AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Pilgrims' ProgressA rough Atlantic crossing
is followed by frigid temperatures, scurvy, starvation, and death. . . .
Welcome to the New World. (1620)2. Dungeon RockIn a cave near Lynn,
Massachusetts, pirate Thomas Veal guards his treasure-until the Great
Earthquake of 1658 buries him alive. (1658)3. The Great Swamp FightThe
Narragansetts are attacked deep in Rhode Island's Great Swamp by a force of
1,200. Three hundred children, women, and old people are shot, bludgeoned,
and burned to death. (1675)4. The Candlemas MassacreFive hundred Abenakis
raid York, Maine, killing, kidnapping, and burning. Jeremiah Moulton sees
his parents get scalped. He doesn't forget . . . or forgive. (1692)5. A
Crushing EndDuring the Salem witch trials, 150 people are imprisoned on
charges of witchcraft, twenty-nine are convicted, nineteen are hanged, and
five die in prison. Giles Corey is not so lucky. (1692)6. A Mother's
AngerHannah Duston of Boscowen, New Hampshire, kills and scalps her
sleeping captors . . . to avenge their brutal murder of her baby. (1697)7.
Boon Island's CurseA midwinter wreck strands fourteen sailors on this
barren rock six miles off the coast of York, Maine. Only ten survive for
twenty-four days, without fire, by eating what meat is available. (1710)8.
Pirate Treasure"Black Samuel" Bellamy captures the treasure-laden Whydah.
But as the crew nears its home port of Cape Cod, a tempest strikes, and the
ship's timbers begin to crack. (1717)9. The Brutality of Ned LowVicious
pirate Ned Low captures a Boston whaler, tortures the crew, steals their
food, and sets them adrift to starve. But he's still not satisfied.
(1723)10. The Meetinghouse TragedyThe frame of the new Wilton, New
Hampshire, meetinghouse collapses, dropping fifty-three workers three
stories to the ground-followed by tons of trusses and tools. (1773)11. Ann
Story's CaveA falling tree kills her husband, and Indians burn her cabin,
but Ann Story stays on her hard-won Vermont land, living in a riverbank
cave and helping capture Tories. (1775)12. Bunker HoleMainer Jack Bunker
hijacks a British ship full of food stolen from colonists. The British give
hard chase, so he runs it into a hidden cove, cuts the masts, and waits.
(1775)13. The Knox Cannon TrainColonel Henry Knox leads eighty yoke of
oxen, dragging fifty-nine cannons, three hundred miles in fifty-six days
over mountains, lakes, and swamps . . . in winter. The British siege is
soon broken. (1775)14. A Manly ShowingDuring Connecticut's battle of
Ridgefield, Colonel Benedict Arnold's horse, shot nine times, falls on him.
A charging redcoat demands surrender, but Arnold refuses. (1777)15.
Revolutionary WomanDressed as a man, Deborah Sampson is wounded fighting
for the Continental Army. She pries a musket ball from her leg with a
knife, but a second ball is lodged too deep. (1782)16. She-Pirate! Rachel
Wall lures innocent rescuers to their deaths at the hands of her concealed
crew. But the game wears thin . . . and piracy in Massachusetts is a
hanging offense. (1782)17. Tough Times, Tough PeopleIn February, Seth
Hubbell and his family trek one hundred miles on foot to the raw wilderness
of northern Vermont. His livestock and crops die. Then life grows
difficult. (1789)18. The Wild EastMrs. Graves of Brookfield, Vermont,
spends all night lunging with a pitchfork at a bear intent on savaging her
swine. But as she grows wearier, the bear grows angrier. (1800)19. The
Black Snake AffairA century before Prohibition, an illicit load of potash
instigates animosity, mayhem, and murder between smugglers and the federal
militia on Vermont's Winooski River. (1808)20. The Legend of Skinner's
CaveSmuggler Uriah Skinner is trapped on his secret Lake Memphremagog
island by federal officers who take his boat-and leave him no way off the
island. (1808)21. Runaway PondA Glover, Vermont, man's plan for more water
works too well: Mammoth trees, boulders, buildings, bridges, and livestock
are ripped free and carried for miles. (1810)22.
"1800-and-Froze-to-Death"Killing frosts in each month of the year across
New England result in crop failures, starvation, disease, and mass
exodus-all the makings of a famine. (1816)23. The Worst Mistake Ever
MadeThreat of a crushing landslide forces Samuel Willey, his wife, their
five children, and two hired men from their home in the heart of Crawford
Notch. Big, big mistake. (1826)24. Massachusetts Bay Man-EaterAngler Joseph
Blaney attracts the attention of two great white sharks in the middle of
Massachusetts Bay. They are considerably larger than his dinghy. (1830)25.
