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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I us /3D/3.Z.7 ?|artmrbJMfrge IMatp i-^r^^ f- • . ; BRIGHT LEGACY Oae half tke lacooM AroB thit L^aqr, which vat ra- cehred la iMo aader the will of JONATHAN BROWN BRIGHT of Waltham, MaatachoMttt. it to be expeaded for booka for the College Llbraiy. The other half of the iaeooM it devoted to teholanhipt ia Harrard Uaivertitf for the beaeit of dceceadaatt or HINRY BRIGHT, JR., who died at Watertowa, Mattachatettt, ia i6t6i. Ia the aheeace of each deecaadaatt, other pertoat are eilflble to the teholanhipt. The will reqnirat that thit aaaoaaco- Beat thall be Bade la ererjr book added to the Ubrafj aader itt pioHtloaa. CAPE COD THE RIGHT ARM OF MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL I^ARRATIVE Bv CHARLES F. SWIFT, AUTHOR OF "a HI8TORT OF OLD YARMOUTH." «•< Cape Cod is the bared aud bended arm of Massachusetts; the shoulder is at Buzzard** Bay; the elbow or crazy boue at Cape Mallebarre; the wrist at Truro; aud the saudy fist at Provineetown — behind which the state stands ou her guard.**— Hekrt D. Tborkau. YARMOUTH: REOISTER PUBLISHING COMPANY 1897. *-«^Vj 'y?'^*<^WWffWPi^fWW»y^ jtMw «w ii i ii j ii it i|,itjpipiMPii B w . I ■ mw u N . 1 ^. '" •- / ^. US 13073. 2.<^ ' * L 2-- :< I*- Copyright, 1807, By CHARLES P. SWIFT. IllustratioDs by JOSEPH E. BAKEK. ■ V P.'IJWS'J ".IV* P . THE AUTHOR TO THE READER. m^ ^ HAT Cape Cod is the Right Arm of Massa- ;, chusetts, was Dot said with reference alone its physical characteristics. Regard, '^.'&\''.--'j^ undoubtedly, was had to the important and 7j.%'§^ beneficent transactions which had been '^enacted in its borders and participated in by its people. No part uf the country has had s more intimate relation to the great events on this continent during the last two and a half centuries than Cape Cod and its inhabitants. It is with the purpose of bringing within the limits of a single volume a full and continuous record of the histoid of this people, and making our fellow-citizeiis better acquainted with the details of that varied and interesting story, that the author has gathered, from many sources, the scattered threads of this narrative. It begins with the signing of the Compact on board the Mayfiower in Cape Cod harbor ; shows the exalted character of the men who settled here ; how its fisheries were taxed to lay the foandation of our common school (<y&t«m ; how the first successful resistance to persecution for religious opinions was made by the disciples of Robinson in the case of the Quakers in our Cape towns ; how her people resisted taxa- tion without representation, and gave to the country her peerless orator and her men of valor and endurance, in the Revolotionary struggle ; how in the courts of law, in tiie THE AUTHOR TO THE READER. marts of commerce, on shipboard, her citizens have stood with the wisest and bravest ; how, in later time, her sons, with the same devotion to the cause of liberty and duty that distinguished their ancestors, rallied to the support of their country's flag and the defence of its honor. These things will not be set down in a spirit of boasting and vain glory, but that adequate justice may be done to the fathei's, and that their posterity may be instructed and encouraged by their example. The plan and limits of this volume necessarily exclude the presentation of genealogical details. It will be a naiTative of Capo Cod as a community and as a people. The leading families, who have given it some added dignity, only serve to embody in a larger degree, the concrete character- istics of the whole. To be regarded as a good citizen of Cai>e Cod ought to carry with it sufficient endorsement, without the added lineage to which many of her people arc entitled, of belonging to old families of the fatherland. A considerable number, however, of those who have been conspicuous for what they have done or endured, will be commemorated in biographical notices, as occasion may seem to render it appropriate. By no means all, nor the greater proportion, of those who are natives of the Cape now live on the peninsula of their birthplace. They are found in large numbers in all the cities of the east, in the west and on the Pacilic slope. And wherever they are, they have can-ied with them the old-time traits, and their affection for, and loj'alty to, the old home by the sea. ! CONTENTS. I • « CHAPTER I. TO?OORAPHT AWD NATURAL FXATURn, 1-T w^ I CHAPTER n. Thx Fibst £zpix>axR8, B-18' CHAPTER in. TJlE MATrU)W£B*8 COXPAKT AND THEIR EZPIX>RATIONt, 19-86. CHAPTER rV. ^-Thr First SETTLRafRxrs, 117-61^ CHAPTER V. Charactrrutiob of thr First Comrrs, 6S^-74 CHAPTER VI. Eyrnts Foixowiko thr Srttlexrxts, 75-89 CHAPTER Vn. Thr Barurst Quakrrs, 90-106 I CHAPTER Vm. ^oro Phixjp*8 War, 107-190 CHAPTER IX. From Phiup*8 War to thr Uxiox with Maksachusrtts, 121-199 CHAPTER X. Thr Capr in thr Old Frrvch Wars, 139-169* CHAPTER XI. Oathrrdto of thr Storm, 168-191 CHAPTER XII. Thr Rrtolutiokart War, 199-919' CHAPTER Xm. From thr Pracr of 1788 to the War of 1819-16, 2U-984 f CHAPTER XIV. War of 1819-16, 986-989 • k ---ci^^-- L v«»»r«>'»h.*4a^a^>i - ooN'raa?T& CHAFTEB XT. Fbom Was or 1S12-1S to Bodtrhut Rkbeixioit, ohapteb xti. Oapb Cod ik tkc Rxbsujom, CHAFTEB XVn. Fkom Wab op thx BKBKi.Lioir TO OcR Own Times, CHAFTEB XVUI. The Fibheries and Wbauku, CHAFTEB XIX. Thi Native Indiaot, chafteb xx. Cafe AmHOBa and Newspapers, CHAFTEB XXI. PopuiATtoK, Civn. IiisTs, Societies, etc, fTMSl 282^0 SSMO' To my fdhw-members of tfie CAPE COB HISTORICAL SOCIETY, who have labored with me to do Justice to the memory of the fathers and mothers of Cape Cod, (his recital of the history of our native county is fraternally inscribed, by THE A UTHOB. ipiiiii»^i|Laip ■ • CAPE COD. CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL FEATURES. Cape Cod ami Barnstable County PyBony mown— Incorporation of the several towns — General Foi-mation — Soil, Forests and Flora — Native Animals, Fish and Shell lisli—DlfTerence in Northerly and Southerly Waters— Statistics and Characteristics of Population. HE name CAPE COD was originally intended to apply to the extreme end of the County of Rim^table. In its more extended designation, it includes the entire County, with its fifteen J^^^iJ^ towuHy viz. : Banistable, Sandwich, Yarmouth, ^1^ inc. 1G39; Eastlumi, 1646; Fahuouth, 1686 "^'- K^' Harwich, 1694; Truro, 1709 ; Chatham, 1712 Provmcetown, 1727; Wellfleet, 1763; Dennis, 1798 Orleans, 1797; Brewster, 1803; Mashpee, 1870; Bourne, 1884. It is situated between 42^ 3' and 41^ 31' N. latitude and 69° 57' and 70° 41' ^y. from Greenwich, England. It is a peninsula of somewhat irregular outline, about sixty-five miles in length on the north shore, and eighty miles on the south and east, and irom three to twenty miles in breadth. Its average width is about six miles. In the interior, the land rises to tlie height of some two hundred feet above the sea. Scargo Hill, in Dennis, the highest point in the county, is about three hundred feet al)Ove the sea level. According to Pi-ofessor Hitchcock, former state geologist, the region is com}X)sed entirely of sand, even to the depth of three hundred feet in some places, though there is proljably 2 CAPB COD. a concealed core of rock a little beneath the surface ; and it b of diluvian origin, excepting a small portion at the extremity and elsewhere along the shores, which is alluviaL For the first half of the Cape largo blocks of stone are found, here and there, mixed with the sand, but for the last ttiirty miles boulders, or even gravel, are rarely met with. Above the sand, if the surface is subjected to agricultural tests, there is found to be a layer of soil of considerable thickness in the upper portion of the county, gradually diminishing from Barnstable to Truro, when it almost ceases ; ^but there are many holes and rents in this weather-beaten garment, not likely to be stitched in time, which reveal the naked flesh of the Cape, and its extremity is completely bare."* The land was originally covered with wood, except in the few fields or planting grounds of the Indians, which comprised only an inconsiderable region. Archer, who wrote an account of Gosnold's voyage, in 1602, spoke of Cape Cod, which Gosnold named, as having "wooded hills;" and Captain John Smith, who was here twelve years after- wards, described it as "a headland of high hills, overgrown with shrubby pines." To the Pilgrims of the Mayflower, just from the dunes and marshes of Holland, the bay seemed "compassed about to the very sea, with oaks, pines, juniper, sassafras and other sweet wood." Of the trees that are indigenous in the coimty are the pitch pine and the white, in the upper towns ; oak, white, red, black and sciaib, sassafras, red cedar, birch, white and black, holly, somewhat scarce, ash, beach, maple, walnut, locust, in some localities. The red cedar, or savin, called by "Mourt" and other writers, "juniper," was once plentiful, but is not now so productive. Gosnold and Smith ciilled it "cypress," but the real cjincss has a different fonn. Wild giupe vines, green briar, ^Hitchcock's Report. TOPOGRAPHY AlTD KATURAL FEATUBES. S Virginia creeper and ivy are shrubs found in aU the region of the Cape. The blackberry 9 blaeberry and wortleberry are abundant in their season. ' The wild gmpe is found in the swamps and forests. The wild strawberry grows by the border of highways and in open fields. The checkerbeny, sometimes known' as boxbenj', wintei^i-een or partridge beny. is abundant in the open woods. The flora of the Cape is profuse and embraces the golden aster, golden rod, crowberry, pimpernel, violet, smilax, azalia, and the tiiayflower, the welcome harbinger of spring, hiding its bright blossoms and odorous breath under the covering of rough leaves. The bearbeiTy, or hog cranberry, with evergreen leaves and bright crimson berries, covers acres on the borders of the forests with a thick carpet of foKage and fruit. Extensive salt marshes skirt the northern and northwesterly shores of th^ Cape, and these were a great inducement to the early settlers, in seeking for a place of settlement. Wha;t is known as salt hay, was formerly much used by our farmers, but of late years is not so well esteemed. Within the last half century an extensive system of dyking ha» converted many acres into valuable fresh meadow land. The surface of the county is dotted with hundreds of fresh water ponds, some of them containing an area of hundreds of acres. The aggregate of our fresh water acreage amounts to a fifth of that of the whole State, viz : Barnstable 8,140; Brewster 1,400; Chatham 5,960 ; Dennis 979; Eastham 880; Falmouth 4,838; Harwich 1,974; Mashpee, 1,420; Orleans 2,748; Frovincetown 320; Sand- wich (including Bourne,) 1,600; Tniro 1,265; Wellfleet 4,868 ; Yarmouth 3,100. Total 39,492 acres.* ^lutenial Fishery Commission Report. 4 CAPE COD. ■ . The shores and hays of the count}" abound with shellfish in srrcat varietv. Ovstei's vrcre iniliircnous here, but by the wholesale taking of them the native variety lias become scarce ; v;hen brought from abi-oad and transplanted, espe- cially in I'Ciiion."? havin«f a flow of alternate sidt and fresh water, they grow with great rapidity and of fine flavor. The viya remiria^ soft-shell clam, is the most productive of the eonehiferoiis family. Capt. Jolm Smith wrote, in 161G, "You shall scarce find any Imy or sliallow shore or cove of sand, where you may not take many clampes or lobsters, or lx)th, at j'our pleasure." Says an old writer, "The most j^roductive land in the State is the clam flats. They cost nothing for fencing or top dressing; they are self-planting and self-supiKU-ting, and the more the soil is tuiTied, the faster the crop matures, and the greater its aliilndance." Some towns annually dig and ship several thousands of bushels, besides what are consumed bv the inhabitants. The mactiXL solidissimay or sea clam, sometimes called the sea hen, grows in the soft sand near tlie shore, or on the bars, and is causrht bv rakins: at low tides. Thcv are much used bv the winter bank fishenncn, for bait. The mesodesma alcfata is a snudl clam of the giant si>ecies, which is sometimes washed ashore on the ( •ai>c. The (|ualiiuig is a round, thick-shelled clam, tight as an 03'ster, with hard, firm flesh, greatly esteemed by epicures. The scallop, peclrenconcentncnSy is washed ashore in abundance after severe storms, or leaked from the shoal water. The eve onlv is eaten, and is higlily esteemed. The nmsscl, mutUnn ednli^^ is abundant, Imt not eaten on the Cape, though hi France and other countnes it is largely cultivated for food. The razor-fish (solcn) is named from its I'esemblance iii size and shape to the haft of a Rizor. It is said to force itself, not only upwards and downwards, Imt diagonally. It is TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL FEATURES. 5 excellent eating. Cockles are al:$o found in .several varieties. Of Crustacea are the lobster, crab, horscfoot or king-crab, with which the Indians taught our fathers to enrich their corn at planting, by placing a piece ui the hill, as they souictimoe did fish. There is a diffei'ence m the product of the northerly and southerly waters of the Cape. Prof. Fallow, of the U. S. Fish Commission, makes Cape Cod the dividhig line between the Anitic and the Adriatic flow. Hei-e the Gulf Stream loses its force and stiikes toward the European coast. Above this line marine vegetation is of an Arctic flora, distinct in many features fi'om tliat of Long Island. The difference l>etwcen the flora of Massachu;>etts and Biizzanis Baj's is greater thim between Massachusetts Bay and the Baj' of Fundy, or Xantucket and Norfolk. Of the fishes which are found in the waters of Cav>e Cod, the foUowin:? list was made in 1855 bv the eminent native ichthyologist, Capt. Nathaniel E. Atwood. The names by which they are known to fishennen is used, as l^etter adapted to the comprehension of the general reader tlian the dcsign^^ tions employed ])y scientific writers : Stri^xid bass, fl^'ing sculpin, deep water soulpin, 'Wej'mouth or JIar!)Iehcad eel, stickleback, scapaug, common mackerel, striped l3onito, horse mackerel, si)ottod mackerel (rare), yellow mackerel (rare), bluefish, skipjack, silversido, spotted gunnel, snake-shaped bleniry (new), motella (rare), goosefish, tautog, cornier, bro(>k minnow, gasse tiy, bill fish, smelt, hcnnng, blue-back herring (new), alewife, Avhito shad, hickory shad, menhaden, cod, torn cod, haddock, pollock, American hake, whiting, flounder, deepwater flounder, halibut, American turbot, tom-spotted flounder (new), sand dob, eel, sand ec!, Peck's \n\)0 ri?^h, sun fi-jh, cat fish, sivingle tailed shark, mackerel shark, man-eater shark 6 CAPE COD. (rare), more shark, hammerhead shark (rare), blue shark, dog fish shark, skate, cramp fish or torpedo (rare), American lamprey, blueish lamprey. The ponds abound with pickerel, perch, black bass, and in the streams are trout and salmon trout (rare). ' Of the wild beasts that were found in the forests of the Cape the wolf alone has been exterminated. In the early settlement of the county the people were greatly annoyed and injured by the depredations of these animals, which came by night to prey upon their cattle. Wolf traps were maintained by public charge throughout the county, and the bounties offered for their heads by the authorities at last had the effect to lead to their extennination. Red deer were also quite numerous, and owing to the protection afforded by the state, these beautiful animals are now found ranging our forests in the woods of Sandwich, Falmouth, Bounie and in some portions of Banistable and Yannouth. The red fox is found all over the county, and, though persistently pursued by hunters, is still apparently undiminished in numbers. The mink and the muskrat are numerous on the borders of ponds and streams ; the woodcock and polecat in the fields ; the striped and grey squirrel, rabbit and chipmunk in the forests. The raccoon is not so often seen, and the flj^ng squirrel and feiTct but occasionally. Of birds, there are the fish-hawk, red-tailed hawk, the red, snow and cat-OAvl, which are the most common birds of prey; eagles are occasionally seen scaling the air; the oniniverous birds, like the crow, bluejay, cliickadcc, nicadow- lark, Baltimore oriole, red-winged crow, crow-blackbird, bobolink, cedar-bird, arc abundant; of insectivorous birds, are the robin, pewit, l>laebird. In-own thrush, wood-thrush and house-wren ; various specimens of the pa>sarine species ; the woodpecker and swallow of several varieties ; the night- TOPOGEAPHT AITO NATUBAI. FEATURESl hawk, ffae whippooraill, the hanurnDg-bird. The heath-hen was formerly found here, bat is now extinct, so far as this region is concerned. Quail and partridge are found ia ahnost every forest. Woodcock and snipe are also found, and plover, curlew, heron, sand-piper, duck, brant and other water birds, are hunted on oar beaches and shores. llie county contained, according to the State census of 1895, a population of 27,654 inhabitants. The females out-nombered the males by 963. The hazardous business porsuits of tiie people accounts in a great measure, tiiougb not wholly, for this disparity in the numbers of the sexes. Nearly 90 per cent, of the population are of native birth, and are of purer descent from the flrat English settlers than in any other portion of the State. With their lineage they have inherited the love of order and progress, and the attachment for free institutions, which diatinguished their ancestors, and which all the subsequent generations that followed, maintained and upheld with vigor and determina- tion. From these shores have gone forth thousands of her sons to populate and develop the communities in the West and on the Pacific slope, to which regions they have contributed some of the best elements of their progress and success ; so that, while Barnstable county is their home and the place of their origin the vihole countrj is a witness to the qunlities of mind and heart of the fiitlipr'^ and mothers of Cape Cod, whose achievements it l the purpose of the following pages to record and illustrate CHAPTER II. THE FIRST EXPLORERS. Probable visit of tlie Nortb men —Verm zziino. Alleroii^ce, Burtholo- mew Gosnold, Prhi;. Champlniu aud De Moulu, Oaiit. Jobn Smith, Ttaomas Dermer— PeHtUeuce Amoug tUu Kittive«. ISTOKIANS have been accustomed to a^ciilie to Bai-tholoiuew Go^iiold and his compiijiioiis, in 1602, the first discovery iikI landing ni)on the coast of Cape Cod. But it had several times lieforo hecn explored hy Europeans. The Icelandic . sa.riiii furnish OTei'wIieliuing evideiice tliat the Xort&men visited this con^t some five centiiiies before the English navigator eiubat kcd on his ndventui-oiis voyage to the Western contment The chronicles of these intrepid explorers, especially of Thortinn Ivarlscfue, contain retereucos to localities visited, whicli can apply to no othei' region of the North American coast l)ut Cape Cod. Setting foith in the year lOOU, in two ships, from Iceland to Greenland, and thence following along the coast of Labnidor and Sable Island, they "sailed some time soittlnvest with land to star- board, wlien tliej' reached Ivjalarnes, where were tniL-klcss and white sandy beaches, of such length as to obtain the name of Furdnrstrandir" (Marvellous Stmnds.) Continuing their conise tlic^' entered a ba)', off tiie mouth of which was an island, past which ran a strong current, evidently Nantm.-ket Riy and Vineyard 8ound, and also snilod further THE FIRST EXPLORERS. fl- op the bay, where they landed and spent the n'inter. One- of the ships then trailed northward, but after ])aii6iDg the coast of Kjlamea, was diiven to sea and landed on the coast of Iceland. The otbcr ship sailed southwrtt nnd explored the region known to the Scandinavians as Muland, which * the beat of authorities now unite in locating somewhere upon the coast of Mount Hope Bay. The description of this coast by the historians of thi» voyage is startling in its reality. An to the Furdurstrandir, or Marvellous Ejtrands, of the Northmen, they correspond so exactly with tlic coast of the Nausct peninsula, and the- Chatham and ^lonomoy bcachcii, thnt no description could be more accurate. Dr. nitt!n;<ick says, si^eaking of this region: "The dnnes, or sacd-hills, which arc often nearly quite barren of vegclation, and of stiowy whiteness, forcibly attract the attention on account of their peculiarity. As we- approached the cvtrcmity of tlie Cape, the sand and the barrenness increase, and in not ii few places it would need only a partj- of Itcdouin Aralis to cross tlie traveller's path, to make him feci that he was in the dcptlis of an Arabian or- 10 CAPB COD. Ljbian desert." Prof. Bafn (of the Copenhagen Boyal Society) thinks that the name of Marvellous Strands may be chiefly due to the phenomena of the mirage, witnessed there by the Northmen, and in support of this conjecture * Hitchcock remarks that "^ In crossing the sands of the Cape, I noticed a singular mirage or deception. In Orleans, for instance, we seemed to be ascending at an angle of three or or four degrees, nor was I convinced that such was not the case, until turning about, I perceived that a similar ascent appeared on the road just passed over." If these bold navigators landed on the Cape they made no extended tarry here, and for over four centuries more, so far as any record sets forth, our waters were unvexed by the keels of European explorers. In 1524, Giovanni Verrazzano, the gi*eat Florentine . navigator, made a voyage of exploration to North America, . and coasted from Cape Fear, Newfoundland, to New York Bay. In an outline map prepared by James Verrazzano in 1529, appears for the fii*st time upon any chart of the New World an outline of the coast of Cape Cod suflSciently distinct for identification. About 1542, Jelian AUefonsce, a. French navigator, sailed down the coast from Canada, to latitude 42° north, and *** entered a great bay," the end whereof he did not reach. Allefonscc*s voyage to the New England coast was doubtless made in the interest of Robei'val, who, in 1541, was made "Lord of Norombega," or Newfoundland, and of all New England, eighty years before the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. As AUefonsce was a veteran and accomplished navigator, perfectly acquainted Avith the astrolabe, it seems certain that the bay he visited in this latitude must have been Massachusetts Bay, thus anticipating Gosnold more than sixty years. fkOtn L Sttc of former eDtrance tn I'oinmmnfnitt or old eblp barbor. Tbs locall^r of thu old -hip i* ivjirc sf)il<-(1 tu blftclc 2. Present eutrauce to ChntLnm bnrbor. 8. lolBiid le^lge. Vi CAPE COD. On March 26, 1602, O. S., Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, who is regarded as the first Englishman to set foot upon the shores of Cape Cod, and the first European who erected a dwelling-house on the soil of Massachusetts, sailed from Falmouth, England, for the north part of Virginia, in a small bark called the Concord, they being in all, says one account, "thirty-two persons, whereof eight were mariners and sailors, twelve purposing upon discovery to return with the ship for England, the rest to remain tliere for population." The voyage was undertaken " by the permission of Sir Walter Raleigh" and at the cost of a company of gentlemen, one of whom was the Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of Shakespeare. Gabriel Archer, "a gentleman of the said voyage," and John Breroton, "one of the voyage," wrote a "'Brief and True Relation," from which it appeared that, instead of the indirect course by way of the Canaries and the West India Islands, Gosnold bokll}'' took a straight course across the Atlantic. On the 14tli of May he made land on tlie eastcni coast of Massachusetts north of Cape Cod, and sailing south on the loth, soon found himself "^embayed wiih a niiglit}' headland," which appeared like an island by tlio reason of the large sound that lay between it and the main. "This sound he called Shoal Hope, and near this Cape, within a league of the land, he came to anchor in fifteen fathoms of water. Ilavinir hoisted out one-half of tlieir shallop, Capt. Gosnold and four others went ashore, and ascendiiiir the hills obtained a view of the surroundinc: country, iliscoverini? that the headland was a part of the main, with "sandy islands lying round about it." Thoir vessels were "so Dcstcred with codfish that numbers of them were thrown overboard, and Capt. Gosnold called the place Cape Cod," "a name," says Cotton Mather, "which it will never lose until shoals of THE FIRST EXPLOREIia 13 -codfish l^e seen swimming on its highest hills." Ai*cher, one of the gentlemen of the companj', deseribes the Cape 4is l>cing in "42^ North latitude, well nigh a mile broad, and extending northeast by east, the sand by the shore somewhat deep and the ground full of peas, whortleberries, etc., then unrii>e,'' They cut firewood, consisting of ''cypress, birch, witch-hazel and l>eech." Gosnold anchored we^t of Long Point, and describes the shore as bold, and does not mention any lagoon with water between the Point and the site of the present village. His description indicates great changes in the configui*ation of the coast since that time. The next day he sailed east and south along the outer coast of the Cape, which, inland, was ''somewhat woody." This coast differed widely from the present line. Off ^'auset a point extended far out into the sea, surrounded by shoal water with breakers. This^ "beach" he called Tuckei^'s Terror, and the headland, Point Care, which was the easterly cape of Isle Nauset. Passing this headland, and bearing again to the land, he anchored in the night-time, in eight fathoms of water, east of what is now Pleasant Bay. Several canoes here came alongside of the ship, the Indians bringing tobacco pijTcs studded with copper, skins and other trifles to l>arter ; one of them had a plate of copper hanging about his neck, and the rest pendants of copper. Five or six miles southeasterly from the present town of Chatham, another point extended far out into the sea, which Gosnold named Gilbert Point, anchoring a league or somewhat beyond it. Not a vestige of Gilbert Point or Isle Nauset now exists. A ledge half a mile fi-om the shore, covered with four or five fathoms of water, in the direct course of vessels passing around the Cai^, is all that remains of the latter. The sea broke over the former in two places, fomiinsr two islands, one of which soon drifted awav. The U CAPE COD. outer one, called Webb's Island, containing about twenty acres, remained until about 1730, being resorted to before that time, according to tradition, by the people of Nantucket and other places for wood, with which it was well stocked. Stumps, showing the murks of the axe, ai*e drawn up by the fishermen, or driven ashore by the gales. Sandy or Monomoy Point did not then exist ; it was formed by the debris of Gilbert Point, From the Point, Gosnold voyaged westerly, visiting Hyannis harbor and skirting the southerly coast of the Cape, touching at the islands, finally landing and erecting a trading house at Cuttyhunk, which a few weeks after was abandoned, the entire party sailing for England, with a collection of furs and peltry and sassafras root, the latter of which was then held in great esteem in pharmacy. The next year after Gosnold's visit, came Martin Pring upon the coast, searching for sassafras, which for some time thereafter was in great request by the old-time pharmacists ; but Pring left no accessible accounts of what he saw and heard, for the enlightenment of posterity. The most valuable and scieutitic explorations of this coast in the early part of the seventeenth century were made under the auspices of the French goveramcnt, by Champlain and De Monts, but strange to say, neither Bancroft nor Palfrey refer to them, and Holmes, Barry and Ilildrcth only incidentally, without giving an account of their work in delineating the coast of New England. Champlain was a skilful navigator, a man of science, and geographer to the King of France, and crossed the Atlantic about twenty times. He was engaged between Nova Scotia and Cape Cod, obseiTjng the land and its inha)>itants and making a map of the coast, from May, 1(>04, to September, 1607. Cape Cod harbor was visited by De Monts and Champlain THE FIB8T EXPLORBBa 15 in 1605, and the next year was farther explored by Poitrin- court and Champlain. In his map Cape Cod is called Cape Blanc (i. e. Cape White) from the color of its sand hills. Champlain, in the account of bis ** voyages," gave separate charts and soundings of two harbors — ^Malle Barre, the Bad Bar (Nauset Harbor?) and Port Fortune, Chatham Harbor. By his own account Champlain arrived off Chatham Oct. 2, 1606. His boat, which he sent on shore, could not land, by reason of the breakers, but the Indians launched a canoe and came on board. The next morning, piloted by the Indians, he entered the harbor, but found difficulty of navigation among the shoals of Monomoy. The vessel struck the bottom, broke her rudder, and was in peril. ^'Finally,'' he says, ^we succeeded by the grace of God, in passing over a point of sand which juts out into the sea three leagues to the S. S. £., a very dangerous place. We were involved in such fashion among the breakers and sand-banks that it was necessary to pass at all hazards.'' finding a smooth place they anchored and sent a boat with men to look out a channel. After '* considering the place," the boat returned with a savage, and favorable news. They immediately got under way, and were piloted by the savage to a place where they cast anchor in a roadstead having six &thoms of water and good bottom. The next day marka were put up on the sand, and at high water they run in at what is now known as Harding's Beach Point, and anchored in two fathoms of water. In view of the perils they had passed they called the place Port Fortune. This is now that portion of Chatham coast known as Stage Harbor. Fifteen days were spent in this place, a cross was erected, and possession taken in the name of the King of France. Their intercourse with the natives had up to this time been friendly and without apprehension of danger. When the 16 CAPE COD. repairs of the bark were completed, Poitrincourt walked a shoi-t distance into the interior, while his people were baking bread for the coming voyage. In his absence some •of the natives went to the cncanipnient of the French, stole a hatchet, and guns Avere tired, and thej' tied. Poitrincourt, -on his return from his expedition inland, saw the Indians carrvins: awav their children and other indications of excite- ment and i)rcparation. This created suspicions, which were veriiied the next morning by the discharge among the company of a shower of arrows, killing two and wounding seveml. The Indians then fled, and pursuit wjis considered useless. The dead were buried at the foot of a cross ; but whilst the funeral seiTice was being performed, the Indians were seen dancing and yelling in conceii:, at a convenient distance away. After the French had retired to their bark, the Indians took down the cross, and dug up the bodies, stripping them of their grave clothes, which they can*ied about in mock triumph. Poitrincourt then attempted to pass further around the Cape, but was driven back by adverse winds, to his fonuer anclioragc. The Indians now seemed pacifically inclined, and made proffers of trade ; whereupon six or seven of them were seized bv the French and executed. They again left the harbor, and sailed southerly, discovering an island, probably Nantucket or Martha's Vine- vavd. With his wounded men, whose lives he considered in peril, he sailed away for Port Koyal, relinquishing his designs for forming a settlement. That Capt. Henry Hudson, when in the employ of the Dutch East India company, "discovered'' Cape Cod and landed upon some part of it, rests upon the authority of the journal of his voyage. AVhat i)ortion of the Cape he visited and how lonir he remained, is not known. In 1614, the famous Capt. John Smith visited the coast. THE FIRST EXPLORERS. 17 and in his "Description of Now Enirland," printed ten years later, after speaking of Accomack, since called Plymouth, he says : ^ Caj^e Cod is • the next which presents itself, which is only a headland of hills of sand, overgrown with scrubby pines, hurts (i. e., whorts or whortleberiies) and •such trash, Imt an excellent harbor for all weathers. This Cape is made by the main sea on the one side, and a great bay on the other, in the form of a sickle. On it doth inhabit the i>eople of Pawmet, and in the bottom of the bay those of Chawum** (Barnstable or Yarmouth). Smith's ships apj)ear to have made as thorough an exploration of the inside of the Cayie as Champlain did of the outside, but, like Champlain, his impoi-tant work on this coast has escaped the notice of the standaixl historians of the United States. To one of Smith's subordinates, Capt. Hunt, who commanded one of the vessels of liis Heet, is due an act of aggressive hostility which wju* a fruitful source of difficulty and danger to those who subsequently visited these shores. Hunt, while at Nausct, pei-fidiously inveigled a company of natives on board his vessel, and setting sail, carried them to Malaga, Avhere they were sold into slavery, at twenty pounds per head. It was many years before the Indians forgot this act of perfidy, and Hunt's unoffending successors had to atone for his bad faith and treacheiy. Other adventurers, both French and English, explored the coast of New England, from 1616 to 1619, and found a terrible pestilence raging among the natives, many places which had been populous now being depopulated, thus interrupting trade, which was beginning to be active between the natives and the traders of other nationalities. One of -Sir Ferdinando Gorges's ships, commanded by Capt. Thomas Deimer, in 1610, found many places before populous, now uninhabited. Capt. Dermer brought with 18 CAFE COD. him one of the victims of Hnut's treachery^ as Indian named Tisquantum, who afterwards, under the more familiar name of Squaoto, became very serviceable to the English settlerd. Wbeii thi^ savage retuined after his exile to his native place, he found all bis people dead ! At Monomoyick (Chatbam) Dermer was taken prisoner by the Indians, but succeeded in effecting his escape. CHAPTER III. THE MAYFLOWER'S COMPANY AND THEIR EXPLORATIONS. The UuTflower iu <.'ai>e Cdtl burbor— The Soc-ial Compact— E^ nit Bxploi'Ius Exiieilitiou— rirct Driuk of Xen' Eii^Iaud Wator— Dl«joTery ol luiltau Cora — Setoiid Bii>1oratlou — D?i>ate of the Scbeme of Sottliiifr in Truro — Tbird E:ti>«dltlon — Lauding at BiIUux«sate— The Ftr*l E:i<.-Oiinter— Voyage to and Return from Plymmith — First Birth mul PirH Death—VUlt to Xnu*et tn fenrob of Lout Boy — Eiit^rtniiied liy lyouough- Expeditions to Moiio- moyiok, Xaii«et, Unuom^i —Panic Amoiiic the ludiauii- Deatb of lyauoiifrh— Wrwck of the E!i>uiTuwtiawlc— Tiadiug Poit at Maiioiuet — Great Storm of 1C35. X tbe nth of ^'ovemlie^, lti20, old titylc, as is n-ell loiown to the Englitth speukiiig race, the Alayflnwer, with the Pilgiim Fathers on board, after & f boisteixius passage of sixty-three days, ^ cast aiK'hor in Proviacetowu harbor. la V Muuit's lielation, in a dc^icriptiou of the voyage, from the pen ot Bradford, we are told how it appeared to the Pilgrim Fathers: "It is a good harbor and pleosaut bay, circled, round, except in tJie entrance, which is about four mile» over from land to land, compassed about to the very sea^ nith oaks, pines, juniper, sassafras, and other sweet wood. It is a harbor wherein a thousand sail of ships may safely ride. There we relieved ourselves with wood and water, and refreshed our people while our shallop ivas fitted to coast tbe bay, to searcli for an habitation ; there was the greatest store of fowl that ever we saw. And every day a> CAPE fOD. we saw whales playinsj hard by us, of which, in that place, if wo bad iiistmmciild aiul umaiis tu take them we might have Qiade a very ritli return, which to our great gncf, we wanted. Our um-stt'v sinil his mute, iind others experienced in fishing, pi-ofeoseJ tliat we might liuve made three or four thousnnd pounds ivoith of oil ; they preferred it !>cfore Greenland wiiide tishing, ond |»urpOtied the next winter to fish for whale liere." Unlike Gosuold, tliey found no cod, ■nor other fish. Ho continues the nai-mtive: "The l>ay was so round and circlinjr thut before we could come to anchor we went roniul all the jToints of the compass. We could not come near the shore by three-quartei-s of ao English mile, becau:ie of shallow water, which was a great prejudice to us, for our people going on shore were forced to wade a bow-shoot or two in going aUnd, which caused many to get colds and cough*, for it was ninny times UAYrLOVrEH COMPANY AND THKIR EXPLORATIONS. 