Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 10.djvu/177

 Historical Sketch of West Dunstable.

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��of Dunstable by Jonathan Blanchard, dated June, 1720. This phui is now in a tolerable state of preservation, to be seen at the office of the Hills- borough county registry of deeds at Nashua. Mr. Fry held a land grant west of Timothy Rodgers's grant, ly- ing on the west side of Penichuck pond, and embraced nearly all the territory now included in District No. 8 in the town of HoUis, lying west of the school-house. According to tra- dition, he came from Andover, was a son of James Fry, who was a soldier in the Narragansett war of 1676, and a brother of James Fry of Andover, one of the grantees of Souhegan West, afterwards called Amherst.

That Mr. Fry was the first one to occupy his own laud grant in all this section is evident from the fact that he built a turning-mill, and operated it a number of years. This mill was situated on the little gulf brook, east side of Ridge hill, so called, about twenty rods south of the road at the Spalding place, in the north part of HoUis. At a short distance easterly from this mill is still to be seen the place of au old cellar-hole, indicating that a dwelling once stood there. It was on this spot in the wilderness that Mr. Fry erected his log hut. It is evident that he cultivated a piece of land, and set out thereon three apple-trees, one of which is now standing, and in bearing condition, over one hundred and fifty years old, and is the largest apple-tree in the town of Hollis. Mr. Fry also manu- factured wooden ware, and was em- ployed a portion of the time in trap- ping. At what time he left here I am unable to say, but it was before 1746.

The early landmarks have disap-

��peared, and it is not easy to repro- duce the scenes in which they planted their habitations. To men employed in subjugating the forests, fighting wild men and wild beasts, clearing lots, and making paths, there was na leisure, and little disposition, to make records of their doings.

The following story is told of one Joseph Burroughs, who came from Charlestown, Mass., and settled in the Dunstable wilderness, as they called it, sometime about the year 1735, and became a transient resident in the Witch Brook Valley territory, about half a mile west of Penichuck pond on the hill south of the Capt. Parker place :

It is said of him that he was a mere trapper and hunter, and only resided here during the fall and winter ; but it is very doubtful what part of the year he was here most, for it seems that he belonged to a horse-thief gang, and used to secrete stolen horses and other property here at different times. There was every advantage for carr}'- ing on that kind of business, for there was but one settler in the whole re- gion, — Mr. Fry, who lived about a mile distant. The entrance to the cave where he kept his stolen prop- erty was made through the roots of a huge upturned tree. Mr. Burroughs was at one time connected with a band of pirates who had robbed a Spanish merchant vessel off the coast of North America, and, wishing to find a place to bury their treasures, engaged him to pilot them up the Merrimack river, tiience up Peni- chuck brook to the pond ; and they buried their money on the island east of the pond. This incident formed the theme of conversation among the

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