7. When, and for what purpose, was the first English expedition into Vermont ?

8. When did Queen Anne's War break out, and how long did it last? 9. Give an account of the attack on Deerfield, and the return to

Canada.

10. How many years of peace followed the close of this war?

11. What of importance occurred during these years?

12. What is meant by the Equivalent Lands?

13. Give something of the history of Fort Dummer.

14. What grants were made by the French? What settlements? 15. What dispute arose between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and how was it settled?

16. What other forts besides Fort Dummer were built on the Connecticut ?

17. Tell what you can of the life of the scout.

18. When was King George's War declared?

19. What dispute arose over the support of Fort Dummer, and how was it settled?

20. Tell the story of Captain Hobbs's encounter with the Indians.

21. What townships were granted in the years of peace that followed King George's War? By whom were they granted?

22. What was the last of the French and English wars, and when did it break out?

23. Tell the story of the taking of Fort Bridgman.

24. What important forts upon the outskirts of Vermont were taken by the English toward the close of this war?

25. Tell the story of Rogers's expedition against the St. Francis Indians.

26. Describe the building of a military road across the mountains. 27. What comprised the population of the State at the close of the

wars ?

28. It is customary to consider the settlement of Vermont as beginning at what time?

29. Where is Winooski River? White River? Otter Creek River? Williams River? Passumpsic River? West River? Wells River?

THIRD PERIOD

EARLY SETTLEMENT

(1760-1775)

CHAPTER VII

NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS-GRANTEES-NEW YORK

JURISDICTION

New Hampshire Grants.-The French and Indian War for a time put a stop to the granting of townships; but, on the cessation of hostilities, so many persons made application for lands, that Governor Wentworth, in the name of the king, began making extensive grants west of the Connecticut, a large part of the land east of that river having been already granted.

In 1760 he had a survey made sixty miles along the Connecticut, and three lines of townships laid out on either side of the river. As applications increased, the surveys were extended westward beyond the mountains; and, by the end of 1763, 138 townships in all had been granted west of the Connecticut River. These townships covered the better part of the present State, extending from the Connecticut River on the east to Lake Champlain on the west. The territory now began to be known as the New Hampshire Grants.

The king's object in allowing the governors to make

such grants was to promote the settlement of the country and gain a revenue for the government through a small annual rent which was to be exacted. The governors of the colonies willingly made these grants, finding abundant remuneration in the fees which they obtained for the granting of the charters.

Original Proprietors. It is interesting to note how our Vermont towns came into existence. The original proprietors, usually men residing within the vicinity of each other in the older New England settlements, would associate themselves together to the number of about sixty; and, deciding on some situation in the Wilderness which they deemed would be acceptable, they would make application to Governor Wentworth to grant them a township there. Nothing was to be paid by the proprietors on receiving the grants except a compensation to the governor for the granting of the charters (usually about $100); and this they shared equally, together with the cost of a survey and sometimes the expense of opening a road to the grants,

These men were mainly either speculators or friends and followers of Governor Wentworth. Few of them ever so much as visited their possessions, but sought purchasers in all the neighboring colonies, where they readily sold to the large army of home-seekers the lands which they had obtained by gift.

The New Hampshire Charters.--All the town charters issued by Benning Wentworth were of much the same form. By their provision the towns were laid out as nearly six miles square as the natural features would permit. Before any division of the land was made, a tract of land, as near the middle of the town as possible, was laid out in one-acre lots, one of which was to be alloted to each of

the grantees. Making allowance for highways and unimprovable lands, such as rocks, ponds, rivers, mountains, etc., the land was then divided into sixty-odd equal shares.

Wentworth, according to the custom of other governors of that time, reserved 500 acres (regarded as two shares)

Original plan of the town of Bennington.

for himself in each township; this, with the fees and donations attending the business, gave him an opportunity to accumulate a large fortune. To encourage ministers of the gospel to settle in the new townships, a share was set apart in each for the first settled minister, regardless of what

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persuasion. One share was also set apart for the Church of England (the Episcopal Church), and another for the spreading of the gospel in foreign lands. Aside from one share which was reserved in each township for the benefit of schools, the remaining shares went to the grantees.

In his history of the town of Hartford, Tucker tells us the manner in which the shares of that town were assigned. The names of proprietors were written on separate slips of paper, and the description of lots on other slips. The names of proprietors were then put in one receptacle, the description of lots in another; then some disinterested person drew one slip of each kind, and the lot drawn with any proprietor's name was his property.

The giant pines of that day were very valuable as masts for the king's navy. Some of these were from 150 to 200 feet in height, and a tree thirty-five inches in diameter was valued at $500. The charters required that all white and other pine trees fit for masting in the king's navy be reserved for that use, and none felled without his consent.

Within the term of five years, every grantee was required to cultivate five acres of land for each fifty acres contained in his share, and to continue to cultivate them thereafter on penalty of having his lands taken from him and regranted to others. For the space of ten years, he was to pay a yearly rent of one ear of Indian corn on his town lot; and after that time a yearly rent of one shilling for each 100 acres he owned. These rents were to be paid on Christmas-day.

The Early Settlers; Who Were They?-Soon after the French had retreated to Canada, and there was comparatively little danger of hostile incursions, the Wilderness