21 freezing cold weather." He afterwards says, "It brought much sickness amongst us/' and doul»tlcp?s led to some of the deaths Avhich occuiTcd in Pl^Tiiouth. Before the Mayflower, came to anchor, observing that some, who were not of the Leyden company, were not disposed to acknowledge that any authorit}' existed for governing them, as the place of lauding was not within the limits of the patent of Virginia, "it M'as thought good that we (they) should combine together in one body, and to submit to such government and governors as Ave should by common consent agree to make and choose," after solemnly invoking the throne of gnice, they entered into the following compact, to which foity-one persons, including all the males of age, subscribed, as a basis of government : In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread soverei^rn Lord Kins: James, bv the irracc of God of Great Britain, Franco, and Ireland, King, defender of tLe faith, etc., havinir undertaken for the o:lorv of God and advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our king and country, a voj'age to plant the first colony in the noilhern parts of Virginia ; do l)y these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and presentation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid : and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame such just and e<|ual laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness Avhereof wc have hereunto subscribed our names at Caj>e Cod, the 11th of Noveml>er, in the year of •» CAPE COD. the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James of England, Fi-ance, and Ireland, the eighteenth and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1620. Mr. Joiix Carver. Wm. Bradford. ilr. Edward Wixslow. Mr. William Brewster. Mr. Isaac Allertox. Capt. i\IiLES Staxdish. JoHx Aldkx. Mr. Sa3iuel Fuller. Mr. Christopher Martix. Mr. William Mullixs. Mr. William White. Mr. Richard Warrex. JoHX Howlaxd. Mr. Stefhex IIopkixs. Edward Tilly. John Tilly. Francis Cooke. Thomas Rogers. Thomas Tinker. John Ridgedale. Edward Fuller. John Turner. Francis Eaton. James Chilton. John Craxton. John Billinoton. Moses Fletcher. eToHN Goodman. Degory Priest. Thomas Williams. Gilbert Winslow. Edmund Margeson. Peter Bro>>'x. Richard Britteridge. George Soule. Richard Clarke. Richard Gardiner. John Allerton. THOM.VS English. Edward Dotey. Edward Leister. Much has been wiitten by speculative theorists, in relation to this simple act of the Pilgrim adventurers, who probably did not imagine they were performing a pai-t which by posterity would be regarded as a new dcpailure in the science of self-government. Their action was so simple and unpretentious, and grew so naturally out of their posi- tion and necessities that it did not require elaborate explana- tion. But its results cannot be overestimated. "This," PBOBABLB IXICALmn AB DESCRIBED IIOTTRT'B KSUtTKOI,^ ft Place where the women wiubed. Ii Where thej nair the Indiana BUd tht< doft. c Wooilii Into whif^h tlie Iiirtinun rau. d Hill which th« Inilinnii i^n lip. e Wlicre the Itrst cxpeditlnn Pi>eut the first night. t Sprint; where Ibey drxiik their first New Eopluud water, g Where they built their sli^a) firp. h Wbore the !iecoud iii;:bt was spent, and tlie kettle suiik in Iho puiid. i Dner-trap in which Brhdf ord wa* oftughi. j '"PlaiiiupTfmudfllfortheplow." k Fir.Jtmouiitt opened, which prOTed tobeaRmve. 1 Where thtty duf( up lhi> com, and found the kettle, m Where tbeT iinw the two enuoes, and where the fei'ond expedition landed. 11 Where tliey found the old pnliiiade. o ^viK^ri^ tbe ant nlphtof the KCDiid e.\pt-diliou was ^pviil. p Where Ihe second night of the second expedition was spent, q Where the eighteen who re- malued spent the third night, r The place of grftTed on the "pl^ne 24 CAPE COD. says John Quincy Adams, ''is perhaps the only instance in human historj', of that positive, original social compact, which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government.*' Its adoption was followed by the election of John Carver for governor for one year. The same day, fifteen or sixteen armed men, went on shore to gather wood, and explore the country. They found the place "to be a small neck of land," "the ground sand hills, much like the downs in Holland, but much better, the crust of the earth a spit's depth, excellent black earth all wooded with oaks, pines, sassafras, juniper, birch, holly, vines, some ash, walnut; the wood for the most part open and. without imderwood, tit either to go or ride in." But they found no human beings, and returned with a boat laden with juniper, "which smelled very sweet and strong." The next day was the Sabbath, which was kept in the accustomed way by the voyagers. The men commenced the- next week's Avork by landing a shallop, which they had brought with them in sections, while the >vomen went ashore to wash clothes. The work of putting together the shallop progressed so slowly that the more active members of the company became impatient and devised plans for more thoroughly exploring the surrounding country. Capt. IMiles Standish and sixteen others, armed and provisioned, set off Dec. 15, on what seemed to be regarded as an exficdition attended by some degree of peril. They had proceeded but a little way, when they observed several. ground." s The place of the two houses where thev fou!if! the deer's eadii. t Where the third expediliou pus.^^ed the iir»t iii^ht. u The two "becks" that "one might r-tride over." v Wh»»re l!n\v ftiniid the grampu? ou the :»aud.<. w Pla<-e of the pnUsade of ^niVes **like a churchyard." x *• More corn ground" aud Ii<ni>'es7 y Where t lie third expeditiou passed the second night, and had the llrit encounter with the ludiund. MAYFLOWER COMPANY AND THEIR EXPLORATIONS. 26^ Indians and a dog coming towards them, but the Indians retreated inward and whistled the dog after them. They followed the Indians, hut did not oveilake them, and. encamped near Stout's Creek, at East Harbor. The next morning they pui*sued their journey, through thick and tangled underbrush, finding no springs for a long time, but at the valley at East Harbor village they record tliat, with great relish, they partook of the first drink of New England water. They also found land suitable for planting and signa that it had been used for that purpose. They also found mounds which, upon examination, proved to be an Indian burial place. Still further on they found a deposit of com in baskets and a gi'cat kettle, which prol)ab]y had belonged to some ship. They filled with com the kettle, and took it away with them ; the rest they left as they had found it. Farther on they saw two canoes, and "an old fort or palisade, made by some Christians," as they thought. They retumed that evening as far as Pond village, where they encamped for the night, having passed as far as Pamet Ebrbor, in Truro. In the morning they sunk their kettle in the pond. In pursuing their journey home, Willian^ Bradford was caught by the leg in a deer-trap which had. been set by the Indians. They reached their vessel after a wearisome march, and delivered their com into the store to- be kept for seed, the chronicler of the voyage saying that they proposed as soon as they could meet any of the owners to repay them, which to their honor they subsequently did^ The next week was spent in preparing timber for a new boat. The weather was cold and stormy, and they experienced much discomfort in going ashore; having no boat, they wet their feet and contracted "'coughs and colds, which afterwards turned to scurvy." On Monday of the following week twenty-four of the^ 28 CAPE COD. company in the shallop, and the ship-master and ten of his men in the long boat, set forth for further exploration along the shore. They came to Pamet Harbor again, and discussed the feasibility of the place for a settlement ; but the idea was abandoned, in consideration of ^ the insufficiency of the place for the accommodation of large vessels and the uncertainty as to the supply of fresh water.** During this expedition they again visited the com deposit from which they had formerly helped themselves, and took what remained there, and also visited a burial place in which they found the remains of a European, as was evidenced by the light color of his hair, besides visiting several of the dwellings of the natives, but without encountering any of the inhabitants. Dec. 6th, a third voyage of discovery, the company including Carver, Bradford and others, was commenced. They did not land until they passed Billingsgate Point, and when they reached the shore, they found some Indians cutting up a grampus, who fled on discovering the English. They encamped for the night, and the next day explored the region round about Eastham, discovering a burial place of considerable extent. That night they heard ^a great and hideous cry," which caused them to arm, but concluded the noise was made by foxes and wolves. About 5 o'clock in the morning they heard a strange cry, and one of the company being abi*oad came running in, and cried, '"Indians, Indians ! " and at once their arrows came flying amongst the company, who hastily seized their arms. The cry of the enemies was dreadful; but after the English had discharged their pieces the Indians retired, except one lusty savage, who stood his ground until after several shots had been fired at him. The English then followed the enemy ior about a quarter of a mile, and picked up eighteen MAYFLOWER COMPAXY A>T) THEIR EXPLORATIONS. 27 .arrows, 8ome of which were headed with hrass, liarts' horn and eagles* claws. The place where this skirmish occurred was called the "First Eneountor.** It is situated on the north side of Great ^leadow Creek, in the town of Easthara, not far from the mouth. From this point the voyagers coasted along to Plymouth, passing Barnstable harbor, as Mourt states, in a thick snow-storm, otherwise they might have entered and settled there. Dec. 11, they sounded Plymouth harbor and found it fit for shipping, and having explored the region round a1>ont, and finding some fields and running brooks, they deemed the place suitable for settlement, and returned to the ship Avith the news of the result of their discovery. They found upon their return, that Mistress William White had during their absence been delivered of a son, who was called Peregrine, the first child born of English patents in New England ; and that the wife of William Bradford had &Ilen over))oard and dro^vned. Besides' these occurrences, Edward ThtJmpson died Dec. 8. Thus arc recorded the first birth and the first deaths of the coloni.-ts, all of these occurring in Cai)e Cod harbor. On the 15th of Dec. O. S., the Mayflower sailed from Cape Cod harbor for Plymouth, to which place is tnm.sferrcd the interest *which attaches to their sul>sequcnt history' and achievements, in some of whichj however, the Cape bore an intimate and important part. We hear verj' little more from the Cai>e for several months after the landing of the Pilgrims at Pl)'mouth. In the following spring, Samosct, whose sudden api>earance to the settlers and his greeting, "Welcome, Englishmen !** have so often been commemorated in history and on canvas, gave them the information tliat the Indians who had attacked them the previous season were the Xansets, who were incensed against the English because of the treachery of Capt. Hunt, :» CAPE COD. Smith's subordinate, which has ok'eady been adverted to. He s»aid that, l^eaiuse of Hunt's conduct, sevei'al months before the coming of the Pilgrims, these Indians had put to death three Kngl5s«hnion who had fallen into their hands, and that two others had ayeiled a like fate by making theii* escape to ]Monhegan. In July, 1G21, a boy named John Billington lost his way in the woods near Plymouth, and for a long time search was made for him in vain. Receiving information that he was somewhere on the Cape, an expedition of ten men set foith in search of him. They put into Barnstable Harbor, where their boat was dr}' at low water. Seeing some Indians a short distance off, seeking lobsters, they sent forward tT\'o Indians who were with them, as interpreters, to communicate the object of the expedition. The Indians told them the boy was at Xauset, and extended an invitation to the English to go ashore and accept their hospitalities, which the visitors did. After the exchange of hostages they sent for their sachem, lyanough, who joined them, and who 'is described by AVinslow, as '" a man not exceeding twenty-six years of age, personable, gentle, courteous and fair-conditioned; indeed, not like a savage except in his attire. His condition was answemble to his pai-ts, and his cheer plentiful and various." Here they found an old woman not less than a hundred years old, who was the mother of one of Hunt's victims, and who bewailed in piteous tones the loss of her child, and whom thej" tried to ai)pcase by coinfoiting messages and presents. After dinner the expedition proceeded to Xauset, lyanough and two of his men accom- panying them. Their boat groimded near the Xauset .shore, and the Indians came out to meet them; but the English were pro[)erly guarded in their inteixjoursc. Aspinet, sachem of the Xauscts, subsequently came to the boat, bringing the MAYFLOWER COMPANY AND THEIR EXPLORATIONS. 29 boy who Avas the object of their search, and after the exchange of courtesies, tlie natives dei>aii;ed. While at Xauset they found the owners of the com they had helped themselves to the pixjccding neason, and made arrangements to make restituticm. Uinni the homeward trip they again stopj^d at Cummaquid Avith lyanough, who brought water to them with his own hand, the women and children of his tribe joining hands and dancin<r before them. Ivanoujcrh showed his kindness bv takins: a nnilet and leadinof the seamen some distance in the dark for water. The men also showed them honor, lyanough himself taking a bracelet from his neck and hanging it upon the neck of one of the English. The Englisli then started for home, but made little progi'ess, and agaui returned for water. Tliej* were still further enter- tained by lyanough l>efore their linal departure. Jlost of the Cane Indians soon after cave in their adhesion to the English, and a good understanding was established. TMien the ship Fortune arrived at Cai>e Cod in November of the same year (1()21), the Indians bix)ught word of the event to Phinouth before the ship reached there. In Novem1>cr, 1622, a famine 1>eing imminent among the PhTnouth settlers, detennined them to seek bread from the Indian tribes. Gov. Bradford was in charge of the exjxjdition, which embarked in the Swan, belonging to the Wessasrusset settlers, and in the interest of both communities. Provided with knives and l^ads for traffic, they essayed to go around Caj^e Cod. Tliey encountered stonny weather, and put into the harlyor of [Monomoyick, and the Governor, M'ith Squanto and others, went on shore, staid all night, and tr-ifficked with the Indians, obtaining eight hogsheads of com and ])eans. Here Squanto, their early friend and faithful guide and inteii)rcter, was taken sick and died. They sailed from here to the Massachusetts, but could not trade to 30 CAPE COD. advantage, and ititumcd again to Capo Cod. At Nauset they obtained more corn and beans ; and at ^lattacheesett an additional supply'. While at Nauset tlioir shallop was cast away, and they were obliged to stack and cover their grain,^ leaving it in charge of the Indians, since tliey had no means- of getting it on 1>oard the ship. They procured a guide and. set out on their journey of fifty miles on foot, receiving all respect from the natives by the Avay ; and Aveaiy, and with-, galled feet, arrived safely at Pl}^nouth. Three days after^ the Swan arrived, bringing the com first obtained at Monomoyick. In January, 1G23, another joint ex][^dition started, with Standish in command, the weather I)eing bitterly cold and stormy. They found at Xauset their cast-away shallop and repaired it, and the corn they had stored was also found and got on board. The Indians having, as Standish thought, stolen "some trifles," he demanded restitution in the most peremptory manner, which was complied with, and the sachem expressed great sorrow at the occ^urrence. In Februarj', their com still running short,' Standish went with six men in a shallop to Mattacheese,* to procure a supply. Their shallop was frozen up the first night of their arrival.. The captain, for sufficient cause, became suspicious of the fidelity of the natives, and kept a strict watch over them ;. some few trinkets being missed he called the natives to account, and the missinir articles were restored, and com sufficient to load his shallop was afterwards easily procured. The governor, with an Indiim, Hobomoc, went sooa after to Manomet, (now Bourne), twenty miles south of Plymouth, to procure more com. He was entertained •Mattacheese si;;uifles old Inuds, or plautiup; hinds, and the terminal t or tt, as lu Mattrtoheesett, mean?, ou the border.^ of the jea. There is Ao much variation in the ancient «]»eUing of aU proper xnimeA that uuiformitj of orthography iis difiicult to attain. UAYFLOWEB COMPANY AND THEIR EXPLORATIONa Sb hospitably by Canacam, the chief of this place, lodging hero- in a bitter cold night, and 1>ought some com which he was compelled to leave in charge of the natives. In March^ Capt. Standish went to Manomet to procure the com the governor had left there, entering Scusset harl3or, where he left tlio shallop in charge of two or three men, and with two or three more went inland to the habitation of Canacmu* He had not been there long before he perceived he was much, less hospitably received than the governor had been. Pres->- ently two Massachusetts Indians made their ap^^earance, one of whom, Wittuwamet by name, the Plymouth men well knew. His demeanor to Standish was most insulting. He talked violently, tliough incoherently to Canacum, drew a knife which hung around his neck and presented it to his host. He was, it subsequently appeared,, complaining of outrages committed by the English at Wessagusset, and urged Canacum to take advantage of this op][X)rtunity to cut off Standish and his party. Standish, knowing that these circumstances forebode danger, then made ready to return to his shallop. The Indian women, by some small presents, were induced to assist in convejnng the com to the landing-place, and there the party had to wait until next morning. It was an anxious night for Standish, tod he did not close his eyes. "With a mere handful of men, in aOt unfriendly neighborhood, the situation was critical. Hie sachem Canacum and his ally from the Massachusetts tribe were reinforced by a Paomet Indian, the oppressive friendl]f-< ness of whose cannage was as suspicious as the open, hostilit}" of Wittuwamet. He not only insisted on coming down to the shore with the English, but had voluntarily carried some com, an ignominious act for a male Indian warrior; making a pretext of the cold he remained with them, crouching before tlieir fii*e. All these things* led a3 CAPE COD. Standish to believe in the existence of a dangerous plot, and drove sleep from his eyes. When morning dawned the party embarked and arrived safely at Plymouth. In consequence of infonnation received from Massasoit, imparted to Hobomoc, of a plot against the English, in which not only AVittuwamet and others, but the Cape Indians at Manomet and Paomet were implicated, Standish was authorized to proceed to deal with the conspimtors, which he did in his usual prompt and sanguinary manner. Proceeding to Weymouth, he summarily dispatched Wittuwamet and several of his followers, Imnsrino: the head of the former as a trophy to Plymouth. The news of this massacre created dire consternation amonsr the Indians alonsr the sea-coast. Thev forsook their homes, ran to and fro in bewilderment and fear, and living in swamps and deserts, contracted diseases of which many of them died. Thus miserably perished Canacum, sachem of i^Linomct ; Aspinet of Xauset; and the courteous and hospitable lyanough, of Mattacheese, whose fate is the more to be deplored 1>ecause there seems to be no evidence to connect him with the plots In which the other sachems were involved, ^fore than two and a half centuries after the death of lyanough, the remains of a chieftain were exhumed near a swamp, in what is known as lyanough's town, in ancient Mattacheese (East Barnstable village,) and the circumstances under which these relics were found, point irresisti!)ly to the conclusion that they were the remains of Ij'-anough. They were gathered up with tender care, enclosed in a case, and deposited in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, side bj' side with relics of Standish and others of the Pilgrims, who brought him to a tragic and miserable death. The transactions for some time after the sanguinary events related, naturally inteniipted the trade and intercourse HATIXOWKB COMPANY AXD THEIR EXPLORATION& S3 between the English and the natives. Some further efforts in that direction were attemjitcd, but resultetl iu di^ip^wint- ment and failure. In Decemljer, 1626, the ship Sparrowhavvk, with a considerable number of i>n-S6ouger:j, from London, bound for Virginia, was stranded u|K)n a flat at what was then Htyled Monomo^'ick, but whii-h is now the easterly part of Orleans. Hie master being sick, they had lost their vcay and had neither wood nor water on board,- had steered for the shore, THX SPADmOWIIAWK. and had run over the shoals, they knew not how. Tbey came directly before the small liar)x>r at Potuuumaquut, and run on a flat close to the beach, not knowing whore thoy were. The savages on shore came to them iu their canoes. The Englishmen were at first inclined to be giianlcd in their intercourse, but the Indians diaanned their fear^ by asking if they were "the Governor of PI_j-.uomli's men " and offering to assist them and carry letters to Plymouth. Tlie Indians, U CAPE COD. according to their ability, supplied the strangei*8 with all they needed. The governor of Plymouth, having received the intelligence, came, \nth others, to their aid, bringing all the materials asked for. The season being unpropitious for going around the Cape he landed near the liottom of the bay, at Namskeket Creek, between the pi'eseut towns of Brewster and Orleans, whence it was not more than two miles across the Cape to the bay where the ship lay. The Indians carried the things he brought over land to the ship. The governor bought of the Indians a lot of com to supply the needs of the shii)'s cumi>any, and aiso to load their boat before returning home. The Sparrowhawk being repaired and ready to proceed, a gi*eat stoim arose and drove her further on shore, by which catastrophe she was so badly shattered that she was rendered unfit for sea. The result was that all came to Plymouth, whither also their goods were tmnsported, and where they remained until the next spring. Two hundred and thirty-seven j'ears after the wreck of the S[)arrowhawk, by one of those geological changes on the coast which are the characteristic features of Cape Cod, her hull, in a remarkable state of preservation, was uncovered from tlie drifting sand and afterwards removed, together with a number of articles which were found, in or near it, such as a quantity' of beef and mutton bones, several soles of leather, shoes, a smoking pipe of the kind used by smokers of opium, and a metallic box. These interesting relics are now deposited in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth. The spot where this ancient hulk was exhumed had from time immemorial been known as ^'Old Ship Harbor," for what reason the present generation, until this time, was unaware. In the 3'ear 1627 the Plymouth colony company built a small pinnace at Manomet, a place within the present town MAYFLOWER COMPANY AXD THEIR EXPLORATIONS. S& of Bourao, situated on a river runnin<^ into Buzzards Bay, on the southern bank of which the}' also built a house, and kept some sen^auts, who planted com and reared swine, and were ready to go with the l)ark at any time on the trading exjTeditions in which the colonists were engaged. Here for many years a profitable traflSc with the Indians was maintained, and from this point the intercourse with the Dutch settlers at New York was first opened. From PljTiiouth to Scusset Harbor was an easy voyage by water, and from this i>oint to the navigable waters of Manomet River was only three or four miles. By this route, in the language of Governor Bradford, they were enabled to ** avoid the compassing of Cape Cod and those dangerous shoals, and so make any voyage to the southward in much shorter time and with less danger.'' From that time to this, the route through the Manomet valley has l)een associated in the mincis of men witli the project to construct a canal, and thus to avoid the dangers of navigation around the Cape. Here, in September of 1627, came Isaac De Kazier, secretarj" of the Dutch government of New Amsterdam, with a vessel laden with sugar, stuffs, etc., and Governor Bradford sent a boat to Scusset Harbor to convey him thence to Plymouth. He wrote an account of the Plymouth colony which has come down to us, and which is the best picture extant of the place and the people. After tliis, the Dutch came often to Manomet, and a profitable trade was for some years carried on between them and the Plymouth people. The Cape was often resorted to for years by the Plymouth settlers, particularly for the procurement of com, for which its soil was well adapted, and somewhat bitter controversies arose between the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonists, in regard to this traffic, the latter claiming the right to the S8 CAPE COD. trade in this territory, as being mthin the exclosive juris- diction of tlicir government. In one of tbese expeditions, Bichard Garrett and his company, from Boston, were cast away on the Ca;>c, and some of them died from hardship and exposure. Tlie Indians buried the (lend \ntli great propriety, to save tlie bodies fi-om being devoured by wild beasts, although the ground was deeply frozen, i-equiring great labor in digging the grarca. The survivore were literally " nursed back to life," so neai-ly perished were they ; and when they were sufficiently recovered, the Indians kindly conducted them to Plymouth. These ciroumstances indicate the pacitic character of the natives after the tragical events of 1622-3. Among the memorable events of this early period was the great stoim of 1635, such, says Bi-adford, "as none living in these parts, cither English or Indians, ever saw, causing the sea to swell above twenty feet right up, and made many inhabitants climb into tlie trees. It took the roof of a house at Manomet, and put it in another place." "It blew down many thousands of ti-ees, breaking th& higher pines in the middle, teaiiTig the stroriger nut's up by the roots. The wrecks of it" says the writer, "will remain for a huudred years. The moon suffered a great eclipse the second night after it." It was in this storm that Anthony Thaclier, one of the future fiettlers of Yarmouth, was , shipwrecked at Cajw Ann, at what was henceforth knonTi as Timchcr's Island, north of Boston Harbor, and hU wife y w and children Mere enjrulfed in the raging waters. CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. OecUratlou of BigUtit— Settlement of Smidwlfli. Tarmouth, Bsrmtnble mill Eacttaoin— Dlt>i>iiteit ou Tlieology aa<\ DivUiou of Lands — Mr. Hull mid the Viirmoiith Dhienter; — Rcpresciitutlre Gorprument A(1opt«d — Geiteml Court bulda n se^siou iu Ydi'moiith— Wnrlike luiliauo— Uilitnr; Morcmeitt?— Rales of obarges for the seTeral I Dims. '^ ^* O the year 1637, no organized settlement -O''-^*^ liad been effected on the Cape. The court 1 Skz^^^X'^ records and iucideiital writinge of the time w^'^i^d give evidence that the region was consid- '^^ "' '- «KibIy resorted to by fishermen, traders ^is^ti^ ' t T-; ^<^M» and roving adventm-ers, and it seems ^i'' "'^*i-^ probai)le that residents bad in a few cases '^^^'i^^^ established themselves in some parts of the ■ J^ff" couutj'. Those who did so, acted without the authority of the PIiTnoiith magistrates, and were regarded as inti-uders and trespassers. An exception to this remark was the occupation, in 1G27, of the southern shore of Manomet river, for a ti'adiag post. The laws and gorcrnmcDtal institutions of the colonj were not at this time adapted to a couimiinity of separate municipalities under a central head. The limits of political rights or authority were not dctined. A few regulations, called for as the exigencies arose, had been temjMrarily made, and though the colonists were suj^jwsed to be governed by the laws of England, they were not verj- well ttuderstood : and the code of ^Moscs was followed, rather 38 CAPE COD. than that of James. But as the colony expanded and as new settlements were contemplated, the inconvenience of this state of things was apparent. It became evident that the civil power must be invoked, and the laws administered with some degree of stability and regularity. Therefore, Nov. 15, 1636, the Court of Associates promulgated the following declaration : ''We, the associates of New Plymouth, coming hither as free-bom subjects of the state of England, and endowed with all and singular the privileges belonging to such, being assembled, do ordain that no act, imposition, law, or ordinance, be made or imposed on us, at the present or to come, but shall be made or imposed by the consent of the body of associates, or their representatives, legally assembled, which is according to the liberties of the state of England." This document, it will 1>e seen, is a viii;ual declaration of independence. The authority of the laws of England, "present and to come," were not only ignored, but Parlia- ment was by implication denied the right to legislate for the colony. It was there provided that an election for governor and assistants should be held on the first Tuesday of June annually, the choice to be exercised by such as should be admitted as freemen ; and none were to be admitted except such as were "orthodox in the fundamentals of religion," and possessed of a ratable estate of twenty pounds. The votes were to be given in i^erson or by proxy, at Plymouth. Jurisdiction of cases under forty shillings was given to the governor with any two assistants, " to try and do as God may direct," not according to the common law of England nor any other statutes or regulations ; the trial of large cases or offenses was to remain with the whole body of freemen, by juries. No other executive officer was provided for but the constable, who was invested with large powers. No person THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 80 was to }ye peimitted to ^ live or inhabit within the government, without the leave and liking" of the governor and assistants. This assumption of the authority to exclude unwelcome visitors or residents, as we :shall see hereafter, was the cause of much trouble in the future, and was exercised in such a manner as to lead to fiei^ce controversy and ci>il commotion. It was derived from no charter or patent by any power entitled to exercise acts of sovereignty, but was assumed by the goveraing classes in the colony, at their own will and pleasure. The colony at this time, consisted of three towns — Plymouth, Duxbury and Scituate. Such were the legal conditions preceding the settlement of the Cape. The first English settlement on the Cape was effected in Sand>rich. April 3*, 1637, lil>erty was given to the men of Saugus, viz. : Edmund Freeman, Ilenry Feakc, Thomas Dexter, Edward Dillingham, William AVood, John Carmen, lUchard Chadwell, William Almy, Thomas Tupper, George Knott, '^to view a place to sit down, and have sufficient lands for threescore families,'* ujwn ccmditions proiX)unded to them bv the governor and Mr. Winslow. These men subsequently selected the region afterwards knoAvn as Sand^nch, for the place of their location. With the ten men first named came fifty other "undertakers," as the new citizens were called, chiefly from Lynn, or Saugus, Duxbuiy and Plymouth, most of them bringing their families. The names of such of these as are still found in the town were, George Allen, Anthony Besse, Robcii: Bodfish, Richard Bourne, John Briggs, Thomas Burge, Heniy Ewer, John Fish, Jonathan Fish, Natluuiiel Fish, Andrcvr Hallct, William Ilarlow, Joseph Holway, Thomas lenders, Benjamin Nye, James Skiff, John ^^'ing, Peter Wright. A little later came John Ellis, Thomas Gil»])s, William Swift, Thomas Tobej', ^Villiam Basset, Ezra Perry. Tliese men as a class 40 CAPE COD. were of more tolemnt and liberal spirit than characterized the <rovci*nin<; classes of the ^lassachusetts settlers, a circumstance which probably had a controling influence upon the selection of this place for a permanent residence. The settlement does not seem to have been completely effected until the subsequent year. Some preparation for the occupancj" of the I'egion was made. But this was done in the orderly, decorous way that met the approbation of the court. Two men who wei*e laboring to clear up the ground for future use, but who had not received permission of the iiuthorities, and were without their families, were presented ** for disorderly keeping house alone." In ^larch of the following j^car Mr. John Alden and Capt. Miles Standish were directed to "go to Sandwich with all convenient speed, and set forth the l)ounds of the lands granted there." That the establishment of a church was coeval with the settlement seems evident, Mr. William Leverich ]>einff of that town in June, 1638. The court was disposed to exact of every community established by its authority, the most rigid compliance with the rules and regulations which had l.>een ordained for the government of the v»'hole, and tlie Sandwich settlers soon found that its recent occupation, and the unavoidable conditions of a new settlement would not be taken as an excuse for any delinquenccs. The record of 1G38 infonns us that several of the townsmen, among them some of the foremost citizens, were fined for not having their swine ringed, and for " being deficient in arms." In ]March of the next year, by order of the court, the meadow lands in Sandwich, which had been previously laid forth, were again divided ''by equal propoitions, according to each man's estate," some of the townsmen being added to the committee in making the apportionment. It was an THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 41 unequal system of division, founded upon the rule, "to him that hath shall he given," and it is not strange that in Septcml)er following complaint shoidd have been made to the court. The cause of complaint was not, however, so much in relation to the inequality, as to the fact that they had received into the town diveit* persons, all but very few "unfit for church society;" and the committee were summoned to ajipcar and answer to the same, and, in the meanwhile, were oixlcred not to dispose of any more land there, nor to convey an}' of their own lands to any other person. xVt the ensuing Octol)cr couil the complaints were considered. Mr. Thomas Prence and Capt. Jililes Standish were apiK>inted to hear and detennine the controversies among tlic committees and inhabitants of the to^vn. No record is made that any one was dispossessed. One party, who was occupying a lot needed for "a public use,*" had his land taken, bv ^ivina* him its full value. Tlic neck called iloonuscaulton w:as rcseiTcd to the town as a common, for the pastui-age of young cattle ; and also Sliawme Neck, Ivinir between the rivers of Shawme and Manuscusset, for a common, alhiwing the inhabitants to take wood therefrom. And it was ordered that no other inhabi- tants should "l>e received into town or have hinds assigned them by the committee, ^vilhout the consent of Mr. Lcverich and the church had been obtained," and that none of the inhabitants should sell their estate to be occupied by any person except he 1x5 genemlly approved by the whole town. And for the preventing t)f "dangers, evils or discords that may happen in the disposjd of lands or other occasions within the town," it was agreed tliat in future some one of the assistants should be joined with the committees for advice and direction, ]Mr. Thomas Prence l)eing appointed for the present. The division of the meadow lands was 42 CAPE COD. made in April, 1640, five of the committee, five of the^ townsmen, with Mr. Pi-ence, performing tliut duty, taking into consideration each man's ^estate and quality," as well as - his "necessitj" and abilitj'." The assignments ranged from. 42 acres to Mr. Edmund Fi*eeman, to one acre each to various persons, 5 acres being assigned to ^Ir. Leverich, the pastor. From this time forward until 1651 the annals of the town. were uneventful. That year *'the conditions on which the-^ grant of the township was made, having 1)een fulfilled, a deed of the plantation was executed by Gov. Bradford to Ml*. Edmund Freeman, who made conveyances to his associates." The records give indication of the prompt erection of a house of worship, for as early as 1644, a . meeting was held to decide whether to build a new meeting* house or i-epair the old one,, which latter course was adopted.^ At a still later period a levy of £5 was made to pait off Mr. Leverich's house with boards, "which was long since promised him." This admission, and others of the same tenor, show some degree of remissness on the part of the people in the support of the minister. That such a state of things should occur in a new settlement, engrossed with- many cai-es and anxieties, docs not seem strange, and argues no permanent declension in the sentiments of the people towards one of the great objects wliich is supposed to have impelled them to seek an asylum here. An attempt to effect a settlement in ilattachcese or..