

This message Winneperket took in high dudgeon, as he thought it insulting to him that Passaconnaway, should not return her to him, with a fitting escort. In the beautiful language of Whittier, the Merrimack poet, Winneperket returned for answer

I bore her as became a chieftain's daughter Up to her home beside the flowing water. If now, no more for her a mat is found, Of all which line her father's wigwam round, Let Pennacook call out his warrior train, And send her back with wampum gifts again.

This message enraged Passaconnaway, and he refused to send her back.

"Dog of the marsh!" cried Pennacook, "no more Shall child of mine sit on his wigwam floor. Go! let him seek some meaner squaw to spread The stolen bearskin of his beggar's bed. Son of a fish-hawk let him dig his clams For some vile daughter of the Agawams, Or coward Nipmucks! May his scalp dry black In Mohawk smoke, before I send her back."

And the old Sagamon was as good as his word, for Morton adds that when he left the country, in 1628, she was still living with her father. At this time, Passaconaway was nearly ninety years old, as Gen. Daniel Gookin, who was well acquainted with him in after years, says that he saw him in 1660, when he was about one hundred and twenty years old.

In 1629, Passaconnaway executed the noted deed to the Rev. John Wheelwright, covering the land from the Merrimack to the Piscataqua.

I am aware that this deed has been pronounced a forgery, but authentic documents have lately come to light, that go to show the genuineness of this instrument.

In 1648, Passaconnaway became a convert to Christianity, under the preaching of the "Apostle Eliott," and publicly made known, at Pawtuckett, his change of faith.

Passaconnaway was importunate with Mr. Eliot to visit "Namaoskeag," and teach his people, and there is no doubt that he complied with his urgent request, and preached at this place.

For in 1648 Mr. Eliot "hired a hardy man of Nashaway, to cut out a way and mark trees," from "Nashaway" to "Namaske;" and he hired Indians and cut out his way and marked the trees. And when they came to Souhegan, in their work, the Indians of Souhegan were much pleased to think that Eliot was coming to visit them, for they had heard him at Pawtuckett and Nashua.

So that the first bridle path ever made from Nashua to "Namaoskeag," was made at the expense of the "Apostle Eliot." In the spring of 1649, when Mr. Eliot proposed to pass over this road, to visit "Namaoskeag" he was taken sick, and for this time did not carry out his intentions. But soon after, he was doubtless enabled to visit this place, and establish schools and preaching here; for Gookin says, there "were preaching and schools at Namkeke." And who was there to preach or establish schools here, except the Rev. John Eliot?

Passaconnaway was alive in 1663, and had a grant of land here at "Namaoskeag" from the Government of Massachusetts. He probably died soon after that period. He, at that time, lived and planted at the Islands in the Merrimack, north of the mouth of the Souhegan.

Wonnalancet inherited the Sagamonship of his father. He was friendly to the English, and, following the advice of his father, ever remained steadfast in his friendship. On the 6th day of May, 1674, Wonnalancet publicly renounced his religion, and embraced Christianity, in the presence of Mr. Eliot, Gen, Gookin, and a large number of Indians, at Pawtuckett. There was reason to suppose, that he ever remained true to his adopted faith.

He refused to join with Philip in his war against the Eng us and for fear he might be drawn into the difficulty, he retired with his tribe in the winter of 1675-6 to the head of the Connecticut, where "was good hunting for moose, deer, bear, and other wild beasts."

In November of the same year, the Wamesits, of Pawtuckett, for fear of the same difficulty, and because they had been injured by unprincipled whites, came up the Merrimack in search of Wonnalancet, but not finding him, they wandered about in the woods in this neighborhood, and many of them perished from starvation and cold.

Simon Betogkom, an Indian preacher, who had been educated by Eliot, was with them, and preached three successive Sabbaths here in the wilderness--the first Sabbath from the 35th Psalm--the second from the 46th Psalm, and the third from the 118th Psalm. These portions of scripture were chosen with much judgment, and were remarkably applicable to the situation of his hearers. Especially so, when the fact is made known, that prior to the last Sabbath, on which Betogkom preached from the 118th Psalm, messengers had been sent to them on the part of the government of Massachusetts, promising them protection if they would return to Pawtuckett.

