velled, and having united in a prayer, and in praise, on this remarkable occasion, they were dismissed to their several homes, still wondering and rejoicing at what their eyes had beheld, and their ears had heard that day."

The following inscriptions are from monuments in the grave yard west of the Congregational church.

In memory of the Rev. Mr. Joseph Coit, V. D. M. first pastor of ye chh. of Christ in Plainfield, who continued in his office 44 years. Obiit. July ye 1, 1750, Æ. 77 years.

The good man needs no eulogy, his memorial is in heaven. The Rev. Joel Benedict, D. D., born at Salem, state of New York, Jan. 1745, died at Plainfield, Feb. 13th, 1816. Religion that cheers the death scene, endears the sepulcher. Filial affection reared this monument, to indicate the spot where the dust of a Father reposes.

In memory of Capt. John Cady, of Plainfield. He was of an engaging aspect and deportment: his genius, naturally elevated, was cultivated by reading and intercourse with mankind. He had a happy facility in the dispatch of business; was exemplary in the discharge of every social duty, civil or domestic. A professor of the christian faith, a blessing to mankind. He rests not here; he was drowned returning from New York, Nov. 28th, 1783, in the 40th year of his age.

The glory of man is as the flower of the Field.

To the memory of John Earnest Miller. This stone is erected by the family of the late Anthony Bradford, Esq. He was a native of Germany, and belonged to the troops under Gen. Burgoyne, but chose their home for the rest of his days, and after a long course of kind and faithful services, died Feb. 14th, 1716, aged 80 years.

POMFRET.

POMFRET was first settled in 1686, and incorporated as a town in 1713. "In October, 1687, a grant of lands, commonly called the Mashamoquet purchase, was made by the General Assembly, to Major James Fitch, Lieutenant William Ruggles, Mr. John Gore, Mr. John Pierpont, Mr. John Chandler, Mr. Benjamin Sabin, Mr. Samuel Craft, Mr. John Grosvenor, Mr. Joseph Griffin, Mr. Samuel and John Ruggles, and Mr. Nathan Wilson. The most of these planters were from Roxbury in Massachusetts. Some of them moved on to the lands before the grant was made. At the session in May, 1713, the inhabitants were incorporated with town privileges. The name was changed from Mashamoquet to Pomfret.

Pomfret is bounded N. by Woodstock and Thompson, E. by the Quinnebaug, separating it from Killingly, s. by Brooklyn and Hampton, and w. by Ashford. Its length from east to west is about seven miles, and its breadth about five. It is divided into two societies or parishes, Pomfret and Abington. The surface of the township is uneven, and diversified by hills and vales. The lands, though somewhat stony, are rich and productive. The soil is deep, strong and fertile, and admirably adapted to grazing. Butter, cheese and pork are the staple productions of the town. There is an extensive cotton factory at Pomfretville, a little village on the Quinnebaug, at the northeastern corner of the town.

South view of the Friends' Meeting House, Pomfret.

The above is a south view of the Friends' meeting house, situated upwards of a mile south of the central part of the town, a little off the main, and on a cross road. It is encircled by forest trees, within the edge of which it is situated, and has an air of seclusion from the world; both the situation and form of the building are novel in their appearance. The two doors, in a kind of porch seen in front of the building, are the entrances into the meeting house, the men taking one, and the women the other. The house inside is partly divided by a partition, the men occupying one part of the house, and the women the other. There are four other houses of worship in the town, 2 Congregational, 1 Baptist, and 1 Episcopal. The most populous part of the township is in the vicinity of the Baptist church, which is 7 miles from Brooklyn, 40 from Hartford, 30 from Providence, 27 from Norwich, and 60 from Boston. There are 3 post offices in this town, one in the central part of the town, one in Abington, and one about 3 miles s. E. of the Congregational church in Pomfret, in a place called Pomfret Landing. This last place is said to have derived its name from the circumstance, that in ancient times a tavern used to be kept here, at which young men from Woodstock, Providence, and other places, used to stop, or land, and in some instances remain two or three days, carousing, &c.

The following is a representation of the entrance of the celebrated "Wolf Den," rendered so famous for the exploit of Gen. Putnam. It is in the society of Abington, about two miles southwest from the Congregational church. The following is from Gen. Humphrey's Life of Putnam.