^ Mattacheesett, was made in the fall of 1637-8, by Rev. Stephen Bachelor and several others, .a large proportion of. them, however, members of his own family, who were connected with some of the settlers of Sandwich. The si>ot" which they selected for their location was in the northeastern . portion of the present town of BarnstaJjIe, near the seashore, ^ THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. IT in a locality which still bears the name of **01d Town.'^ Winthrop speaks of it as a portion of Yarmouth, and for two or thi'ce j'^eai's after the settlement it did f oim a pail of that tovnij until it was set off to Barnstable by a special court held in Yanuouth, June 17, 1641. The weather of the winter of 1638 was very severe, the settlement was- undertaken without due preparation , and was abandoned in the spring. Mr. Bachelor, then recently the pastor of Lynn, at the advanced age of 76, travelled on foot the whole distance from Lynn to Mattacheese, more than a hundred miles, at an inclement season of the year. From Matta- cheese, eai-ly in the spring be went to Newbury, and fourteen years later, after a life of controversy and hardsliip, died in England, at the age of ninet}'' years. Early in 1639, i>ermission liaving been granted, the- preceding December, to -cVnthony Thacher, John Crow and Thomas Howes, who had associated with them ^Ir. Mardick (^larmaduke) Matthews, and subsequently Samuel Rider, Mr. Nicholas Simpkins, Giles Hopkins, Andrew Hallet and others, the settlement of Yarmcuth commenced, under favorable auspices. Mr. Hopkins was a son of Stephen. Hopkins, and came over with his father in the ISIaj^ower, in 1620. The previous year the elder Hopkins was granted permission, by the couit, to erect a house and cut hay at !Mattacheese, and have a lot there with the consent of the committees for the place, and was in occupation when the settlement commenced. This settlement seems to have been effected without much controversy or any memorable- incidents, and with the cordial cooperation of the court and. authorities of Plymouth. The town received some little attention, however, from- the court in its initial period. It was forbidden that any one should purchase two house-lots or more and have thenk U CAPE COD. iogether and maintain but one house upon them. This was intended to niake the settlement compact, as a matter of safety and precaution. Tlie townsmen were permitted to keep their swine unringcd, they keeping them with a herdsman, *^ until complaint he made of some huii: they had done ;" and the constable was ordered to erect a pair of stocks and a pound. By the close of 1640 some twenty-five families were established there. As Mr. Matthews was one of the first comei's, it seems most probable that the establishment of the church was coeval with the settlement of the town. The founders of Yarmouth were men of such stabilitj- of chanicter and in such close sympathj' >nth the authorities of PljTiiouth, that they were al)le to sustain themselves in the face of all disadvantages. The thi*ee grantees, Anthony Thacher, John Crow* and Thomas Howes, were men of solid and substantial character. Mr. Thacher had been a curate of the parish of St. Edmunds, Salisbmy, had suffered shipwreck in the storm of 1635, already adverted to, had settled first in Xewlmry, then in ilarblchcad, whence he came to Yarmouth. ]\ir. Crow is believed to have been of that branch of the family which removed from Kent county to 'Wales, and cajue to this phice from Charlcstown. !Mr. Howes came over in 1635, when he was in Salem. The familj' was an ancient and honorable one in Norfolk county, England. From these men, and ^Ir. Andrew Hallct, James Matthews, Samuel Ilider, Richard Soai-s, Edmund Hawes and Fnmcis Baker, a large proportion of the present inhabitants are descended. The earlier years of the settlement of the town were distracted bj^ the two proliiic sources of trouble incident to ^hU unme soon after began to be written Crowe, and about the •third generation, Crowe U.— Hi«»tory of Old Yarmoulh. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 45. New En'xlttud settlements — theolosjieal controversien and disputes al)out land titles. A\'hich was the cause of tlio- greater degree of di.<cussion it is difficult to decide, but both combined sensed to embroil the settlement for the lii*st ten yeai*s of its existence. The land question was the first settled. Thacher, Crow and IIowcs, the three grantees^ were at the outset appointed by the court to be the hind committee, and under instructions to *'make an equal division to each man, according to his estate and quality." This was a hard task for any three men. Each person's estate could easily be settled ; but his quality, the value of the ser^'ice he had rendered or was likely to render, was so open to different constructions, that could they agree upon it, those for whom they acted could hardly l>e expected to acquiesce in their estimate. The malcontents appealed to» the court, which thereupon added to tlie counnittee four townsmen, Messrs. Nicholas Simpkins, ^Vm. Palmer, Philip Tabor and Joshua Barnes. The enlarged committee still failed to give satisfaction, w*hereupon Capt. Miles Standis& was called upon, and invested with full powers. The aiptain displayed in this emergency the same decision and energy which he had evinced in his military career. In ]\Iay, 1648, having previously heard a great number of cases, he announced his decision. Some parties were ejected from lands they had occupied ; many of the former grants of uplands and meadows were abrogated, and the grants reverted to the town, and in some cases exchanges were made. Standish's uuthoritv beinir absolute, no rcmon* strance was accepted, and his award l)ecame at once operative. For the future, the court ordered that "]Mn. Starr, Wm. Nickerson and Kobert Dennis be added to the committee of the town for the present year, and thenceforth that each year the town choose a committee of thi'ee, without t< iG CAPE COD. whose consent, or tluit of the remainder of them, no grants of meadows or uplands should be made/' but in case the future differences should become irreconcilable, they ** should repair to Capt. Standish for instructions.'' Whether well or ill-considered, this action was a final ^?ettlement of the controversy which had so long and so unhappily divided the •settlers in the early years of the torni. The theological troubles of the people were not so easily -or summarily composed. The settlement had hardly com- jnenced before difficulties sprang up in the church. Mr. Marmaduke Matthews, an educated and witty Welshman, J but endowed with an indiscretion and latitude of sj^ech which constantly subjected him to suspicion, was the first minister, and from the beginning he was antagonized to a considerable portion of the church, on grounds which it is difficult at this length of time to full}' comprehend. He •early had a controveray with William Chase, in which the latter temporarily lost the favor of the majority, was •superseded bj'' another in the office of constable, and came near being forced to leave the town. Next we hear of Thomas Starr, Hugh Tillej", Joshua Barnes and William Nickerson being complained of by jNIr. Matthews's partisans •as ^ scoff ei*s and jcerers at religion and making disorders at town meeting;" but they were subsequently acquitted by •the court. The opposition to j\Ir. Matthews then resulted in the attempt to form another church and society in town. Rev. Joseph Hull, who had exercised the office of minister in Barnstable, before the advent of Mr. Lothrop, and who had been virtuallj'' deposed by him, was invited to preach in Yarmouth by those dissatisfied with the ministrations of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Hull complied, but the unfriendly inter- ference of the Barnstable church, defeated the armngement. 'The opposition to Mr. Matthews was by no means abated THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 47 "'by this intcix'cssion, and. after a checkered and turbulent ouinistry of Imlf a dozen yearz», he was couii)elled to j^linquish his charge, probably about the year 1646. ^Ir. Matthews'e> successor was llev. John Miller, who in 1649 l>ecame the minister of a people who h:id not as yet Jiealed the differences which had so long divided them. ^Ir. Miller was educated for the ministiy at Cambridge, England, had resided at Boxburj' and-Bowley, and was one of the seventy-seven mentioned by Cotton Mather, as in the actual exercise of their ministry when^they left England. Owing to the revival of the old discontents, a coimcil was called, consisting of the most distinguished members of the Plj'mouth and Massachusetts colonies, among them, Wilson of the First church, Boston, Shepherd of Cambridge and John Eliot of Boxtnirj', knoMTi as the Ai)ostle to the Indians. An adjustment of the difficulties followed, although some traces of the discontent sunnved for years thereafter. In 1651, Emanuel White and Kol>ei-t Allen wei-e at the eoui-t chai-ged with , villifying Mr. Miller, and wereaccjuittcd ; and the next year Mr. Miller's opiwnents i*eturned the charge by having him cited to answer for remarks in a seiinon against the govern- ment. The court so far noticed this matter as to instruct the jury to "make due inquiry to vindicate the government." Xo further mention is made of the matter in the public records, and the religious discontents* of the time gradually, -though not wholly, subsided. ]Mr. Eliot, while engaged in his pacific mission embraced the opportunity to commence ids work of christianizing the Indians of this town, which he prosecuted for some time with nmch -zeal and activity, in the face of many difficulties and discouragements. With the -settlement of the proprietorship of the lands, and in a large degree of the ministerial troubles, Yaimouth commenced a ^career of steady growtli and prosperous development* 48 CAPE COD. Barnstable, the regioa lying between Sandwich and Yarmouth, was settled in the early part of 1G39. The first comers were Elder Thomas Dimmock, who was there in March of that year, and Rev. Joseph Hull, who arrived two months later. To them the court gmnted the lands in the town, on the usual conditions and with the customary restrictions. The lauds in the eastern portion of the town were sometime in 1G37-8 surveyed by Mr. CoUicut of Dorchester, to whom a grant of them had lieen made by the court. It was doubtless under the authority of this grant that Mr. Ikchelor had made his aboitive attempt in 1638. Mr. Dinunock was probably one of the associates of CoUicut, and Mr. Hull belonged to the same company* With Messrs. Dimmock and Hull there came, in the spring of that year, some fifteen families. A chuix*h was estab- lished here, though not formally oi-ganized, of which ^Ir. Hull was pastor and Rev. John Mayo preaching elder. Xa church edifice was erected, though tradition ix)inted out the large rock — only a portion of which remains — on the* highway between Barnstable and West Barnstable, as the spot where they were accustomed to meet. This rock stood in front of the residence of the late £dwai*d Scudder. It has been gi-adually carried away, a portion of it having been used in building the old jail. During the summer months this arrangement was convenient and natural, and under the overshadowing oaks aiid pines by the roadside, these devout men and women could commune through nature with nature's. God. Oct. 11, 1639, Rev. John Lothroi) and some twent\'-five families from Scituate arrived in Barnstable, in accordance with arrangements previously made. They had become dissatisfied with tlieir location, '^ Scituate beinir too straite for their accommodation," and were attracted to tliis region,. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 48 as were the first settlers to Yarmouth , by the exteusive salt marsheSy which afforded subdistcnce for their cattle, while the lands cleared by the Indians gave them tillage spots for planting. Mr. Lothrop was a nian distmguished for his piety and talents. lie was educated at Christ college, Cambridge, took holy orders and settled in the ministry in Egerton, near Liondon, but renounced the ordei*s and separated himself from the church of England. In 1624 he was chosen successor to Ker. Henry Jacob, the first pastor of the first Independent or Congiogational church in London. He was pastor of this church for ei<rht years, when he and about fifty of his congregation were arrested, and refusing to take the oath ex offidoy were thrown into prison, where they remained for two years. He came to tliis country- in 1634 in the ship Grifiin, in company with Ihe famous Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, and late in the fall of ,1634 came to Scituate, where a small settlement had Ijeen made. Here a church was formed and ^Ir. I^thiop elected pastor. They found that they had made a mistake and sought and secured a new location here. With Mr. Lothrop came several men of weight and character, among them, Anthony Annable, Henry Cobb, William CVocker, Samuel Hinckley, George Lewis, Isaac Robinson, William Baker. James Cud worth came a little later, but subsequently returned to Scituate. John Bursley, Austin Bcarse, James Hamlin, Thomas Huckins, Thomas Allyn, John Scudder, Nathaniel Bacon^ Roger Goodspeed, Dolar Davis, Mr. John ilayo, Alvan Blush and John Hull were early here. The greater poilion of Mr. Lothrop's associates had been connected with him in chui'ch relations, both in Scituate and London, but the church organization was retained in London after the removal, and Mr. Lothrop never claimed to represent it here. In fact he spoke of himself, according to Gov. 50 CAPE COD. Winthrop, while in Boston, as outside of any organized church at that time. The Loudon church survived for some eight years after Mr. Lothrop removed to America. The claim that the West Barnstable church represents the first Independent church organization, can hardl}' be sustained. Mr. Lothrop and his associates were cordiallj' welcomed by those who had pi'eceded them in Barnstable. Oct. 31, •^ a feast was held to implore the grace of God to settle us here in church estate, and to unite us together in holy walking, and to make us faithful in keeping covenant with God and one another.'' On the 11th cUy of December O. S., the first day of Thanksgiving was held. The service was observed at Mr. Hull's house. The object of the meeting was to give thanks to God for his exceeding mercy in bringing them safe to Barnstable, preserving their health "in the weak beginnings of their plantation and in their church estate." The day was very cold, and after the close of public service they divided into "three companies to feast together, some at Mr. Hull's, some at Mr. ^layo's, and some at Brother Lumbard, senior's." What a delightful record of mutual help, thanksgiving and good cheer ! The winter of 1639-40 was open and cold, but no deaths were reported, and but little sickness occuiTed among the company. The division of the common lands engrossed much attention, as was natural. It was greatly to the credit of the settlers that they accomplished this without contixn versy or angry discussion. April 25, 1640, was set ai>art as a day of fasting, to invoke the divine l)lessing on their efforts, and the following rule of division of lands, adopted by the general consent of the inhabitants, was satisfactorj*^ to all interested : " One-third pail to every houselot, equally ; one-third to the names that are immovable ; and the other third according to men's estates." This rule was adhered to THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 61 in all the subsequent divisions. At a town meeting held in 1641, measurers of land wei*e appointed, and the details of the measurement settled. In 1643, Mr. Hathcrly, Mr. Freeman and Capt. Standish were appointed by the court •^to divide to each man, the lands at Banistable, reserving a portion for public use.** The town subsequently ordered ^^ that the commons, or undistributed lands, shall l)elong to the present inhabitants, and to whom they shall see fit," and "that the commons be entailed to the houselots.*' Before a full and complete title of the soil could be acquired, it was necessary to extinguish the Indian titles. Fortunately for the settlers, there was land enough for their occujiation and improvement, without doing violence or wrong to the natives of the soil. The pestilence which had decimated the Indians in Plymouth before the coming of the Pilgrim fathers, had raged upon the Cape, and after the death of the noble Ij'^anough, his heirs, with their thinned ranks of subjects, ranged over a large region, embracing the present territory of the western part of Yarmouth, East Barnstable, Hyannis, and the vast sti'etch of land known as the "South sea" region. The natives had no use for all these lands and jiailcd with tliem for what seems a trifle in these days, but what to the Indians was no doubt regarded as amj)Ie compensation. They could still take game and fish, first at one spot then at anotlier, in this region, and tliat was all they wanted of the place. Small tillage lots were reserved for their use, which they or their successors improved while any of them survived. Next to the division of the lands, here as in adjoining towns, polemical discussion seems to have been the most fruitful source of dissension. In the case of the Barnstable settlers, personal predilections and individual claims, rather than matters of doctrine, led to the first troubles in the 52 CAPE COD. church oi'ganization. Mr. Joseph Hull was the earliest minister in town ; he came in the day of weakness of the church; he was a man of good chaiiicter and ^ respectable abilities. But he was not equal in talent and learning to Mr. Lothrop. ]Mr. Hull, it will be seen, extended to Mr. Lothrop on his coming the warmest Christian greetings and hospitalities. He assisted on April 15, in the following year, in the ordination of ]Mr. John Maj'^o as teaching elder^ and in the following month we find the record of his excommunication by the church, for, as they suy, " willfully breaking his communion with us, and joining a company in Yarmouth to be their pastor, contrary to the counsel and advice of our church.'' The cause of all this lies upon the surfac-e. The gr^at majority of the Barnstable church preferred their former pastor, Mr. Lothrop, for a minister, and Mr. Hull was ignored, not only in that relation, but was dropped from his position as deputy from the town to the colony court. The society in Yarmouth was not united upon Mr. ^Matthews, and these dissenters, together with the personal friends of Mr. Hull in Barnstable, desired to form a society with Mr. Hull as pastor. This notural arrange- ment, under the circumstances, was in opiK)sition to the policy of the governing class in the colony, and when Mr. Hull attempted to exercise the duties of a pastor, he was proceeded against. There was no allegation of immoi-ality or unsoundness of doctrine. But he was dealt with as rigorously as if there had been. A warrant was issued to the constable to arrest him if he attempted to exercise the pastoral office ; and he and his wife were excommunicated. So long as these restrictions were in force, it was social and political death to them. The stmggle was an unequal one ; Mr. Hull desisted, made an "acknowledjrment of his sin," was received back into the church, and the following year THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 58 removed to Dover. Mr. Lothrop was in full control of the church and society, until the end of his useful and successful career, in 1653, tlie date of his death. It was not until several 3'ears liad elapsed that a regular house of worship was erected ; they met at the residences of the meml)ers; their })a8toi*'s, Mr. Cudworth's and Mr. Bursley's, and June 1, 1646, Mr. Lothrop was enabled to add in his diaiy , tliat tliis was '' the second of our meeting in our meetinsf-house.'* This structure stood in the ancient graveyard near the present County road, where the ashes of so many of the fathers of the town repose. Mr. Lothrop and his associates appear to have been in complete symi>athy with the Indei^ndent ciuise in the mother countrj-. A fast was held March 16, 1648, ''princijmlly for Old EngLind, requested by Sir Thomas Fairfax and the Parliament, in regard to many fears of the Presbj-tevians, with many others, to raise up new wars in the land, and, notwitlistandiiig all their troubles, much pride and excess abounding, with an unframed spirit, to humble themselves by praying and seeking with God." November 5, a day of humiliation '^was kejit by the church, principally for Old England." And ^larch 4, 1652, was observed as '^thanks- giving for the Lord's powerful working for Old England by Oliver Cromwell and his aimy, against the Scots.* In 1644 the settlement of Eastham, whi<:h had several years been in contemplation, was effected. This region, under the name of Nauset, had been familiar to the English from their first coming to these shores. Here was the " first encounter" with the Indians. To Xauset had often resorted trading parties from Pljinouth, to replenish their fast vanishing stock of provisions, of which the natives had more than their own need. Alx)ut 1643, the inhabitants of •Mr. Lothrop*s Diary. M CAPE COD. Plymouth, becoming dissatisfied with their location, began to look about them for a new place of settlement. It seems strange to those of the present day, who are acquainted with the features of the two localities, that Nauset should have been seriously considered as the more eligible place of residence ; but the fact that Xuuset had within its borders a large area of grain-producing lands, not then exhausted by a vicious system of agriculture, cxpbiins their preference. Gov. Bradford and others proposing Nauset for a settlement, a committee was appointed to explore the premises, and obtained permission to occupy it fi*om those who had obtained a grant of the territory in 1640. Subsequent explorations having been made, it was decided tliat the place was not sufficiently extensive for the accommodation of the whole Plj-mouth company, and that it was not centrally situated for the seat of the government of the colony. But several of the Plymouth church being resolved upon removal, a grant was obtained of the court, of "all the tract of land lying between sea and sea, from the purchasers' bounds fi*om Namskaket to the Iieriing brook, at Billingsgate, with said hening brook and all the meadows on both sides of said bi*ook, with the great ba.ss-ix)nd there, and all the meadows and islands lying within the said tmct." This grant embraced a region of about 15 miles in length, extending from the present towns of Brewster to Ti-uit), from Barnstable Bay across to the Atlantic Ocean. The leading men of this settlement, John Doane, Nicholas Snow, Josias Cook, Richard Higgins, John Snialley and Edward Bangs, were parted with regretfully by their associates at Plymouth. They were highly esteemed by, and in full sympathy with, the governing class at Plymouth, and conmienced the settlement under favoral)le aur?pices, and their numbers were so augmented l>y accessions that June 2, THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 65 1646, an act of incorporation in the following terms was passed: ''Nauset is granted to 1x5 a townr«hip and to have aD the privileges of a township, as other towns within the government have." They soon after organized by choosing Nicholas Snow town clerk, Edward Bangs treasurer, and Josias Cook constable. A meeting-house, 20 feet square, with thatched roof, and port holes in the sides, was erected near Town Cove. Rev. John Mavo, who went from Bam- stable in 1646, remained in the exercise of the ministrj- at Xauset, until 1655, when he was called to the second church in Boston. In 1647 Joseph Rogers was appointed to exercise the men of Nausct in the use of arms, and in June, 1648, it was ordered that the public rate of Nauset, this year and the future time, shall be 40s. In 1651 it was ** ordered that the town of Nauset heneeforth be called and known bj* the name of Eastiiam." Thus was accomplished the permanent settlement upon the Cai>e of four towns, under conditions differing but little from each other, and by people of similar origin, failh and condition in life. The few detached settlements elsewhere, as at Succannessett and ilonomoy, were placed ** within the liberties" of some other town, as the legal phmseology of the times ran. But it was contrary to the policy of the colony to encourage settlements, except by such numlxjrs as would insure the establiahment and maintenance of a minister within their borders. Nearly coeval with the settlement of the Capo, in the year 1G39, occun'cJ a radical chancre in the form of government of Plymouth colony, from a nearly democratic, to a representative, goveinuKnit. The inhabitants of the to\\Ti8 in the colony had heretofore been accustomed to go to Plymouth for the transa^.tion of the public business and the iiC CAPE COD. election of officers. The remainder of the year the entire administration of the government, legislative, judicial and executive, rested with the governor and his assistants. In 1638 the towns were authorized to send deputies to join with the bench to enact and make all such laws and ordi- nances as shall be deemed good and wholesome for the whole." But the laws to be enacted were to be proposed at one ses^^ion and not considered until the next, and the court resented the right to reject and dismiss all those deputies or committees who were *^ found insufficient or troublesome " I This chanire went into effect in 1639, and Sandwich and Yarmouth were represented at the June session, and Barnstable at Ihe December tenn ensuing, by the following deputies, or committees, as they are sometimes styled: Sand^vich, Richard Boui-ne, Thomas Annitage, Mr. John Vincent. Yarmouth, Thomas Payne, Philip Tabor. Barn- stable, Mr. Joseph Hull, ]ilr. Thomas Dimmock. Of scarcely less importance was the office of constable, upon the incumhants of which depended in great measure the good order and obedience to the law-making power of the little communities. William Chase was the incumbent from Yarmouth from jVIarch to October, when he was succeeded by William Clark; Thomas Armitage was selected, in March, for Sandwich, and in June had George Allen for dissociate ; Wm. Carsely was chosen in June for Barnstable* Together with the new representative system, a local judicial tribunal was created for hearing controversies between the parties within the townships of Sandwich, Barnstable, and Yarmouth, involving cases of not exceeding 20 shillings. Mr. Edmund Freeman of Sandwich, who was one of the assistants of the irovernor, toirether with Mr. Thomas Dimmock of Barnstable and Mr. John Crow of Yarmouth, constituted the court. How long it existed, or THE FIllST SETTLEMENTS. 67 the extent of its bu^^iiicss, is not known by any record extant. The same year a si)ecial session of the assistants was held in Yarmouth, Jmie 17th, at which ICdward AVinslow, Miles Standish and Edmund Freeman, jrcntlemcn, presided, to hear and determine cansos i)ending in Yannouth, and fix the boundaries l>ctwecn that town and tlic adjacent territory. These controversies referred more especially to differences respecting the boundaries and fencing of individual lots, small trespasses bj' Indians and matters rc<]uiring arbitration, rather than ju<livial pro^e.-^s. The ])ounds of Yannouth on the cast were dclined to be from Bound Brook river, now the western limit of Brewster, with a liJiend resei-vation for Mashantampaine, tlie Indian sagamore, on the borders of Kobscussett pond. The bounds between Yarmouth and Bamstalde were fixed very nearly as at present, rescn'ing in the part set off to IJarnstalilc a parcel of plain land in the eastern portion near the scashoix* to the two Indian sachems, Nep^3'etum and Twaconnnacus and their heirs. By this readjustment of boundaries, Yannouth lost nearly a mile of territorj', from cast to west, across to the south sea in Hyannis. No fixed tenns of these courts were established, but they were held at such times and places as the public convenience required; and in some few cases adjourned terms of the Genenil Coui-t were held in the Ca^^ to\vn8, for the consideration of important matters. Hardly had the settlci-s provided shelter for their families and cleared the hind for tillage, ere they were called upon to face the dangers and privations of war. Infonnation having reached the Phinouth authorities of a conspiracy of the Indians to cut off the Enirlish settlers, a general meeting of the freemen was called for deliberation, on the 27th of September, 1642. They, however, met by their deputies, 58 CAPE COD. as they hud a right to do. After full consultatipn a deputation was sent to Massachusetts Bay, to enter into a league and covenant \vith that colony, for future defensive and offensive operations. Capt. Standish was chosen captain of the forces to be raised, and 'William Palmer of Yarmouth was selected for lieutenant. The relative ability of the eight towns in the colony may bo seen by the amount raised for the chai"ges of the troops : Plymouth, £5*, 5s. ; Duxbury, £8, 10s. ; Scituate, £4 ; Sandwich, £3 ; Barn- stable, £2, 10s. ; Yarmouth, £2, 10s. ; Taunton, £2, 10s. ; Marshfield, £2, or in that proportion for a greater or less sum. A council of war was chosen, at the head of which was the governor, with Mr. Edmund Freeman, Mr. Thomas Dimmock and Mr. Anthony Thacher as the mcmbei*s from the Cajie towns. These alarms seemed for a season to be soon dissipated. But in October of the next year, the rising of the Indians against tlic Dutch and English occor sioned fresh alarms, and the court was again summoned to assemble. It was concluded that thirtv men would be the just proportion for the colony, and the numbei's for each town on the Cai^e were apportioned as follows : Sandwich, 3 ; Barnstable, 3 ; Yarmouth, 2. Stringent regulations were made against selling arms to the Indians. Provision was made requiring Yarmouth and Barnstable to prepare a place for the defense of themselves and their wives and children, in case of a sudden assault. No further military opoi*ations occuiTed this year. The hostile demonstrations of the Indian tribes were however continued, and in August, 1G45, an expedition was or<ranized airainst the Nami^ransetts. There were 40 men engaged in this expedition, of which 5 were from Sandwich, 4 from Barnstable, and 5 from Yarmouth. The Cape men were gone from 13 to 14 days. They advanced as far as. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. » Behoboth, bat peace having 1)een concluded with tlie savages- the troops returned without meeting the foe. The charges^ of this exi)edition were £66, 3s., 3d. The rate, the whole of which a little exceeded this sum, for the Cape Cod towns was: Sandwich, £9, 7s., 9d. ; Barnstable, £6, 2s., 6d. ; Yarmouth, £7, 2s., 6d. Nauset, not yet having been fully organized, was not included in this rate. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1635-1650. M85, Kovember. A vessel with 8ome Connecticut pettier* on board? wa^cast away in Muuomet Bay. The crew got on ^hore, and, after wandering ten duys in deep miowh, arrived at Plymouth. 1C88, June L Great earthquake throughout Xew England. "So Tioleut its shock, in some places, that movables in housett were thrown, down, nnd people outdoor.^ could scarcely rv.*taiu a po>ition on their feet."— Sept. The court ordered that the inhabitant? of Sandwich and llattachee^e, or Yarmouth, hhould build a bridge over Eel River, to be made pa:(:>able by fv»olmen or liorHemeu.— Dec. James Skeff of Sandwich was ordei*ed >»y the court to carry Henry Ewer and wife and their goods out of the town to the place whence they came; but if this order was executed they found means to return, and remained unmolested. 16S9, May 6. It was ordered by the court, that "if Mr. Callicut do- come in his own person to iuha]>it Mattachcese before the next General Court in June next ensuing, then the gi*aut >hall remain firm unto him; but if he fail to come within the time fixed, that then their grant be made void, and the land Y>e otherwise dispo:<ed of." It was also ordered by the court that "the proportion of land granted to Mr.. Andrew Hallet at Mattacheese, ^hall be and remain unto him, and that those that are appointed to set forth the bounds betwixt Matta- cheese and Mattacheeiiett tihall lay forth the said portion unto him in a convenient place there.''— Dec. o. Thomas Lumbert was licensed to keep an ordinary for entertainment of strangers and draw wines in Barnstable. 1640, Marc'h 2. The "purchaser? and old comers," obtained a grant of "a tract of land from the bounds of Yarmouth three miles eastward of Naemskekeett and across the neck from sea lo sea." For this grant and two others, AVilliam Bradford and associates, the aforesaid •60 CAPE COD. ^^nrchasers and old comer»,** surrendered to the whole body of the freemen all the reAt of the land within the patent, which had not been >?i*auted to other persona. 16A1, June 1. The rates of the several towns fixed by the oourt for the payment of clerk and 80 buithels of corn for the messenger, were as follows: Sandwich, 3 pounds; Bnrnstable, 2 pounds, 10 shillings; Yarmouth, 2 i)ouu(ls, 10 shillings.— June 7. Thomas Starr, Hugh Tilley, William Nicholson and Joshua Banie?, of Yarmouth, complained of for beiug **scoffers aud jeerers at religion," were ordered to recognize for their appearance in court, aud *^for coming to the t4)wu meetings." They were subsequently released. This was an outcome of their oontroTcrsy with Mr. Matthews. 1648, Aug. 29. '' Time is given to the towns of Barnstable and Yar- mouth until the next court, to amend their highways, or else be fined upon their i>re-^cutmcnt." Liberty was granted to the towns of Sand- wich, Barnstable and Yarmouth for erecting of military discipline among them, provided they be men of honest and good rei>ort, and freemen. 1644, Mar. 5. " Whereas information is given to the court that there Is a cow or a heifer in calve given or disposed by Mr. Andrew Hollet senr. of Yarmouth, for the benefit of the poor of the said town of Yarmouth, which for the ordering thereof was refeiTcd to the court by the said Mr. Hallet by his letter under his hand, and bearing the date the first day of March, 1618: The Court doth therefore order that the said cow or heif or in calve shall be ou May day next delivered to Thomas Payne of Yarmouth, who shall have her for three years next ensuing and the milk and one-half of the inei*easc during that time, and after the said three years are expired, the poor of Yarmouth shall have her, and the increase to be disporod of by the townsmen of Yarmouth from time to time to other poor persons dwelling in the said town as they shall think fit, and for ^uch term, reserving the benefit of said stock for the benefit of their poor, and not to be alienated to any other use."— June 6. Mr. Anthony Thacher of Yar- mouth licensed to draw wine at Yarmouth; Henry Cobb at Barnstable; Wm. Xewlaud at Sandwich.— Aug. 20. Ilu1>t. Bodfish licensed to draw wine at Sandwich, **and when he is at any time without, it shall be lawful for Wm. Xewland to sell wine for persons for their need." 1646, June 2. The Couil ordered that strangers that have lii>erty to Ash at the Capo pay 5 shillings per share.— Oct. 20. The proportion of the towns for public charges were. Sandwich, 8 pounds, 10 shillings. Yarmouth, 2 pounds, 10 shillings. Barnstable, 2 pounds, 10 shillings. 1647, March 2. Thomas Shaw for **putting aside some loose pali- sades on the Lord's day, entering the house of Joliu Crocker of Barnstable and stealing some venison, l)eef, butter, cheese, tobaoco and bread, was ordered to pay 12 shillings the officers that arrested him, and be publicly whipped." CHRONOLOGY OP EVENTS. Q 1M7. Mr. Priiice wtth Atitbouy Tliocber, ajtiMlMted by the Geuersl Conrt to try the i:afe til Neiioytam, Sac-bmnits And Felix, ludiaua, kgaiust whuin uoiu]>luhit had Ifevu ntiulp by Mr. Uk'Lni-d S^eart ot Tarmoutli.— Tbe towu of Snudwkh wa« premsuUMl for iiot Imluins the lUG. Tbomtii Dexter, Jr., miller, of SBudivlrh, preseuted "for not buviiig u toll-dUb wuled act-orUlag to order," bvit " wn« cleared." IIEO, Aiirll £!. Tbomtv^ Blo^'^'oui aud Jo^lnli Hnllet of Ynrmoutb droimed at Nautet, while on u Aching Toyage. Oct. 2. PermiHlon ira* grauted to Mr. Tbonin^i Preii(-e, and otbei-», tu form a compauy forlmwBMiiii^nt Cn)ie Cod, nud to purcha«R laud nt suth couyenieot pla(-t« m» tUey skall chooM, Ibu privilege belug <»uflrme(l to them for Uie term of three year*. A parcel of laud, about forty or fifty acres. In tbe town of Yarmouth, ;n-nnted to CniiC Standisb for hia trouble In ■etUlns the land title* in that town. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST COMERS. "Who they were and why they oarae— ftoclnl Diiitiiwtioiw— ludeppu- denb, rutlicr than Furitaus— Cattle Rnlsliuc— Agriculture— Pblieric.4— Uo^v- the Forefathers Lived— Malt oud DUtiUed Liquors —Their Dre^s— Lnnj; Holr Denouuced —Their Hnhltalloui- Their Home Life— Lnok of Ftmnle Iklncatiou— Devotional Habits— Roving Adveutureni, etc. HE men who kid the foondations of these '^touna, and from whom uine-tontha of the ]ii-c4eiit inhabitants are descended, were ' I^iglishracn, who were closely identified / nith the movements for i-eform in church iid state in the mother country. It would not l)e true to assert, as is sometimes iuconaiderately done, that they were driven ? iiy religious persecution from their homes to these shores ; for a country in which Cromwell and Hampden could Ik elected to Parliament might still he found a measurably secure dwelling-place for •those who adhered to Independency and dissent in religious matters. But it was at the same time true, that the •expression of such views had, at a somewhat earlier period, been attended with great hardship and ofttimes with peril ; «nd rather than continue the constant ftmggle in the mother countiy, they elected to heoome self-expatriated exiles, and chose to leave their old homes and build up new ones on -these wild and rugged shores. This they ui^dertook for :their own advantage and security, with no purpose connected CnARACTERISTIC8 OF THE FIKST COMERS. 08 with other iTci-sons or sects, a fact which should l)c Ijonie in mind and tcmi)er our critii'ismd when their treatment of ** strangers" and those of other beliefs is under review and discussion. So far as this rcidon is concerned, the oft quoted assertion of Stoughton, is equally true of its founders, as of the rest of New England, that "'God sifted a whole nation to procui-c the seed out of M'hich this jKjople was to be devcloj^d." A glance at their names and a search into their antecedents will show that their ranks cmbi-aced men of substance and ccmj^idenition in the ohl country. Several clergymen, who had been ejected from their livings for non-confonrity, a few iMji^sons vrho wei*e allied to the gentiy, and a largo numlwr of yeomen and artisans, were of the number. Together with these were a few who came purely from motives of adventure, for business and trade, who wei^e picked up in the cities and the poits of embarkation, to fill vacant places and make up the requisite numl)er of a proposed company. These latter had little sympathy with the objects sought for 1)y the chief settlers, were the source of much vexation and annoyance in futui-e time, and tended to swell the criminal calendar in those years, when even the slightest deviation from the prescrilwd course was visited with all the rigors of the law. The social position which each person sustained in the mother country was maintained here, with great tenacity, and the official documents in which names api>ear will thus indicate tlie station held and the consideration to which each l^rson was entitled. Goodman and Goodwife were the most usual appellations, ^Ir. being less common, and Gentleman being rarely api)endcd to the name of any among them. The title of ensign, lieutenant, cai>tain and major, when due to any person, was always punctiliously observed in the writings in which the names appeared. No one was ever jicrniittcd to 64 CAPE COD. assume a title, or to be addressed by one, to which he had not a rightful claim. In seating worshippers at church, and in the order of public proceedings, these considerations were given much weight, and were subject to not infrequent review, as the social or official standins: of ])aitics was changed or modified by a change in their circumstances in life. The Independent, rather than the Puritan, element predominated among the settlers on the Cape, which accounts for the degree of tolemnce which prevailed hei-e, and the absence of that pei-secuting spirit wliich pursued Anabaptists, Quakers, and other sectaries, in the ^lassachusctts and in some parts of the Plymouth, colonies. As will be seen in the progress of this narrative, many of these sects sought a refuge here, and were hospitably treated by those who had little sympathy with their doctrines — a degi'ec of toleration as rare in those days as it is deserving of recognition and appreciation by tlieir descendents. Xo instance is on record of any punishment inflicted or disability incurred by direction of any local magistrate of the Cape towns, on account of religious belief or want of such belief, the few cases in which such punishment here was administered, being inflicted by order of the colonial, and not of the town, authorities. The leading business consideration which entered into the calculation of those who came here, and wliich governed, in a hirge degree, their choice of this locality, \vas the facilities for rearing cattle which the marshes on the borders of the Cape afforded. Stock raising was, at that time, the most important business of the colony. '^It pleased God in these times so to bless the country with such access and confluence of i)eople into it, as it was thereby much enriched, and cattle of all kinds stood at a. high rate for divers years CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST COMER3. 66 together." A cow was sold for £20; sometiuics as high even as £28; a gout for £3 or £4. Four two-year-old steers and a bull, which were wintered in Yarmouth^ in 1639-40, sold for £83.* Cattle were sent from Enixland to this colony to be kept for a diare of the increase, so that ''the ancient planters which had any &>tock I>egan to grow in then: estates," These extreme prices were not long main- tained, but the business continued for many years sufficiently remunerative to repay the toils of the huslmndman. • The cultivation of Indian com was pursued with success^ the soil lieing specially adapted for that pui-pose. This was unquestionably the staple crop of the country, being used not only for food for men and animals, but being largely employed as the currency of the colony and taken for debts, taxes, and as a medium for carrying on tmde. To say of » man that he "had com in the crib," was equivalent to saying at this time that he has mcmey in the bank. The cultivation of wheat, which was pixxluced here in tlie earlier stages of the colony, was partially abandoned about the year 1656, on account of the blast and mildew which infested it, renderings the prospects of a crop precarious. Barley was grown to- make malt, of which considerable quantities were consumed. Then, too, pumpkins were found to be of great value. Said one of their writers, " Let no man make a jest of pumpkins, for with this food the Lord was pleased to feed his people to their good content, till com and cattle were increased,'*' Vegetables were found adapted to the soil, and all but potatoes raised in abundance ; these last coming later into* use. Fruit was also cultivated, but not of the luscious and developed varieties enjoyed by the present genemtion. The specimens of the Kentish cherry and the pears that grow upon the few old trees, proj^agated from the stock introduced! ^Plymouth Records. ee CAPE COD. by the forefathers, are of a coarse and acrid quality, which do not commend themselves to the modern palate. Though agriculture was necessarily the first and leading pursuit of the settlers, the fisheries at their doors soon diverted a portion of their enei'gies in that direction, and naturally led to the development of other bmnches of seamanship. In no very long time, voyages for trade and barter of fish, oil, tar, luml)er, and other products of the waters and forests, were made to the West Indies and Bermudas, for a supply of the articles of use and luxurj" produced in those islands. It was not very long before a knowledge of seamanship was acquired, while subseciuent generations produced many navigatoi*s and sailoi*s of great daring and adventurousness. Two citizens of Truro were the first to voyage to the Falkland Islands for whales. No part of the glol)e restrained the ambition of those hardy sons of the Cape. Of them in their chiy it was well said : "Brave men, who work whUe others sleep; Who dare while others fly; They buUd a uutlou's pillars deep. And lift them to the »ky.** The tables of the people were well laden with an abundance of excellent and su1)stantial food. We are indebted to the criminal calendar of the colony for a glimpse into the larder of one of the citizens of Barnstable, who may be regarded as a representative of the aveitige citizen of 1647, only seven or eight years after the settlement. While William Crocker, with his family, was attending meeting on Sunday, one hungry Thomas Shaw removed a palisade and entered Crockei*'s house, and pilfered the food provided for the family. It consisted of "some venison, some beefe, some butter, cheese, bread and tobacco,** a substantial, and sufficiently luxurious, bill of fare. Thougb smoking was under a legal ban, some of the CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST COMERa 97 best citizens uianaged to smuggle a little tolmcco for occa- sional use and private refreshment, after a hard da^^'s work, or perhaps a long discourse on Sunday. Tliey alwa3's had a supply of home-hi'owed l>eer, and spirituous liquors were in common, thougli perhajw the latter were not in general, use. Malt-houses, for the accommodaticm of the citizens, were as common as markets for the siile of meats are, at the present day. In the year 16G3-4 there were imported into Barn- stable and Yarmouth, accordinsr to the invoices of the inspectors, 201 gals. 8 cases and 1 cusk of liquors, 30 gals, rum, 30 gals, wine, 9 gals, bi-andy, 10 gals, sack.* This would seem to l>e an ample and even an abundant supplj*^ for the medical wants of a few hundreds of i)eople. Tea and coffee, it will be remembered, had at that time not come into general use. The peculiarities of dress and outward accoutrements of the forefathers have l>ccomc familiar to the general reader through Uie cun-cnt histories and other literature pertaining to the period. The settlers of the Cape to\\Tis were in no sense peculiar in this respec^t. The costume, l)oth of the males and the females, was in the earlier portions of their historj^ of the simplest description. Any approach to ^vanity in dress" was promptly dealt with by the authorities. But as the worldl}' affairs of the people licgan to prosj^er, they became less rigid in adlierence to this policy, and more latitude was allowed in the outward adornment of the person, of both sexes. The common dress for men was breeches, a long vest, with lappets covering the hips, a roundabout coat or jacket, for week djiys, and for Sabbath a long coat cut a little crosswise, not straight down in front, with a standing collar. The wealthy wore large silver buttons, but for common wear horn was used. They all ^Plymouth Records. 68 CAPE COD. wore round hats at first, but afterwards adopted the pomted hats of the Cavaliers. Long woolen stockings, which eictended above the knee and were kept in place by a buckle * or strap, and shoes fastened by a long buckle, completed their attire. In summer, stockings and sometimes shoes, were dispensed with, and trousers which extended below the knee were worn. With the female, the petticoat was the principal article of dress. It was made of cloth of domestic manufacture, sometimes colored, of two thicknesses and quilted throughout. On the lower border or front would sometimes be ornamental needle-work. Over this was worn a loose gown, also of domestic manufacture, white, checked or colored. It was open in front, and did not extend so low as the under garment. The sleeves were short, extending a little below the elbow. The neck and breast were ordinarily covered with a handkerchief; on great occasions, with a bodice or a stomacher. Long net gloves or ** sleeves" covered the hands when they went out of doors. White worsted stockings and mocasins completed the winter apparel. On great occasions, the wealthy had gayer and more pretentious costumes of foreign fabrics, which were carefully handed down from mother to daughter and granddaughter. Silks, mohair, or ^satinstow'' garments figure in the inventories of dresses on the probate records. When they went out they wore bonnets, and cloaks of thick cloth with a hood or covering for the head, attached. For many yeai*s a bright red or scarlet was the fashionable color for these garments. The length of the human hair early became an important issue, the wearing of long locks by men coming under the disapprobation of the sober and serious-minded members of society. About the year 1650 the practice was denounced in a paper signed by an association of leading members of CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST COMERS. 60 the community, in these words : ^ Forasmuch as the wearing of long hair, after the manner of the Russians and barbarous Indians, has begun to invade New England, contrary to the rule of God's word and the commendable custom of the godly, until this few years, we, the magistrates, who have subscribed this paj^er (for the showing of our innocency in this behalf) do declare and manifest our dislike and detesta- tion against the wearing of such long hair, as against a thing uncivil and unmanly, whereby men do deform, themselves, and offend sober and modest men and do corrupt good manners." The gi-and jury were subsequently bound to prevent and the couil to punish all such offenders. The wardrol:)e of families was also the subject of cure on the part of the magistrates. ''Excess of apparel, strange new fashions, naked breasts and arms, and pinioned, super- fluous ribl>ons on liair or apparel," were roundly denounced, and subjected the offender to prosecution and all the penalties of the violated law. Millinei-s, mantua-makers, and fashionable tailors were not in much demand, the apparel of the family l)eing usually manufactured by the female members, without outside assistance. The first houses of our earlier ancestors were of the simplest and mdest description. They were generally of one story, about twenty feet square, with boarded walls, and & thatched roof, with oiled paper instead of glass for the windows. They were "daubed" in the crevices with mortar to make them air-tight. The}' cost about five pounds, equal to twenty dollars in silver money in those days. Dr. Thomas Starr of Yarmouth, in 1G39, sold to Andrew Hallet & house of tliis description, which was built by William Chase, together with nineteen acres of land, for ten pounds.* These dwellings answered their puq^oses while they were ^Plymouth RecordB. clearing their fields, coostnicting roods, and bridges, and setting their plantatioos in order. After this a better class of frame houses was built. They were all in one style, two stories high, about 20x26 feet square on the ground, with very sharp roofs to shed water. The posts were 12 or 14 ieet long, the lower story finished about 7 feet in the clear, and the upi)er alwnt 6. They all fronted due south, and the "great room," or parlor, occupied the southeast comeri This room was usually aboat 16 feet square, and was occupied for a kitchen, dining-room and [Mirlor. A bed often occupied the northeast comer, and the looms the southeast. The sills were hewn from tbe largest trees in tlie forest, and projecting with the room, formed a seating place on the south and easterly side. The floor was laid on sleepers tliat rested on the ground, and it came up even with the lower part of the sill, so that, on entering the front door, which was at the southwest comer, you stepped down about a foot. The fireplace was on the west side, and occupied the whole space from the doom'ay to within about a foot of the north side of the room, and was usually about four feet deep. The fire was kindled in the centre, leaving CHARACTBRISTieS OF THE FIRST COMERS. 71 ample chimney-corners where the younger members of the family had seats in cold weather, and could gaze at the stars through the ample flue. The oven opened into tlie back part oi the fireplace on the left hand side. The place of the mistress of the house was on the right hand side near the settle, in the comer ; the master's place was a large arm-chair or roundabout placed directly in fi*ont of the fire. The rear of the lower floor contained a small room at the northeast comer having a small fireplace, and was sometimes called a kitchen, but not often employed for that purpose. A small room, sometimes occupied as a bedroom, and sometimes for other purposes, was on the east, and at the northeast comer a narrow pantry or closet, in which was a trap door leading into the cellar. The second story was divided nearly in the same manner as the lower. A large square chamber occupied the space over the parlor, with lodging rooms in the rear. The spacious garret was occupied by servants, and as a general place of deposit. Some of the settlers kept their bee-hives in the garret, placing them on a shelf on the outside in the summer, and remoWng them inside ;n winter. Paint was unkno\vn, and excepting the seams and crevices between the boards, few rooms were even plastered. The furniture was of domestic manufacture, the rooms were never carpeted, white sand from the 1)each spread evenly over the floor and •'herrin' boned,"* occupying the place now assigned to tapestry and Brussels. The exceptions to this style were the fortification-houses, of which there were several in the county, which were constructed of large pieces of timber for sills and plates, with boarding on each side, filled in with small stones and clav. This formed the walls of the house, which were plastered with shell mortar, inside and out. *OtU'» Baru»table Families. 72 CAPE COD. The material for estimating the every day and social life of the forefathers is scanty and incomplete. But the casual and imperfect glimpses which we catch of their homes and firesides reveal a picture of domestic happiness and harmony. The relations between the sexes were i-egulated by rules of strict propriety, and violations of the laws of cbastity and decorum were punished with inexorable severity. Children were taught to be ol)edient, retiring, and most respectful in their demeanor towai'ds their superiors. Their recreations were few, but some of the old games, played by their parents in the fatherland, and some of the folk-lore of the old country, were perpetuated from generation to generation, and are not entirely forgottea even at the present day. The Puritanism of the first generation of our ancestors was not of so intense a tj'pe as to cause them to discard entirely the sports of their ancestors, and ** hull-gull," "I espy,*' (corrupted to '^hy-spry,") and "thread the needle," held their ground in the popular affection for many years. But the days for pleasure were few and short, and the cares of a busy and anxious existence were soon thrust upon them. The young men were early inured to the duties of a severe discipline, and wrestling, ball playing, and exercises in the manual of arms, trained them to vigor and self-control. General musters were occasions which called great companies together. Weddings and famil}" reunions were almost the only social occasions of the women. Their literaiy educa- tion was inferior even to that of the men. It is rare to find among the signatures to public documents of the early days of the colony, evidences that they could write their names, the wife of Anthony Thacher of Yarmouth, one of the most learned men of the colony, signing as a witness to a will by her mark. Some quite prominent men, indeed, did the same thinir, at a time when a knowledije of writin^j CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST COMERS. 78 \fas not considered as essential as it was at a later day. Family devotions were ol)sciTed with rigorous punctuality. On Sunday, no matter what the state of the weather, every member of the family attended church. The distance was often eight or ten miles. For many years there was no conveyance for worshippers. The younger people walked all the way, the older ones, when horses came into vogue, riding a part of the distance, tj'ing their horses for those who came after them, who in turn tied theirs, after completing their portion of the journey. To save their shoes, the young people in mild weather carried them in their hands until near the mceting-hou.se, and removed them when returning home. Assembled for worship, the sexton turned the glass when the sermon began, and the preacher kept on till the sand ran out, whether his ideas had run out or not. A short intermission was followed by another service, when the humble woi'shippei-s returned to their homes. Sunday began at sundo^\^l Saturdaj" night, and ended on Sunday night. With our fathers, Sunday was the '^day of all the week the best," not to be desecrated by travel, amusement, or any secular concerns. Any one found upon tlie road that day was halted by the constable, and, unless he had some very imperative business, was carried before the nearest magistrate. William Chase of Yarmouth was presented by the gi-and jury, in 1654, for ** driving his oxen five miles on the Lord's day during the time of exercise." Two men were fined for sailing a boat from Sandwich to Boston on the Lord's day.* All persons stopping at ordinaries over Sunday were I'equired to attend church or take the consequences. Besides the permanent residents, these shores were resorted to by adventurers from abroad, for purposes of ^Plymouth Records. H CAPE COD. trade or motives of curiosi^, or by those seeking to foand homes on these westera shores. Their intercourse with the settlers was sometimes of advantage, but not al^'ays so, and the rights and safety of the permanent settlers were jealously and studiously guai-dcd and delined ia the legis- lation of the colony and the regulations of the different towns. It was only by the rare and infrequent visits of these chance udvcnturers that the knowledge of occurrences in the motherland was kept alive, and as mails and newspapers were not known for many years afterwards, they bad little information of the kindred and friends they had left behind them. Occasional expressions of love and affection for the mother ooantry are found in their earlier writings, but they soon began to transfer to the land of their adoption the attachment due to the shores which were the haven of their children and of the generations yet to come after them. Under these conditions were founded, developed and perpetuated the homes and institutions which are now found existing apou Cape Cod. CHAPTER VI. EVENTS FOLLOWING THE SETTLEMENTS. EelRlTerBridge— Dutcb War Bckre— Drift Wbalea— Thumaa Prence of Eaethaii) elected Governor— Growing ludlffereiiM lo Rellgiou* Ordinances— M in latoriul CtiangeB— Labors of Ricbard Bourne among the iDdlatm— Controrerar wttli William ITlckorBon of Mumunoit— Loglslatioa re«pectlii)E tbe Fisheriei— Indian Pledge of Fidelity— Death of Goremor Preuce and Acoeuion of JobIu Wliwlow. ^^M. HE taxation of the three Cape towns for the construction of a bridge over Eel River, in Pljinouth, and the public highway v,i,i * s.-^^ lending thereto through the Cape towns^ A^l P^*^lx!cauie, soon after the settlement, an ''^JiJF^ important question. The inhabitants of ■^r!^ Eel River village having petitioned the g \ Court for rejiayment in some form of the expense for constructing the bridge, which the Court found to be greatly needed and was much used by travellers from the Cape towns, they were required to make payment for their proportional part of the charge therefor. The Court, in 1649, deemed £15 a proper sum to be contributed by the towns of Sandwich, Barnstable and Yarmouth, which they neglected or declined to pay, believing that this. structure ought to be regarded as a local, and not a public, improvement. In 1652, Sandwich, Barnstable and Yar- mouth were presented by the Couit for non-payment of their share of this charge, and the inhabitants of Eel River commenced a suit against the above towns, and a verdict of £20 was recovered by the plaintiffs, which, after a review^ 76 CAPE COD. was again affirmed, and the towns were compelled to contribute according to the verdict of the Court. Complaint was also made, in 1652, that ^the lower way between Sandwich and Barnstable was intercepted,** and Mr. Prence and Capt. Standi^h were ordered to empanel a jury **to lay out as conveniently as they can a country road, unless the town of Barnstable will allow it for a highway." The same were ordered to empanel a jury to lay out the most convenient way from Sandwich to Pl3rmouth. The latter jury consisted of Anthony Thacher, Thomas Dexter, Thos. Hincklejs Wm. Hedge, Edward Bangs, Joseph Rogers, John Wing, John Ellis, Henry Dillingham, James Skiff, John Finney, Jona. Hatch and Wm. Bassett. This jury reported on the location as follows : ** Beginning at Sandwich and so beginning at Goodman Black's house on the right hand, running across the swamp over the river, and so on a nor'-north-west line falling upon Eel River," etc. This was the lii-st public highway legally laid out from Sandwich to Plymouth, and was substantially the one used for moi-e than two centuries in ffoinj]f from the Cape to the latter town. In consequence of the threatening aspect of the relations between England and Holland, the Court directed the several towns to send deputies to meet the magistrates April 6, 1653, '^to treat and conclude upon such military affairs as, through God's blessings, may possibly tend to our present and future safety." Sandwich sent James Skiff ; Barnstable, Lieut. Fuller and Sergeant Thomas Hinckley; Yannouth, Sergeant Thomas Rider and John Gorham ; Eastham, John Doane and Richard Sparrow. Vigorous measures were taken to place the colony in a state of defence. They appointed a council of war, who made provision for the immediate bringing into the field of 60 men, whereof EVENTS FOLLOWING THE SETTLEMENTS. 77 Sandwich was required to furnish Gj Yarmoutli 6, Baiii8table 6, and Ea^tham 3. The most minute and comprehensive plan of operations was deemed necessary. The anticijiated ooIIisioB widi Manhattan did not however occur. The great victory of Admiral Blake over the Dutch fleet established the supromacy of the English arms so decisively, that their antagonists on the continent had sufficient care for the time to attend to their own defence, without intei'fering with the English possessions in her colonies. The aknn which had subsided at this time was again revived in 1667, unfriendly designs being feared from the French as well as the Dutch, both of whom the council proclaimed as '"common enemies." The council ordered that during any api^earance of danger a military watch be kept in every town. The members of this council for this year were as follows : Sandwich, Richard Bourne, AVm. Bassett, James Skiff, Sr. ; Baiiistable, Thomas Hinckley, Nathaniel Bacon, John Chipman ; Yarmouth, Anthony Thacher, Edmund Hawes, Thomas Howes ; Eastham, Lieut. Freeman, Josias Cooke, Richard Higgins. Pending the disputes with the Dutch, new Indian difficulties arose with the Narragansett tribe, who attacked the Indians who were under the protection of the English, and whose cause they were bound by treaty obligations to espouse. The Com- missioners of the Colonies urged the raising of a body of troops to convey a message to Nianti, sachem, to compel him to desist from his hostile proceedings. Of this number Yarmouth, Sandwich and Eastham were required to furnish four each, and Barnstable five. The troops accomplished their purpose, without a hostile encounter. The ownership of drift whales cast upon the shores of the different towns was for some years a source of difference and controversy. In 1661, Constant Southworth, colonial 78 CAPE COD. treasurer, made a proposition for compromise to the towus of the Cai>e, to the effect that finders of whales should pay one hogshead of oil in Boston, for each whale so found. The committee appointed by the town of Yaimouth, to debate and determine the difference, agreed to the proposi- tion, and there is no record of the action of the other towns, the general presumption l>eing that they, too, acceded to the proposition of the Court, made through their treasurer. In 1657, Thomas Prence of Eastham was elected Governor of Plymouth colony, an office which he had held twice before, previous to his removal from Plymouth. By a law enacted in 1633, it was provided "that the chief government be tied to Pl}iuouth, and that the governor for the time being be tied there to keep his residence and dwelling ; and there also to hold such courts as concern the whole." But a dispensation was granted in this case, so desirous were the people to secure the services of Mr. Prence. He continued to reside in Eastham, until the inconveniences of the •arranirement became so <]:reat that in 1664 he was induced to remove again to Plymouth, a house being provided for him, and suitable provision being made for his entertainment there. The cares and responsibilities of the office were very great and increasing, and it was difficult to procure the services of a competent person for the position, so averse were the men of those days to public employment. The Cape towns, during the period of Governor Prence's residence here, held a relative importance in the colony greater than al any subsequent portion of their history. Gov. Prence's partiality for Eastham was justified by the facilities which the town afforded for both agriculture and the fisheries, which, even at this day, are retained in some portions of her former territory. Four times each year, at EVENTS FOLLOWING THE SETTLEMENTS. 7« least, the govemor made the jouniey to Plymouth, to attend the sessions of the general court or the couit of as»istant8. Starting from his home, he passed bj' the house of Kenelm \Vinsh)W, brother of the former governor, Edward, who lived in Harwich (now known as lJi*ewster). A little farther along was the residence of Kidiard Scars, another leading man of the colony ; still faither, the homes of John Crow, Thcmias Howes, Anthony Thacher and Edward Sturgis, both the latter of whom kept ordinaries, where refi*eshments were procured for man and beast, and the latter of whom could spread a table with a display of plate larger than any i)erson in this part of the territory, and l)efitting the state and dignity of a governor. In Barnstable, he came to the homes of the Gorhams and Lothrops, and here, also, he doubtless met Thomas Hinckley, for many years an assistant, and destined to )je his successor in the government. Mr. Hinckley wjis not a wealthy man, but he had an opulent neighl)or, Mr. Thomas Allen, who entertained the governor and suite upon these journeys to and fro, with suitable state, providing a bountiful table and a private room, for ccmferences with those repairing to the governor on business. From Barnstable he passed through East Sandwich, where, we may feel quite sure, he avoided intercourse with the citizens, the greater part of whom were sympathizers with the Quakers, and were in bitter opposition to the government. Doubtless, too, he had but little intercourse with the leading citizen of that town, Mr. Edmund Freeman, who, it was well known, was utterly opposed to the policy of the government in their dealings with the Quakers. Mr. Kichard Bourne and Mr. Thomas Tupi>er of this town, though men of tolerant views, were not so greatly estranged from ilr. Prence's policy as Mr. Freeman, and special sessions of the magistrates were 80 CAPE COD. sometimes held at Mr. Bourne's boose. From Sandwich^ through the long stretch of wood, past ** Sacrifice Rock" and over Eel River, the retinue approached the seat of govem-^ ment, and met the leading men of this colony of four thousand population, and some two hundred voters, more than one-third of whom inhabited the northern shores of Cape Cod. Soon after the settlement of the towns, complaint was. made, both here and in other pai*ts of the colony, of the prevalence of indifference to, or dissatisfaction with the ordinances of religion as administered and expounded in the churches. This was the result partly of a reaction from the rigorous and restraining doctiines of Puritanism, and in som^ degree the result of re Section and free inquiry on religious themes which was abroad in the community. la an especial manner the ministerial office and church organization were growing in disesteem, and men were beginning to exercise their own spiritual gifts instead. This tendency was rigorously dealt with by the authorities. The Court ordered ^ that if any slothful or profane persons, in any of. the towns, neglect to attend public worship, they shall pay for each offence ten shillings or be publicly whipped.'' In the application of this order, all persons who, for any reason, did not attend public worship, were deemed either ^lazy, slothful or profane," and fined accordingly. Among those presented by the gmnd jury for ^ not frequenting the public worship of God " were a number of citizens of Sandwich, who afterwards were prominently identified with the Quaker schism, and Mr. Edmund Freeman, for several years one of the assistants, and others, who simply staid away from the place of worship from dissatisfaction with the removal of Mr. Leverich from the pastorate of the church, and their disti*ust of the gifts and EVENTS FOLLOWING THE SETTLEMENTS. 81 spiritual insiprht of those who had supplanted him. Ralph Allen, Sr., and Kicliard Kerby, of the same town, were also bound over in the sum of £20 each, '^for deriding and villifj'ing speeches of and concerning God's word and ordinances," another way of fraying that they dis:!ieuted from the construction placed upon scri[)tui'al texts by those who were in authority at that time. These occurrences were the beginning of tliat series of events which subseijuently led to the Quaker schism, a movement in wliich the protests and discontents of former years fiiund their logical expression. The disaffection on the part of the congregations resulted in several changes in ministerial incumbency of the Cape towns. Mr. Leverich of Sandwich, having, as already seen, incurred the hostility of a portion of his people, his position was rendered extremely irksome and distasteful. He was an'aigned by the Court, at the instigation of his enemies, for exchun^rinir with an Indian a <run for some commodit}', and subsequently was fined £15. He was spoken of in contemiX)raneous writings, as ^a man of great piety and meekness,** but his theological teachings were criticised with much rancor bj* his opponents, which led him '^to seek a quiet recess at Long Island,'* and he subsequently settled at Oyster Bay, laboring with great usefulness and success with the people of that place, Huntington, and Xewtown, for many j-ears thereafter. After the departure of Mr. Leverich there was no settled minister in that town for several years. Mr. Tupper, who was not an ordained minister, though in favor with the government, officiated to a portion of the people. Mr. Richard Bourne, also a layman, occupied the pulpit for a portion of the time. Neither of these persons was entirely acceptable to the friends of Mr. Leverich. A>)out the vear 1658, Rev. John Smith, who had previously officiated in Barnstable, became^ 82 CAPE COD. the regular successor of ]Mr. Levericb, and continued in that relation for manj' years, Jlcssra. Bourne and Tupj^er turning their attention to the Indians, in which field Mr. Bourne, especially, tilled a sphere of great usefulness and success. In Barnstable, Mr. Lothrop having died in 1653, no one was found to take the leading position, which from his talents and chamcter, he held in the church and town. Mr. Lothrop was succeeded by Rev. Win. Sargent, the lens^th of whose ministry, as also of that of Rev. John Smith and of Mr. John Mayo, are not certainly known. In 1663, Rev. Thomas AValley became the minister of Barn- stable, and was a distinguished and iniiuential man in his day, though subject to many annoyances irom the Quaker element of the town. Quakerism was not the only form of dissent which was manifest here. Secretary Morton, writing in 1654, records " great divisions in the Barnstable church, occasioned by one John Cook, an Anal>aptist." Mr. Walleyes treatment of dissenters of all shades was characterized by great prudence and consideration, which doubtless contributed to allay the excitement and compose the theological difficulties which had before existed in this town. During these years, Rev. John Miller, the pastor of the Yarmouth church, was ministering to a society somewhat divided in sentiment, partly in consequence of the sui-vival of old discontents and partly owing to the prevalence of the spirit of unrest and dissatisfaction which was abroad in other communities, and which had its reflection and expres- sion here. Mr. Sliller resigned his position about the year 1661, and Mr. Walley, before settling in Barnstable, resided in this town, owned lands and was connected with the society and church here. About the year 1663, Rev. Thomas Thornton, a member of the established church of EVEXTS FOLLOWING THE SETTLEMENTS. 