On the 19th of September, 1677, Wonalancet, with his immediate friends, left his home in this region, and retired with the St. Francis tribe in Canada, with which he was connected by marriage.

In 1685, he came back again, and was living at Pennacook.

The year following he sold his lands at Wamesit, Wickasauke and Nashua, to Edward Tyng and others at Dunstable.

In 1696-7, Wannalancet and his tribe were living at Wickasauke, and Major Tyng was alowed [sic] �20 for overlooking them. After this date we hear nothing of this Sagamon, and it may be that he died about 1700.

The majority of his tribe left him after he refused to join Philip's confederacy, in 1675, and as early as 1685, the Pennacooks had chosen for their chief, the noted Kancamagus, or John Hogkins, the son of Nanamocomuck, the eldest son of Passaconnaway. He had been at the head of the Amariscoggins, and was a brave and wary chief. It was Kancamagus who planned and executed the attack upon Cocheco, in which Major Waldron lost his life, and which attack was managed with the most consummate skill.

The Indians were in the valley of the Merrimack in considerable numbers, as late as 1726, and in 1704, twenty Indians were in the employment of the government of New Hampshire as soldiers. Of these, two bore the military title of Captain, to wit: Capt. Samuel Pegen and Capt. Caleb, as is seen upon the files in the Secretary's office.

As late as 1626, an Indian by the name of Christi or Christoe, lived here at "Namaoskeag." His wigwam was upon the west side of the road leading to the Falls Bridge, and just upon the bank of the small brook that crosses the road, and empties into the Merrimack at the Falls. This brook is called Christi's Brook from this fact.

After Lovewell's fight, some of the whites at Dunstable and Haverhill, were suspicious of Christi's friendship, and came up here to the Falls to kill him; but Christi escaped, and this body of Christian people contented themselves with burning his wigwam. This outrage did not make an enemy of Christi, and he served as a soldier in 1745 and in 1746, as is shown by the Muster Rolls of Col. Benjamin Rolf and Capt. Jeremiah Clough.

Our people treated the Indians badly in all sections of New England, and it is not strange that the Indians should seek revenge. They did seek it, long after the Indians left the Merrimack valley, and most of the attacks upon the frontiers, from 1700, to 1760, were planned or piloted by Indians who had fled from New England, and taken refuge at St. Francis. They proved most efficient allies to the French.

The inhabitants of Derryfield suffered very little from the Indians. John Stark was the only one taken captive. This was in 1752. There is one fact connected with this capture that I will relate, as it shows that the Indains [sic] were capable of appreciating sport.

Stark and his companion had been informed that they would be obliged "to run the gantlet," upon their arrival at St. Francis, and they had been put in training for this ceremony.

Accordingly Eastman had committed an Indian sentence, to repeat while he was running the gantlet, which translated meant--"I'll beat all your young men." The sentence given to Stark, translated, read--"I'll kiss all your young women."--When arrived at the village, the entire tribe were in waiting to take part in the imposing ceremony. Two extended lines had been formed from the men, and women, and boys and girls--each one armed with a club or stick as suited the fancy, and it was expected that each one would hit the prisoners a kick, blow, or buffet, as they passed through the lines.

Each prisoner was furnished with a pole or staff six or eight feet in length, upon the top of which was a skin of some animal. On Stark's was a Loon skin.

Eastman "run the gantlet" first. He started upon the run shouting in Indian, "I'll beat all your young men," and this shout lent weight to their blows, and he just escaped with his life.

Stark thought he would die game when it came his turn, and when starting, returned the first blow given him with his pole, without thought of the Loon skin, and sang out at the top of his voice, "I'll kiss all your young women." Thus he went through the line striking right and left with his club, and escaped uninjured. The old Indians stood laughing at the blows dealt out to their young men, and the women stood motionless to see if he would put his threat in execution!

We know nothing of the sufferings of a frontier life. Our fathers were obliged to go to their daily work with arms in their hands, and to the Sabbath meeting, armed for the attack. Often they had to take refuge in Forts or Garrison houses, for the security of their families. Then, they never laid down to rest by night, or went from the gate by day, without fear of an attack from the savages.

