St. Maries Citty Militiaman

Transcription

1 1 St. Maries Citty Militiaman Ancient and Honourable Order of the Followers of Calvert s Black and Gold in the New World St. Maries Citty, Ancient and Chief Seat of Government of the Lord Baltimore s proprietarie Colony of Mary-Land, Number 306, October, 2011 Editor: Ernest J. Willoughby GET READY FOR CIVIL WAR COMES TO ST. MARY S OCTOBER We need volunteers to set up camp at HSMC on Friday afternoon for the big event on Saturday and Sunday, the 15 th and 16 th. We ll meet at the State House around 4:30 to get out our canvas and cooking stuff. We will carry it out to the designated campsite and set it up. After setting up, we will meet at the Willoughby house for dinner. Those staying over night can sleep in the State House as usual. The State House accommodations will be available Saturday and Sunday nights as well for those returning home on Monday. Watch your for any changes to these plans, should that be necessary. Most of you know how to find the Willoughby house. For those who may not, drive south on Rte. 5 to Bauer Road, about ¾ mile from HSMC, turn right, and go about 0.3 miles to Smithfield Drive, the second paved road on your left. Follow Smithfield until it turns into Hartman Drive, and go the end of Hartman Drive, about 0.4 miles from Bauer Rd Hartman is the place. You cannot miss it. HERE IS HOW HSMC IS ADVERTISING THE EVENT: Experience wartime in the Old and New Worlds with living history activities that provide a glimpse of two Civil Wars on the land and the sea - the American Civil War and the English Civil War. Military drilling, cannon & weapons firings, music shows, naval demonstrations and hands-on experiences. Admission. 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. After hours on Saturday, join us on the State House green for period music by Home Front and dancing, accompanied by Dr. John W. Turner, award winning Scottish fiddler, and led by dance mistress, Kathleen Norvell. Snacks and light refreshments will be sold on site. Admission: $15 per person. Advance tickets available or sold at the door, subject to availability. 7:30 p.m. For information contact or programs@stmaryscity.org.

2 2 A REPORT OF DAMAGE FROM A HURRICANE IN JAMESTOWN IN 1667 Susan Erichsen at Historic St. Mary s City sends this note, dated August 30, citing a hurricane that hit Jamestown on August 27, 1667: Hello everyone, I thought you may like to know that Historic St. Mary s City has fared well through the storm. Aside from trees down in the wooded areas and a few phone and internet glitches we have been able to get the museum up and running. I have also included a piece forwarded by our Curator, Silas Hurry which details a 1667 account of a Hurry Cane I hope you enjoy it as much as I did - Note the date of the hurricane. As always thanks for your support, Susan 1667 hurricane report from Virginia: The following is a letter from Secretary Thomas Ludwell to Lord Berkeley on the subject of this dreadful hurry cane of August 27 th Jamestown Colony this poore country is now reduced to a very miserable condition by a continental course of misfortune. On the 27 th of August followed the most dreadful Hurry Cane that ever the Colony (Jamestown) groaned under. It lasted 24 hours, began at North East and went around northerly till it came to west and so it came to Southeast where it ceased. It was accompanied with a most violent rain but no thunder. The night of it was the most dismal time I ever knew or heard of, for the wind and rain raised so confused a noise, mixed with the continued cracks of failing houses...the waves were impetuously beaten against the shores and by that violence forced and as it were crowded into all creeks, rivers and bays to that prodigious height that it hazarded the drowning of many people who lived not in sight of the rivers, yet were then forced to climb to the top of their houses to keep themselves above water. The waves carried all the foundations of the Fort at Point Comfort into the river and most of furnished and garrison with it...but then morning came and the sun risen it would have comforted us after such a night, had it not lighted to us the ruins of our plantations, of which I think not one escaped. The nearest computation is at least 10,000 houses blown down, all the Indian grain laid flat on the ground, all the tobacco in the fields torn to pieces and most of that which was in the houses perished with them. The fences about the corn fields were either blown down or beaten to the ground by trees which fell upon them.