8S England, who was ejected from his linng the year before by the Act of Conformity, commenced his labors with the Yarmouth society*, although his installation into the pastoral office did not occur until 1GG7. Mr. Thornton, in Ieai*ning, native ability and character, was the equal of any of his contemporaries in the Plymouth colony, but it illustrates the critical spirit of the times, that a man of his gifts and fitness for his work should have had to encounter fierce and bitter opposition in the incipiency of his ministry. A communication which has recently seen the light, signed by fifteen leading meml)crs of the church, and addressed to the governor and assistants of the colony, defends the character of his sen'ices and rei>els aspei'sions upon the doctrinal quality of his sermons, which had been employed to prevent his' settlement in the town. This vindication appears to have been successful, and the connection with the church, thus formed, continued until near the close of the century. While these controversies and mutual recriminations between heated sectaries were proceeding in all the sur- rounding communities, one eminent and devoted man entered upon the work of piety and good will towards the aboriginal inhabitants, whose minds had not, as yet, been illumined by the light of civilization or the precepts of christianit}\ Mr. Kichard Bourne, who has already been mentioned as one of the original settlers of Sandwich, and who had labored in the pulpit after the departure of Mr. Leverich, conceived the idea of gathering the Indians of Mashpee into a community by themselves, organizing them as a civil society, teaching them the truths of the gospel, and, as fast as might be, connecting them together under a church discipline. The first grant was made for the promo- tion of this project about the year 1661. His entire parish embraced the region fi-om Middleboro to Provincetown. 84 CAPE COD. The Apostle Eliot and Cotton assisted at his ordination* His work was crowned with marked success. In a letter to Major Gookin, dated many years later (Sept. 1, 1674,) he said he was the only Englishman employed in this extensive re^on, and the results of his labors are stated in a return, of which this is a condensed abstract: ** Praying Indians that do frequently meet together on the Lord's day to worship God/' He names twenty-two places where meetings were held. The num)>er of men and women who attended these meetings was 309. Young men and maids 188. Whole number of praying Indians 497. Of these, 142 could read the Indian language, 72 could write, and 9 could read English. Statistics, however, fail to indicate the influence of these labors upon the welfare of the colonists. In the Indian war which followed, the important results of Mr. Bourne's efforts were felt, contributing powerfully to the safety of the colonists. What a contitist his work presents to the fierce and fanatical stnf e which was going on around him, of the professed followers of the Prince of Peace, hanging and scourging men and women of a like &ith, for following the "inward light" and wearing their hats in public assemblies ! The long controversy between the authorities and Wm. Nickerson, growing out of his attempts to acciuire titles of lands at Monnamoit, was brought to a close in the year 1672. The difficulties commenced sixteen years before. For buying land of the Indians, and selling them a boat, in 1656, Mr. Nickei*son was disfranchised. Nothing daunted, he the next year petitioned to have his lands confirmed to him, and it was ordered that "the lands 1)e viewed, and that he have a competency allowed him, and the rest be resigned to the government." In 1659, he was "allowed his lands." In 1663, he and his sons and his sons-in-law petitioned for ETEXTS FOLLOWING THE 8ETTLEMENT& 85 liberty to settle a township at Monnamoit. In 1665, he was again charged with illegally purchasing land of the Indians, ** submitted himself to the clemency of the court," and was allowed one hundi'ed acres near his house. The rest of the land at Monnamoit was granted ""to Mr. Thomas Hinckley, Mr, John Freeman, Mr, Williiam Sargent, Mr. Anthony Thacher, Nathaniel Bacon, Edmund Hawcs, Thomas Howes, Sr., and Lieut. Joseph Rogers, in equal proportions, said Nickerson to have an equal proportion with them in the meadow lands." It was ordered that all said lands appertain to and shall be "* within the limits of the township of Yarmouth." The penalty of £5 for every acre illegally purchased of the Indians by said Nickerson was remitted. Other i)ersons having purchased lands in ^lonnamoit, without a grant from the Court, and conflicting with the rights of the aforesaid parties, a compromise was effected in 1672, Mr. Nickerson agreeing to pay them a valuable consideration ; and a grant was made to him by the general court, confirm- ing his claim in the face of former controversies ; and the settlement of Monnamoit proceeded without further imped- iment. Mr. Nickei*son and his family had the full control of the town in its incipient stages. This statement of the official steps taken in the progress of the controversy gives little idea, however, of tlie bitterness and angry feelings engendered, which extended to the church and the social relations of the parties. Mr. Nickerson and his sons were arraigned, in 1GG7, for scandalously reproaching the Court, in a letter to the Governor of New York, and put under bonds to the amount of £500. The next year he was called upon to answer for words spoken against the preaching of Mr. Thornton. He and his sons were also set in the stocks for resisting the constable in the performance of his duty ; and refusing to find sureties for future good behavior, he 86 CAPE COD. was committed to prison and remained three days, at the end of which time he relented, found the required sureties, and was released. Mr* Nickerson, in other transactions, had shown himself to be possessed of a litigious disposition and a temper of some acerbity, but he does not appear to have been entirely without provocation in these transactions of the court. In 1674, Monnamoit, which had been for nine years "within the libeities of Yaiinouth," together with Satucket, was included within the township of Eastham. The fisheries early attracted the attention of the colonists. The Commissioners of the United Colonies, in 1659, recom- mended to the several general couits, to regulate the taking of mackerel, ''conceiving that fish to be the most staple commodity of the country." The Cape fisheries, both cod and mackerel, were of the first importance, and the fishery privileges became a matter of contention l^etween eager rivals. ''Strangers" were taxed by the court for the privilege of "fishing at the Cape," and other enactments were made, which will be set forth in a chapter devoted to the subject. The Indians of the Colony of New Plymouth, engaged themselves to fidelity to the English, the 10th of April, 1671, and subscribed to the agreement "by some of the chief of them," at the Court held in Plymouth the 7th of June of the same year. This engagement was entered into doubtless, in consequence of the threatening attitude of Philip, whose conduct had already begun to excite suspicions in the minds of the colonists. Seveml Cape sachems were among the subscribing parties, among them the mark of John Quaqaquansuke, of Paomett, John Quason Taswott, of Monnamcick, his mark; of Sachcmus and Little Robin and Wahoonettshunke ; the mark of Sabatubkett ; Katemet, EVENTS FOLLOWIXG THE SETTLEMENTS. 87 alias Sampson of Xobscussett; Katemet, alias Katenat, of ii^Iattacheesett, bis mark; and *' Sampson of Xausct is sick and is not come;" "Humphrey of Wecquahutt, is not come." The need of strengthening good relations Ixjtween the English and the neigh1x)ring Indians was felt and appreciated at this time. It will be seen that this foresight and precaution of the fatliers was not at fault, and that they stood in sore need of all the aid and friend- ship that were available, in the dark times which had already begun to cast their shadow over the land. In 1673 Gov. Thomas Prence died, and was succeeded by Josias Winslow. Gov. Prence was of a stern, unyielding and austere temperament. In his dealings with the Quakers he was severe and uncompromising, evincing no sympathy with those who presumed to differ from him and his associates, in matters of belief. Theologically, he was a Puritan, rather than an Independent. Tolcrati(m and independence of thought were not permitted in the slightest degi'ee. On the other hand, it ought to be said to his credit, that Gov. Prencc's enlightened views and policy on the subject of popular education were in advance of the times, and reflected credit upon his administration. Upon his accession to the government, Mr. AVinslow reversed the policy of his predecessor in the treatment of the Quakers. This showed progress on his pait ; for in the earlier stages of this controvcry, while an assistant of the governor, he had evinced much repugnance to these sectaries, and appeared to be partially in sympathy with Gov. Prence and his other associates. It is to his -credit that he retraced the false steps with which he stalled. A result of the new policy of the government was the restora- ticm of James Cudwoilh and Isaac Robinson to their rights as freemen — men whose services, particularly those of 88 CAPE COD. Cudworth, proved of the highest value and importance in the terrible struggle near at hand. The history of the early Quaker persecution in this county presents the spectacle of the magistrates of the colony on one side and the body of the people of the Cape on the other. This dark, pathetic and saddening story will be told in a separate chapter. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1650-1672. 1053. Capt. Stnndish was appointed to rectifj the bounds between Barnstable and Sandwich.— The wife of Tristram Hull of Barnstable was warned by the Court to desist from hindering the servant of Samuel Mayo from performing faithful service to her master.— The town of Sandwich was preseuteil for not having a common stock of powder and iihot.— Jonathan Hatch of Barnstable was presented for furnishing an ludiau with a gun and ammunition, but ** cleared/' — ^Mr. Prince of Eastham, Mr. Howes of Yarmouth, John Chipman of Barnstable, and Richard Bourne of Sandwich, were appointed to receive from these several towns "the oil of the country.'* 1658. Josins Hallet and Thomas Gage of Yarmouth were presented by the court ** for profaning the Lord's day, by putting forth to sea from Sandwich harbor on the Lord's day,*' and fined. 1654. A vessel belonging to Mr. Samuel Mayo, of Barnstable, employed in conveying the goods of Mr. Leverich from Sandwich to Oyster Bay, Long Island, was seized by the authorities of Rliode Island. Commissioners were appointed by the Plymouth authorities to look into the matter, and the act was disavowed by the govern- ment.— Wm. Chase, of Yarmouth, presented for driving a yoke of oxen on the Lord's day, in time of exercise, about five miles. — Mashan- tampaine, sachem of Yarmouth, was accused of " >tealing a gun, and that his dogs injured the cattle of the inhabitants," and that *'he had in his possession a chest of tools," the inference being that they were not his. On the fir^t charge he was acquitted; on the last two, incxuiry was ordered, and we hear no more of the matter. — Sandwich was presented for not providing stocks and whipping posts; also for not having a full complement of arms. Eastham was presented for not having a pound.— It appearing that injury had been done by horses to to the Indians' corn at Manomet, it was ordered that the damage must be paid, and Mr. Freeman was authorized to luive the matter properly adjusted.— The bounty on wolves was ordered to be paid, as follows : Barnstable 0, Yarmouth 6, Sandwich 4, Eustham 4. 1657. A controversy between the sachem Yanuo, or Janno, and the inhabitants of Yarmouth, about the title to land?, was referred to CHROKOLOGT OP ETEKTS. IB John Alden and Lieut. Soutbworlh, who decreed thst the title of the InhKbUants nball be ronflrmed, nud that tbe lacbem ehall have paid to Mm fix coate, «ix pair rimall bitieubes, teu boe*, ten bai«beti, two braM kettles and one irou ketltt;. 1658. Tbe town of Snndirtch Toted to authorize Thomas Tobejr to pay IS Hhillia^ to tbe ludiatis for erery woU killed by them. IBS). Jnme$ Skiff, cboaeu \iy tbe toivn of Saudwich tor deputy, waa rejected by tbe court, on account of his procllTttiee In favor at the Quakera. lGOl-2. Rev. John Smith aud others of the Bnru«ta1ile church, hBvtng seceded and formed lbem.^lve« into auotber and distinct Boolety, a CDUUcil ot neigbboriug chun'bes was held, which disowned the seced- ers, reuounced fellowship with them, and called upon tbe churches to do the ^ame. IBS!. The rates for public charges were an follows: Pnndwloh, 10 pounds, :isbilliugi<, pence; Yarmouth, 10 pounds, 2,0; Barnstable,]! poundf, 2, 0; KaiitbiiiD, 8 pounds, 2, 0, mtS. Kenelm Wiu«lou-, Jr., ot Tarmoutb, wa-> Sued 10 sbillinga "for riding on tbe Ijord's day," altbongh be pleaded necessity. — Ur. Hinckley. Tliomus Dexter, Jr., and Couataut Soutbwortb, appoiul«d to settle the bouud* between Sandwich aiidriymoulh.— It was ordered "that Sacoonessett shall, tor the present, lielong to Barnstable." KXo, Robert Harper was publldly whipped by order of the court, "for disturbing public wor.-^bip iu Snudwli'h and Barnstable;" and Richard Willis was set In the stocks "For ribaldry." These persons persisted In going t-o the places of public worship, and "bearing their t«siimouy" while the services were progressing. 1668. Francis, sachem 'Of Nauset, was fined 10 pounds, "for unoiTlI and Inhumtin words to Capt, Allen, at Cape Cod, when cast away." — Seneral military musters were ordered to l>e held on the seoond TTednesday ot the eusniug year, at Plymouth, Yarmouth and Taunton. 1671. Certain persons In Hull petitioned the gofemmeut "for permission to flab at Cape Cod for mackerel, they having discovered a new method of Hshiug with nets by moonlight." ISn. The laws, hitherto in manuscript only, were, for the first time, printed and distributed to tbe towns of the colony.— Seecunlc and hia two sons who Uaimed to have Inherited icorton Neck in Sandwiob, of Iheu fnllier fii\ \ (h< cud u< \t to Bam tnUli' or tbe '^andj Beatih " c Bam<tnb[e men — Succouessett was authorized by the make good and wbolesome ordtrs for it4 government and CHAPTER VII. THE EARLIEST QUAKERS. Appenrance of the first Quakent—RepreMlrp Stntutcs— "Thomaa Hluokley'BLaw"— Holdeti aud Copeliiud wliipped at Baruitahle — Borlow'd Appolutmeut m Murshat — l>ruBe<:ullou of Saudwich p«opl« for harlioiiiig Quakers— Cud worth and Ixiuio Roblnnou didframtil«ed for deleudlug them— "The luiranl Lt^hftbe ha^U of QuakerUm— Cupo Quakers uelthor abu«ive uor ladeveut— STo legal warraut for their persecution. '^•5;,^^9 HE Quaker persecution, which left so dork ' Y J a blot ui»on the generatiou in which it ' ^^^-J^^ti transpired, cannot in any considerable ^^^j);^-*S tlcgrep i-cflect upon the citizens of the Cap© ^ (^^^ couimuuitics, where these events o«rcurred, and the resiwnsibility for which rests with the colonial authorities, urged and goaded on by the ruling classes of Mas3achu:K!tts Bay. "The peo])le called Quakers," but who themselveri took the name of "Friemls," began to trouble the Puritans of Boston and Mussacbusctts Colony about the year 165ti. In July of that year, Mary Fisher and Ann Austin arri^'ed in Boston from England. Xo law forbid their cooiiug, and no proof of the character of these women or of their purposes was in the po^tsession of the authorities. They were immediately, without arraignment or examination, imprisoned and treated with the greatest indignitic^i. A month later, eight others of this soct arrived from London. They were also impri^joned, and the books which they bi-ought were contiscated and destroyed. Sentence THE EARLIEST QUAKERa 01 of banishment was passed upon them, and the masters of the vessels which brought them, were required to carry them out of the colony. Then folIoAved repressive Jaws, resulting in iines, scourgings, imprisonments, and the hanging of four persons, including one woman. Owing to the fierce persecution which the Quakers encountered in Alassachusetts, many of them crossed over into the more tolci-ant region of the Plymouth jurisdiction ; the first town in which they were found in considerable numbers being Scituate. The great body of the people, including Mr. Hatherly and Mr. Cudworth, while not accepting their religious theories, tried to shield them from persecution. But these brave and liberal men only drew upon themselves the indignation and censure of the author- ities. The C(mimissionei"s of the Colonies, one of which — the powerful colony of Massachusetts Bay — was the leading factor, reconnncnded the several colonies to pass and enforce more stringent laws for the suppression of heresy. The Plymouth colony hesitated, but finally complied. It was at first attempted to accomplish this puqoose by enforcing a law passed some years previous, which provided "that if any neglect the worshij) of God in the place where he lives, and set up a worship contrary to God and the allowances of this- government, to the public profanation of God's holy day and ordinances, he shall pay 10 shillings," The effort to enforce this law failed, because the offender must be convicted of doinir all these thinors, in order to become liable to the penalty provided. Gen. Cudworth states the curious fact, that in ilarch, 1658, a court of deputies was called, when, after passing sundry acts relating to the Quakers, they contrived to make this law efficacious by quietlj'^ erasing the word "and" in the act, and substituting ^^or" therefor; which, being disjunctive instead of conjuno- 92 CAPE COD. tiye, made both branches of the act operative. This alteration y says Cud worth, though made in 1658, stands upon the record as the work of 1651, and was enforced to the letter against the Quakers.* This kiw which was referred to in some of the writings of the time as, "Thomas Hinckley's law," was understood to liave been drafted by Mr. Hinckley when he was a deputy, to meet another class of cases, and he was no more res}M)nsible than his associates for its changed and obnoxious form. The additional laws passed in Plymouth colony, in accordance with the suggestions of the Commissioners, though less severe than those enacted by Massachusetts, were yet violative of the rights of conscience and hospitality. They required any one bringing Quakei's into the colony to return them from the place whence they came, under a penalty of 20s. per day after giving warning; forbade entertaining them under a penalty of £5 every day, or of being whipped; required that any one knowing of the presence of a Quaker should inform the authorities, and that such Quaker, when apprehended, should l)e sent to jail until he should pay the cost of his imprisonment and transportation ; that any such persons holding Quaker meeting be fined 40s. each for every speaker, and 10s. for hearers who were heads of families, and 40s. for the owner of the place of meeting ; that strolling Quakers be sent to the House of Correction ; that their books and writings \ye subject to seizure ; that those entertaining Quakers be subject to a fine of £5, or be whipped ; that such persons coming into any town be committed to jail, and enjoined to depart out of the government, in default of which to l>e whipped ; that any person permitting a Quaker meeting in his house, be publicly whipped or pay £5 ; that no Quaker be admitted •Cudworth's Letter to Brown, 1C58. THE EARLIEST QUAKERa 9» as a freeman; that freemen who became Quakers or encouragers of them, should lose their freedom ; that their horses might be seized by any person who should deliver them over to the constable , and that the same should be liable to 1)e forfeited to the use of the government ; that any one bringing in or becoming a guide to a Quaker, shall be fined £10. These inhuman statutes, enacted at different periods from 1G57 to 1661, were moditied or rej^ealed, and others enacted in their place, as the circumstances seemed to the court to demand. These prohibitions and penalties did not, however, deter the people from extending offices of Christian hospitality to all who sought them in their distress, and thus incurring the displeasure of tlie government. As early as 1657, two Friends, Christopher Plolden and John Copeland, landed at Bhode Island, and going thence to ilartha's Vineyard, where Mayhew, the Indian missionary, caused them to be conveyed to the mainland, they set tlicir feet upon the Cape soil at Succannesset, Aug. 20, of that year, and. proceeded at once to Sandwich. Events which had preceded their coming had prepared the way for the reception of the doctrines preached by them. There was a considerable number in this town who were unsettled in their church relations, who were doubtful of the propriety of stated preaching, and who lielieved it the duty of Christians, without human ordination, to exercise their own gifts in tlie ministry. In consequence of the prevailing unsettlement of opinion, the minister, Mr. Leverich, had left his flock and gone to Long Island. The preaching of Holden and Copeland was hailed with feelings of satisfaction by those who found but little food in stated preaching or forms of worship. Not less than eighteen families in Sandwich were on record the next year as professing Quakerism. The fires of persecution were at 04 CAPE COD. once kindled. Complaint was made, in 1657, against several })ersons for meeting on the Lord's days at the house of Wm. Allen of Sandwich^ '*and inveighing against ministers and magistrates, to the dishonor of God and the contempt of government." Jane Sanders and Sarah Kirby of the same town, "for disturbance of public worship, and for abusing the minister," were sentenced to be publicly whipped. It was further ordered that Nicholas Upsal, alleged instigator of all this disturbance, ''be carried out of this government by Tristram Hull, who brought him.** This was a case of great hardship. Upsal was an old man, a member in good standing of the Boston church. An ej^e-witness to the cruelties practised upon the Quakers who first came over, he entered his protest against these ti'ansactions. He was arrested, fined £20, and banished from the colony, on the charge of having ''reproached the magistrates and spoken against the law." Thus banished, he went to Plymouth, but there the people were forbidden to entertain him. A Cape man, who was transiently there, had compassion on bis sufferings, and took him under his protection, as far, at least, as Sandwich. The hospitality of the people was not denied him, and hence his enteilainei's and benefactors were followed by the penalties of the law. AVherever he went his persecutors followed him. In the language of the poet Whittier, applied to another, he could say : ** My lite id hunted ; evil meu Are f oUowing ou my track ; The traces of the torturer's whip Are ou my aged back." Other persons in Sandwich were arraigned for entertaining Quakers, and for language implying censure of the govern- ment, and admonished and fined, according to the degree of their offence. In the following March, Peter Gaunt, Daniel Wing, Ralph Allen, Jr. and William Allen, of Sandwich, THE EABLIEST QUAKERS. 95 were an'aigned for *^ tumultuous carnage at a meeting of Quakei's," were convicted, admonished and lined. A considcnible nunil)er of citizens of that town were summoned Ixjfore the court to give a reason for not taking the oath of fidelity to the govcninient, and answered that thcj" held it unlawful to take an ojith; and tliey were also fined. So general was the dissatisfaction with the government in Sandwich that the constable, AVilliam Bassctt, reported that he was opposed in the execution of his office, and was unable to collect the rates or the fines levied on tlie Quakers, Cudworth stating that almost all of that town adhered to the new sect. At a subsequent court, the marshal was ordered to levy a fine of 40s. upon M'illiam Allen for pennitting a Quaker meeting in his house, and Lieutenant Fuller of Barnstable, for speaking reproachfully of the court, and for saying the law enacted about ministers' maintenance was ''a wicked and devilish law, and that the devil sat at the stem when the law was enacted," was fined 40s. Extraordinary excitement everywhere prevailed ; and it is not strange that a class thus j)roscribed and [>ersecuted should say many extravagant things, and perform some acts which do not meet the requirements of the canons of good taste. It would hardly be surprising if persons in their situation were guilty of greater offences than a mere breach of the laws of politeness. In this posture of affairs, the court resorted to the expedient of creating an oflicer for the especial purpose of enforcing the laws against heresy, with jurisdiction extend- ing over the towns of Sandwich, Barnstable, and Yarmouth, in which the local authorities, to their everlasting honor, refused to act. For this office they appointed George Barlow, a man who, by his chai-acter and conduct in office, brought disgrace upon the law, if that were possible, and M CAPE COD. certainly upon the government whose creature he was. Barlow set about his work with a zeal which commended his fitness for the business upon which he was engaged. June 23, he arrested Holden and Copeland, the two Quaker preachers, while on their way to the meeting in Sandwich. They had been sentenced to banishment from the colony on the second of February preceding, and had l)een whipped at Pljinouth, subsequently, for not complying with the order of the court. Barlow canied them before the selectmen of Sandwich, who had been appointed in the a1>sence of a magistrate to witness the execution of the law. They, ** entertaining no desii*e to sanction measures so severe towards those who differed from them in religion, declined to act in the case." Barlow kept the prisoners in his house six days, and then carried them to Banistable, before Tliomas Hinckley, one of the magistiutes, and assistant of Governor Prence. After an examination, they were tied to an old post and thii-ty-two cruel stripes were laid upon their naked backs. There were many spectatoi's present, one of whom, in the anguish of her spirit, exclaimed, '^How long, Lord, shall it be, ere thou avenge the blood of thine elect?" And afterwards, bewailing herself, added, "Did I forsake father and mother, and all my relations, to come to Now England for this? Did I ever come to New England for this ? AVho could have thought it?" It was indeed a day of humiliation for Barnstable. Other repressive measures were resorted to. Sundry citizens of Sandwich, the greater part of whom, if not the whole, were Quakers, having petitioned the court for a redress of their grievances, the governor and his associates, at a court held at the house of Mr. Richard Bourae, assumed that they had not been legally admitted as inhabitants, and, therefore, refused them all redress, notwith^^tauding that THE EARLIR8T QUAKERS. 97 they had lived there and occupied their estates from the earliest time, and were actually townsmen, though perhaps not technically freemen. They were, therefore, forbidden, at a session of the court held in October, to act in any toini-meeting, or to claim any priWleges as townsmen. By this decision nearly one-half of the Sandwich Quakers were disfranchised. At the same court, eleven Sandwich men were fined £5 each, for refusing to take the oath of fidelity. Tlic proceedings at this court were turbulent and disorderly in the extreme. The Quakei*s, it must be admitted, wei*o imtating in their demeanor and disrespectful to the magistrates, using language which no court at this day would submit to or allow to be used, without commit- ting the offenders for contempt. Governor Prence and ilr. Winslow also appear to poor advantage in the accounts which liave 1)een preserved of their demeanor on this c*ccasion. Bishop states that the latter ''showed much vehemence and ticixjeness of spirit" against the Quakers, ^sometimes starting up and smiting the table with a stick, then with his hand, thcp stamping with his foot, saying he ** could not bear it;" ''Let them have the strapado." But the court did not proceed to the extreme of inflicting corporal punishment; the fines and disabilities which followed were, however, severe, and bore with great hardship upon their victims. During this trial, Mr. Hinckley and Capt. AVillet, who were associate magistrates, seem not to have indulged in controversy with the accused, and thus escaped the denunciation of these sharp-tongued controver- sialists. In Decemlxjr following, Barlow was ordered by the court to proceed to Manomet to apprehend all Quakers who came into the country by sea at that place, and to seize their boats and tackle, and bring the Quakers before a magistrate. At 96 CAPB COD. the same time a summons was sent for James Skiff, one of the most substantial citizens of Sandwich, ^'to answer to such things as shall be objected against him, in regard to traducing the law about i*efusing to take the oath of fidelity." Mr. Skiff was subsequently rejected as a deputy from Sandwich for his uttemnces against the proceedings in relation to these transactions. Barlow's inclinations and activity seem to have led him in the direction of East Sandwich, where the thrifty and industrious husbandmen resided, and where he could levy upon the produce of their fields and herds. This he did without any compunction or any apparent feeling of compassion for the sufferers. AVilliam Allen's fines amounted to £86, 17s., £40 for twenty meetings at his house, £4 for attending meetings in other places, £5 for entertaining Quakers, £25 for refusing to take the oath of fidelity, £1 for refusing to take off his hat in court, and the balance for expenses. In payment for these fines 18 head of cattle were taken from him, 1 mare, 2 colts, l>esides other goods. These distraints were made by Barlow at different times. Allen was nearly ruined by these spoliations, and having ventui'ed into the jurisdiction of ^Massachusetts was also arrested and thrown into jail. His house, lands, a cow ''left out of pity for his family," and a little com were all that remained. Barlow ap})eare(l on the scene to make additional distraints. He was drunk and brutal. He seized the corn, the cow, and a bag of meal, which a kind friend had just brought from the mill. This was in.sufiicicnt for his greed. He seized the copper kettle, the only one remaining, and then mockingly addressing Mrs. Allen, said, ''Now Piiscilla, how will thee cook for thyself and thy family ? thou hast no kettle." She meekly" replied, ** George, that God who hears the young ravens when they ciy will THE EARLIEST QUAKERS. W provide for them. I trust in that God, and verily lielievc that the time will come when thy necessity will be greater than mine." He carried off the goods, but remembered the testimony, and lived to see it verified. 'William Allen was not the only sufferer. Edward Perry, his neighbor, a man of wealth and education, endured greater pecuniary loss. Ro1>ert Harper liad his house, lands, and all tliat he had, taken, and suffered besides, cruel imprisonments and puni:9hments. Thomas Johnson, a weaver, was stripj^d of all his possessions. AVilliam Gifford, Richard Kerby, Sr. and Jr., Matthew Allen, Thomas Ewer and still others, experienced the full rigors of the law in these temble years. John Jenkins, 2d, of Sandwich, for refusing to take the oath or fidelity, and attending Quaker meetings, was fined £19, 10s. Barlow seized 1 cow, 2 steers, m(mey due him, and the onlj* kettle in the house. AVhen he seized this vessel, Mrs. Jenkins threw down a piece of cloth, twice the value of the kettle, and begged him to take that, as she would have nothing in which to cook for her family. Barlow refused. In levying" for fines, his object was as much to annoy and injure as ta secure lx)oty, and he took such articles as would inflict the most distress upon the family. Cooking utensils of all kinds were scarce and h;td to be im}K)i'ted from England. Barlow did not carry himself with this high hand without meeting with considerable opposition from many of the leading citizens, among whom there were some not of Quaker proclivities. Mr. Edmund Freeman, Thomas Bur- gess and others, were fined for refusing to act when called upon by him as aids in his seizures, some of them accompanying their refusal with uncomplimentary remarks. Not only the Quakers, but many others used a plainness of speech towards Barlow and his employers 100 CAPE COD. that gave great offence to the subjects of their remarks. In Octol)er, 1659, the court ordered Barlow to repair to the houses of William Newland and Ralph Allen of Sandwich, and Nicholas Davis of Barnstable, to search for Quaker books and writings, but as no return is made thereon, the presumption is that none such were found. Nicholas Davis had suffered much for conscience sake. He was in a court at Plymouth, in June, 1656, when Sandwich men were fined for refusing to take the oath of fidelity. Though not then a Quaker, he was indignant, and attempted to speak, saying, " He was a witness for the Lord against their oppression." He was about to say wherein, when he was ordered to desist, was arrested and put into prison, but was soon released. The same month he went to Boston on a business mission, but was imprisoned to await the session of the court of Assistants. His companions were AVilliam Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, Quaker prisoners who wei'e afterwards hung on Boston Common. Here Davis was kept in confinement until September, 1659, and was liberated on the threat tliat if he was found in the colony two days after he should suffer death. His only offence consisted in bearing his testimony honestly against persecu- tion for opinion's sake. Complaints were made during the year 1660, against parties in Sandwich for attending Quaker meetings, and for harboring Quakei's and refusing to take the oath of fidelity, and fines and distraints followed. Wenlock Christison, for refusing to depart out of the colony, was sent to prison, was ordered to ''lay neck and heels," and to be whipped, which sentence was executed upon him ; and his entertainer, William Newland of Sandwich, was fined £5. It would be strange if such outrages against the freedom of conscience and the liberty of belief should go unrebuked THE EARLIEST QUAKERS. 101 in a community founded by the adhei*cnts of John Robinson and AVaiiam Brewster. Enou<?h of the old leaven was left in the body iK)litic to make itself felt and respected, and which could not be suppressed by tines and scourgings. James Cudworth, one of the most noble men of his day, James Hatherly, Isaac Hobin^on, son of the Lcyden pastor, who inherited his father's tolerant spirit, and many others in the colony, uttered their protests against the persecuting mania which beset the government and the churches. For the boldnes:^ and plainness of si)eech in which he indulged, Mr. Cudworth was disfranchised and removed from all military and ci\nl employment under the government. Isaac liobinson of liii-nstable was i^emiitted to attend Quaker meetings, to try to admonish them, and after full examination and intercourse with them, he recommended that coercive measures be discontinued, and that every man l)e unmolested in the exercise of his honest belief ; he was treated in the same manner as Cudworth, and for thirteen years was deprived of all his rights as a freeman. The Quakers themselves did not tamely submit to this accumulated cataloofue of outrasre and wrong without a protest, and an effort to obtain from the home government redress for their injuries. Samuel Shattuck, who had been Imnished from Massachusetts on pain of death, relumed from London in November, 1661, with the King's missive, ordering them to *' forbear to proceed any further" against the Quakers, and to send such as were imprisoned to England for trial. It must have been mortifjing in the extreme to Gov. Endicott to receive such a message at the hands of this detested Quaker, but he expressed his intention of com[)lying with its requirements. He kept his promise only until it became safe to resume his old system of persecution, by new and scarcely less barbarous methods. 