ing charges, and if no owner appear, he will soon be disposed of in service, to answer the cost according to law. JOHN NEWBREE, Gaoler.

Litchfield, May 12th, 1784.

Every species of deception and villainy seems at present to be practiced: some by dress and titles impose upon the unwary; others, under the plain mask of itinerants, accomplish their detestable schemes. One of the last description, on the night of the 7th of May, came into Capt. Vaille's tavern of this place, called for entertainment, and soon went to his lodging: but after the family were retired to rest, he thought it time, after rifling the house of a calico gown, a camlet shirt, and three pair of shirts, with 6 dollars from a fellow traveler, to take up his bed with all its furniture, and depart, and has since eluded the diligent search of those who have endeavored to detect him. It is to be hoped for the honor of human nature, that people will be vigilant in exposing this crime, as well as detecting future villainies; and that tavern keepers, in this western part of the state especially, would not put too implicit confidence in strangers, for "they know not at what hour of the night their effects and beds may, by the thief be taken away."

Connecticut Journal, No. 942. Litchfield, Nov. 15, 1785. Last Wednesday Thomas Goss, late of Barkhamsted, was executed at this place, pursuant to the sentence of the Superior Court, for the murder of his wife.-His defence, upon trial was insanity; and for the space of several days after his trial and condemnation, he appeared regular, and requested his attorney to make application to the General Assembly of the State, for a reprieve; likewise desired the clergyman of this town to preach a sermon at his execution, (if he were not reprieved.) But very soon he resumed his former notions, that wizards and witches haunted him; which ideas it seems he had adopted, some time in October, 1784; and under pretence that his wife was a witch he at first justified his conduct in depriving her of life. Under such infatuation, he ordered his attorney, in most peremptory language, not to apply for a reprieve to any human tribunal; alleging, that his heavenly Father had forbidden all such proceedings. He called himself the second Lamb of God; said he was brother of Jesus Christ; and sometimes said he was the child, born of the woman, mentioned in the Revelation of St. John, before whom the dragon stood, ready to devour the child, &c. To such extravagant ideas, he added, that the Sheriff could not hang him; that his heavenly Father would interpose if the attempt was made, and he be liberated; and that thirty thousand males above fifteen years of age, would be instantly killed by the shock in North America. He pertinaciously adhered to such wild opinions to the last moment of his life. The night preceding his execution he slept well. In the forenoon of the same day, slept calmly a considerable length of time-at dinner, ate heartily. On his way to the gallows, and while there, he appeared calm and unmoved; not the least emotion could be discovered in his countenance; nor the least perturbation in his speech. On being told that he had but twenty minutes to live, he kneeled down and made a short prayer, and consented that a clergyman present should pray with him, (altho' he had refused his attention to either preaching or praying, and would not even hear the sermon preached on the day of his execution, pretending that God forbade him.) When on the gallows, he said a few words to the spectators, inculcating the general principles of morality; such as that they had ought to bring up their families well, and obey the precepts of his heavenly Father, or they must be miserable. He declared he never murdered any person in his life excepting his wife; and the last word he said was, that he believed the sheriff could not hang him.

Litchfield, Dec. 12th, 1786. In the storm on Saturday evening last, the wife of Mr. Elisha Birge unfortunately perished. The fury of the tempest seemed to threaten an immediate dismemberment of the long erected and decayed mansion of their residence, a naturally timid disposition induced Mrs. Birge fatally to determine on leaving it, and seek an asylum in a neighboring house; from which resolution she could not be persuaded to recede, however hazardous the attempt. She had not proceeded far, when Mr. Birge followed, and immediately overtook her: having wandered about the dreary waste some time, in fruitless search of the friendly cottage, her helpless survivor suggested that they had mistook the road, and urged their return; but alas! too late-she was falling asleep: the chilling winds and hoary frost had deprived her of speech and sense, and beside the bending chest of an aged tree she expired in his arms. Those who knew her worth, cannot restrain the sympathetic tear. She was hospitable and good; indulgent to her children; a comfort to the partner of her bed; a blessing to her neighbors; and an irreparable loss to the stranger and distressed.-Mr. Birge was exposed to the storm about five hours before he found a shelter. His hands and ears are much frozen, but it is hoped he will recover.

BARKHAMSTED.