In 1753, there was a fort at Derryfield called Stark's Garrison, and a small force was stationed there under Capt. John Goffe. It was situated on the south side of Nutt's pond, near the outlet of the same, and the well remains to this day, to point out the locality. At this place, it accommodated the inhabitants of the Amoskeag Falls, McMurphy's Mills, and Goffe's Falls.

We have ever had in Derryfield brave men, and have always furnished our portion of fighting men and done our portion of fighting.

When the attack was made upon the inhabitants of Stevenstown, by the Indians in 1754, Captain John Webster of this town, was ordered by Gov. Wentworth, to march with twenty men to the scene of action. These twenty men were enlisted here and at Londonderry, and marched as directed about the 24th of June. The same year, when the massacre took place at Stevenstown, on the 16th of August, Gov. Wentworth sent the following order to Col. Blanchard of Dunstable:--

   "To Col. Joseph Blanchard--Upon the mischief done by Indians at Stevenstown, I have ordered a detachment from Capt. Odlin's troop of twenty-four horse and officers to command, also the like detachment from Capt. Steven's troop to guard the inhabitants in that frontier, until I can relieve them by a sufficient number of foot; and as your regiment lies contiguous to the frontier where the mischief was done; I have thought proPer to order and direct, that you forthwith enlist or impress fifty men, or more, if you think that number is not sufficient, and put them under an officer that you can confide in, and order them forthwith to march to Contoocook and SteveNstown, to relieve the detachment of horse posted there.

B. WENTWORTH."

   "And put them under an officer that you can confide in!"--said Gov. Wentworth.

Now Col. Blanchard sent to Derryfield after that officer.--John Goffe of Derryfield, had the command of that detachment of troops, sent upon that hazardous service.

Among his men were the names of Caleb Paige, Joshua Martin, Wm. Morse, John Harwood, Josiah Parker, Archibald Stark, Lemuel Hogg, Thomas Grear, John Barrett, James McNeil, and Robert Rogers, all men well known in the annals of Amoskeag, and some of them, names connected with the brightest pages of our country's history.

A number of men from Derryfield, were in the massacre at Fort William Henry, Aug. 9th, 1757, when the French so basely permitted our unarmed troops to be massacred by the Indians, in cool blood, after the capitulation. The N. H. Battalion under the command of Col. John Goffe, had the rear, as the forces were marched from the fort, and eighty were killed or taken. Ezekiel Stevens of Derryfield was taken, tomahawked, and scalped. He revived, was cared for by some French soldiers, came home in a few months, and lived to a good old age wearing a skullcap instead of his scalp. Judge Blodgett was sutler to the battalion, and escaped by hiding himself under a batteau upon the shore of the Lake.

Judge Blodgett was afterwards in the war of the Revolution, being connected with the commissary department in the campaign of 1775, and 1776, in the vicinity of Boston. Judge Blodgett's inventive powers have been alluded to in connection with his "Diving Tongue," and Canal Locks, but his powers of invention were not always in the way of mechanics; he was a good financier, as is shown by the fact that he was able to raise the means to complete his great undertaking, "the Blodgett Canal." One of his financial operations or inventions I cannot refrain from relating at the present time. He was in Philadelphia for the purpose of selling the stock of his canal; but met with no success, and after a stay of some weeks, found himself without funds. In this dilemma the idea struck him of giving a concert, and he forthwith issued his handbills through the city, advertising a

CATEGORICAL CONCERT, naming time and place. The thing took, and The Hall was crowded at a quarter a head. At the appointed hour, the curtain rose, and Blodgett came forward upon the platform with his instruments of music, enclosed in a bag upon his arm. After a short address to the audience, he threw his bag upon the platform and then, true enough, a categorical concert commenced according to appointment, with
"All discord--harmony not understood," that three or four tom cats were capable of making! The audience were "sold," and by the "sell," Blodgett raised funds sufficient to settle his bills, and pay his way home. But in another invention or discovery he was not so successful. He held that he had discovered the true elixir of life, by which he could prolong life, far beyond the usual age of man. A part of this discovery was early rising, air bathing, violent wretching of the limbs in the morning upon getting out of bed, and wearing the same amount of clothing the year round, making no additions, for inclement, or winter weather. Practicing upon this theory, with a strong constitution, at the age of eighty-three years, he was hale and hearty, and calculated upon a greater length of days, but riding from Haverhill to Derryfield in the night, without proper clothing as was his custom, he took a violent cold, and soon after died, thus falling a victim to his much vaunted discovery of the elixir of life.