102 CAPE COD. In Plymouth colony, the King's missive was embraced as the occasion for a change of policy in tliis respect, though it may be doubted, if the home government had not inteq>oscd, whether the people would much longer have endured the excesses of Barlow or the oppi*essions of the magistrates. It had begun to be regarded that such trans- actions as have been naiTatcd were in contravention of tmth and justice and opposed to the teachings of the earlier Hlgrims, and the most enlightened minds of the colony felt, as their children now feel, that they placed an indelible blot on the record of the people and government. But for the mass of the people of Cape Cod, these transactions have left to all time an imperishable record of heroic resistance to the attempt to fetter the consciences and restrain the opinions of their fellow men. Barlow's discreditable career about the same time came to a close. He had already become offensive to those who had employed him in their infamous business. He had accused some of the best citizens of offences which the evidence failed to substantiate, and had himself been convicted of pilfering and drunkenness. He had gi*own rich on "the spoils of the innocent," but soon lost it all and became very poor and needy. In his old age he often craved the charity of PrisciUa Allen, and never was refused ; yet he was to the last ungrateful, and lived despised and died unregretted. From the date of the aiiival of the King's missive to the death of Gov. Prence, in 1673, though the laws of Plymouth colony against the Quakers were not repealed, they remained obsolete, so far as any active repressive measures were concerned. Josias Winslow, who was then elected Governor, at once entered upon a policy of reconciliation. His associates in the government, some of whom — as in the case of Mr. Hinckley and John Aklen — had co-operated THE EARLIEST QUAKERS. lOS THth Gov. Prcnce in his severe measures, are also to be credited with the effort to establish a more humane and tolerant system of dealing with differences of opinion and belief. Capt. Cudworth and Isaac Robinson, by express enactments of the court, were restored to their rights as freemen, and the foimer was, by appointment and election, designated for the highest offices in the gift of the colony, dying while in England in her service. The Quakers still resisted the payment of taxes for the support of the ministry, and in most of the towns in the colony, these dues were collected by distraints upon their property ; or where no effects could be found, by fines or imprisonment. Occasional outbreaks and disturbances are recorded; in some instances the old animosities engendered by former troubles overcoming the self-restraint of the Quakers and leading them to become the aggressors. Edward Perry, of Sand^nch, was, in 16G2, before the court for a ''railing letter,** which he had addressed to the Governor, but there is no record that any further action was taken thereon. Two yeara later, Robert Harper, of the same town, was publicly whipped ''for disturbing the public worship at Sandwich and Barnstable," and Richard AVillis was set in the stocks "for ribaldry." Some of the Cape towns — Yarmouth among the others — at a subsequent date, while including the names of these people on the tax list, added a sufficient sum to the rates of those whose taxes were collectable, to make up the default on the part of the Quakers to pay the "priest's tax," and thus these people were practically exempted from contributing for the support of a ministrj* obnoxious to their consciences.* It is difficult to assign an adequate motive, founded simply upon the question of their opinions or morals, for the •Yarmouth Records. 104 CAPE COD. rancorous hatred of the Puritans towards the Quakers. For» although Secretary Morton has styled them ''a pernicious sect " that ^ sowed their corrupt and damnable doctrines in almost every town," and others have written of them in a similar strain, their belief, as defined by themselves, does not bear out this construction. In the ** Vindication,'* which was published as an authentic cxi)osition of their opinions, they declare : " AVe believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be of divine origin, and give full credit to the historical facts, as well as the doctrines therein delivered, and never had any doubt of the truth of the actual birth, life and sufferings, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, as related by the evangelists ; without any mental or other reserve, or the least diminution by allegorical explanation." Their personal habits were simple, abstemious, and self-denying; in their dealings they were scrupulous and exact. Xo issue could be raised, founded simply on their life or their professions. But they Ixjlicved and practised these things, not, they said, because they had been taught them by those who were set up as spiritual teachers, but because they had been revealed to them by the Most High. As expounded by George Fox, the Quaker held that the Divine law is written in the hearts of men, and that to read it aright wc must listen to the voice of God in our own souls. This voice he called the "Inward Light." **The principle of the inward light," says one of their modern authorities, "is the theological basis of Quakerism, and, in fact, it is the only theological doctrine involved in the Quaker religion."* With this conception of spiritual truth in their minds, it is not difficult to appreciate the Quaker protest against an ordained ministry, composed of hired officials. The spirit •Halloweird Pioueer Quakers. THE EARLIEST QUAKERS. lOS of God revealed to men, and not intcllectaal training, tbey held, qualified men to become religious teachers. In a community which regarded the ministerial office almost as sacred, and church organizations as essential to the spiritual well-being of mankind, the doctrines of Quakerism must therefore have been regarded as pernicious and demoi-alizing, and the ministers as a class, especiallj*, felt that the dissemination of its tenets meant a life and death struggle for their position in civil society. But it is to the credit of the Cape ministers that, unlike those of Massachusetts Bay, tbey did not seek to persecute or coerce the Quakers. On the contrary, some of them — especially ilr. Walley — are distinctly on record as against the prevailing policy of the colony; and the proceedings of the Plymouth magistrates fell far shoit in ferocity of those of Massachusetts Bay. The defence which is most commonly made against the charge of cinielt}' and intolerance on the part of the churches and government was, (1) that the Quakers, by their abusive and indecent conduct, compelled society to deal with them with great severity ; and, (2) that the colonies had a right to exclude those of differing religious creeds whom they deemed unworthy or undesirable residents. So far as this community, at least, is concerned, the Quakei*s were an orderly and unoffending class. They were perliaps socially unattractive, and unconciliatory so far as the usages of society were concerned; employing great plainness of speech and lack of deference to men of station and authority, but were in hardly any other way aggressive. The exceptions in this respect, perhaps, were in the cases where they invaded the meetings of the congregations assembled for religious exercises, and insisted upon "bearing their testimony" to the scandal of the assembled worshippers. Their addressing the governor in court, with the exclamation. "Thomas, thou iyeat," "thou art a malicious man," was sufficient excuse for committing them for contempt, if the court itself had not indulged in language of rituperation and denunciation not strictly judicial in its tone. As to the pretension that a right had been acquired bj the authority of any cliarter or patent, to exclude disagree- able or obnoxious persons coming into the colony, that doctrine n-jll not be seriously contended for at this day, however it may have impressed our Withers. Xo such power was conferred upon them by virtue of auy instrument under which they acted, and the Quakers Lad as good a right, both legally and morally, to the exercise of their opinions, as any other sectaries had to theirs. The plea has by some writers been set up that "the Quakers who tirst appeared in the colony were not inhabitants of the country; they came from abroad," etc.* This is a flimsy pretext by people who themselves had but i-eccntly come to those shores. But if it were a valid plea it was not true in the case of the Quakers of the Cape. The greater part of those proceeded against in these towns were not recent comers, but old residents here, who had acquired property and rights as citizens, and their change of views and opinions was the result of reflection and meditation, aud in accordance with their conscientious sense of duty. They naturally felt uuti-aged at being denied the right of speaking their minds on matters of the highest concern to them, or of being deprived of exercising hospitality and cliristian charity, at the dictation of men fallible like themselves ; and in this the world now recognizefl that they were right, and that their persecutors were altogether in the wrong. •Bnyli.'z', CHAPTER Vm. KING PHILIP'S WAR. Plilllp IdeaU2eiI In lit«nitare— Capt. John Qorham's march to HonnC Hope— Battle of Narragantett Swamp— Death of Capt. Gorham — Second r«ar'acampalgu—Cap« Ia<uid in Capt, Pierce'i Ainbu*- cade— Death of Philip and close of the War—Attitude of Cap* IndiHOB— War Policy of the Goremment dl«ouB»ed— Fecunlarj Burden*— Irish subscription. HE sanguinary period in colonial history kuonii as King Philip's War, although not aged within. the limits of Cape Cod, was broufflit near to her people by their partici- 'j/^j pation in the various campaigns ; by losses 4i^itwi'-^'^ of her sons in battle ; by diseases contracted PffiH^^ ' durinp its progress ; and by charges incident to its prosecution. It is known in history «8 "Philip's "VA'ar," because Philip was so intimately connected with its inception, and so far as the Massachusetts and Plymouth Colonies were concerned, it closed with his life. As to Philip himself, he seems to have been destitute of the lofty and patriotic traits, or the comprehensive foresight, which have been attributed to him bj- sentimental writers of both fictitious and historical compositions. Washington Irving invested him with many romantic traits, of which he was destitute, and Dr. Palfrey, in his early Barnstable Centennial discourse, si>oke of him in a ii^tyle which his later historical studies led him to disavow. A jealous and morose U 108 CAPE COD. savage, he so poisoned and embittered the minds of the Indians, with whom he came in contact, that they rushed miprepared into a conflict, which he had neither the capacity nor resources to direct to a successful issue against the English colonists. Philip, after the death' of his father, Massasoit, and his brother, Alexander, while professing friendship for the English, was really, through jealousy, misapprehension or natural violence of disposition, nourishing resentment and acquiring a spirit of discontent. The murder, near Middle- boro, by some of his men, probably at his suggestion and with his assent, of the educated Indian, Sausaman, who had formerly been in his employ, was followed by the trial and execution of the murderers by the colonial authorities. This added fuel to the fire of resentment in the bosom of the unreflecting savage. The attack of the Indians upon Swansey, June 20, 1675, followed by other hostile move- ments, resulted in a state of general hostilities. Orders were sent to the captains of all the companies in the colony to march without delaj', and June 24, Capt. John Gorham and twenty-nine men from Yarmouth, whose names appear on the record, '^took their first march" to Mount Hope. Capt. Gorham had been of Barnstable only the year previous, and it seems probable that the men from that town were also under his command, although their names do not appear on the town's books. The other towns also furnished their quotas. They were mounted men, and proceeded with a good degree of celerity. The Plymouth forces were in command of Major Cudworth, and were in Swansey by June 24. The theatre of war soon after changed to Massachusetts, and Capt. Gorham and his command proceeded onwaixls to the Connecticut valley. The Cape soldiers, though doing their best to find and engage the enemy, had an opportunity KING PHILIP'S WAR. 109 to do but little lighting, but thej' were much worn by fourteen weeks' ineessunt marching and the hardships incident to the campaign. Oct, 4, the general court at Plymouth, after choosing Major James Cudworth commander-in-chief of the colonial forces in the tield, chos^e Capt. John Gorham as captain of the other company, with Jonathan Sparrow of Kastliam his lieutenant. Mr. Thomas Huckens of Bam:»table was chosen commissary-general of the forces, and Capt. ilatthew Fuller of Barnstable sumeon-jreneral. The number of soldiers called for in the colony was 182, of which Sandwich was required to furnisli IC, Yarmouth 15, Barnstable 16, Eastham 8. Of these the four towns named were credited with 3, 3, 2, 1, respectively, for their men then in garrison at Mount Hoj>e. A town council of three for each town was established, whose duty it should be to send forth scouts, order watch and ward in the towns to take care of the towns' ammunition, and to call the towns together for making rates. For the Cape they were as follows : Sand- wich, Mr. Richard Boume, ]\Ir. Edmund Freeman, Jr., Thomas To1>ey, Sr. ; Barastable, Mr. Thomas Hinckley, ^Ir. Thomas Huckens, Mr. Barnabas Lothrop ; Yaimouth, Mr. Edmund Hawes, John Miller, Jeremiah Howes; Eastham, Mr. John Freeman, Jonathan Sparrow, Mark Snow. The powerful Xan-agansett tribe, that had, some time previous to the breaking out of hostilities, engaged by treaty in a compact of friendship and amity with the English, was found to be treacherously aiding and abetting Philip. This was the most powerful tribe in Xew England, and its subjugation was considered essential to the security of the colonists. The Commissioners of the United Colonies detennined to raise a force of one thousand more men for UO CAPE COD. this special service. Governor Winslow of the Plymouth colony was selected for commander-in-chief. For this service another levy was made of 11 men from Sandwich, 10 from Yarmouth, 13 from Barnstable and 9 from Eastham. It was ordered that if any one pressed into service should refuse to go, he should forfeit £10, or suffer imprisonment for six months. The place where the XaiTagansetts were encamped for the winter was in the present town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It was a position of gi'eat natural strength and inaccessibility. It was a solid lot of upland of about six acres, wholly suiTounded by dense swamp. On the inner side the Indians had driven rows of palisades, making a barrier of nearly a rod in thickness ; and the only entrance to the enclosure was over a rude bridge, consisting of a felled tree four or five feet f I'om the ground, the bridge being protected by a block-house. According to information afterwards received from a captive, the Indian warriors here collected were as many as 3500. They were on their guard for invaders. The English, after a march of eighteen niiles^ through a deep snow, on the forenoon of Dec. 19, arrived at the fort about 1 o'clock, and immediately, advanced to the attack. The battle was despei*ate and bloody. Four English captains were killed, other oiScers were killed or received moi-tal wounds, and seventy men were killed and one hundred and fiftj'' wounded. At length victory declared for the assailants, who finished their work by setting tire to the wigwams within the fort. The number of the enemy that perished was estimated to 1)e in the neighborhood of one thousand fighting men. The number of women and non-combatants that perished from hunger and cold none can tell. The military strength of the tribe was irrcpambly broken. The English, being without shelter, were obliged KINO PHILIP'S WAR. lU to immediately retrace their way by a night-march to Wickford, where, with their M-omided, after hours of suffering and exertion through the gathering snow, they arrived earlj'' the next morning. Some of the wounded died before reaching their camp, and others suffered from severe sickness contracted during that feai*ful day. Capt. John Gorham, who led the company comprising the Cape Cod contingent, contracted a fever, from which he died at Swansey, the ensuing February. Sergeant Nathaniel Hall of the Yarmouth company, and John Barker of Barnstable, a private, were wounded, but no other Cape man was reported as injured. The Connecticut and Massachusetts companies, that first entered the fort, sustained the chief loss. Mr. Thomas Hinckley, of Barnstable, who was aftenvards governor of Plymouth colony, was commissary- general of thi.< expedition, and a daughter was boni to him Dec. 15, four davs before this battle. The child was named Reliance, because the mother relied that God would protect the father in the {perils which surrounded him. The council of war, which, alternately with the general court and the magistrates, performed legislative and executive functions in relation to war matters, ordered that the sum of £1000 be assessed, for the payment of the necessities of the soldiers, the proportions of the several towns being: Sandwich, £92, 13s., 6d. ; Barnstable, £99, 3s., 6d. ; Yarmouth, £74, ISs., 6d. ; Eastham, £66, 16s., 6d. Another le^y of three hundred English and one hundred Indians was ordered to be ready for a march by the 11th of April, 1676, the proix)ilion8 this time l>eing 28, 26, 30 and 18, for the towns of Sandwich, Yarmouth, Barnstable and Eastham, respectively. Before that day arrived changes in the aspect of affairs had occurred, and the troops were not in all cases promptly furnished. Governor Winslow com- 112 CAPE COD. plained that Scituate and Sandwich ** proved very deficient,'* by which his plans were frustrated. Both these towns, it subsequently appeared, had good reason for their apparent remissness. Sandwich was a frontier town for the whole Cape, and was obliged to act as a bamer to the incursions of the Indians from abroad, who were extremely anxious to establish communications with the Cape Indians, by which they might be seduced from their allegiance to the English. This required a good many men to keep guard. The town, owing to the Quaker element, had a larger number of non- combatants than any other in the colony. The isolation of the Cape Indians from those of the Plymouth colony was a most valuable service, in more than one v/av. At a time when an interior line of communication was unsafe, Capt. Benj. Church, who lived in the vicinity of Mount Hope, and wished to communicate with the Plymouth authorities, took passage in a Barnstable vessel for Woods Holl, and proceeding thence through Succannesset and Sand\vich and by the bay, arrived at Plymouth while the General Court was in session, to their great joy and surprise. He returned by the same route, being paddled in their canoe, by two Succannesset Indians by way of the Elizabeth Islands, to his home in Rhode Island. Subsequently, the squaw sachem, Awashonks, gave in her adhesion to the English, and was ordered with all her retinue of men, women and children, to repair to Sandwich, where she could be beyond the reach of unfriendly influences. Capt. Church, who after her capture, repaired to Sandwich to fulfill his engagement to meet her there in a week, was unable to find her, and proceeded to Mattapoisett, where she and her followers had encamped near the seashore.* ♦Mr. Freeman, Hist. Cape Cod, gives the impression that Awashonks was found on the Cape, which Church's narrative shows not to have been the case. KING PHILIPS WAR. 118 Attacks, with varying results, were sua^tained during this year bj' towTis in the westerly part of Massachusetts, when the tide of war again turned towards Plymouth colony. Capt. Michael Pierce of Scituate, with alx)ut seventy men, twenty of whom were friendly Indians from Cape C!od, went in pursuit of the enemy on the western Iwrder of the colony. After an engagement without impoilant results, at Seekonk on the 25th of March, 1676, he the next day pressed forward in pursuit of the enemy. At a short distance from the town four or five Indians wei*e discovered limping, as if wounded. Unsuspicious of treachery, the companj' eagerly followed, and found themselves in ambush,. and in the presence of overwhelming numbers. To escape was imix)ssible; retreat was desperate. A furious attack ensued ; a fresh band of assailants appeared, and the little company, like the Spai-tans at Thermopylae fought against overwhelming odds for alx)vo two hours, the men in double ring, until hardly any were spared to tell the story of their valor. The enemy paid dearly for their victoiy, nearlj' a hundred of their wamors forfeiting their lives. Of those who fell, five of them were from Sandwich : Benj. Nye, Daniel Be.<se3% Caleb Blake, Job Gibbs, Stephen "Wing; six fi'om Barnstable, Lieut. Fuller, John Lewis, Eleazer Cobb, Linnell, Samuel Childs, Samuel- Bowman ; Yarmouth five, John Matthews,* John Gage, Wm. Gage, Henry Gage, Henry Gold; Eastham five, Joseph Nessefield, John Walker, John M , John Fittz, Jr., John Miller. An Indian named Amos, who was one of the Barnstable quota, and who fought bravely to the end of the battle, escaped by a stratagem illustrative of the ♦Letter of Rev. Noah Xewninu of Rehobotb, partinUy illeirible. The report of the death of John Matthews wa.-* probably iii«orre«t. The only person iu Yarmouth of that uame at that time over fourteea jevLTi old, Uved to old age. U4 CAPE COD. tact and cunning of his race ; seeing that the hostile Indians had blackened tlieir faces that they might know each other from the friendly Indians with Capt. Pierce, he wet some powder and disguised his own face, and thus eluded the enemj'. In June, both men and money for the renewed prosecution of the war were called for : From Sandwich £16 and 13 men; Bamstable, the same; Yarmouth, £14 and 13 men; Eastham, £10, 5s. and 10 men. But the war was now visibly drawing to a close. The Indians wei*e at the end of their resources ; having no leisure to plant, their bread was getting scarce, and the vigilance of the English gave them no opportunity to recruit their diminished stores. Philip's confederates deserted him and left the field, and betaking himself with a few followers to Mount Hope, he was surrounded and shot down by an Indian bullet in an effort to escape from his environment. The barbarous exposure of his mutilated carcass to public observation, and the execution of Indian chiefs who had suiTendered with an implied pledge that their lives were to be spared, \nth the selling of Philip's son into slavery, indicate the bitterness of resentment which our fathers felt towards those who were the authors of so many woes tliat had befallen their country- men, but not a degree of barbarity beyond that of the times in which they lived, that has been so often and so persistently imputed to them. Only seventeen years before this, the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, and his generals, Ireton and Bradshaw, were disinterred, their remains hanged at Tyburn, and their heads fastened to poles, exhibited on the top of AVestminster Hall, fronting palace yard. The practice of displajnng heads of traitors in this manner was practiced in England for a century after the death of Philip. Though removed from the direct contact with the war, KING PHILIPS WAR. 115 yet in consequence of the absence of so many of their vigorous young men, whose lives were in constant peril, the Ca}jc suffered the pangs of continual anxiety, and the privation and want which the absence of their protectors and sup])orters naturally entailed upon their families. It was a sad and fearful i)eriod. Every breeze from the west boi*e npoh its wings the wail of suffering, and the glare of burning villages, seen by night, lighted up the horizen. How soon it might prove their turn to suffer in a like manner, they could not tell. What if the natives by whom they were surrounded, in this hour of distress and danger, should prove treacherous, and seeing their feebleness should take advantage of the absence of so many of their fighting men, and fall upon them in their defenceless condition? However pacific and friendly their demeanor might be, the colonists could not entirely confide in their constancy, when others had been so bitterly deceived and betrayed. These thoughts must have occurred to them as they {pondered upon the tidings which reached them from abroad, and filled their minds with terror and apprehension. The vigilance of the authorities was therefore never relaxed. Watch and ward were maintained. Sandwich, especially, it has been shown, kept guard of the region bordering upon the Pl^inouth towns, to prevent intercourse between tlie Cape Indians and those from abroad, who were eagerly seeking communi- cation and co-operation with them. AMiile Mr. Thomas Hinckley was away on pul)lic service a guard was placed upon his dwelling to protect his family, which was believed to be in peril. But their allies, fortunately proved faithful and true. Partly owing to their natumlly mild and pacific disposition, but largely in consequence of fair dealing by the settlers and the good seed sown by John Eliot, Richai5i Bourne, Thomas Tuppcr, Rev. Mr. Treat, Rev. Thomas U6 CAPE COD. Thornton and other true and devoted men, the native inhabitants, not only refused to join with Philip and hia allies, notwithstanding their supplications, but many of them fought side by side with the English. This was what saved the cause of the colonists from utter overthrow, and preserved them from destruction. The best authorities agi*ee that not less than 500 or GOO Indians, able to bear arms, then lived on the Cape. It is not too much to say, that had these proved unfriendly and hostile, tiie stniggle, if not doubtful, would have been indefinitely prolonged. As it was, the Cape was the only portion of the colony which remained in peace and security during this terrible struggle, and fugitives from other towns which had been devastated by the enemy, were received here in large numbers and welcomed with christian hospitality. Xot only were individual sufferers received and entertained, but whole communities were invited to share their lot with the Cape people until the perilous times were over. The people of Sandwich, in town meeting assembled, offered the fugitives the use of planting lands not otherwise occupied, to those who had been driven from their homes. When Rehoboth, Taunton and Bridgewater were destroyed, the Cape towns, acting through a meeting of leading citizens held in Barnstable, sent a cordial invitation to their iHJople to come with such goods as remained with them, for preservation and safety. Answers were returned filled with expressions of the deepest gratitude, but for prudential reasons they determined not to leave tlieir homes, Imt to make another effoi*t to rebuild and protect them. The policy of the war, 1>oth in its inception and in the manner in which it was prosecuted, was questioned by many at the time and since its occurrence. There were those who thought it might have been averted by a more conciliatory KING PHILIPS WAR. U7 policy, and an effort to impress the Indians with a display of friendly desires and intentions. Whether Philip and his men coidd have been won by such a policy may well be doubted, but the effort was worthy of trial. The peace party allege that the council of war entered into the crusade with a degree of eageniess unbecoming and impolitic. The same persons also complain of the severity of treatment pursued towards prisoners and non-combatants. A letter from Gov. Winslow to Edmund Freeman and Thomas Hinckley, and forwarded by Mr. Church, remarks: '^Mr. Church tells me of an Indian woman brought in,'' '^who seems to be sent with lies and flams to affright and corrupt your Indians ; if so, I wish you would order him to put her to death, but leave it to your discretion; but let her not liave opportunity of returning to the enemy," etc. Mr. TValley, the minister at Barnstable, was one of those who criticised the policy of the government. In a letter, addressed to Rev. Mr. Cotton of Plymouth, he expressed the feeling which was rife in relation to sending away squaws who were suspected to be conveying hostile information, complaining of the "* severity" of the measure, and saying that the " country is troubled and grieved at this action, accounting it very unreasonable and that there la much discontent about it." Mr. AVailey, in a subsequent letter advocates the cmplo^nuent in the war, of Indians, to which there was much objection, especially in official quarters, and not without good reasons therefor, drawn from the experience of other portions of the country. The peace policy of Roger Williams and his associates in Rhode Island, did not shield that colony from the hostile acts of the Indians. Rhode Island sent no troops to the war, but of its two towns on tlie mainland, Warwick was destroyed, and a large portion of Providence, notwith- 118 CAPE COD. standing that the insular settlements were carefully guarded. The casualties of the war, which raged for more than a year, so far as Massachusetts and Pljnnouth were concerned, are thus summed up by Dr. Palf I'ey : In these two colonies there '^were eighty or ninety towns. Of these, ten or twelve were totally destroyed, and forty more or less damaged by fire, making together nearly two-thirds of the whole number. Five or six hundred men of military age^ one in ten or twelve of the whole, were stealthily murdered or fell in battle, or becommg prisoners were lost sight of forever, an unknown number of them being put to death with horrible tortures.*' A considerable number of non- combatants, old men, women and children, were ruthlessly put to death. The pecuniary results of the war were no less heavy to the colonies; and at its close, it is estimated that over £100,000 had been expended in the struggle, and that the Plymouth colony had contracted a debt, which exceeded the value of the entire personal estates of its people. They did not give up in despair, but by a vigorous system of taxation paid up the last dollar, principal and interest. Some portion of the debt was cancelled by grants of lands, which the exterminated savages had occupied, but this fonned no considerable part of the expenditure. The assessment of the last year of the war, in July, 1676, in addition to other taxes already le\ned, the sum of £3692, 16s., 2d., was ordered to be raised, of which the proportions of the Cape towns were as follows : Sandwich, £327 : 15 : 06 Barnstable, 351 : 03 : 09 Yarmouth, 266 : 01 : 00 Eastham, 236 : 05 : 00 It is a circumstance most suggestive of the relation KIXG PHILIPS WAR. U9 subsisting Ijetwcen the colonies and the mother country, that during this fearful life-and-dcath stniggle for existence, no word of sympatliy and cheer, and no proffer of aid in their distress came from the authorities in England, nor, as far as appears, from anj' organizaticm there. That such aid should 1>e spontaneously tendered, would have seemed most natural. That such assistance was not asked for or expected, indicates the condition of isolation and self- dependence which the colonists seemed to have felt that they were assumin'r, when thev forsook their Ensrlish homes, to establish new ones in America. They appear neither to have expected, nor to have desired, any assistance from England, greatly as they needed it, and thus, while showing their ability to take care of themselves, to be thereby eaniing a title to immunity from interference and control from the government, whose hand they had every reason to apprehend would have been laid heavily upon them, if put foii:h in any way. But from another quaiter relief was gnitefully received. Contributions to the amount of nearly a thousand pounds, '* for such as were impoverished, distressed and in necessity by tlie kite war," were sent ''by divers Christians in Ireland.** The portion, which in the distribution accinied to the Pl3rmouth coUmy, amounted to £124, 10s., and was distributed according to the pecuniaiy disabilities sustained by the people of the several towns. To arrive at a knowledge of the proportions of these losses, together with disbursements on account of the war made prior to July, 1676, the following table is presented: Saudwieh hud iiaid £o:i7 : 15 : G aud recM of Irish doiiatious, £0 : 0:0 Yannuaih " 2uC : 1 : " ** " 10:0 Barnstable " Sol : 3 : 9 *' " ** 3: 0:0 Esk^tham " '^30: 5:0 " " " 10:0 Euthe Colouy " 3002:16:2 •* '* " 1:^:10:0 CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1674-1676. IglL The court ordered that "ManftmoTiok, Faom«t cud Bstuoket be In the towu of Eiutbam," and that "all other piftce* of lilce ospaoity ■hall belong to particular townships, as the court shall we meet." —The houfc of the totrn clerk and all the town record* of Yarmouth, were destrofed b7 Are. — Thomas HuckinB of Barnstable laid down three acres of laud at the meettng-'-house, for the town's use as a burylug-ground. This Is tb« oeueteTy odjoiulug the old Method Ut meetiug-house. ICiS. Uljerty was granted to aaj families in Sandwich that may b* necessitated to repolr to the town garrison for safety. It was also ordered that those citizens entitled to vote, who do not attend town meetings, be flned 2i., 6d. for each and erery dellnqueucy. Tha Indians of the town were granted liberty to set up a house for meeting on the Lord's days for the present summer, provided they will not damage the nieadowa by lettlug their horses into the same. — Mr. Thomas Tupptr, Snudwlch, d., aged 83 years. His wile d. soon aft«r, aged 00 yeai-s. 1070. The court allowed to John Payaley of Yarmouth, a cripple in the late war*, X3; Thomas Tobey of Saudwlcb. for bis serrtces, a grant of land.— Iter. John Hayo died lu Ynrmoutb; he removed there from Boston in 1D73. Ea^tbam appropriated £1bo, Sd. to build a meeting-house, " near the burlnl place." CHAPTER IX. FROM PHILIP'S WAR TO UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS. Neglect ol Rplt^oui mid Educational Onuses— Denth of GoTemor Whislow and eleclion of Thomai Hlncklej- at hli (uecesnor— Crea- tion o( the Coiiiiiy of BarDslalile— StKirnuueftfctt, nfterwardt Falmouth, iiicort>onitc-i1--Audro9'8 admiuUlrtit ion —King Wllliam'a War — The Union with M a »eachui<etl» — Poverty of PlymonMi '^ A '^■'5\'^ HE exigem^ies of the war having presum- "^ ^j\ ""'''j' ^^"'^s*^ some degree of neglect of the ordinances of religion and the canse of , edncation, a law was in 1G77 enacted by the court, reqairing suitable provision to j be made in each town for the support of public worship. This statute wss a rerival of the spirit and intent of already existing enactments, modified to suit the exigencies of the times, and was the first legal provision for the coercive collection of taxes for ministerial support. Heretofore reliance had been made upon the voluntary offerings of the people, prompted by their attachment and consideration for the ministerial office. But this sentiment had visibly weakened in public estimation, and men had begun to attach greater imiKirtance to indi\4dual exjjcriencc, and to imdcrvalue, in the estimation of the authorities, the efficacy of church work and organization. This law waa supplemented, the following year, by another enactment, i-equiring that in each town a house of n'orship should be 122 CAPE COD. erected and maintained, suited to the necessities of the people, and in case of any neglect on their part to cony out this provision, the govemment was to have it done at the expense of the delinquent Unvn. Educational qualifications seem also to have been neglected or discredited, and the laws for the permanent establishment and support of grammar schools were also re-enacted, provision being made for the application of the funds arising from the Cape fisheries for that purpose. These fisheries were farmed out for a term of seven years, at £30 per annum. •* Select Couils," which by the enactment of 1679, '^were allowed in each town or jurisdiction," seem to have been nothing more than an extension of the powers of the existing boards of selectmen. A committee to consider and adjust the claims gi*owing out of the war, was this year raised, and among those Cape citizens who were members were, AVm. Swift, ^Ir. John J^Cller, Thomas Huckens, Mr. Daniel Smith, Capt. Sparrow. Dec. 18, 1680, died Josias AVinslow, who for seven years had held the office of governor of Plymouth colony. He was the only governor of the colony who was born in New England, his father, Edward AVinslow, being one of the early governors of the colony. Like his father, he was a man of ainlity and accomplishments, a brave soklier during Philip's war. Thomas Hinckley of Barnstable, who was deputy governor, succeeded him, and at the election in March, 1681, was chosen governor, with James Cud worth as deputy. The election of Mr. Hinckley did not result^ however, in a I'eversal of the policy of his predecessor in relation to religious toleration, that principle having come to be more generally recognized as the result of the contro- versies with the Friends and other sects, who differed from PHILIP'S WAR TO UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS. 128 the stiinding order of the colony. The laws against the Quakers were so far relaxed, that upon their petition those of Sandwich were gi'anted libcii;y to act in the disposal of land^, etc., "so long as the3'^ carry themselves civilly and do not abuse their liberty." Local military discipline was not permitted to relax in the outlying villages of the Cape. The coui-t ordered that " JIannamoiett do choose a fit man to exercise its men in aims," and that "the men of Succanessett rej^air three times a year to Barnstable to train." The "government l>oing much enlarged," Plymouth Colony, in 1685, was divided into three counties, called, respectively, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstal)le. The County of Barnstable consisted of the towns of Barnstable, Eastham,^ Sandwich and Yarmouth, and the i)lantations of ^lonnaraoit, Succonesset, and Sippecan. The latter comprised the region subsequently incorporated under the name of Roches- ter, embracing the present town of that name, and AVareham, Marion and Mattapoisett. Each of the towns was authorized to send three, and each plantation one, grand jurymen, to the court to be held at the shire town, Barn- stable. They were ordered to appear on the third Tuesday of June, 1686, to take their oaths, and to receive their charge. A session of the Court of Assistants for trials was held on the first Tuesday of July in the same year. There was the usual rivalry and competition for the- location of the county buildings, the Gorhams desiring to erect them near the Yarmouth line, where their lands were^ located, they building houses in that region for the prospective accommodation of those resorting to the courts, but the influence of Gov. Hinckley and his assistants, BaiTiabas Lothrop and John AValley, prevailed, and the XM CAPE COD. <!oart house was built near the present centre of the town.