BARKHAMSTED was granted to Capt. Thomas Moore and Lieut. Jonathan Ellsworth, and other persons of Windsor, in 1732. The first person who made a permanent settlement in the town, was Pelatiah Allyn from Windsor. He removed here about the year 1746, and remained the only inhabitant of the town for 10 or 12 years. In the summer he employed his time in clearing and cultivating his lands, and in the winter in hunting. His plantation was toward the south part of the town, near the dividing line between this town and New Hartford. As there were frequent alarms on account of the Indians, he used, when danger was apprehended, to repair to a fortified post in the northern part of New Hartford. He took special care to guard himself against a surprise at his own house. The next man who made a settlement in the town, was Israel Jones, from Enfield, about the year 1759. Besides these, the first principal settlers were, William Austin, Jonathan King, and a Mr. Norton, from Suffield; Amos Case from Simsbury, John Ives from Hamden, Joseph Shepherd from Hartford, and Joseph Wilder from East Haddam. Mr. Wilder was the first magistrate, and for several years the only one. The progress of the settlement was slow. In 1771 there were but 20 families in the limits of the town, and the inhabitants were so few that they were not called upon to do military duty until 1774. The town was incorporated in 1779. The Rev. Ozias Eels, the first minister in the town, was ordained Jan. 1787. He died in 1813.

Barkhamsted is bounded north by Hartland, west by Winchester, east by Canton and Granby, and south by New Hartford. It is 6 miles in length from east to west, and 5 miles in breadth. The central part is situated 23 miles north west from Hartford. The township is rough, stony and mountainous, and is intersected by two high granite ridges of mountains running north and south. Upon the declivities of these ridges, and upon their summits, there is much broken land, some of which is inaccessible. In some places these ridges exhibit very lofty and sublime features. Iron ore has been discovered in small quantities in different parts of the town, likewise some strata of limestone. soil is hard and dry, and not generally good for tillage, except along the streams. The mountains and hills were formerly covered with excellent timber, consisting of oak, chestnut, sugar maple, beech, pine and hemlock; a considerable portion of which has been destroyed by wind and fire, and by the axe, under a system of improvidence, at a time when timber was considered of no value.

The

The following is a representation of the principal part of the village of Hitchcocksville, in Barkhamsted; it is situated on the west branch of the Farmington river, near the corner of four towns, Hartland, Colebrook, Winchester and Barkhamsted. The village contains upwards of 20 dwelling houses, 1 chair factory, 2 mercantile stores and an Episcopal church, which was founded July 4th, 1829, and called the Union church. Part of the chair factory is seen on the left, and the church

on the right of the engraving. The village was commenced about fifteen years since it is 20 miles from Litchfield, and 26 from Hartford. There are superior water privileges for extensive manufactories in the immediate vicinity. A little more than a mile south of this place, a few of the last remnants of the Narragansett Indians have a location; they came here about the year 1779, and purchased about 200 or more acres of land. Their houses, or rather cabins, are along side of the road: there are about 20 souls that make their constant residence here, though at times they number as many as 30 persons.

BETHLEM.

BETHLEM was formerly a part of Woodbury. It was incorporated as a distinct town in 1787. It is bounded N. by Litchfield, E. by Watertown, W. by Washington, and S. by Woodbury. Its average length is 4, and its breadth 4 miles. The township is considerably hilly, and the soil generally a gravelly loam, and is best adapted to grazing; there are, however, considerable quantities of rye raised in the limits of the town. The number of inhabitants in 1810 was 1,118, in 1830 the number was reduced to 906.

The following is a representation of the central part of Bethlem. The church seen on the left is the Episcopal; the Congregational Church is seen a little to the right of the centre of the engraving. The first building seen to the left of the Congregational church, is the residence of Joseph H. Bellamy, Esq. grandson of Joseph Bellamy, D. D. the celebrated divine. The next house seen westward of the church was formerly the residence of the Rev. Azel Backus, who was the successor

of Dr. Bellamy, and afterwards the first President of Hamilton College, in the State of New York. This place is 32 miles from New Haven, 38 from Hartford, 74 S. from Litchfield, and 6 from Watertown.

Bethlem, Dec. 20, 1760.

