tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post1492114410337065258..comments2024-03-14T18:23:05.194-04:00Comments on NEW ENGLAND FOLKLORE: Hannah Duston Part II - Was She Helped by a Fairy?Peter Muisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05939949561996555115noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post-19400379840331056802021-04-25T10:52:14.821-04:002021-04-25T10:52:14.821-04:00Thanks for Part 2 Peter! It certainly adds to the ...Thanks for Part 2 Peter! It certainly adds to the legend!Rich Clabaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15915392348153309406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post-9867397108090925532015-10-21T14:15:38.099-04:002015-10-21T14:15:38.099-04:00Richardson's 1907 book called "Tsienneto:...Richardson's 1907 book called "Tsienneto: A legend of Beaver Lake" is fiction. He even uses a dream to frame the tale. The pictures however, are excellent. It is a great historical document capturing the area at the beginning of the 20th century, but adds nothing to the Neto myth. He makes the water nymph a male magician who curses the Pawtuckets with extinction and adds a couple of pourquoi tales for the geographical features. Aside from my copy, you can find the book at the Derry Library.<br /><br />There are other legends about her though. She supposedly fell for John Stark in his teens as he walked the shores of the lake. She enchanted him with powerful protective medicine. If you read his military record, it might stand in evidence. He was crazy brave and faced fire many times without being hit. He died of old age at 93. Guess how common that was in 1822. Average life expectancy was around 62 to 75 years by most estimates. <br /><br />BTW Hannah was the first white woman Tsienneto ever met and the whites were the 3rd group of humans. The stories of the Water sprite's relationships are with individuals. She didn't seem to belong to the Scots or the Pennacook tribe. There are no records from the Red Paint People to tell of a relationship with them. The MacMurphys who passed on the Hannah stories were the first whites to live on the shore of the lake. No telling what stories they learned from Tsienneto.<br /><br />Some folks say she still speaks with the poets. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Henry David Thoreau wrote of her.<br /><br />One more note on why Tsienneto would help Hannah over the 'Indians'. In addition to compassion for the grieving mother, the natives who captured her were from Quebec. By 1697, there were few Pennacook left in New Hampshire. That Hannah didn't kill all her captors is an indication that Tsienneto may have regretted give Hannah such advantage. There were survivors, but that is still another story.<br /><br />Papa Joe Gaudet from the shores of Tsienneto<br />PapaJoeGaudet@live.comPapaJoe Gaudethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11681570310036579498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post-26707478019742619472010-05-14T17:36:24.523-04:002010-05-14T17:36:24.523-04:00Could be Tsienneto was offended by Hannah's ne...Could be Tsienneto was offended by Hannah's newborn baby being killed so off-handedly, and decided to help Hannah instead of the Indians...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post-67515255626876692002010-05-11T12:28:08.607-04:002010-05-11T12:28:08.607-04:00Hi Heather!
Thanks for the info about the book. M...Hi Heather!<br /><br />Thanks for the info about the book. Maybe Tsienneto really does have a long history! I'll try to track it down and see where else she may have been involved in early New England.Peter Muisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05939949561996555115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885320105550742793.post-12973685364143466982010-05-09T18:16:00.980-04:002010-05-09T18:16:00.980-04:00There is a 1907 book called "Tsiennetto: A le...There is a 1907 book called "Tsiennetto: A legend of Beaver Lake" by Richardson, you might find it in the Derry Library. Locally, Tsiennetto is supposed to be the Indian name for Beaver Lake or Beaver Brook. Remember that Nutfield (now Derry and Londonderry) was settled by Scots Irish, who have a long tradition of believing in the "Wee Folk."Heather Wilkinson Rojohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17704949156266722016noreply@blogger.com