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Mount Chocorua is
located in Tamworth NH. Tamworth is just south of Conway NH, off Route 16.
Chocorua was a Native American Chief or Satchem. An ancient story has been
passed down about how the mountain was given its name. It is a tragic story
about the accidental death of Chocorua's son, and the resulting curse he
made on settlers in the area:
"This beautiful alp
in the White Mountains commemorates in its name a prophet of the Pequawket
tribe who, prior to undertaking a journey, had confided his son to a
friendly settler, Cornelius Campbell, of Tamworth. The boy found some poison
in the house that had been prepared for foxes, and, thinking it to be some
delicacy, he drank of it and died.
When Chocorua
returned he could not be persuaded that his son had fallen victim to his own
ignorance, but ascribed his death to the white man's treachery, and one day,
when Campbell entered his cabin from the fields, he found there the corpses
of his wife and children scalped and mangled.
[Cornelius Cambell]
was not a man to lament at such a time: hate was stronger than sorrow. A
fresh trail led from his door. Seizing his rifle he set forth in pursuit of
the murderer. A mark in the dust, a bent grass blade, a torn leaf—these
were guides enough, and following on through bush and swamp and wood they
led him to this mountain, and up the slope he scrambled breathlessly.
At the summit,
statue-like, Chocorua stood. He saw the avenger coming, and knew himself
unarmed, but he made no attempt to escape his doom. Drawing himself erect
and stretching forth his hands he invoked [damnation] on his enemies in
these words: 'A curse upon you, white men! May the Great Spirit curse you
when he speaks in the clouds, and his words are fire! Chocorua had a son and
you killed him while the sky looked bright. Lightning blast your crops!
Winds and fire destroy your dwellings! The Evil One breathe death upon your
cattle! Your graves lie in the war-path of the Indian! Panthers howl and
wolves fatten over your bones! Chocorua goes to the Great Spirit. His curse
stays with the white man.'
The report of
Campbell's rifle echoed from the ledges and Chocorua leaped into the air,
plunging to the rocks below. His mangled remains were afterward found and
buried near the Tamworth path. The curse had its effect, for pestilence and
storm devastated the surrounding country and the smaller settlements were
abandoned. Campbell became a morose hermit, and was found dead in his bed
two years afterward."
It has also been
said, that 100 years to the day after Cornelius Cambell had died, a
devasting plague killed most of the cattle in the surrounding area, resurrecting
the story of Chocorua. In modern times, a statue of Chocorua was
placed on an island in Lake Winnipesaukee, which may still be standing. |
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