of bringing them back. A heavy oar weighed from twelve to twenty five pounds. The boatmen were a different class of people. While some were prominent citizens of this and other neighborhoods, yet there were writers who spoke of them as very common men. I esteem them highly for their character and great, good nature. The captains, or pilots of these boats, as I recall many of them, were charged with a high degree of responsibility. The freights in their charge often amounted to hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars, and I never knew a captain of one of these boats during the entire time that they were upon the river to forfeit his honor. And so far as I know there was never a defalcation laid to their charge. I regard them now as men of character and standing. I could call the names of some who ranked as prominent men in this and other places where they lived.

As to railroads, I remember very well when the first railroad was built through this place, and I wish to relate a little incident that is very gratifying to me. I believe that I stand before you tonight as the first man, or rather boy, who was ever drawn by the power of steam in the state of New Hampshire. The circumstances were these. This was before a railroad was built in the state or perhaps in the country, for I think the first railroad was built about 1830, and this must have been in 1825 or 1826. A man who had learned something of the power of steam prepared a lecture and went about the country delivering it. I was a lad five or six years of age when he came to Amoskeag and gave his lecture in the hall upon the other side of the river. My family took me with that lecture. This man set up a little possibly eight or ten inches in width from the floor, and upon that little track or frame work, he placed a little engine that was not more than a foot in length perhaps, and a small box car for a passenger to ride upon. He called for somebody to take a ride, and I remember that I responded. I stepped upon that little box car, he turned on the

them when they went to tramway across the hall, and four or five inches

steam, and it began to puff and blow, and drew me round the hall. I think I was the first young man or boy ever drawn by the power of steam in the state of New Hampshire.

As to the occupation of the people in this city, they were, as I have said, mostly farmers. They depended perhaps upon the ground for a living, but like other people, they enjoyed the pleasure and profits of fishing at the fails.

Manchester in its earlier days bore an unsavory reputation on account of the men who gathered about the falls. Men' came to Manchester from miles around, five, ten and fifteen miles, to fish at Amoskeag Falls, and they would spend days and possibly weeks fishing. I could describe their method of fishing but I will not take the time. These men who came here from out of town were more or less addicted to drinking, and in this way the Manchester people acquired the reputation of being accustomed to the free use of intoxicating liquors; hence, the early citizens suffered from the acts of others, as men oftentimes do. Most of the fishing was done in the night time. Shad and salmon fishing were done in the day time, but the fishing for lamper eels was mostly at night. The lamper eel is a kind of fish that we do not see much of in these days, but at that time the Merrimack river was full of them. These eels had a peculiarity about them. Their mouth was such that when they put it upon a log or stone, or anything they came in contact with, they could stick there and hold themselves for an indefinite period, with their tails flopping back and forth in the These fish came up the river in the springtime in great numbers. I remember a peculiar incident that occurred to a man by the name of McMurphy. He came up from Derry to fish. This man was acquainted with my father and stayed at his house during his fishing trip; once he went out and fished all night. He caught a wagon load of lamper eels and was covered with eel blood from head to foot. In the morning he concluded that he was pretty tired and weary and instead of returning directly to his home, he decided to wash up and go

water.

to bed and sleep awhile. About four or five o'clock in the afternoon he came down from the chamber and, looking around for a little while, somewhat dazed perhaps, he exclaimed to my father, "Squire Kidder, is it possible that the sun is rising in the west?" He had slept during the day, and being bewildered thought the sun was just rising in the west.

The people of Manchester in those days were peculiar in some respects. They had their means of amusement perhaps as people did in other places, but there was one peculiarity about them in this respect, that each and every man had a nickname. These names often held to them as long as they lived and sometimes it led to some embarrassment. I remember the nickname given to one of these eccentric men whose name was Baker. He was called "Cud Baker" because he was a great chewer of tobacco and used it in a very filthy kind of a way. Then there was another man by the name of Babson, who was perhaps as witty as any man in the town. He was called Corporal Babson. How he came by his name I do not know, as he never was a military man. He and others, prompted by their wit, got up a catechism. We all remember the old New England primer, a small book of a religious character which contained the shorter catechism. I suppose they derived the idea from that, and they prepared this catechism, in which they introduced the name of every man, and perhaps almost every woman in the place. I have seen that in my earlier days, and I do not know but it is in existence now. It was full of wit and wisdom.

I also remember the first menagerie or caravan of wild beasts that ever came to town. The exhibition was given over in Bedford, not in Manchester proper, and although on a small scale, it was quite a show for those days. I also remember the first circus which was held at Amoskeag. Although very much smaller, and with fewer men employed than now, it embraced many of the performances which are characteristic of the circus of today.

I also remember something about the library. I have spoken

before of the interest taken by the inhabitants in the matter of education. There was early established a library in the centre of the town which was maintained several years. Eventually, however, it was given up. There was also religious teaching as well. Not only was there preaching in the town, but the people supported a Sunday school. I obtained some of my early religious instruction possibly in that Sunday school. The Sunday school was held in the country school house, nearly opposite to Amoskeag Falls. A peculiarity about it was the method of teaching. We learned each Sunday a certain number of verses which were given to each scholar. I am not certain but that was a good way to teach religious truths. There are those who have learned in this way passages of Scripture that gave them comfort as long as they lived and strengthened their faith in the hour of dissolving nature. The members of the school were obliged to pay one cent a week for privileges of the school. think the school was organized by the wife of the late Hon. F. G. Stark. She was a very religious and devoted woman, and when the boys and girls could not procure their penny to put in the contribution box upon the Sabbath, it was arranged to have them bring an egg and Mrs. Stark would take the egg and put a cent into the contribution box in place of the egg the child had brought. Following a little further along the line of religious services, Dr. Oliver Dean, who was a noble hearted man and did a great deal for the city of Manchester by his personal influence in about 1825, was instrumental in organizing the first religious society in Amoskeag. Subsequently this society was removed to this side of the river, and became the Lowell Street Universalist church. In the early days of Manchester a Congregational society was organized at the head of which stood Dr. C. W. Wallace, who in power for good and happy influence was excelled by no man in this vicinity. I believe that if Dr. Wallace had been educated in our schools as young men are today, he would have been the leading man of the state of New Hampshire. As it was, he had few equals and certainly no