And in the war of the Revolution, Old Derryfield furnished her full quota of men. From the report made by the Selectmen of the town in 1775, it appears there were but forty-one men betwixt the ages of sixteen and fifty in the town; but thirty-six in the town "fit to bear arms," and of this number, sixteen were already in the army! A greater number in proportion to the number fit to bear arms, than from any other town in the State, if not in New England.

And they fought well--how well others have spoken--others have written--and that others may have an opportunity to tell us this evening, I will no longer trespass upon their time, or the patience of the audience.

DR. WILLIAM M. PARKER next being called upon, said:

Mr. Chairman--I am happy to add my word--I claim to be an adopted son of this respectable, and thriving town, whose origin we commemmorate [sic]. I only lacked two or three miles of being a native, and if I had not been born over here in old Bedford, there is no telling but Manchester would have been the spot. But I was among the earliest of these numerous step children, who have gathered upon her soil, until she has become the largest, and most important town in the State. When I was a boy, they used to tell about going out of the world into Derryfield. (The town was known as Derryfield, sometime after the name was changed to Manchester, which was about forty years since.) This saying rather indicated that old Derryfield, at one time, was not regarded as very much of a town. The people were spoken of as being in some measure behind the general civilization, and prosperity of the community, and as drawing a precarious subsistence from the sandy soil, and that peculiar kind of fishery, which has been alluded to to day [sic], which was prosecuted about the falls. But all this must be, in a great measure, libellous [sic], or only applicable to a small portion of the population, and territory of the town. Probably, these unfavorable imputations arose from partial observation, embracing only this sandy region lying on the river, and its thriftless inhabitants, always excepting, even in this neighborhood, some worthy families. But the new comers appropriated this district; and the class of inhabitants referred to, mingled with the mass, and now the remainder, embracing more than nine tenths of the territory--old Derryfield proper, shows for itself what it is, and has been for many years at least. We see the soil divided into valuable farms, under fair cultivation, with good buildings upon them, and owned and conducted by respectable, industrious, and thrifty farmers, mainly native citizens. Many of these men are wealthy, yet they are quiet and unobtrusive, and are making no undue display of their prosperity. Some of our best business men on the street, are from among the original inhabitants.

The town has suffered from one grand mistake of the earlier inhabitants, which was brought to view by the orator this afternoon--in not establishing, and nourishing the institutions of religion and education. This was the great mistake, and its influence will be felt to the latest posterity. But it must be conceded, that there is no class of this population more respectable, or more reliable, more industrious, or more prosperous, than the native citizens of the town. I came among these people, as I know others have done, with unjust impressions, which, in my case, have been corrected, by years of intercourse and observation, and I feel disposed to devote the moment allotted me this evening, in giving in my testimony on this point. I will close with this sentiment. The old Derryfield stock--it improves vastly on acquaintance--may it retain its identity and its integrity, and continue to exert a sober, and healthful influence in this mixed and shifting population, through generations to come.

JOHN B. CLARK, Esq., being next called on, came forward and said:--

Mr. Chairman--Ladies and Gentlemen:--I came not here to make a speech, but intended to have left before my name was reached on the list of speakers; but--"it is in vain to extenuate the matter."

At the first singing school I ever attended, we were required to keep time to the movements of a pendulum; but never before was I asked to make a speech in just "five minutes." I am afraid I should not "come to time," and shall not attempt it.--If I knew a single fossil of history connected with "the day we celebrate," I would exhibit it to you with pleasure. Why, I understand that the Reverend Orator of the day, who spread before us such a rich repast in the afternoon--a man who has always fished in these waters--found some difficulty in getting his historical "eel pot" sufficiently full for the occasion. I have been watching him for some days, in hopes that some "squirming eel" would jump out, that I might catch and hold up to your admiring gaze this evening. But alas! it was a false hope.--There is no stealing eels away from him, and I have come to the conclusion, as he is one of the "originals" of this section, that the idea so pleasingly suggested by the humorous Poet of this occasion, that the original inhabitants of this place were an eely race, is at least half true.