We learn from Bethlem, that such a distressing sickness has prevailed there of late, that in the month of November 34 persons died in that small town, but the distemper is somewhat mitigated. They are taken first with a cold, and then a malignant pleurisy sets in, and carries them off. Among others that died was Doct. Hull, his wife and two children, and a young man, all out of one house; the Doctor and his wife were buried in one grave. Soon after their deaths, and while others were sick in the house, one Deacon Strong coming by, raised a flock of eleven quails, which flew over the before-mentioned house, and dropped in the garden; immediately after three rose and flew into the bushes, but the other eight were picked up dead, and in an hour after stunk and were buried. The air in the parish is said by Doctors and others of judg ment, to be apparently different from the air in towns and parishes round about it. Some doctors there, have been ready to call this distemper the plague, or something much like it.

A robbery, which at the time caused considerable excitemeut in this place, took place in the east part of the parish of Bethlem, called Gurnsey Town, in the spring of the year 1778 or 1779, at the house of Ebenezer Gurnsey, a wealthy farmer. Mr. Gurnsey had sold his farm some time before, to Isaac Baldwin of Woodbridge, who had moved in with Mr. Gurnsey, and had paid him a large sum of money. Mr. Gurnsey had a number of men in his employ in building a house on an adjoining farm. All in the house had retired to rest, it being late at night, except Mr. Baldwin and wife, and two young men who were in another room. Two of the robbers came in, their faces being blacked, one being armed with a gun, the other with a pistol, and ordered Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin into the room where the young men were, to be bound, threatening them with immediate death if they made any resistance. One of the young men made his escape-they bound the other, and while attempting to bind Mr. Baldwin, who was a very active man, he wrenched the pistol from one of the robbers, at which the other attempted to shoot him, but he managed to keep behind the other robber till another from without came in and knocked Mr. Baldwin down with the breech of a gun, and wounded him badly. Mr. Gurnsey, although somewhat deaf, was awakened by the uncommon noise, and coming into the room was knocked down and had his skull fractured-the rest of the family made their escape or hid themselves. The robbers rifled the house of many valuable things, but in retiring, dropped

Mr. Gurnsey's pocket book, which contained a large amount of continental money. One of the young men who escaped ran three miles to Bethlem meeting house, without stopping to give any alarm.

Joseph Bellamy, D. D. a celebrated divine, was born in Cheshire. He graduated at Yale College in 1735, being then sixteen years old. When he was eighteen years old, he became a preacher. He was ordained in Bethlem in 1740. He died in 1790, in the 72d year of his age, and 50th of his ministry. "He possessed a vigorous mind, and was well versed in theology. His style was plain and his manner impressive. He held a high rank among his contemporaries as a preacher. During the great religious revival with which the churches were visited in 1742, he devoted much of his time to itinerant labor, and was the instrument of much good in many congregations. He was also distinguished as a theological instructor, both by a happy method of teaching, and by the great number of young men who studied for the ministry under his care. The most important of his publications is his 'True Religion Delineated.' His works have been republished in three octavo volumes."

CANAAN.

CANAAN was sold at auction in New London, in Jan. 1738. The settlement began in June of the same year. The first inhabitants were Daniel and Isaac Lawrence, John Franklin, and others who joined the settlement about the same time. The town was incorporated in 1739. The first clergyman in the town was the Rev. Elisha Webster, who was ordained in October, 1740.

Canaan is 41 miles northwest from Hartford, bounded north by the Massachusetts line, east by Norfolk, west by the Housatonic, dividing it from Salisbury, and south by Cornwall. It is about 9 miles in length from north to south, and its average breadth about six.

The falls represented in the cut on the next page, are formed by a ledge of limestone rocks crossing the Housatonic river obliquely from the N. W. to the S. E.: the length of the ledge is about 30 rods, its perpendicular height, perhaps, 60 feet, and its front irregular and broken. Here, in a formidable mass on the western side, and on the eastern, the water rushes from the rapid torrent above, and descending in every variety of form, with the mass of foam at the bottom rising in a misty cloud, and the surrounding scenery presents a scene of remarkably picturesque beauty. There are falls and rapids both above and below the main cataract, but of much smaller scale. "The whole descent," says Dr. Dwight, "is about 130 feet, nobly arranged and distributed, and comprehending a remarkable variety of beauty and grandeur."

The buildings connected with the "Salisbury Iron Manufacturing Co." are situated a short distance above the main fall on the Salisbury side of the Housatonic; there are also iron works below the falls, a