3 3 Silas Hurry Curator of Collections and Archaeological Laboratory Director Department of Research and Collections RULES TO PLAY TEN PINS OR NINE PINS ACCORDING TO FRANCIS WILLUGHBY ( ) Francis Willughby Esq., the son of Sir Francis Willoughby [yes, that is how they spelled their last names] was a scientist, what they called then a natural philosopher, in England who is best known for his posthumously published work on birds, but who was active in studying many fields. Among his effects left after his premature death from an illness was a manuscript describing various games and pastimes of his day. The following account is from that manuscript, as published in Francis Willughby s Book of Games, a Seventeenth-Century Treatise on Sports, Games and Pastimes, edited and introduced by David Cram, Jeffrey L. Forgeng, and Dorothy Johnston, 2003, Ashgate Publishing, Hants, England and Burlington, Vermont. Ten Pegs or 9 Pegs. Skittle Pins The pegs are made of wood, bone &c., and sometimes they make the bones in the legs of beeves serve instead of pegs, standing upon the broad ends. 8 of these pegs are allwaies of an aequall bignesse and length, & set about a square at an aequall distance, 3 of a side as in A B. In the middle of the square at P stands a peg 2 or 3 inches longer than the rest, which is called the Ten Peg. Suppose the standing place at A, in the middle betweene the pegs and A there is a little peg lesse than all the rest called the 5 Peg, or the Five Madg. The whole number of pegs standing together is called the Ruck. They play with a good heavie boule, and standing at a convenient distance, as at A, boule at the ruck. If they strike the Five Peg downe by the way they reckon five, and one a piece for as manie as they strike downe of the ruck, unlesse they happen to strike downe the Ten Peg single, and then they reckon ten. If the boule rest so neere the ruck that they can reach out the Ten Peg with their hand, so as neither of their feet bee nearer the ruck then the boule, they set downe ten. But if it happens that they strike downe another as they take it out, they must reckon but 2. If the boule ly without their reach of the ruck, they throw it at the ruck and get as many as they can, or else, if they bee expert enough, throw the boule onely at the Ten Peg, the end of it standing higher then all the rest, & if they can strike it out so as not to strike downe any of the rest, they set downe ten, else but as many as they strike downe, or nothing, if they throw over the ruck & hit downe none, which often happens.

4 4 Figure 1. A copy of drawings in Willughby s manuscript describing the arrangement of the pins in a ruck (top) and the manner of playing (bottom). Refer to the text for explanation of symbols. The greatest art is in striking out the Ten Peg for if they hit it forceably at top with the boule thrown flatwaies or parallel to the horizon and against a gap, as n m, supposing hee that throws stands at x, it flys thorough the gap and strikes downe none of the rest. Hee that throws allwaies falls downe and delivers his boule when hee is almost at the ground. The reason is because hee directs the boule truer, being his own length nearer the ruck. They boule with as much force as will carry the boule to the ruck & a little further, that it may not bee stopt to much if it should hit downe the Madg by the way, and that it may come with strength enough to strike downe some of the ruck. If they get none neither with bouling nor afterwards throwing, they must set down none. They as get to 31 first win. But if one of the plaiers want but a few of being up & get more then hee wants, as as manie as makes him 32 or more, hee must goe back again to 16. But [he] must play againe before his adversary to try to get 15.

5 5 When they throw the boule against the ruck to get as manie as they can, they throw flatwaies or parallel but not edgwaies and against a corner, as w, that the boule first glancing against the side of w peg, & striking that downe, that may strike with falling the middlemost & that the outermost of that row, the boule then strikes down R, & going into the middle of the ruck strikes down the 10 Peg and some of the further side. A good plaier will get 6 or 7. The pegs are turned broader & a little hollow at the bottome, that they may stand better. They play sometimes with little bone pegs & a little bone boule upon the boards within doores. The most that is possible to bee gotten at one bouling is 25, the 5 Madge by the way, then the Ten Peg in running thorough the ruck, which is a rare chance, then the Ten Peg againe if it ly within reach or if they knock it out, so that it is impossible to get 31 at once. The art is, besides the knocking out the ten, to boule so as to hit the rucke and ly by it, to get but just so manie as they need. 3 are easily gotten standing in a rowe. 2, the ten & one that stands under him. 4, [as q n], the 3 in a rowe & one in the furthermost rowe. Those that are out & goe back againe to 16 may get up if they can hit the Madg by the way & ly within reach of a ten. They set their pegs usually in path waies &c. They play sometimes 3 or 4 on a side. The pegs must still bee set up againe as they are thrown downe fairly & in their right places. Sometimes they play onely who shall strike downe most at 1, 2 or 3 throwes, standing at a corner of the ruck, & sometimes they play without a 5 Madg. A RECEIPTE FOR WATER FOR A LADY S FACE To Make Pig, or Puppidog, Water for the Face. Take a Fat Pig, or a Fat Puppidog, of nine days old, and kill it, order it as to Roast, save the Blood, and fling away nothing but the Guts; then take the Blood, and Pig or Puppidog, and break the Legs and Head, with all the Liver and the rest of the Inwards, of either of them, put all into the Still if it will hold it, to that, take two Quarts of old Canary*, a pound of unwash d Butter not salted; a Quart of Snails-Shells, and also two Lemmons, only the outside pared away; Still all these together in a Rose Water Still,

6 6 either at once or twice; Let it drop slowly into a Glass-Bottle, in which let there be a lump of Loaf Sugar, and a little Leaf-gold. *Canary: A sweet wine, like madeira, from the Canary Islands. Source: The Fop-Dictionary: or, an Alphabetical Catalogue of the Hard and Foreign Names, and Terms of the Art Cosmetic, &c. Together With their Interpretations, for Instruction of the Unlearned. Anonymous, Printed for R. Bentley, London THE EDITOR S PAGE Your editor reminds you that he is looking for short articles, announcements, and items of interest pertaining to our St. Maries Citty Militia and to Maryland and other English colonies of the 17 th century. If you have anything that you would like to see in The Militiaman, send it in! By ejwilloughby@aol.com; by postal service: Hartman Drive, Lexington Park, MD