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Introduction . . . it is evident how our strengths as a people emerge from the quality of our relationships with the land, including our sense of care, well being, neighborliness, trustworthiness and health. – Peter Forbes, The Great Remembering This small booklet provides a cursory introduction to the lands surrounding the Four Soldiers Path. Through these pages, we hope you will discover new insights and appreciation for the flora, fauna, and cultural history of the Randolph Community Forest and the adjacent lands of the White Mountain National Forest Pond of Safety tract. Randolph’s Community Forest serves many in a variety of ways. First and foremost, it has always been a home for moose, spruce, fir, black bear, white birch, chickadees — even the beloved Simulium venustum, spring and early summer’s ubiquitous, tormenting black fly. This ground has in more recent times served our human needs for resources, recreation, and spiritual renewal. Upon these lands and waters, native Abenaki have fished, Revolutionary War soldiers have secreted themselves away, loggers have sledded out sawlogs, and seasoned trampers have spent long days walking, snowshoeing, and skiing. As you wend your way along the Four Soldiers Path, the Randolph Mountain Club asks that you please keep in mind the commonly held Leave No Trace principles. Most relevant to the Community Forest are the need to plan ahead and prepare for your trip, to leave any artifacts that you might uncover, and to respect wildlife and be considerate of other visitors. It is the nature of paths to come and go. Some day, perhaps, the forest will reclaim the Four Soldiers Path. For the moment, however, we have a fine new route upon which to explore this land and, now, this guide to go with it.We hope path and guide will serve to strengthen our relationship with this land, enrich our own lives, and help us to be thoughtful stewards. Doug Mayer Credits This interpretive guide would not have happened without the support of the State of New Hampshire’s Bureau of Trails, whose Recreation Trails Program provided a generous grant to fund this project. The members of the Randolph Mountain Club, upon whom the club relies to carry out its mission, provided matching funds. Our friends at the Randolph Foundation provided assistance in arranging for the Four Soldiers Path project funding. We would also like to acknowledge our project partners at the U.S. Forest Service Androscoggin District office of the White Mountain National Forest for their contribution and support. Thanks to the Fields Pond Foundation for their generous support to build the Four Soldiers and Underhill Paths, and to RMC’s Fall 2002 trail crew of Matt Cittadini, Laura Conchelos, Aaron Parcak, and Dan Rubchinuk for making it happen. Special recognition goes to Carl Demrow for his trail design and layout. Trailhead guidebook boxes constructed by Larry Jenkins. Heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers who donated their time and expertise to this project including Dyk Eusden, Dave Govatski, Bob Hatch, Judy Hudson, Doug Mayer, Jim and Meg Meiklejohn, Pat Nasta, John Scarinza, Gail Scott, Jack Stewart, Lisa Troy, Edith Tucker, and Katy Wolff. Illustrations – cover, pp. iii, 9, 11, 12, 18, 23, 24 by Tim Sappington; pp. 7, 32 by Ginger Beringer; p. iv by Frances Topping. Finally, thanks go to the land managers whose task it is to care for these lands: Randolph’s Community Forest Commission and the White Mountain National Forest. © 2004 Randolph Mountain Club, all rights reserved. Printed in Berlin, NH, by Smith and Town.
The Legend of the Four Soldiers The Name “Four Soldiers” comes from the days of the American Revolution. It is said that four Continental Army soldiers,William Danforth, Benjamin Hicks, Lazarus Holmes, and Capt. James Ryder, were captured by the British and then released under the condition that they would fight against them no more. For fear of being arrested if they refused combat upon return, the four soldiers escaped and fled home to the North Country, finding their way to the remote pond, where they lived in safety for more than three years, until the war ended. At the war’s end, the four soldiers were exonerated of their charges of desertion and welcomed back to civilization. From one generation to the next this legend is passed along. Randolph Paths, Randolph Old and New, other mountain guidebooks, and writings about Randolph and Coos County include versions of this tale of the Four Soldiers at Pond of Safety.
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