"In the year 1739, he [Gen. Putnam,] removed from Salem to Pomfret, an inland fertile town in Connecticut, forty miles east of Hartford: having here purchased a considerable tract of land, he applied himself successfully to agriculture.

"The first years on a new farm, are not however exempt from disasters and disappointments, which can only be remedied by stubborn and patient industry. Our farmer, suffi

ciently occupied in building an house and barn, felling woods, making fences, sowing grain, planting orchards and taking care of his stock, had to encounter, in turn, the calamities occasioned by a drought in summer, blast in harvest, loss of cattle in winter, and the desolation of his sheep-fold by wolves. In one night he had seventy fine sheep and goats killed, besides many lambs and kids wounded. This havoc was committed by a she wolf, which with her annual whelps, had for several years infested the vicinity. The young were commonly destroyed by the vigilance of the hunters, but the old one was too sagacious to come within reach of gun shot: upon being closely pursued she would generally fly to the western woods, and return the next winter with another litter of whelps.

"This wolf at length became such an intolerable nuisance, that Mr. Putman entered into a combination with five of his neighbors to hunt alternately until they could destroy her. Two by rotation, were to be constantly in pursuit. It was known, that having lost the toes from one foot, by a steel trap, she made one track shorter than the other. By this vestige, the pursuers recognized in a light snow, the route of this pernicious animal. Having followed her to Connecticut river and found she had turned back in a direct course towards Pomfret, they immediately returned, and by ten o'clock the next morning, the blood-hounds had driven her into a den, about three miles distant from the house of Mr. Putnam. The people soon collected with dogs, guns, straw, fire and sulphur, to attack the common enemy. With this apparatus several unsuccessful efforts were made to force her from the den. The hounds came back badly wounded and refused to return. The smoke of blazing straw had no effect. Nor did the fumes of burnt brimstone, with which the cavern was filled, compel her to quit the retirement. Wearied with such fruitless attempts, (which had brought the time to ten o'clock at night,) Mr. Putnam tried once more to make his dog enter, but in vain; he proposed to his negro man to go down into the cavern and shoot the wolf; the negro declined the hazardous service. Then it was that the master, angry at the disappointment, and declaring that he was ashamed to have a coward in his family, resolved himself to destroy the ferocious beast, lest she should escape through some unknown fissure of the rock. His neighbors strongly remonstrated against the perilous enterprise: but he, knowing that wild animals were intimidated by fire, and having provided several strips of birch bark, the only combustible material which he could obtain, that would afford light in this deep and darksome cave, prepared for his descent. Having accordingly divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, and having a long rope fastened around his legs, by which he might be pulled back, at a concerted signal, he entered head foremost with the blazing torch in his hand.

"The aperture of the den, on the east side of a very high ledge of rocks, is about two feet square; from thence it proceeds obliquely fifteen feet, then running horizontally about ten more, it ascends gradually sixteen feet towards its termination. The sides of this subterraneous cavity are composed of smooth and solid rocks, which seem to have been divided from each other by some former earthquake. The top and bottom are also of stone, and the

entrance in winter, being covered with ice, is exceedingly slippery. It is in no place high enough for a man to raise himself upright, nor in any part more than three feet in width.

Having groped his passage to the horizontal part of the den, the most terrifying darkness appeared in front of the dim circle of light afforded by his torch. It was silent as the house of death. None but monsters of the desert had ever before explored this solitary mansion of horror. He cautiously proceeding onward came to the ascent; which he slowly mounted on his hands and knees until he discovered the glaring eyeballs of the wolf, who was sitting at the extremity of the cavern. Started at the sight of fire, she gnashed her teeth, and gave a sudden growl. As soon as he had made the necessary discovery, he kicked the rope as a signal for pulling him out. The people at the mouth of the den, who had listened with painful anxiety, hearing the growl of the wolf, and supposing their friend to be in the most imminent danger, drew him forth with such celerity that his shirt was stripped over his head and his skin severely lacerated. After he had adjusted his clothes, and loaded his gun with nine buck-shot, holding a torch in one hand and the musket in the other, he descended the second time. When he drew nearer than before, the wolf assuming a still more fierce and terrible appearance, howling, rolling her eyes, snapping her teeth, and dropping her head between her legs, was evidently in the attitude and on the point of springing at him. At this critical instant he levelled and fired at her head. Stunned by the shock, and suffocated with the smoke, he immediately found himself drawn out of the cave. But having refreshed himself, and permitted the smoke to dissipate, he went down the third time. Once more he came within sight of the wolf, who appearing very passive, he applied the torch to her nose, and perceiving her dead, he took hold of her ears, and then kicking the rope, (still tied round his legs,) the people above, with no small exultation, dragged them both out together."

