> .1," ///'/', // 'sUVt' f / T II E WRECKER'S DAUGHTER . AND OTHER TALES THE FOREST, THE SHORE, AND THE OCEAN. BY CHARLES P. ILSLEY, ESQ. BOSTON: ALBERT COLBY AND COMPANY, 20 WASHINGTON STREET. 1861. Entered according to Act of CongreM, in the yetr 18M, hy JOHN P. JKWETT AND CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of AMKfttCAN STEREOTYPE COMPAHT, 23 I'HCBHIX BUILDING, POBTOX. TO THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF MAINE, WHEREVER FOUND, THIS VOLUME, CONTAINING TRADITIONARY TALES OF THE OLD PINE-TREE STATS, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, B T THE AUTHOR. -: 3 PREFACE. IT certainly was not the intention of the author, when writing the stories contained in this volume, to give them to the public in the present shape. Writ- ten under the pressure of manifold duties, the most that he anticipated for them was a brief newspaper immortality a passing notice and oblivion. Much to his surprise, however, many of them have con- tinued to float on the current of popular favor ; a.nd by the advice, repeatedly received, not only from friends but strangers, he has been induced to make the present collection. The tales, it will be perceived, are mostly of a tra- ditionary character, although some of them must be received with liberal grains of allowance. We make this remark because a lady writer, now deceased, in encouraging the author to continue his legendary tales, wrote of them as follows : " They will be valu- able to the future historian, perhaps, more than they deserve ; for the sober, truth-telling air of your legends will expose them to being ranked side by side with 1* Yi PREFACE. veritable history. And," she added, with perhaps not a little truth, "they will doubtless have as good a claim to be so considered as much that has come down to us as history from remote antiquity." The stories founded on the history of the early set- tlement of our State are entitled to more credence than those the scenes of which are laid on our sea- coast. An exception should be made here in favor of " The Liberty Pole," a tale of Machias. All the inci- dents of that sketch are purely historical. It has not been so much the aim of the writer to portray character as to describe scenes and detail incidents, in doing which he flatters himself that he has avoided exaggeration. He is not aware that his pages inculcate any particular lesson, but he feels per- fectly assured that they contain not a word offensive to the purest morality. Such as they are, he submits them to the public. C. P. I. PORTLAND, APRIL, 1856. CONTENTS. BMM THB WBKCKIR'S DAUGHTER, 9 THI SCOUT, 113 T HI LIGHT-KEEPER,. . . ,.",'.' . 223 THI SETTLERS, . . . . . . . 258 THlLlBBRTYPoi,K, 347 THB STORM AT SKA, . . . . . 369 THI CANADIAN CAPTITI, . . . . 590 THE WRECKER'S DAUGHTER. CHAPTER I. Along its solitary shore Of craggy rock and sandy bay, No sound but ocean's roar, Save where the bold, wild sea-bird makes her home, Her shrill cry coming through the sparkling foam. DANA. THE scene to which we would introduce the reader is one in which nature exhibits herself in her wildest aspect. Far along as the eye can discern, on either hand, stretches a bleak, rocky shore, whitened by the foam of the rough Atlantic, which chafes perpetually against its jagged boundaries. Here and there a few stunted pines, springing up on some headland, and scattered patches of grass, dry and brown from the poverty of the soil, serve rather to heighten than relieve the dreariness of the scene. In clear weather, under the most favorable circumstances, the view is not one on which the eye, fond of the beautiful, would delight to dwell; much less attractive is it in the gloom of the storm, when nothing is heard but the hoarse voice of the waves as they beat against the cavernous shore, the strong rush of the gale, and the hrill cry of the soa-bird mingling with th elemental (9) 10 FOREST AND SHORE. uproar, and nothing seen but the black, sunken ledges that line at intervals the entire coast, hidden at times by the sparkling foam, the stern, craggy cliffs, and the gray, barren heath. And yet there is something in the gloomy grandeur of the scene which often wins my steps to its neighborhood. Amid such an uninviting display one would scarcely look for signs of human life, more especially at the period of which we write. And yet they were to be found. At one spot the shore abruptly recedes, in- denting the coast for some distance, forming a deep and rather broad cove, its sides lined with rugged and precipitous rocks, but the bight terminating in a steep shingly beach, the apex