Vortex of DoomAs their mother watches from shore, two brothers in a
schooner are sucked into the gaping maw of the Old Sow Whirlpool, off
Eastport, Maine. They aren't the first . . . or the last. (1835)26. Rebels
. . . in Vermont!A Rebel raider and his gang attack a town on the
Vermont-Canadian border, robbing banks, setting fires, and forcing hostages
to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. (1864)27. Aroostook Lynch LawWhen
he steals a pair of boots, Big Jim Cullen never dreams he'll be the star of
New England's only lynching. (1873)28. The Hartford DisasterThe engineer of
the night express from White River Junction works to make up time, though
winter track conditions are dicey, especially on bridges over frozen
rivers. (1887)29. North Woods Freeze-UpAcross northern New England, weeks
of 40-below temperatures force loggers to kill their horses, cut off their
own frostbitten digits, and fight like caged rats. (1887)30. The Great
White HurricaneIn March, a nor'easter wallops the coast, dumping fifty
inches of snow, whipping up fifty-foot drifts, and wrecking two hundred
ships. It takes weeks to tally the dead. (1888)31. The Last VampireTo ward
off vampiric spirits of the recently deceased, a young Rhode Island girl's
corpse is exhumed, her organs are burned, and the smoke is inhaled by
family members. (1892)32. . . . And with an AxeIn Fall River,
Massachusetts, thirty-two-year-old Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden
opens her parents' heads with a hatchet-and is never convicted of the
crime. (1892)33. Lobstermen Fisticuffs!In December 1894, tensions cause
Cape Porpoise lobstermen to sink boats, threaten lives, and brawl in the
streets. The arrests instigate conservation practices still in use today.
(1894)34. North Woods Ice-OutA spongy lake, a load of logs, two horses, one
teamster, and an unscrupulous clerk are a recipe for disaster in Vermont's
northern forest. (1895)35. The Portland GaleAn unexpected nor'easter drags
the steamship Portland's 192 passengers and crew out to sea. The waves
increase, the boilers grow cold, and the vessel weakens. (1898)36. King of
the River HogsA New Hampshire line-house full of drunken rivermen, a big
bouncer with arms like tree trunks, and a wiry little drive boss named
Jigger Johnson. Guess who wins.... (1905)37. The Human ShingleA Berlin,
Vermont, farmer takes advantage of a fair winter day to fix his barn roof.
But his aging joints stiffen, the day grows cold, and he freezes to the
roof. (1907)38. Malaga IslandThe mixed-race residents of Maine's Malaga
Island are evicted, and all traces of them are removed from the island.
Even the bodies in the cemetery are exhumed. (1911)39. Logjam from HellThe
last great log drive on the Connecticut jams 65 million board feet of logs,
flooding homes, barns, bridges, streets, and railroad tracks in North
Stratford, Vermont. (1915)40. Rocket RideTwo young men climb aboard illegal
slideboards to descend Mount Washington's Cog Railway tracks in mere
minutes. But without brakes, their trip is quick-and painful. (1919)41. The
Boston Molasses DisasterA massive storage tank bursts, and two million
gallons of molasses pulse outward in a forty-foot-high wave. It's
lunchtime, and people are out enjoying a warm winter day. (1919)42.
Rum-Running LobstermenOne Maine island lobsterman doesn't like strangers
nosing in his traps-which happen to hold bottles of illicit booze-but a
shotgun blast solves all sorts of problems. (1924)43. Queen of the Border
RumrunnersShe's the brains of a border-hopping band of bootleggers, and one
night, with five hundred clanking bottles aboard, Hilda Stone is tailed by
agents . . . and her smokescreen fails. (1925)44. Kingdom Death Ride
Winston Titus needs to make a bootlegging run from Canada through Vermont's
Northeast Kingdom. But the smiling teen doesn't count on two border
agents-or their guns. (1927)45. Black Duck's Big NightLoaded with alcohol
on Narragansett Bay, the Black Duck is raked with machine-gun fire from a
Coast Guard cutter. Soon, the deck is covered with blood, booze, and glass.
(1929)46. The Sea FoxIt's Cape Cod Captain Zora's biggest haul of hooch-and
the Coast Guard is closing in. Losing the boat will wipe him out, but it
beats prison. Zora reaches for the gasoline. (1932)47. Brady Gang Slain!A
lust for more firepower brings the infamous Brady Gang to a Bangor, Maine,
sports store, but it's their request for a tommy gun that draws the FBI.
(1937)48. Hurricane of the CenturyThe storm savages Rhode Island without
mercy: A manned lighthouse disappears, an entire beach community is
obliterated, and a full school bus is claimed by the sea. (1938)49.
Downeast NazisA German U-boat creeps twelve miles up Frenchman's Bay to
sleepy Bar Harbor, Maine. Two Nazi spies slip ashore, lugging
suitcases-Operation Magpie begins. (1944)50. Maine Coast Trap WarsIsland
lobstermen squabble over territory. Trap lines are cut, threats are hurled,
gas tanks are filled with rotted fish-and then the shooting begins.
(1949)Art and Photo CreditsBibliographyIndexAbout the Author