The first recollection I have of Old Derryfleld, dates back about twenty years, when my nearest neighbor told me, that in 1810 he went over McGregor's Bridge, that was carried away last winter, and it was so old and rickety that he made the toll-keeper go over with him, to see that he got over safe, before he would pay him the toll.

This Manchester city must have been a queer place a hundred years ago, if all is true that is said about it! It does not seem possible that here, where now is manufactured, monthly, cloth enough to make a bed-quilt sufficiently large to cover over the whole thirty-six square miles of this city, scores of years ago, the long haired Indian girls were picking ground nuts, or roasting acorns, or playing the agreeable to some "country cousin," that had just come in from the Massabesic, or Lake Winnipisseogee, or Rye Beach! But so I suppose it was. It is difficult to say what ballads of love were here once sung or romantic scenes witnessed. Who knows but that Derryfleld, a century ago, contained a Parodi, or some one that could play on "oaten straw," or pumpkin vine, as bewitching as Strackosch the piano; or sing a song that could charm the braves, as years ago Abby Hutchinson did some of us, by the simple melody of the "Spider and the Fly"--making us almost wish that we were the fly, and she the spider!

Things are strangely altered in this place from what they were in the days of Lamprey eels. Then, where Kidder's Building now stands, was a muck-hole, and a friend, whom my eye now rests on, used to snare rabbits and partridges on Concord Square,--and Philip Stevens, for a great many years, kept a pigeon stand, just in front of the Universalist Church. I assure you it is not unpleasant for me to know, that pigeons were once netted so near the City Hotel, where I board.

As this is a meeting to talk of historical matters, I feel it my duty to tell you, what I have never divulged before, that I have strong suspicions that my Great grandfather once chased a bear from old Haverhill to this place!

Ladies and Gentlemen--I thank you for your kind indulgence, and am happy in being able to inform you, that sometime you will see all these things bound up in a book, the early Indian history of this place--the fisheries at the Falls--the peculiar characteristics of those men, who--

"Loved to fish the live-long night, Who loved to drink and loved to fight,"

and a thousand other pleasing things, that appertain to Old Derryfield, Nutfield, and perhaps, the Ryefield.

REV. CYRUS W. WALLACE arose and said, that it was far from his expectation to be called on to make a speech, and that he must say, like an old neighbor of his, who was engaged in traffic, that if people wanted anything in his line, he would trade. So, said Mr. Wallace, it is with me; if you want anything in my way, I can talk to you a little, but not make a speech and I think I should not have got up at all, had it not been for an eel or alewife, or something of the kind, that slipped out of Mr. Clarke's pot. He was reminded of an incident in regard to McGregor's bridge. When Mr. McGregor, who built the bridge, first made known his plan to Gen. Stark, that man observed, that he did not wish to live any longer, than while a bridge should be built across the Merrimack. Mr. Wallace then remarked, in regard to the contrast in society now, and fifty or one hundred years ago, and related an anecdote of his grandmother's carrying the linen she spun to Boston, on foot, in company with others of the neighborhood. They went, did all their business, and returned in three days; a distance of over forty miles. He thought that if it was in his power to make a gift to the young people of this generation, it should be the strength and constitution of their ancestors--he thought his grandmother must have been beautiful, she was so healthy.--He, with Dr. Parker, came within one of being born in old Derryfield, and had never had any of those unfavorable impressions in regard to its people, common to many. True, there were some among them, men gathered immediately about the falls, mere pests of society; yet many among its inhabitants, would compare favorably with those in any section of the State, for real worth, judgment, skill or bravery.

There were even some in town, who could claim a direct descent from royalty--from king James II, (this was something) however, he did not think this royal blood of much account.

He then compared the history of the town, to that of some young men, who, from small beginnings, have achieved a great end.