^ Sippecan, which subsequently took the name Rochester, remained a part of Barnstable county until 1708, when, upon the petition of its inhabitants, it was annexed to Plymouth county. The laws of the colony, which had been some time under revision, were printed this year, and confirmatory titles given, under the seal of the government, the several purchases being particularly described. . Before the county had been fully organized, in June, 1686, Succonessetf was incorporated as a town, the fifth in the county. The settlement and development of the region had been progressing for twenty-five yeai-s before its incor- poration. In 1659, "liberty to view and purchase a tract at Saconesset " was granted to Thomas Hinckley, Henry Cobb, Samuel Hinckley, John Jenkins, Nathaniel Bsicon, of Barnstable ; and Thomas Hinckley, and Kicliard Bounio of Sandwich, were ''empowered to an-ange with the Indians for the same." It seems probable that nothing came of this Arrangement; but March 5, 1660-1, "liberty to purchase lands at Saconesset and adjacent" was granted to John Howland, Anthony Annable, Isaac Kobinson, Nathaniel Thomas, Samuel Fuller, Abraham Pierce and Peter Blossom ; and to these were subsequently added Saml Hinckley, Matthew Fuller, John Cooper, Henry Cobb, John Dunham And John Jenkins of Barnstable, and Samuel Fuller, Wm. Nelson and Thomas Burman of Plymouth; and John Phinney, Thomas Burman, J of Barnstable, and John ♦The site of the first court house was iieiir the spot now occupied by the stttl)le of the oUl Crocker hotel, owuod by heirs of Mrs. Lydia S. Scudder. Sc*e (^tis's Gen. Notes of Barnstable KaiuiUes. The second court house wa'* the buildiu;^ now occupied by the Baptist society as a house of worship, and was erected over a century ago. fThis is the more usual spelliu;; of the word, but it was also variously written Sachonesit, s^urcaiinosset, Sugones, etc. tThis may l)e the same person as the one preceding, said to be of Plymouth, or it may be a clerical error. PHIUP-S WAR TO UXION WITH MASSACHUSETTS. Dunham, Jr., are also named. The first proprietors' book commenced in 1661, but the names of some of the grantees^ do not occur on its pages. Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson appear to have been the first bona fide settlers^ having built their houses near the southerly borders of Fresh Pond. In 1664-5 Isaac Robinson was allowed to keep an oi*dinary there ^in regard tliat it doth appear that there is a great recource to and fro by travellers to ^lartha's Vineyard, Nantucket," etc. In 1668, Wm. Gifford, Thomas Lewis and John Jenkins became "" inhabitants of Succon- essit.** The Quakei*s were here in considerable numbers at the time of the incoqwration. Isaac Robinson, early of this town, though not of this sect, believed in their sincerity, and was suffering civil disabilities and social outlawry in their behalf, and for his testimony in favor of religious toleration. For many years, for municipal purposes and for the observance of public worship the plantation was associated with Barnstable, during which time the inhabitants travelled fifteen miles to attend ser>ice on Sunday. 'Mx. Samuel Shiverick was the first minister, being here prior to 1700, but at what exact date he first came to the place cannot be ascertained. The name of Falmouth, instead of Succanesset, came into use about the year 1694,* although there is no foimal act extant authorizing a designation. It may have been derived from Falmouth in England, a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, whence Bartholomew Gosnold sailed on the voyage to this vicinity, attempting a settlement on one of the Elizabeth Islands, near by the main land in this town. The relations of the people of Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies to the home government had long been the cause *The Province tax of Sept. U, 1C94, has this item: ** Falmouth £22, Ss., Od." 128 CAPE COD. of anxiety and deep solicitude on their part. At the threshold of the administi*ation of Gov. Hinckley a crisis was seen to 1)e [lending. Edmund Randolph, who had been embittered by a controversy with the ^lassachusetts colony, after several years of exertion had succeeded in procuring of the home government the process of quo wai^rantOj the charter had been vacated, and the Presidency of Joseph Dudley, followed by the Governorship of Sir Edmund Andros, had resulted therefrom. The relations of Pl3rmouth Colony to the royal authority had been of a pacific nature, and great hopes had been entertained of the granting of a royal charter to the colony. But as the arbitrary character of the Stuaits, especially of James 11, had disclosed itself, and his dealings with Massachusetts were developed, the hopes and expectations of the colonists gave way to gloom and apprehension. The fears of the people were, unhappily, realized when, in 1G86, Sir Edmund Andros arrived with a commission appointing him governor of all New England. Gov. Hinckley was of coui*se supplanted, and though nominated as one of Andros's councillors, the colony was merged with the Massachusetts colony, and divested of its distinctive character. The new order of things gave great offence, not only in Massachusetts, but throughout New England. Exorbitant taxes were levied, and under the pretence that all the land titles of the country were invalid, large fees were attempted to be extorted for new ones. Even when, in addition to the grants given them by the government, the Indian titles had been purchased, Andros was said to have declared that such deeds were '"no better than the scratch of a bears paw.^ Gov. Hinckley, in a petition to the King, in relation to Plymouth Colony, asserted that all the money left in the colony " would scarcely suffice to pay one-half the charges PHILIPS WAR TO UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS. 127 for waiTants, sun'eying and patents, if every one must be foi*ced thereto/' The whole tendency of the administration was in the direction of oppression. This state of things continued for two years and four months. In April, 1689, a nimor reached Boston of the landing of the Prince of Orange in England ; the smothered tires of resentment blazed out, and without waiting to learn the result of the rising in the mother country, Andros was aiTcsted, impris- oned and confined in the castle. Gov. Bi-adstreet was called again to power 1)y acclamation ; and Plymouth, following the example of ilassachusetts, again called on Gov. Hinckley and his associates to assume the offices which tliey before held, until their places could l)e filled by a regular election. Hinckley and Bradford were subsequently elected governor and deput}' governor, and the people were again in the enjoyment of their accustomed institutions of government. During the administration of Andros, Courts of Common Pleas eo nomine had been established in this and other counties. Associate Courts w^ere now re-established, and Jonathan SpaiTow of Eastham and Stephen Skiff of Sandwich were appointed justices; and they were re-appointed in 1690 and 1691. The war known as King William's war having c^ommenced, and many injuries having been committed by the Indians in the Eastern country, the couit met in August, 1689, to take the matter into consideration, and gave instructions to their commissioners in relation to the prosecution of the hostilities. Major Benj. Church was placed in command with the commission of major, by both Gov. Hinckley and Gov. Danforth of Massachusetts. Col. "Wm. Bassett of Sandwich, and Nathaniel Hall, son of John, of Dennis, served as captains in this expedition. The expenses of the cami)aign for Plymouth Colony were £742 ; for Barnstable CAPE COD. £60, Sandwich £60, Yarmouth £41, Eastham £46, Monoiiioy £7. Eastham having neglected to make a rate, ** occasioned by misrepresentation or insinuations of ill men, ditfaffected towards the goveniment," a fine of £50 was imposed, **to be collected in case the neglect is persisted in." This war was waged with advantage on the side of the English, but the force sent was inadequate to the wants of the campaign. In the ensuing year. Church was imi>ortmied by Gov. Hinckley to take conmiand of the Plymouth forces on another expedition against the enemy, the Indians being aided and al)etted by the French. He came to Barnstable, where he met the Governor and several mcmbei's of the Council of War, who promised them their support. In June, two companies were mised, John Gorham being captain of one, and Jabez Snow of Eastham, lieutenant of the other. Tliere was considerable delay in getting the troops away to the seat of hostilities. Governor Hinckley not being ready with the transports as had been promised, and not being on hand, had to be summoned by express from Barnstable. Vessels wei-e finally fitted up, and the troops embarked. The Cape furnished for this expedition the following num1)ers of men : Sandwich, Yunuouth and Eastham, 10 each ; Barnstable, 12 ; Sucanessctt and Mono- moy, 2 each. It was also ordered that there 1>e raised 50 Indians : 22 in Barnstable county, 22 in Bristol, and 6 in Plymouth; Barnstable county was also to provide 15 of the 60, "arms and other necessaries" for the troops. The debt incuiTcd by PlJ^nouth Colony this year amounted to £1350, of which the following sums fell upon the Cape : Barnstable, £112, 10s., Od. Eastham, £93, 19s., 6d. Yarmouth, 104 2 9 Monnamoit, 18 18 9 Sandwich, 93 15 Sucanessett, 15 3 9 The campaign was not answerable in point of success to PHIIJF8 WAR TO UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTa 129 the expectations of the government or people, and Major Church felt that he was treated with injustice and neglect by the authorities in Boston ; which did not, however, prevent his taking service under tlie government the ensuing year. Gov. Hinckley was re-elected in 1691, but the increasing difficulties of the times must have rendered his position one of continual anxiety and discomfort. The Indian and French wars were a constant drain on the young men of the colony and the resources of the people. The political future of the colony was a great cause of solicitude and alarm, as one report followed another, as to the designs of the government of William and Marj'. The magistrates of Massachusetts Bay sent its agents to England to endeavor to procure a renewal of the charter, made void by Charles n., and from PljTiiouth Colony went Rev. Ichabod Wis wall of Duxbury, to assist in the work, and also to try to obtain one for Plymouth, and to protect the interests of the colony in any way in which he could be serviceable. There was at one time an effort to unite her government with Kew York, which was averted by the representations of these agents. But the effort to obtain for her a separate charter was unsuccessful, and the two provinces were by the royal authority united, under the style of "The Massachusetts Bay in New England," a union which has since been found a source of benefit and happiness to the people of both colonies. The concluding language of the charter was: "To have and to hold the said territories, tracts, counties, land, hereditiments, and all and other singular the premises, with their and every their appurtenances, to our said subjects, the inhabitants of the said Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, and their successors, to their only proper use and behoof foreverniore, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of our manor of E^t 180 CAPE COD. Greenwich, iu the County of Kent, by fealty only in free and common soccage," — a tenure the importance of which the students of the laws will properly appreciate. There was reason to think that Gov. Hinckley was not dissatisfied with the change. His opinions and the temper of hb mind were much more in sympathy with the governing classes of the Massachusetts Colony, than those of Plymouth, and the measure of his ambition as a leading Councillor of a large and powerful province, was perhaps better filled than iu the fii*st place in the feeble colony of Plymouth. He doubtless felt that the arrangement would be advantageous to both colonies, as it has since proved. At the time of the union, Plymouth Colony consisted of twenty towns, six of which were in the County of Barnsta- ble, (counting Monnamoit, which had been {)ermitted to send a deputy, in 1691,) and the colony contained a popuhition of about 13,000 of English descent. From various data it is safe to say that the white population of Barnstable County was about 4000. Tlie colony waa deeply in debt, contmcted in the long and bloody wars with the Indians, owing some £27,000, while the entire taxable property of the inhabitants was rated at only £35,900. * This debt, however, was owed to their own citizens. So great was their poverty that they were unable to raise the sum of £300 to send to Mr. Wiswall to obtain a charter, and Gov. *The ratable estates of the towns of the eolouy were: Plymouth, £*JG60 Rochester, £367 Scltuate, 43M) Mouomoy, 505 Mar^hflold, 1804 Sucauessett, 405 Duxburjr, 1500 Bristol, 1048 Bridgewater, 1430 Taunton, 26S9 Midrtleboro, 5S2 Rehoboth, 2117 Barudtable, 3000 Dartmouth, 2200 Yarmouth, 2777 Swnnsey, 1500 Sandwich, 2500 Little Couipton, 2000 Eatithum, 250G Freetown, 340 PHILIPS WAR TO UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS. ISl Hinckley proposed that it should be prayed for sub forma pauperis.* The last General Court met at Pl^-mouth on the first Tuesda3' of July, 1691, and after transacting some trifling routine business, and appointing the last Wednesday in August for a solemn fast, adjourned to meet no more. Thus ended the )X>litical existence of the Pl^-mouth Colony, after sur\'iving a little less than seventy-one years from its organization. CmiONOLQGY OF EVENTS, 1677-1692. 1677. Joseph Burpe of Sandwich, who ** resisted aud abused the iratch" during Philip's War, for which he was several times flued, was this year amerced to the amouut of £5 for selliug 'liquor to the Indiaus. As a seciuel he was fined 10 shillings for ** swearing in court."— The aged widow Annable of Barnstable was fined £1 for s«^lling beer witliout a license. 1678. George Barlow of Sandwich, the late marshal, was before the court and l>ound over, on the charge of being a ** turbulent feUow.**— Bev. Thomas Walley of Barnstable died. 1680. JohTi Yaiiuo, Indian, son and heir of Yanna, sachem of South iSea, in Barnstable, deceased, sold to George Lewis for £2, 16 shillings, a small tract ** lying in the common field at Mattachiest"; also in consideration of -CI, 8 shillings, paid in trucking cloth and otherwise by Thomas Hinckley, *' granted and sold him lands in South Sea, in Barnstable, which Mr. H. subsequently conveyed to the town. 1G81. Anew meeting-house was erected in Barnstable; cost of the edifice ^00, lot Xl, 10 shillings.— Indian James indicted and tried for causing the death of Samuel Crocker, Barnstable, by a kick in the abdomen. He was acquitted of murderous intent. 1C82. Mr. Edmund Freeman, one of the original grantees of Sand- wich, died. 1683. Kenecompsit, an Indian, relinquished for £5, 19 shillings, hit right to seven acres of land in common field, Barnstable, to John Lewis and James Edwards.— Sandwich offered a bounty of 158. for killing old wolves, and 5s. for **pups.** ^Baylies* Hist. Memoir. IS CAFE COD. 1881. A roftd from Barnstable to Plfmoutli tbrQugh Sandwluh wKs laid out b7 a Jury empanelled by the govvrnor. leSi. An extension of tbe Sandwiuh road, through Banutable, waa laid out by a jury ordered by the court. The old foot bridges, which sunic^d for the settlers, tn^Te wny to Itmier stniotures, suited for teams.— Eastb am "voted to t>ay lUs. for the head of any old wolf, wad fis. for wolves' whelps, to aiiy Indian who shall brlnf; them." 1680. Lt. Jobu Howland of Barnstable licensed "to sell [jider of his own male In);." ISST. A windmill tor grinding grain, was ei«cted In Barnstable, by Thomas Paine of Eastham. .£82 and Sre acres of upland and live acres of marsh were appropriated tor the purpose, by the town, "Elgbtorten acres of uplaud at the river by John Qoodsp«ed's and the use of the strtam" were grauted to John Aiidrewu, "to build aud keep a lulllug-mlll ou said stream, to full and draw the town's oloth on reasonable terms." 1888. The padtoral relation of Rev. John Smith to the Sandwich church, terminated at hts own request. 1691. Rev. Roland Cotton commenced his pastoral relation to Sandwich church.— Icbabod Paddock of Yarmouth eugaged to go to Nautucket, "to instruct the people In the art of kllliug whales" by tbe employment of boats from the shore. THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. Cape tDMi In th« ProTindal jioveniment— Hanrich tocorporatrd— E«l Kivn Brldf»— Cape Cod C'annl nret propowd— MlulAterial i-hangM — Diviiiiuii of BnruBta1)le oommoii lauda — Whalelioat fleet In Que«n Annt-'ii wnr— Denth of Cov. Hinckley— Tniro ami t'luti bam 1>econi« t«wuB of tb« praTtiii'« — Dlrivion of Yarmouth oomnion landa — "Pi-eciuct of Cape Cod'' — Wreck of Pirate ship Whidiib andlftimen droimti] — Chaiint;! through the Cape — Cape soldiori at the capture of Lnuli<1nir;r— Acnitlnns at Montiraent River— I«4u« of Bills of Credit — ProTincetown incorporated— DlvUlon ol the County pro- posed- "TheUreot Awakening "—Emigraiiou to Maine— Well lleet lucMirjKimted- Peace weleonied. ■ Y the terms of the charter of the new Province of Massachusetts Bay, the portion which comprised Plymouth colony waa j! I entitled to four councillors. Those who ^ ^i were first selected were Thomas Hinckley, -i^^^ -p* late goTcmor ; Wm. Bradford, late deputy governor ; John "Walley, and Bamahas Lothrop. Gov. Hinckley had Iwen charged with being secretly favorable to the union i\'ith ^lassuchnsetts, and these appointments confirmed the suspicions of thoee who were unfriendly to him, and indeed gave some cdlor to their belief. Of the four councillors, Mr. Hinckley and Mr. Lothrop were residents of Barnstable, and Mr. Walley was bom and reared there, though at the time of his election he was a resident of Bristol. The first provincial legislature was represented from the Cape by its citizens of ability from the various towns, viz ; John Gorham, John Otis, Barnstable; John Thacher, Jeremiah Howes, Yar* 134 CAPE COD. mouth; Thomas Tupper, Shearjashab Bourne, Sandwich^ Jonathan Snow, Jonathan Bangs, Eastham ; Moses Rowley^ Falmouth. Sir William Phipps arrived in Boston, May 14, 1692, with his commission from William and Mary as govemor-in- chief, bringing with him the new charter; and the first general court elected thereunder assembled in Boston, June 8, of that year. The new governor was a native of New England ; his selection was largely due to the influence of Increase Mather, who was then in England ; and while the clerical party in the province was shorn of much of its power, the appointment was quite acceptable to the people, although not reflecting much credit upon its incumbent, as an administrator, by reason of an unf ortimate infirmity of temper, which led him into difficulties, resulting in his recall for explanations to England, where he died in 1695. He was succeeded by Lieut.-Govemor Stoughton. Sept. 14, 1694, HARWicn was admitted as a township. The name is derived from a market, seaport and parliamen- tary borough in Essex county, England. It was said that one of her citizens, Mr. Patrick Butler, walked the whole distance to Boston, to obtain the act of incorporation. The earlier occupation of its territory was chiefly in the northern portion of the town. Ecclesiastically speaking, the territory immediately below Yannouth was considered for a long period prior to this time as belonging to Eastham. The prosecution of the war with the French and the eastern Indians, in which the colonies were involved before their union, and which early engaged the attention of Gov. Phipps, was continued under the auspices of Lieut.-Gov. Stoughton. Capt. John Gorham of Barnstable, was in 1696, second in command, under Col. Benjamin Church, in the expedition to Winter Harbor, which was not, however. THE CAPE IX THE OLD FRENCH WARS. 1» attended by any important results. Great alarm prevailed in New England at the time, in view of a contemplated invasion by a formidable French fleet, and extensive preparation was made to repel it. Frequent disasters to Cape men are recorded in the writings of the times. Col. • Thomas Dimmock of Barnstable, was killed in a battle at Canso, Sept. 9, 1697. He refused to conceal himself in a thicket, or shelter himself behind a tree as others under his command did, but stood out in the open field, a conspicuous mark for the enemy.* The peace of Ryswick, concluded in 1697, put an end for the present to King William's War. The Court of Quarterly Sessions having issued a pi-ecept to the towns of the county of Barnstable, to assess their inhabitants towards defraying the expense of re-building the bridge over Eel River, near Plymouth, great dissatisfaction was expressed by the inhabitants, who regarded the demand as unjust and unlawful, the bridge being twelve miles beyond the county limits. The town of Eastham refused compliance — instructing the selectmen to disregard the precept, and promising to indemnify them for any damage that might accrue for their failure to comply with the order of the court. These remonstrances were without avail, and the Cape towns were again compelled to submit to the payment for this work. The project which has intermittingly been agitated until the present time, for the union of the waters of Buzzards and Barnstable bays by means of a ship canal, was initiated as early as 1698. A committee was that year appointed by the general couii: "to view a place for a passage to be cut through the land in Sandwich, from Barnstable bay into Manomet bay, for vessels to pass through and from the •Oti.«'.^ Barnstable Fiimlliej?. This piece of history is a weU authen- tieau'd fnmily tradition, thouirli no aoeouut in given ot the trauAaction iu any puMir lied history, as far as observed. 186 CAPB COD. western pails of the country, it being thought by many persons to be very necessary for the preservation of men and estates y and that it will be very profitable and useful to the public." The committee consisted of Messrs. John Otisy Wm. Bassett and Thomas Smith, who were instructed to report at the* next general court. Although this was the first official recognition of the project, it had for many years previous been a subject of discussion by our ancestors. It was doubtless suggested to them by their experience on Manomet river, in their intercourse with the Dutch and English settlers to the westward of them, in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. Samuel, afterwards Judge, Sewell, wrote in his diary about 1G70, '^Mr. Smith (of Sandwich) rode with me, and showed me the place which some here thought to cut for to make a passage from the South Sea to the North. He said it was about a mile and a half between the utmost flowing of the two seas in Herring River and Scusset, the land being very low and level. Herring River was very pleasant by reason that it was pretty broad, shallow, of an equal depth, and of white sand." The first church in Harwich (being the locality in the town now known as Brewster) was gathered Oct. 16, 1700, and Rev. Nathaniel Stone settled as pastor ; and his relation to that organization subsisted for the period of fiftj^-five years. This is a convenient period to review the nearly contemporary changes in the ministry of the county, which were so intimatelv interwoven with the secular concerns of the people. The Rev. John Smith, pastor of the Sandwich church, had terminated his connection therewith in 1678, and he had been succeeded by Rev. Rowland Cotton. Mr. Walley, the minister of Bamstal)lc, who died in 1678, was succeeded, in 1683, by Rev. Jonathan Russell, the elder of the name. Rev. Samuel Treat, who was settled in Eastham, THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. W in 1672, was destined to still longer continue in that relation. The Rev. Thomas Thornton, who was settled over the Yarmouth church, about 1663, with whom Rev. John Cotton was settled as colleague, died in Boston in 1700, in his ninety-first year. He was a man of eminent scholarship and ability. Mr. Thornton's removal, in 1693, left 3^Ir. Cotton in sole charge of the church. ^Ir. Samuel Shiverick, about 1700, began a troubled relation with the Falmouth church, which continued, however, only a few months longer. The division of the common lands in Barnstable was agitated in 161)3, when the proprietors voted ''to divide the whole of the commons and meadows to such as have a right." The names of 164 persons whom it was claimed were rightful proprietors, they being freemen and voters, were presented. Some 56 citizens remonstrated against the proceeding, and it was agreed to refer all matters in dispute to arbitration. Major Mayhew of Martha's Vineyard was selected on the part of the remonstmnts, and Mr. Samuel Sprague, of Duxbury, on the part of the town. An adjustment of the diflSculty was arrived at in 1696. The Great Marshes was di^aded, lots for choice being drawn; each lot was duly bounded and recorded. The marshes at South Sea and Oyster Island were, in like manner, divided among residents of that part of the town. Renewed troubles over this question sprang up in 1701. A town meeting, over which Rev. Mr. Russell was moderator, was held, and a variety of questions growing out of the matter of divisions of the commons were discussed. A committee was chosen ** to draw up proposals for settling the propriety of the common lands, and to ascertain who are the propri- etors, and what the share of each shall be, and the method to be adopted for dividing the lands from time to time in IM CAPE COD. the future." ]Maj. Gorham was chairman of a committee of fifteen for this purpose. The subject was still unsettled in 1702, when it was voted that three disinterested persons be chosen to determine who were the rightful proprietors, viz. : Capt. Jonathan Morey of Plymouth, Mr. Samuel Knowles of Eastham, and Mr. Joseph Deane of Taunton. A committee was appointed to " take account in the meanwhile of the townsmen and of their several claims, by their individual qualifications; this too according to the rule adopted in 1640." Eighty acres were reserved, the profits of which were to be applied to support of schools, and the same amount to the support of the ministry. The grand division was finally made in 1703, ''of the upland commons and salt marsh that had not been before divided." The whole of these was computed in shares, comprehending in the aggregate 6000 acres, divided to each according to his right, the number of shares to each annexed to his name on the schedule, leaving to any aggrieved the liberty of the common law for redress. The conflict known as Queen Anne's war, whiuh com- menced in 1703, involved the people of this county actively in its operations, as had all the English and French wars hitherto. The savage and ferocious cruelties exercised by the French and Indians in many instances, and especially the destruction of Deerfield in 1703, impelled that celebrated Indian fighter, Col. Benjamin Church, to again offer Gov. Dudley his sei-vices, which were gladly accepted. He was authorized to recruit 1000 or 1200 troops, which he immediately proceeded to do, going into every town in Bristol, Plj'mouth and Barnstable counties, receiving the enlistment of 15 or 20 from each militarj" company in those counties, beside a considerable number of Indians. Lieut. Colonel John Gorham and Capt. Caleb Williamson of THE CAPE IK THE OLD FRENCH VTARS. 1» Barnstable, were connected with the expedition , tlie former in charge of the whale-boat fleet. This was a novel and original feature of the expedition. The method of fighting adopted by the enemy was to keep so far up the rivers that the ordinary fleet could not reach them. Church's plan contemplated the fitting up of forty-five or fifty good boatSi such as are employed in whaling, each supplied with five oar8» and twelve or fifteen paddles to each boat. Upon the wale of these, five pieces of strong leather were fastened on the sides, so tliat when the boat touched the bottom the men might step overboard, and slip the bars through and take it up. Two kettles were furnished each boat for cooking food. The crafts were hauled up at night, and in stoimy weather were upset, serving for shelter in the place of tents. In this way four or five hundred men could be transported to the scene of ojiorations, with their arms, ammunition and provisions for several da^'s' consumption. This expedition was only partiall}"^ successful. From this period, until the peace of Utrecht, which was concluded in the year 1713, the Cape towns, in common with the people of the whole of New England, were sub- jected to continual expense, preparation and alarm. It is estimated that for some 3'ears not less than a fifth of the inhabitants al)le to l^ear arms were in actual service. To say nothing of the sacrifice of health and life in these expeditions^ the detriment to the industrial pursuits of the people was very gi'eat, constituting a continual drain upon the resources of all classes. These wars were filled with stimng and startling episodes. "For years after, the old sailors, seated in their round-about chairs, within their capacious chimney comers, would relate to the young the story of their adventures in the 'Old French Wars.'"* *Oti3*3 Barustable Families. no CAPS COD. The death of Ex-Governor Thomas Hiuckley^ which occurred at his home in Barnstable, April 25, 1706, closed a career of great usefulness and eminence in this community. He was bom in England, in 1G21 ; came to Boston in 1634 ; was in Scituate in 1639. He was elected a deputy from Barnstable in 1645, and from that time until his death was almost continuously in public life, being many times re-elected as deputy; twenty-three years as assistant; governor from 1680 to 1692, except during the interruption of Andros, when he was nominally one of his council ; and of the council of the province of IMassachusetts Bay, from 1692 until his death. He was also for several years one of the commissioners of the United Colonies. His tastes and abilities fitted him for administrative trusts, and his probity was never impeached. Although of a somewhat imperious temper, he seems to have accommodated himself rather closely to the popular side of public questions, and to have followed, rather than directed, public sentiment. When repressive measures were tried against the Quakers, ^Ir. Hinckley was vigorous in the use of means to that end, hut yielded, somewhat tardily, to the rising tide of liberal ideas. He was on familiar terms '^'ith the Anabaptists, who xfere numerous in Barnstable. It was claimed for Mr. Hinckley, that he was the best lawyer in the colonj*. This might well be, as of professional lawyers none were there at that time ; and certainly no man in the jurisdiction had acquired so wide an experience, both in framing statutes and executing them, as ^Ir. Hinckley. His first marriage was to Mary, daughter of Thomas Eichards, who died in 1659, and the following year he was united to Mary, widow of Nathaniel Glover of Dorchester, a woman ^of uncommon excellence and gi-eat accomplishments." Among her descendants was Prince, the historian, who spoke of her in these terms: THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARa 141 **To the day of her death she shone in the cj'es of all as the loveliest, and brightest for beauty, knowledge, wisdom, majesty, accomplishments, graces, throughout the colony." Her husband, who survived her for nearly three years» wrote some verses to her memory, which have been preserved, and which were more creditable to the affectionate phase of his character than to his poetic faculty. Gov. Hinckley has many descendants. The year 1709 added another to the towns of the county. July 16, of that year, on the petition of Capt. Thomas Paine of Pamet, the region was incoq)()rated which has since been known by the name of Tkuro, making the seventh township on the Cape ; and Aug. 1, pursuant to the terms of the act, the town was organized, with the provision **that they procure and settle a learned and godl}' minister.** Rev. John Avery was settled here Nov. 1, 1711. This region, it is evident, had been settled by a number of &milies, long before this time, and in connection with the fisheries of Cape Cod, occupied before the settlement of Eastham or any other places on the Cape.* In 1674, the Court ordered that Paomet (Truro) and Satucket (Harwidi) be included in the town of Eastham. Certain proprietors from Eastham also settled here in 1700. The records of the general court for the year 1705 contain this order: **The part of the Cape Ijing between Eastham, and known as the Indian Pamet, shall be a separate town by the name of Dangerfield." This is all that is known, however, of this desi<mation. No such town was ever recoirnized, and no intimation of its existence is contained in any local records or traditions of its people. It was doubtless intended to make this a district, but the name did not come into use. It is somewhat singular that the act of the general court •Rich'8 Truro. 142 CAPE COD. incorporating the town of Truro makes no reference to any previous act recognizing the former name, but says, ''An act for making Pawmct, a District of Eastham, within Hie Count}" of Bamsta!)lc, a township, to ])e called Truroe.** The name is derived from that of an old borough and present city, in Cornwall, England. A similar mj^ster}** exists in regard to Wellfleet. An order which passed Nov, 1, 1718, on petition of Thomas, Peter and Josias Oakes, agents for that part of Eastham called Billingsgate, by the name of ''Pool,'' defines its boundaries, and the rights of whaling and oyster fishing. But the name was never recognized. Two j'ears after the incorporation of Truro, an effort was made by the people of Monnamoit to secure its incorporation as a township, and a notice was served in due form on the town of Harwich. The settlement, occupation and proprie- torship of this town had been from the beginning, as has already been shown, a subject of much acrimonious and heated controversy. After being attached, first to Yarmouth, and afterwards to Eastham, in 1688, the place was made "a constablerick 1)y itself," and enjoined to raise £5 per annum for "the enabling them to build a meeting-house for a minister.'* In 1686, it was ordered by the court to choose a grand juror, and in 1691, it was granted liberty to send a representative to the general court, and its western bounda- ries were considerably enlarged. With these privileges and requirements, it would seem that the region was entitled to all the prerogatives of a township, and a formal act of incorporation was passed in 1712, since which time the town has been known as Chatham. This name, also, is fi*om an English town, in the County of Kent. The common lands of the town of Yarmouth, remaining undisposed of, were divided among the descendants of the THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. 