STERLING.

STERLING, formerly a part of Voluntown, was incorporated as a town in 1794. The town is of an oblong shape, 8 miles in length from north to south, and has an average breadth of three. It is bounded N. by Killingly, E. by the Rhode Island line, s. by Voluntown, and w. by Plainfield. The face of the township is generally uneven, but there are some sections of pine plains. The soil is a light gravelly and sandy loam. The land is best adapted to a grain culture. The town is watered by two branches of the Moosup river, on which are four cotton factories. There is one house of worship in Sterling, which is for the Baptist denomination, and is situated in the eastern part of the town. This house is upwards of 3 miles east of Plainfield, and about 10 s. E. from Brooklyn. "Near the centre of this town, there is a cavern, called the Devil's Den, possessing very singular and curious features. It is situated within a ledge of rocks, and has a circular area of about 100 feet in diameter. The rock is cleft in two places, forming at each a chasm or fissure about fifty feet in depth, through one of which there runs a small stream of water; the other communicates with a room about 12 feet square, at the interior part of which there is a fire place, and a chimney extending through the rock above, forming an aperture of about 3 feet square. In another part of the rock there is a natural stair-case, winding around it from the bottom to the top. In the cold season of the year, a large mass of ice is formed in the room above described, by the dashing of water down the chimney, which continues there through nearly the whole of the warm months; the sun being almost excluded from this subterranean recess.'

99

* Pease and Niles' Gazetteer.

THOMPSON.

THOMPSON was formerly a part of Killingly, and was settled about 1715. It was incorporated as a distinct town in 1785. It is said to have derived its name from the circumstance of a considerable part of the township being owned by a Mr. Thompson, of England. A part of the land was held in his name till about the year 1800. "It is difficult to ascertain who were the first settlers of the town. It was mostly covered by royal patents to Thompson, Saltonstall, Wolcotts, Humphry Davy, and others. The first old parchment deed is now in the museum in Thompson, dated April 10th, 1716, and is from Josiah Wolcott, and Mary his wife, of Salem, Mass. to John Sabin, and is for 400 or 500 acres in the centre of the town, and bounded on the above old royal grants." The eastern part of the town was formerly called Quaduc or Quanduck. Thompson forms the northeastern corner of the county and state: it is bounded N. by Massachusetts, E. by Rhode Island, s. by Killingly, and w. by Woodstock and Pomfret. The township is nearly eight miles square, and comprises an area of 59 square miles. The Quinnebaug passes through the eastern part of the town; in its course it receives the French river. Thompson is a rich agricultural and manufacturing town, and the inhabitants are distinguished for their spirit of enterprise. The surface of the township exhibits an interesting variety of hills and valleys; many of the hills are quite elevated, but no portion of it can be called mountainous. The prevailing soil is a gravelly loam, strong and dry, well adapted to the culture of Indian corn, wheat and clover, and generally excellent for grazing. There is a great supply of valuable stone for walls and buildings. There are 4 houses of worship in the town, 2 for Baptists, 1 Congregational, and 1 Methodist.

The following is a southern view of the Congregational church and other buildings in the vicinity, in the central part of the town. The village, which is situated on a commanding eminence, consists of about 30 well built dwelling houses, 4 mercantile stores, 1 bank, (the Thompson bank,) and a printing office. At the time the following drawing was taken, a new Baptist church was erecting. It is situated a few rods north of the Congregational church. This place is 14 miles from Brooklyn, 34 from Norwich, 47 from Hartford, 27 from Providence and 53 from Boston. There are in the town 6 or 7 cotton factories, which do an extensive business. There are also two or three woolen factories. Masonville, on French river, is perhaps the largest manufacturing village in the town, and is about a mile and a half from the centre. The factory at this place was formerly called the "Swamp Factory, from its being situated in a marshy spot. Fishersville is about a mile north, on the same stream. The village of New Boston is situated in the northwest corner of the town, about six miles from the centre; the village is built on both sides of the Quinnebaug.

* The museum of Mr. Davis, contains the largest and best collection in Geology of any in the country.