REV. B. M. TILLOTSON being next called upon, made a few remarks nearly as follows:--

After referring to the present advantage we enjoy over our fathers, he related an incident to illustrate the mode of life of an ancient belle, when our fathers went to the field with their arms in their hands. The man takes his gun to repair to the field, and attend to his harvesting, when he is bade by his wife to leave it, as while he is gone, an Indian may come and slaughter her, "No," says the man, "for being in an open field, I shall be more exposed to the savage foe, but I will leave you the hoe to defend yourself." She at once saw the force of the argument, and was satisfied. "Let them come," said she, "and I will hoe them out." We would give honor to the mothers of Derryfield--we enjoy blessings from the stream of the past;--we must work for the future--do as did the great Dr. Franklin, who, upon meeting with a poor but worthy man, gave him five dollars. "I can never pay you," said he. "Never mind;" said Franklin, "if you are ever able, give it to some other needy person, and pass it around." We must do something for posterity, and not be like the man, who, on being told that what he was asked to do, would benefit posterity, replied, what has posterity done for me? We must do good, and give our contributions to enrich, adorn, and purify the future.

MR. CHARLES A. LUCE, being called upon, said, if he had an illustrative anecdote, or a single scrap of history, not already known to the audience, he would gladly relate it; but he regretted to say he had not, and would only say that he came in as an "out-sider," and had been pleased to learn, as he had from the orator of the day, that the original settlers of Derryfield were men of stern integrity, and of abiding principles, and early raised the cry of liberty, and he was glad to assist their descendants on the track of time, through a century of summers and winters, to echo back the cry, and would conclude with, the following sentiment:

   The City of Manchester: As such, she was not known to our fathers, and fills no page in the history of the revolution, but Old Derryfield raised John Stark, and that is glory enough for them both.

MR. JOHN L. KELLEY being called upon, remarked that he was not a native of Old Derryfield, but thought she would be remembered in coming time, not as the largest Commercial Mart in the Granite State, but as the home and sepulchre of a Stark. The heroic deeds of that patriot would be remembered in coming time, when all else of this, and the succeeding generation will become misty with age.

He was a son of New Hampshire, and yet was barren as to incidents touching Old Derryfield. Like a man, who, in olden time, came up to this place from Litchfield to get corn, and applied to Gen. Stark, and others, and was denied. With an independence peculiar to the early pioneers--turning upon his heel with an oath, he said, "I don't care--blue berries will be ripe in a fortnight." He left, as I have come here tonight with an empty bag--and as I must travel out of Manchester for an incident on this occasion, I will visit Old Durham, the home of my childhood. There sleeps the dust of a Sullivan, a compatriot of our Stark, in the war of the Revolution. That hero, with John Langdon, and other sons of liberty in that neighborhood, set one of the balls in motion, which, gathering strength from each successive revolution, helped to crush the lion of Old England, and give strength, beauty, and motion to the wings of the American Eagle--I refer, said the speaker, to that ever-to-be-remembered Gunpowder Expedition, against Fort William and Mary, at New Castle. On a December night in the year 1774, at midnight, as the winds were sighing a requiem over the dying year, these hardy men threw their fearless barks upon the black, receding tide of the Piscataqua, and with muffled oars proceeded to the fort, where they captured one hundred kegs of powder, which was brought to Durham and deposited in one of the store houses of Gen. Sullivan, upon the landing; which, together with a lot of small cannon, and other like stores, was afterwards used to advantage at the battle of Bunker Hill. This he related in order to illustrate a sentiment which he then offered--

   New Hampshire: Her sons were among the first to fight in defence of LIBERTY AND UNION--their descendents will be the last to prove recreant to either.

JOSEPH C. ABBOTT, Esq., Editor of the Manchester American, being called upon, expressed his surprize that so few of the descendants of the original settlers of Old Derryfield, had been placed on the list of speakers. He gave a sentiment in regard to those descendants, and called upon WILLIAM STARK, Esq., who responded as follows:--

Ladies and Gentlemen--I trust it will not seem egotistical in me, if I tell you that I consider myself one of the old settlers of Manchester. For though it seems but a few short days since I passed the bounds of childhood--but a day ago since I chased the butterfly over the lands where now stand the lofty walls of this building--but a day ago, since I drove my father's cows to pasture where are now your most crowded street--yet, with not even the honor of a hoary hair, I have lived to witness the growth of a populous and flourishing city; and but a short time since, was compelled to enquire my way over the very spot, where I had many a time played in the warm sunshine. The desert had been made to blossom like the rose: and as if by the waving of a magic wand, the place which once had the reputation of being the poorest town in the State, had become the richest; while he who treasured it in memory as his birth place, returned from his youthful wanderings, to find himself a stranger, in the land of his fathers.

