University of Virginia Library

LETTER VIII.

In my former letters I have
endeavoured to trace the several steps by
which the forest became cultivated and
peopled. Mr. Bull had no less than
fourteen tenants who held under him, and
were settled on lands which he claimed as
his own, and which he had granted to
them in separate parcels. Their names,
and the enigmatical letters by which they
distinguished themselves, were as follows:

       

Alexander Scotus,	N. S.
Robert Lumber,	N. H.
John Codline,	M.
Roger Carrier	R. I.

                   

Humphry Ploughſhare,	C.
Peter Bullfrog,	N. Y.
Julius Cæfar,	N. J.
— Caſimir,	D.
William Broadbrim,	P.
Cecilius Marygold,	M.
Walter Pipeweed,	V.
Peter Pitch,	N. C.
Charles Indigo,	S. C.
George Truſty,	G.

It was observed, that of all the adventurers,
those generally were the least
thriving, who received most assistance
from their old master. I cannot tell
whether it was owing to their being employed
in business to which they had not
served a regular apprenticeship, or to a
natural indolence, and a disposition to
continue hangers on where they had got
a good hold; for it must be noted, that
Mr. Bull was very generous to some persons,
and on some occasions where it suited
his fancy, and this disposition in him

was so prevalent, that they who kenned
him, and would humor his whims, could
work him out of any thing which they had
a mind to.

On the other hand, those adventurers
who came into the forest on their own
hook, and had no assistance at all from
their old master, nor any thing to help
themselves with, but their four limbs and
five senses, proved to be the most industrious
and thriving, and after a while told
up a good estate. They all seemed to
have an affection for Mr. Bull, and it was
generally believed to be sincere. His
house was usually spoken of by them as
their home. His ware house was the centre
of their traffic; and he had the address
to engross the profits of their labour
and draw their earnings into his own fob.
To some of them he would now and then
make a present, to others he would lend a
pack of his hounds,[1] when he was out of

the humor of hunting; but they were
generally useless to them for the purpose
of scouring the woods, those who could
afford it kept dogs of their own, who were
better trained to the game, and could better
scent the forest, being native curs, and
not so spruce and delicate a breed as Bull's
grey-hounds.

It has been before observed, that each
end of the forest was occupied by Bull's
rivals. His old neighbour Lewis had got
the north end, and Lord Strut the south.
Bull's tenants had seated themselves chiefly
on or near the shore of the lake, and had
not extended very far back, because of the
beasts of prey; but Lewis, like a cunning
old fox, had formed a scheme to get footing
in the interior parts of the country,
and prevent these planters from penetrating
beyond the limits which he intended
to assign them. His emissaries had been
sent slily into the distant parts of the forest,
under pretence of taming these beasts

of prey; but in fact they had halved the
matter with them, and had themselves
become as savage as the beasts had become
tame. They would run, leap and climb
with them and crawl into their dens, imparting
to them a lick of melasses out of
their calabash, and teaching them to
scratch with their paws the sign of a cross.
They had built several hunting lodges on
the most convenient passes of the brooks
and ponds, and though thus scattered in
the wood, were all united under one overseer,
called Onontio,[2] who lived in
the mansion-house of St. Lewis's Hall.

It was matter of wonder among Bull's
tenants, for some time, what could be the
reason that the wild beasts had grown
more surly and snappish of late than formerly;
but after a while, some hunters
made a discovery of the new lodges, which
the emissaries of Onontio had erected, and
the design of them being apparent, a general
alarm was raised in the plantations.

On the first news, Walter Pipeweed sent
his grandson George,[3] a smart, active, lively
youth, across the hills, with his compliments
to the intruders, desiring them to
move off, and threatening them with a
writ in case of non compliance. This
modest warning being ineffectual, it was
thought that if an Union could be formed
among the tenants, they might make a
stand against these encroachments. A
meeting was held at Orange Hall,[4] but no
efficient plan could be hit on, without a
previous application to their landlord,
who hearing of this meeting, conceived a
jealousy with regard to this union which
seemed to be their object, and thought it
was better to retain the management of
the matter in his own hands, and keep
them divided among themselves, but united
in their dependence on him. He
therefore sent them word that “he had a
very great affection for them, and would
take care of their interest, which was also
his own; that he would not suffer old
Lewis to set his half tamed wild beasts
upon them, nor eject them from their possessions,
but that he would immediately
take advice of his council, learned in the
law, conjuring them by the affection which
they professed to bear towards him, to be
aiding and assisting in all ways, in their
power, towards bringing the controversy
to an issue.

At this time, the steward, to whom
Mr. Bull entrusted the care of his business,
was not a person of that discernment
and expedition which the exigency of affairs
required. He had committed divers
blunders in his accounts, and it was suspected
that he was a defaulter in more
respects than one. It cannot, therefore,
be expected, that in conducting a controversy
of this magnitude, he should exactly
hit on the right methods, nor employ the
best council which could be had. The
first step which was taken was to send

Broadoak[5] the bailiff, with a writ of intrusion,
which he was ordered to serve
volens nolens, upon one of the messuages
or hunting seats of Lewis. This bailiff,
proceeding rashly and against the best advice
into the forest, not a step of which he
was acquainted with, found his progress
impeded in a way wholly unexpected.
For Onontio had taken care to place a
number of his half tamed wild cats and
wolverenes on the boughs of trees, which
hung over the path, and as soon as the
bailiff came within reach, having first
wetted their tails with their own urine,
they whisked it into his eyes till they
blinded him. This manœuvre put a stop
to the process for that time.

Several other attempts of the like
kind were made without success, and Lewis
at one time had almost got possession of
Orange Hall.[6] Not only the foresters
themselves, but even Bull's own domes

tics, complained bitterly of these ineffectual
measures, and their clamors at last
prevailed to make him discharge his old
steward, and put another into his place.
The new officer[7] soon changed the face of
affairs; he employed no attorneys, nor
bailiffs, but those of tried and approved
abilities, men of enterprize and resolution,
by whom the suit was prosecuted in good
earnest. In every action Bull recovered
judgment, and got possession. When
Lord Strut came in to the aid of Lewis,
Bull cast him also, and took away his manor
of Augustine, which, with the whole
tract of land, where Onontio presided,
was annexed to his estate. The agents
who had been employed in this arduous
service, were not only well paid for doing
their duty, but, with the steward, who employed
them, were honored according to
the ancient, but whimsical custom of Bull's
family, by having their effigies portrayed
on sign boards, pocket handkerchiefs, snuff
boxes, and punch bowls; so that while
the fit lasted, you could not walk the
streets, nor blow your nose, nor take a
pinch of snuff, nor a draught of punch,
but you were obliged to salute them.

Whenever Bull's steward called upon
the foresters for their quotas of aid, towards
carrying on this heavy lawsuit, they
always readily afforded it; and some of
them were really almost exhausted by the
efforts which they made, to do more than
their share. The steward was so sensible
of their merit, that on due consultation
with Mr. Bull's wife, and her taking him
in the right mood, he was prevailed upon
to reimburse the extra expense to them,
and mutual complacency reigned between
the landlord and tenants all the time this
steward remained in office. But these
times were too good to last long; there
were some who envied the steward his
reputation, and raised stories to his disadvantage,
which highly affronted him. At

this time Mr. Bull was so much off his
guard, as to give heed to these reports,
and take a rash step in a hurry, which he
had occasion to repent of at his leisure.
He accepted the resignation of this trusty
servant, and put one of his[8] sister Peg's
cast off footmen into his place; whereby
he laid a foundation for his own disgrace,
and the dismemberment of his estate, of
which I shall give you a particular account
hereafter. Adieu.