of which, owing to the wash of the sea, is considerably higher than the adjoining main-land. Close in shore the rocks on one side of the cove jut out some distance; then, falling back at a sharp angle, a snug little bay is formed, where, in the roughest weather, a small craft might ride with safety. Leaving the shingles you pass over a broad belt com- posed of fine white sand, intermixed with innumerable tiny shells, and enter on a stony patch of some half dozen acres, hemmed in with huge rocky fragments, in the crevices and along the sides of which dwarf trees may be seen, standing in every possible attitude save a perpendicular. Here and there dark scraggy bushes may be found, almost devoid of verdure, although the greenness of summer be abroad. On this desolate spot were erected three or" four huts, ill-looking shanties, built of various materials, the foundations composed of boulders clumsily piled, and the sides and roofs of plank and board, the dark stains and paint on which showed them to be frag- THE WRECKEIl'S DAUGHTER. 11 ments of wrecks. The aspect of these dwellings was in perfect keeping with the place in which they were located. From the fish which were spread out on rude flakes near most of the huts, one would infer that the occupants were fishermen. This was indeed their calling in part, although a glance at the inside of the habitations would lead one to the conclusion that fishing was not their only pursuit. From the rough, unpromising exterior, one would look for a correspond- ing interior. But, instead of scant and rudely made fur- niture, a visitor would have been surprised to find the apartments comfortably furnished, with quite a show of gentility. More particularly would this have been observed in one of the huts, which stood a little apart from the rest, in a more choice situation, if there could be a choice in such a place, and which appeared supe- rior to the others in many respects. The painted and panelled double door, evidently taken fr<5m the state-room of some vessel, would first attract the attention. Entering this, one would be struck with the singular aspect of the rooms, all of them being finished and furnished something after the manner of a ship's cabin. In the centre of the largest room, fastened to the floor, stood a heavy mahogany table. Around the sides of the room ran a boxed scat fixed similar to a transom. The walls consisted of panelled boards, one perhaps painted green, its mate white, and a third deeply stained to resemble mahogany. Suspended around the walls were various nautical instruments, sextants, spy-glasses, barometers, ind a number of rolls of charts, together with one or two rusty muskets, grainse, &c. The bedrooms, four n number, were finished in about the same manner, 12 FOREST AND SHORE. Instead of bedsteads, bunks or berths were fixed up as on shipboard. One of these apartments was quite tastefully ar- ranged, the berth being neatly curtained, the sheets and pillow-cases of spotless linen, the window hung with a fringed drapery, and the walls ornamented with a mirror set in a handsomely-gilded frame, while the floor was covered with Venetian carpeting. There was adjoining this a small room, fitted up with a few shelves containing a small supply of books. The furnishing of this room evidently showed that it was intended for a sort of boudoir, if such a fashionable term may be used in connection with so humble a dwelling. This remote and obscure hamlet was the abode of a small gang of wreckers and fishermen combined, the latter calling being followed when the former failed them. The company consisted of six or seven men, and it must be confessed, from their geneffc appear- ance and bearing, one would be apt at first to cherish rather an unfavorable opinion of their characters. A more intimate acquaintance with them, however, would serve to do away with this impression. The captain or chief of the band was a man whose gray locks and weather-beaten face told of years of toil and exposure, perhaps of suffering. He was a strong, hale man, nevertheless, and there was a light in his eye and a sprightliness in his movements that spoke of vigor un wasted and nerves well strung. The remainder of the crew were of various ages, all but one ranging past the meridian of life. This individual, known by the name of Antonio, was a young man of perhaps twenty-three, a hardy-looking fellow, not THE WRECKER'S DAUGHTER. 