There are many circumstances, aside from this rapid growth, which give a peculiar interest to the history of Derryfleld. The men who dwelt about this river--those connected with its fisheries, and its navigation, gave to the place a characteristic reputation. The view of the fishermen, while on duty at the falls, was a scene of no small interest--a hundred men in their torn and ragged costumes, some half hid in the surrounding gloom, others conspicuous on lofty rocks, which reflected the gleam of their watch fires--moving in every possible direction, and with every variety of motion, throwing the scoop net," plunging the "hook," setting the "pots," handling the "squirming eels"--covered with the blood and slime inseparable from their ocupation [sic], some fighting, and all shouting at the top of their voices, formed a scene worthy of Pandemonium itself.

I suppose we have no idea of the immense number of fish with which this river once abounded. My father has seen the shad so thick as to crowd each other in their passage up the falls, to gain the smooth water above; so that you could not put in your hand, without touching some of them; and yet there were more alewives than shad, and more eels than both. It is no wonder that eels were called "Derryfield beef," for I have heard those say, who would be good judges in the matter, that eels enough were salted down in a single year, to be equal to three hundred head of cattle.

There was one great advantage about the lamprey eel: it had no bones except in the head; and as that was never eaten, it made safe food for the children. But the alewives had not this advantage. They were as full of bones as the eels were free from them.

From this probably arose that old story about the reason why the fishermen were so filthy--"they ate so many alewives, the bones stuch [sic] out of their backs, so they could not pull their shirts off to have them washed."

But the eel fishers formed but a small portion of the people of Derryfield, while the eel eaters were universal. This luxury was ever welcome, and was served in various ways, according to the taste or ability of the possessor. I well remember the mode of living among many of the poorer people. As dinner time drew near, the woman, taking a stick, poked from the ashes a dozen or so of roast potatoes, then, going to the barrel, took out a salt eel and laid it on the coals. The children, with a roast potato in one hand, and a piece of eel in the other, made their repast; and I have often joined those hungry circles, and found in this simple food, a satisfaction which I have since failed to derive from the costliest viands of our most magnificent hotels.

Much that would be entertaining and instructive might be said about the navigation. With the history of Blodgett, we have already been made familiar.

Beside him, there are many men of mark whose biographies might be written, and whose various labors might be enlarged upon. But there is now no time, nor am I the man for such a task. I will leave it for abler hands.

Whatever may be said in regard to other things, there is one virtue in which old Derryfield was never deficient. This was patriotism. I have never heard of a "tory" who lived in town. Their country was their idol. For her, they were willing to suffer any and every privation: and the various battle fields of the revolution, could they speak, would have but one voice in praise of their bravery, and devotedness.

Allusion has been made here, to-night, to the mothers of Old Derryfield. Allow me to say that for much that is strong, and worthy of admiration in the characters of the descendants of the early settlers, they are indebted to the mothers of that generation. And now, while it occurs to me, I will relate an anecdote of the mother of John Stark. She was reputed to have been a woman of remarkable beauty; but in those days, when family pride was of some account, was regarded as of rather a lower class than her leige lord, who, it seems, was somewhat disposed to be ashamed of his wife on certain occasions. One time it happened that Stark was visited by some gentlemen from Boston, distinguished by royal favor. While taking them about his place to show the improvements, &c., they chanced to pass through the room, where she and her maidens were spinning. Attracted by her extraordinary beauty, as they went out, one of the officers asked who that pretty girl was. "Oh," replied Stark, "it is a girl I have got to do my work." Mrs. Stark, who had overheard the question, and was listening with curiosity, for the reply, felt all the spirit of an injured woman rising within her breast, and confronting her astonished husband, company and all, with her fine eyes flashing fire, retorted in her broad Scotch dialect, "Ye lee! ye lee! Archie Stark, ye know I'm yer ain wedded wife, and as good as any o' ye." We may be sure that after this, Stark treated his wife with due respect.