13 wanting, despite his swarthy face and unshaven locks, in indications of manly beauty. There was in his countenance, withal, an expression that would lead one to prefer him rather as a friend than an enemy. He was of Spanish descent, as his name indicated, although from early life he had lived among Americans. Save the females in the family of the leader, none of the gentler sex were to be found in this hamlet ; and of these two we shall speak hereafter. CHAPTER II. Soft as the memory of a buried love, Pure as the prayer that childhood wafts above, Was she, the daughter of that rude old chief. BYRON. LATE one afternoon, in the faU of the year, at the time our story opens, two persons were standing by the open door of the dwelling whose interior we have described, which was occupied by the leader of the crew, gazing towards the sea, which was fast rough- ening under a smart north-easter. They were both females one of them considerably past the prime of life. The somewhat masculine proportions of the eldest of the two, together with her wrinkled and sun- burnt visage, set off by thin gray locks and an elfish- looking cap, gave her at first sight rather a repulsive appearance ; but the gentle and affectionate glances that she directed toward her companion, and the mild tone with which she addressed her, were proofs that a warm heart was concealed beneath that rugged exterior. 2 14 FOREST AND SHORE. Her companion was a maiden of about eighteen summers ; her figure was very symmetrical, exhibiting a healthy, though by no means a coarse, physical development. Dark chestnut hair, arranged with a native grace, surmounted a countenance of more than common beauty, rendered more striking, perhaps, by the contrast exhibited in her companion. Exposure had thrown a slight shade of brown on her skin, but where her dress interposed as a veil, it was of a clear and almost snowy whiteness. Eyes large, full, and intelligent, shaded by long lashes, a slightly oval face, through the warm tinge of which the rich blood could be seen mantling, an exquisitely-formed mouth and clear red lips, around which, like sunshine on fruit, an arch smile loved to linger, a neck beautifully propor- tioned, and a full, swelling bust, a model for a statue, formed the maiden's charming contour. Could it be that so lovely a bud was an off-shoot from so graceless a stalk? that so rare a flower had sprung up amid this wilderness of rocks been nur- tured among the rugged plants which surrounded it? Even so, in the by-places of this world, amid the sterile roughness of humanity, we sometimes find grace, beauty and intellect so predominant, a's if nature sought a favored object on which to lavish her gifts, that she might not be without a witness of her lovely and beautiful creations. " I am afraid we are going to have a severe gale," said the eldest of the females, as she cast an anxious glance seaward ; " the wind increases in violence and the sea rises fast. I wish the schooner would return." " Had I not better go on to the headland, mother ? " THE WRECKER'S DAUGHTER. 15 replied the younger female ; " perhaps I may see her in the offing." " Yes, go, my dear child, and take the glass with you. I feel anxious about her, for it is growing dark fast, and it will be a bad night to be out in." The young girl entered the door for the glass, and then, throwing her apron over her head, she started for the high bluff which springs up at the eastern entrance of the cove, skipping from rock to rock with the grace and lightness of the mountain chamois. " If I see them, mother," she said, on leaving, " I will wave my handkerchief as a signal." In a short time, although the path was difficult, she stood on the beetling cliff, gazing from its dizzy height with unshaken nerve. From that elevated point she had a full view of the ocean. The scene was not new to the maiden, yet she could not gaze upon the world of waters spread before her, rolling in from the outer deep with an unbroken swell, and dashing against the base of the headland with a noise like continuous thunder, without a thrilling sense of the grandeur and awful sublimity of the scene. She was not one of those, common as was the sight, who can gaze with an indifferent eye and unaffected heart on such an exhibition as was there presented ; and, as the huge billows rushed madly in and beat upon the opposing barrier, and were thrown back in clouds of foam, a sense of His omnipotence who has said, " Thus far shalt thou go and no farther," touched the deepest chords of her soul, awakening emotions which she could not define or shape into expression. For hours had she stood gazing, as at present, on a scene like this, silent and spell-bound, the working of 16 ' FOREST AND SHORE. her countenance betraying the agitation of n