But the men and women of those bye-gone days have all left, and we can sit under the shade of the trees on the little knoll yonder, and count their graves. We have built around their sepulchres a Mausoleum of crowded streets, elegant dwellings, and lofty factories, and the buzz of the spindle re-echoes to the chirp of the robin upon their head stones. May we cherish their virtues, and preserve our own to the last generation.

Mr. ALBERT JACKSON, being called upon by the audience, came forward and spoke as follows:

Mr. President--Ladies and Gentlemen--I feel a great deal of diffidence in coming forward at this time, having been preceeded [sic] by so many gentlemen of ability, who have very agreeably entertained you. When I came into the hall I had no purpose whatever of making any remarks. In fact my business so completely engages my time, that I have had no time to collect facts, or to arrange my thoughts for a speech on this occasion. And as I have ever lived out of the world, in Old Derryfield, I may perhaps be excused, should I fail to make a good speech. And were it not that I feel a just pride in acknowledging myself a native born son of Old Derryfield, I should not at this late hour, trespass upon the patience of this audience. My earliest recollections are of the forests and fields, hills and vales, of the old town of Derryfield; (now the populous city of Manchester) the contemplation of the past is to me full of interest, and there are many anecdotes and incidents illustrative of the manners and customs of the early settlers of this town, which, if time would permit, it would give me pleasure to relate. But the general prosperity of her citizens, in early as well as later times, is the best evidence of their sagacity and enterprise. And no son of Derryfield is, or need be ashamed of the home of his fathers. I can, from the heart, say of old Derryfield, "with all thy faults I love thee still.

A fact which speaks well for the taste and intelligence of our fathers, is, that in 1796, a social library society was organized, and in 1799, was by special act of the Legislature, incorporated. It contained more than one hundred volumes, comprising many of the best works then extant. I will detain you no longer, but close by giving you--Old Derryfield--Her talented son has this afternoon spoken of her as she was--as she is, she speaks for herself.

MR. JOSEPH KIDDER, formerly editor of the Manchester Messenger, having been called on by the audience, came forward, and said:

After having listened to so much, I cannot at this late hour do justice to myself or the occasion, save by a few hasty remarks. I cannot but say, that I am sorry at the direction, remarks have taken at this meeting. An occasion like this, a centennial celebration, is a place where facts should be related, which will be handed down to the future. Where are the old settlers and residents of this place? They should be here to give in their testimony. I think the character of the original inhabitants of this place, has been misrepresented. I remember as vividly as any one, the scenes which have been portrayed here; but these bad men, who fished about the river, were not Derryfield men; they came from Goffstown and Bedford, and other points on the river, and Old Derryfield had to bear all the blame.

Ever since my remembrance there have been schools established here, and there was too, at the school house just above here, a Sabbath school where people assembled to learn from the word of God; there was also formed at that place, a society of the benevolent ladies of the town, who did what they could for the relief of the poor. It was by such instrumentalities as these, that the people became interested in religious subjects.-- Agriculture was limited, yet there were good farms, and good soil. It is true there have been great improvements. Look at our High Schools, and Grammar Schools; where were they twenty-five years ago?

It has been remarked here to-day, that until recently, no son of Old Derryfield has ever been a member of any college. This reminds me of the old saying, which I hope will not be taken as an offence by any here to night, that wherever there were any fools in the family, they were always sent to college. I suppose this to be the reason, why no more children were ever educated from Old Derryfield.

This being the last speech of the evening, the people then and there assembled, men, women, and children, young men, and maidens retired to their homes, soon perhaps to forget in the life, and activity of the youthful, and vigorous city, the interview of a day, with the veterans of a century--a few years longer, and only the keen eyed antiquary, can discover in the fair face, and flowing locks of New Hampshire's first born city, the grey haired, and wrinkled brow of Old Derryfield.

ALHN Hillsborough County