14S original pwprietors during the year 1712-13-14. The principle aixm which this division was made was laid down in a town meeting held in April, 1712, viz.: ''One-third to )>e afi(si2:ned to tenements, of such as were inhabitants of the town, not to exceed two tenements to each person; one-tliird according to the value of the real estate of each person as mted in 1709; one-tliird to all male persons twenty-one years of age and over, bom in the town and now inhabitants, or those who have Ijecn inhabitants 21 years, and have possessed a tenement 21 years." Nine shares were assigned to each tenement right, 7^ shares to each personal right, and all the residue, was on account of the pro|K)rtionate ownership in the taxable real estate in town. Two-thirds of the town was thus divided into 3118 shares, and apportioned among the inhabitants. A final division of the other third of common lands remaininji unreserved was made in 1715. The town reserved a considerable tract on the borders of Bass river — a large portion of the present village of South Yarmouth — for the native Indians, and also ministerial lands, training fields, and a lot for the convenience of those watching for whales, on the northerly side of the town. In 1713, the treaty of i^eace negotiated at Utrecht put an end to the French and Indian war, which, with the short interception after the peace of Ryswick, had been waged for twenty-five years, and which had been a constant drain U]M)n the resources of the colonists and an interruption of their peaceful pursuits. The people of this county had largely engaged in these warlike enteqirises, pailicularly those of a maritime nature, and the dawn of peace was a welcome release to them. Nor were our people so far removed from the seat of hostilities as to be entirely free from apprehensions on their own behalf. The rumors of lU CAPE COD. invasions and of the incursions of a French fleet were frequently renewed to the dwellers in the seaboard towns. The following ''Protection/* of which a copy is extant^ brings the distress of the times vividly before the present generation : Trotectiox. — Boston, Jan. 26, 1711-12. Upon appli- cation made to me, setting forth the danger that the village of Monomoy is in, of the French privateers, and the weakness of the inhabitants to defend themselves, being so few, I do hereby decree, order and direct that no men of the foot-company of the place be taken by impress for any •service other than their own village aforesaid, without my especial orders, and under my hand, for so doing. This to continue until further order. Signed, J. Dudley. •'To the Hon. Col. Otis, Barnstable." Henceforth, for thirty years, these fears and alarms were to be dismissed, and peace again to resume its sway. In the beginning of 1714, the extreme end of the Cape, which had heretofore been regarded as a portion of Truro, was constituted the "Precinct of Cape Cod," and put under the constablerick of Tiiiro. No legislative act with express reference to this region had been passed, prior to this time. The harbor, from its size, accessibility and security, had been from the earliest times resorted to by marine traders and fishermen, but only a few settlers had as yet made their homes there. Now, its great value and the dangers to which it was exposed were recognized ; and by an act of the general court, it was "forbidden to box or bark pine treea growing on the precinct's land;" a tax was levied on sojourners not inhabitants, such as fishermen, of fourpence a man per week, to be applied to the maintenance of "a learned and orthodox minister ;" the balance of his salarj' of £50 per annum, to be assessed upon the inhabitants of the THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARa 145 precinct, by the selectmen of Truro. At the same time the line between tlie Province lands and Truro was defined. The advent of j^ace with the Fi^ench and the Indians gave the authorities a long-wished-for opiwitunity to make an effort to suppress the pirates, whose depredations upon commerce had become so frequent and harassing. During the administration of tlie Earl of Bellamont as Governor of New York and ^lassachusetts, the attention of the author* ities had been especially directed to this matter. The Earl came over "particularly instructed to put a stop to the growth of pii'acy, the seas being constantly endangered by freebooters." During his administration the notorious Capt. Kidd was apprehended, tried and convicted. The old ballad ran: "My name was Robert Kidd, as I mailed." But history records that William Kidd was executed. While commanding a vessel commissioned to cruise as a privateer, he turned pirate himself, and became the terror of the sea. After burning his vessel and venturing to make his appearance in Boston, thinking his character and acts- unknown, he was apprehended, sent to England, tried and executed. The popular imagination, from that time to the present, has been periodically inflamed by legends of treasilres hid in the sands on the seashore of Xew York and New England; but with the exception of one *'find," of which the schedule was rendered to Gov. Bellamont in 1699, no record of success in this direction is extant. This lack of fortune does not, however, seem to dampen the ardor of treasure-seekers, and ever}" year or two witnesses a renewal of futile attempts to penetrate the sands of the seacoast for hidden pirate-booty. The execution of Kidd by no means daunted or discouraged the efforts of the large class of maritime 146 CAPE COD. adventurers who sought to make reprisals upon commerce, no matter under what iSag it sailed. Peace with France released them from the restraints of authoi*ized warfare, and some of them turned their attenti(m to the ships sailing under their own flag. The depredations and fate of one of these fleets was tragically connected with these shores. The WJiidahj a pirate ship of about 200 tons, carrying twenty- three guns and one hundred and thii*ty men, conunanded by Samuel Bellamy, some time in April, 1717, while cruising off this coabt took seven prizes. The captain was obliged to transfer men from his ship to the prizes in order to send them into port. The captain of one of these vessels, observing that the pirate crew were drunk, I'egained possession of his craft and anchored in Provincetown harbor, where several of the pirates were apprehended, and afterwards tried and executed in Boston, the others managing to escape. The captain of the Whidah, having captured a snow on the coast, and a storm endently approaching, offered the captain of the prize the release of his vessel, if he would pilot the ship into Provincetown harbor. The niorht bein*? dark a lantern was hun'r in the shrouds of the snow. But distini^ting the good faith of the pirate, the captain managed, by the light draft of his vessel, which enabled him to pass over the shoals with safety, to inveigle the pirate ship onto the outer bar, while the snow struck much nearer the shore.* A tradition exists that he threw a burning tar barrel overboard which the pirate followed. The fleet, consisting of the pirate ship, her tender, (the snow, of 90 tons,) a wine ship and a sloop, was put in confusion, a violent storm soon after arose, and on the 2Gth of April the fleet was shipwrecked near the Wellflcet shore. It is said that all but two in the large ship perished, an English- •Maas. Hist. Soc. CoU. Vol. 3, P. L-U ^ • THE CAPE IX THE OLD FHEXCH WARS. 147 man and an Indian. The sloop and the snow got off and €sc*aped. When the news reached Boston of the disaster which had overtaken the pirate fleet, Capt. Cj'prian Southack, was sent by Gov. Shute, in His ^Majesty's sloop Xath:iniel, to the Caj^ to look after the government's interests here. He reached Pro\nncetown May 2, sent a whale1)oat and crew to Tniro, where horses were procured, and he proceeded to Well fleet. A watch was set upon the wreck and the shore. Capt. Southack soon followed, Imt com- plained that he was not very cheerfully aided by the inhabitants, whom he evidently susi^ected of designs to appropriate the goods washed ashore from the wreck. He found the vessel on liis arrival broken to pieces, with the wreck of a wine vessel some four miles from her, also broken up. There had l)cen, he was told, at least 200 men •to visit the wreck, some coming the distance of 20 miles, helping themselves to whatever came on shore. The gale had not yet subsided and continued for several days after his arrival. Capt. Southack secured the pirate's ca1)Ie and anchors, and in consequence of an advertisement which he issued, threatening with the displeasure of the government -all who were found with any of the shipwrecked goods on their premises, several cart loads of stores were reclaimed and sent to Boston, via Billingsgate (Wellfleet.) One hundred and two men, the crew of the pirate ship, were buried on the beach. In closing his communication with tlie goveniment respecting this transaction, Capt. Southack speaks approvingly- of the conduct of Joseph Doane,. Esq., •of Eastham, for his aid in securing the shipwrecked property, and recommended the arrest of Caleb Hopkins, (of Freetown, as he writes,) for obstructions in the performance of his duty. It does not appear that his advice 148 CAPS COD. was heeded.* But Gov. Shute ordered the eight captured pirates to be brought to trial, and they were convicted and promptly executed in Boston. For many years after, as the legend runs, a man of "a very singular and frightful aspect," used every season to visit the Cape. He held but little intercourse with the people, but from his ejaculations during his troubled sleep, and blasphemous and rilmld remarks which at that time passed his lips, he was popularly credited with holding intercourse with evil spirits, or of being disturbed by recollections of the bloody scenes in which he had been engaged. He was generally believed to be one of the pirate crew, who came down here to visit a concealed hoard in order to supply his present wants, and when he died, a girdle filled with gold pieces was said to be found on his person. t To recent days, King William and Queen Alary coins have been picked up on this shore, and the WeUfleet Oysterman, about the year 1852, told Thoreau that he had seen the iron caboose of the TMiidah, on the bar at extreme low tide. A remarkable physical fact was developed in connection with this shipwreck. The accounts of the ** Bellamy storm" state that the sea forced a passage through the Cape very near the boundary line between the present towns of Orleans and Eastham, and Capt. Southack sailed with a whale boat through from the Bay to the Atlantic Ocean ! It required a general turn-out and strenuous exertions of the people to close the channel, f The preceding pages have on several occasions recorded the efforts and expenditures of the people to exterminate wolves, which still continued to be, as they had been from the earliest times, numerous, savaire and voracious. In •state Archives. -fAldeii's Col. of Epitaphs, vol. IV. tSee Council documeuts iu Secretary's office. .sC*)>?Col JT-t 7X .J" 's ■■ ^ .^fJ^ttwA^^'-Hk ; -^L^iy'^O- -., ■it^^^mr r„^A^ \ THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. 140 1717, at the instance of the people of Sandwich , the general court was petitioned to construct a fence 6 feet high across the Cape from Picket Cliff, the northeast boundary between Sandwich and Plymouth, to Wayquauset Bay in Wareham, ''to keep wolves from coming into the county.** Sandwich offered to pay whatever over £500 the fence should cost. Falmouth agreed to the plan, but the lower towns declined to pay their part of the cost. The towns to the westward of the county very naturall}' objected to having all the wolves on their side of the line, and Hie project was subsequently abandoned. For a period of thirty-one years, peace with the French was maintained, and the colonies had an opportunity to recuperate their energies, after the wars of a generation. But in 1744 King George's war conmienced, and was waged with all the more zeal and activity from the respite which the foregoing thirty years had given the combatants. The reduction of Louisburg became the prime object of exertion. This place, known as the Dunkirk or Gibraltar of America, had been fortified by the French at great exj^nse and labor. It had long been the hiding place of French privateers, and when the expedition to attempt its reduction was planned, the Massachusetts seaboard towns entered with patriotic alacrity into the undertaking. The Seventh ^Massachusetts Regiment in this expedition, made up of companies from Baiiistable county, was under the command of Col. Shubael Gorham of Barnstable, whose grandfather sacrificed his life in the Narragansett expedition in King Philip's War, and whose father had rendered most important services as commander of the AMialeboat expeditions under Col. Church, during Queen Anne's War, and fell a victim of diseases when the victory was won. His brother, Capt. John Gorham, was lieutenant-colonel, and Capt. Joseph Thacher 160 CAPB COD. of Yarmouth was commissioned as major. The lieutenant of Capt. Thacher's company was Joshua Freeman of Harwich; ensign, Joshua Bossett of the same town. The Fourth company was officered by Elislia Doane, captain; Theophilus Paine, lieutenant; AVilliam Clark, ensign, all from Eastham. Subsequent changes occurred in this company, William Paine afterwards taking the place of his brother Theophilus, and EUsha Doane, Jr., serving as ensign. Lieut. Paine died and was buried at Louisburg. The first company was officered by Edward Dimmick, captain ; and Nathaniel Fish, lieutenant ; both of Falmouth* On the 20th of ]^Iarch, 1745, 3850 troops, ''principally substantial persons and men of beneficial occupations,'' most of them from jVIassachusetts, embarked from Boston, under the conmmnd of Sir Wm. Pepperell, and the siege of Louisburg was continued with consideraI)le vigor, until the 16th of the following June, when the city of Louisburg, together with the island of Cape Breton, was surrendered by the French conunander. The troops from this county actively participated in the several attacks upon the ^ Island battery," so called. Col. Gorham commanded the ''Whale- boat" fleet, as his ancestor did before him, and though his attack was repulsed, his conduct was marked by gallantry and courage. Of the iorty men from Yarmouth, thirteen of whom were Indians, ten fell victims to disease or the casualties of war. It was said that the first of the provin- cials to enter the ''Grand Battery" wus one of Capt. Thachci'^s Indians, who crawled into an embrasure, at the suororestion of an officer who had «riven him a bottle of brandy, to induce him to perform the hazardous feat, and opened the gate through which the force entered, not knowing at the time that the enemy had retired from the position. TOE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. IM The brilliant achievement of the captui*e of this fortress was received with demonstrations of gi-eat joy and exulta- tion in all parts of New England, but nowhere was the degree of satisfaction greater than in this county, whose troops had been so actively engaged in this important enteq^rise. The pulpits even resounded with acclamations over an event which had in some measure during its inception, been regarded as a religious crusade, and the rude poetry of those days celebrated, in stumbling numbers, it must be confessed, the victory and the victors. In Xiles's ** Wonder-working Providence," printed in 1645, api^ear the names of the leading officers of the expedition. Some of those in Col. Gorham's regiment are, with himself thus mentioned : '* ^^1lllt't we in honor these commanders have, L<»l's turn our tliou^rht.- to Cornel GoRHAai's grave. Who with hi? nncivtorst disttiugiiished are As men of courage, mighty in the war; He lit*< interred in that new-conquered soU — . Tlif fruit of hi< and otheri** warlike toil. Lieutenant Col'nel (torhax, nigh of kin To his deoea.se<l Head, did honor win, Unit« in nature, name, and tioir^t, they stood — Unitedly have done their country good. May Mivjor Tuacher live, in rising fame W(»rthy of ancestors that bear his name. And copy »»ft(*r virtr.ou^ relation? Who so well filled their civil, sacred, military stations. And Captain Dimmick plain by heathen's hand, As wa^ hi-* father, under like command." Xo sooner had this victorj'^ been won than the people of the 8ea-coast were filled with apprehensions on account of the intelligence of a powei*ful expedition which was to be sent from Fmnce to recover Ijouisburg and hai-ass and conquer New Enirland. The dwellers in this county were greatly distressed by the rumors which reached them, to the 162 CAPB COD. . effect that a lodgement was to be attempted on their coast. The inhabitants of Truro, in a memorial to the general court, showed their exposed and impoverished condition, and asked for means of defence. A supply of small arms, a four-pound cannon and some ammunition were granted them. Some of the towns petitioned against impressments for the public service. The formidable armament did not, however, molest New England. The casualties of the sea, sickness of the troops and death of the conmianders, decimated the ranks of the invading army, and those remaining returned to France, to the great joy and relief of the colonists, who regarded these disasters to their foes as a great deliverance, in which the hand of l^ovidence was revealed in a striking manner. The peace of Aix-la- Chapelle, which occun'ed in 1748, was therefore a joyful event for our people, though the surrender of Louisburg to the French, in consideration of territory on the continent receded by France, was a source of profound moiiiiication and grief to all New England. The feeling of exasperation was somewhat soothed, however, by the action of Parliament, voting £183,694, 2s., TJd. to reimburse the colonists for the expenses of the reduction of Cape Breton. This money was used to call in and to redeem the '' biUs of credit," at the treasury, which was done at the rate of £2, 5s., old tenor, lis., 3d. middle and new tenor, by one piece of 8 — , that is, a Spanish dollar. It was provided that after March, 1750, all debt^ should be paid in coined silver which is said to be the origin of the term "lawful money." The treaty of 1748 proved but a hollow tnice. The rival pretensions of England and France did not admit of paciticatiou, and infringements upon what the other nation assumed to be its own prerogative were constantly made by both of these powers. In 1755, war, which for three years THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARS. 153 had been carried on without formal proclamation by England, was now openly declared, and the conflict opened which was destined to deprive Finance of her possessions in North America, and which directly led to the loss by England of her most valuable provinces, by the revolt and successful resistance of the American States. Not only did the English government, by the result of this war give to France a motive for helping the Americans to establish their independence, but it suggested and helped along the union of the various provinces, which was found so effective in practice, that it was afterwards employed by the colonists to resist the measures of government in the efforts to subjugate them and return them to their allegiance to the crown. The plan of confederation of the colonies to the more effectually prosecute the war, first suggested by Gov. Shirley, was formulated b}- Benjamin Franklin just twenty-two years before that distinguished philosopher affixed his signature to the Declaration of Independence. The people of this count}' continued their contributions of men and money for the army, and felt with redoubled force, the hardships of war, not only by their sufferings in common with the rest of the country, but in the interruptions to their commerce and the perils of maritime warfare. While bearing their full share of the pecuniary burdens, however, the men of this county were not so prominently identified with the leading military enterprises of these years as they had been in the wars which preceded this last and decisive struggle. With one of the tragic and romantic phases of the French wars, our people were brought face to face. A party of Acadians, the story of whose sufferings and wrongs the jwetical genius of Longfellow has invested with a touching and romantic interest, in seeking an asylum when banished 154 CAPB COD. from their homes in Xova Scotia, in July, 1756, landed at Monument from seven two-mast boats, and were held by the authorities until more definite information of them could be obtained. Silas Bourne, Esq., of that place, who detained them, in a letter to Col. Otis, then in the council, communicated all the information resi^ecting this party which he was able to gather, reporting that there were ninety of them, including women and children, tliat they stated they were last from Rhode Island but previously from Nova Scotia, and professed to l>e bound to Boston. To many at that time the character of these people was a profound mystery. They wei-e, subsequently, by the action of the authorities, distributed among the sevei*al towns in this vicinity, and the vessels in which they came hither were taken and sold. Here, surrounded by strange and unfamiliar faces, listening to a new and to tliem a harsh language, this simple and inoffensive people lived and died and were committed to an alien gi-ave, ** Uukuowu aiKl luiuoticecL Daily the tides of life go ebbiug aud flowing beside them. Thousands of throbblug hearttt, where theirs are at rest forever^ Thousaudd of aching I)rai]i3, wh«.'re theirs uo longer are bu&y. Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labors, Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey." One of the legacies of the almost incessant wars, in which the colonies had been for a long time engaged, was a large public debt, and the natuml and universal panacea which was resorted to, to tide over this indebtodnc:?s, was the issue of bills of credit. In 1711, £40,000 of this paper was issued, '*to be loaned to merchants and others for a term of years." In 1713, it being found that the emission of bills of credit had afforded but a temporary relief, a new loan of £50,000 was effected. In 1721, another issue of £50,000 THE CAPE IX THE OLD FRENCH WARS. IW m bills of credit was made. This scheme , however, instead of bringing relief, resulted in pecuniaiy embarrassments; the bills depreciated, and suffering to many was the result.. Another issue of £50,000 followed, '*to relieve the decline of trade," but the real result was to stimulate speculation, especially in Eastern lands, for which there seemed to be almost a mania. The towns on the Cape suffered with the other parts of the province from this vicious sj'stem of finance, and it was many years before they recovered from its baleful effects. In a petition to the general court, made by representatives of the several towns of the county, was set forth ''the great inconvenience and expense incurred by the people of the Cape, especiallj" by those remote, in being obliged to attend the Superior Court of Judicature and Court of Assize, at Plymouth; and they asked that such order might be had that the courts might sit once a year in the county of Barnstable. The application was favorably received and a term was ordered to sit in Barnstable. By the terms of an act of the general court of June 14, 1727, the "Precinct of Cape Cod" was incorporated as a township, by the name of PROVlNCETO^^'N. Owing to the peculiarity of its situation, and in its in many respects anomalous position, the inhabitants were exempted from taxation, except for municipal purposes, and from military duty. The provincial government also continued to aid in the support of the ministry of the place. The right of the province to the title of these lands was esj^cially reserved,, and has not l)een alienated to the present day. The value of the harbor to the commercial world led the provincial court to be especially watchful of its interests, and the next year avc find that body passing laws to protect the beaches from devastations by those who pasture cattle IM CAPS COD. there, stripping them of foliage, and thus exposing the -sands to liability of being blown into the harbor. And legislation in the same direction was hud again in 1740. The increasing population of the lower towns of the Cape, and the diiBculties of travel, led the inhabitants of Harwich, Chatham, Eastham, Truro and Pravincetown, at a meeting held in Eastham, Nov. 20, 1734, to prepare a memorial to the general court, prajing to be set off into a new county, distinct and separate from the county of Barnstable. The reasons assigned in their petition were, their great distance from tlie shire town of the county, the loss of time to the jurors and all others obliged to attend the courts, and the great expense attending it. This petition not being granted, they again presented a memoiial to the general court that they would order two sessions of the peace of the inferior Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions for the county of Barnstable to be held annually in Eastham. But this, also, was not granted. The next year Dukes county was associated with Barnstable in the terms of the courts of General Sessions. The religious movement, known at the time and since as ^ Tlie Great Awakeninrfj^' pervaded Xew England about the middle of the eighteenth centur}'. The ^mtings of Jonathan Edwards, by which the faith and doctrines of extreme Puritanism were reduced to a system, powerfuU}' affected the members of a community given to the serious contem- plation of spiritual concerns. But Edwards's doctrines, though metaphysically exact and symmetrical, did not appeal to the affectional nature. This lack was more than made up by George Whitefield, who came upon the scene at a time when the public mind was a good deal agitated by serious thoughts, and by his marvelous eloquence and contagious enthusiasm drew multitudes after him, and his converts were THE CAPS IX THE OLD FRENCH WARS. 15r gathered by thousands, from all ranks and classes of society. His adherents are known as Calvinistic ^lethodists, and were called "New Lights;** his opponents, "Old Lights.** The latter were numerous, and denounced him as an "itinerant scourge.** The disputes waxed warm, and almost all the clerg}incn in the country took sides and wrote or preached on the subject. The press teemed with pamphlets and more extended books from the pens of excited partisans. The clergymen of this county took concerted action on the subject which was engi'ossing so large a share of public attention. Ten of them, Feb. 20, 1745, «ubscri1)ed to a declaration of the eyils, which, in their yiew, flow from itinerant preaching. These were stated to be : " That it tends to destroy the usefulness of ministers among their people, in places where the gosi)el is settled and faithfully preached in its purity, and that it j^romotes strife and contention, a censorious and uncharitable spirit, and those numerous schisms and separations which haye already destroyed the peace and unity, and at this time threaten the subversion of many churches.*' The Cape had hardly been settled a century before emigration to more favored regions was projected. The cleared lands had been so often divided and sub-divided that the area remaining had become inadequate to the wants of the community. The system of agriculture practiced in tliose days did not provide for the enrichment and replen- ishing of the land, which had been reduced in productiveness by the removal of crops, but rather for breaking up of virgin soil, which in turn was again abandoned for still newer regions. In consequence of this system, or want of sj'stem, tillage land became scarce. The first concerted system of emigration, however, was to the eastward, instead of westerly, as at the present day, and the lands occupied 158 CAPE COO. were the indirect conquest of their arms. The veterans of Philip's >yar were the first to claim the bounty of the governujcnt for their exertions and privations in the field, and most assuredly the}* merited some degree of consider- ation for services which had received but scanty pecuniary consideration. Though but few of the veterans lived to receive the benefit of their sacrifices, their heirs and legal successors kept up the agitation with a greater degi'ee of success. In 1727, after many postponements and delays, the Massachusetts legislature granted to the ofiScers and soldiers, who served in the Xarragansett exi)editton, a township equal to ten miles square, in the Province of Maine, to each 120 persons where claims should be established within four months from the passage of the act. It was found that the whole number of persons amounted to 840, and the lands for seven to\NTiships, numbered respectively from 1 to 7, were subsequently granted. The latter, known as Xarragansett No. .7, was assigned to the company of Capt. John Gorham and a few others, which territory was afterwards incoi-porated into a township by the name of ** Gorham," by which it is now known. The grantees commenced their settlement in 173G, Capt. John Phinney and family, from Barnstable, being the pioneers, and were soon followed by a considerable number of families from the Cape, •especially of the four to\Tns which sent forth Capt. Gorham's company. The names of Bacon, Bangs, Bourne, Crocker, Davis, Doane, Freeman, Harding, Higgins, Hinckley, Hamblin, Lewis, Knowles, Linnell, Lombard, Paine, Phinney, Sturgis, are encountered as often as on the records of the Cape, and a monument in the centre of the town is inscribed with the name of the pioneer and founder, from Cape Cod, Capt. John Phinney. The Indians of Mashpee, becoming dissatisfied with their THE CAPE IN THE OLD FRENCH WARa 150 lK)litic*aI condition, in 1762 asked for lai'gcr liberties, and the ''District of Marshyjee," in which enlai"ged civil ri<rhts were conceded tliera, was erected the next j'ear by the general couit. The district was repi-esented as contain- ing 237 inhabitants and 63 " wigwams." The noitheni precinct of Eastham was in 1763 created a town bv the name of Wellflket. It had Ijeen known as Billingsgate, and had for ministers, Sevs. Josiah Oakes and Isiiiah Lewis. By the treaty of Paris, concluded in 1763, Canada, Nova Seotia and Cape Breton were conceded to the British, Glorious as were the results of the long ;*eries of wars between Fmnce and England, in which this county bore so prominent and creditable a part, the relief to the people from the burdens and casualties incident to this state of affairs, was most welcome. None could then foretell that in the next conflict of arms the relative positions of the <x>lonies to the combatants would be entirely changed. CHIIOXOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1692-1763. 1693. Rev. Thomas Tborutou of Yarinouth closed his miuistry and removed to Bontou. 1605. Mr». Mary Prence, widow of Gov. Thomas, died at the house x>t her «oii-iu-law, Jeremiah Howe?, iu Yarmouth. In 1690, the town of Ynrraoiith in settling the compensatiou of Rev. John Cotton, provided that **he shall remit yearly the proportion of all those neighbors called Quakers." 1701. The helectuien of Sandwich and Plymouth settled the bounds between the two places. Also the selectmen of Barnstable, Sandwich and Sackoneset, defined the boundaries of their respective towns. ITtW. The town of Sandwich pave to Rev. Roland Cotton "all such drift whales as shall, during the time of his ministry, be driven or cast ashore within the limits of the town, being such as shaU not be killed with hand.H.'' 160 CAPB COD. 1708. Sandwich yoted to appropriate ^CiOO to build a new meeting- house. 170IS. Mr. Cotton resigned the pastorate of Yarmouth ohuroh, on account of ill health. He died the next year. 1706. A purchase was made by the town of Sandwich of lands at Herring River, belonging to Zachariah 8ias, an Indian. 1707. A ** further division of the 40 acre lots ** was made in Sandwich. Leave was granted, by the town, to certain persons ** to box and milk 2,000 pine trees for two years, £2 to l>e paid the town for the use.**<^£2(^ was appropriated to secure the services of Mr. Thomas Prince **to instruct the children in reading, writing, arithmetic and Latin," and yoted *Hhat they who send shall pay £10 more.**~i3. per day was fixed upon as the pay for town representatives in general court.— The town agreed to pay for wolves £4, ** in addition to what is provided by law.'^—Bamstable voted permission to several Indians to dwell on Oyster Island, at South Sea.— Harwich voted that ** every house- keeper shall kill or purchase 12 blackbirds or 4 crows l)efore the first of May, annually, as aforesaid," under penalty of 6s. for housekeepers^ or 2s. on single men.— Rev. Joseph Metcalf settled over the society in Falmouth. 1706. Rev. Daniel Greenleaf was settled over the society in Yar- mouth. 1700. The town of Eastham, having been presented for not having a schoolmaster, John Doane, Esq., was appointed to appear in the town's behalf, and the selectmen were instructed to take especial care to obtain a teacher. 1710. Mr. John Avery was settled over the society in Truro; £60 per year salary, and £20 to aid in building him a house, was voted by the town. 1712. An agent was appointed by Eastham, to meet the a^nt of Harwich, '*to determine and settle a line between the two towns, running through the land formerly reserved for the Indians." The presumption is that there were no Indians left to occupy the lands. — ^The proprietors of Truro voted, that '* in cousetiueuce of the great waste being made of wood in burning lime to be sent out of the town, which may cause a scarcity of fire-wood, no person must cut on the commons for this purpose."— Tlie '* new purchase," in Falmouth, was laid out in lots, by a committee consisting of Thomas Bowr*rmau and Philip Dexter, assisted by Mr. Samuel .Tennin;rs of Sandwich.— Rev. Jonathan Russell succeeded his father, of the same name, us pastor of the Barnstable church; salary £80, and £2lW settlement.- May 1.3, Col. John Thacher of Yarmouth died, aged 75. He was a member of the provincial council, and was buried under military orders. 1713. The province voted £40 to the town of Falmouth "towai^ds building a meeting-house; one-half to be paid when the frame shall CHRONOLOGT OP EVENTa 181 hare been ralaed, and the balance when the edlfloe shall have been completed.** 1714. The ''Province Lauds*' were constituted bj the general court the "Precinct of Cape Cod." The "lands lately purchased of the Quasons** in Harwich were divided among its sixteen proprietors. 1717. Rev. Samuel Treat of Eastham died. 1718. Sandwich voted that no more herring shall be taken in future to "fish com/' the supply l>efore this being in excess of the demand thereof for food.~Rev. Thomas Prince, son of Samuel, Esq., of Sand^ wich, and grandson of Gov. Thomas Hinckley, was ordained associate 4)astorof Old South church, Boston.— Rev. Samuel Osbom called to the pastorate of the South parish of Eastham. 1720. Rev. Joseph Lord settled over the church In Chatham, and Rev. Benj. Webb the North church in Eastham. 1722. Rev. Roland Cotton of Sandwich died March 29, and Mr. Ben]. Fessenden succeeded him.—The eastern portion of Yarmouth was set off as a separate parish or precinct. 1728. Rev. Joseph Metcalf of Falmouth died Dec. 24.— Billingsgate became the 8d parish of Eastliam. Rev. Josiah Oakes was first pastor, and continued a short time as such. ITIL Rev. Josiah Man^hal] settled over the Falmouth society. 1126. Rev. Josiah Dennis became acting pastor of the East Parish, Yarmouth, though not installed until 1727.— Rev. Joseph Green ordained pastor of East Parish, Barnstable, then newly organized. 1729. Samuel Prince, Esq. of Sandwich died at Middleboro, July 8. — Rev. Thomas Smith became pastor oi the first church, Yarmouth. 1728. "An awful and surprising Providence" occurred Aug. 8, to Ebenezer Taylor of Yarmouth, who on going down a well about 40 feet, the stones below caved in, and those above pressed together, leaving an arch midway, in which he was imprisoned for ten hoon, han^riug by his hands on the well-rope, at the end of which time he was rescued, in a very weak condition of body.— Rev. Daniel Green- leaf was dismissed from the pastorate of the first church in Yarmouth. 1780. Rev. Isaiah Lewis became pastor of the second parish of Eastham. 1781. Rev. Samuel Palmer settled over the church in Falmouth. 1738. Judge Peter Thacher of Yarmouth died May 28.— Joseph Parker and others of Falmouth were granted leave to establish a ferry between Falmouth and the Vineyard. 1739. Rev. Joseph Crocker was settled as minister of the third Eastham parish.— A grant of one hundred and fifty acres of land was made by the general court to Matthias Ellis of Sandwich, "in consideration of the great services rendered by him in the expedition to Port Royal, especially iu guarding the artillery at the great hazard of hii life.** IB CAPK COD. 171B. As ftot waa pMMd for the protection and preaerration of ProTtnoetown Harbor, aud of Eut Harbor In Truro.— John Hall«t, in behalf of the town of Turmouth, iMititlotuHl that hf rsadon of the Intemiptlou of tbelr whalo O^herle*, the iuhabitaul« being much ImpoverUtaed, thef be excuMd from lending a reproMntatlve to the general court. 17M. Joslah EIU* and other* of Hanrloh petitioned to be made a dlitlnct precinct, which iroa granted.— Rer. BenJ. Feuenden of Bandwioh died Aug. 7. 1747. Rev, Edward Pell made pa«tar of couth precinct of Harwich. —Richard and David Sean, tons ot David, of Chatbnm, harlng gone to England, and Joined the army while there, both fell in the battle of Cullodeu, April ZT. 174S. Rev. Josiah Lord of Chatham died. 1749. Rev. Abraham Williams settled in Sandwich, and Rev. Stephen Emerj' In Chatham. 1791. Rev. Edward Cheever settled In Eastham. 17B2, Rev. Edwnrd Pell of Hanvich died. 17B4. Rot, John Avery of Truro retired from the miulstry In consequence of old age, aud Rev. Thomas Smith from Yarmouth, because of luadequute support.— Rev. BeuJ. Crooker settled over the south precinct of Harwich. 1756. Rev. Nathaniel Stune of Harwich died, aged 88. — Rev. Qrln- dall Rbwbou settled In Yarmouth, and Rev. Caleb Upham in Truro. 17B7. Smnll pox raged with peculiar virulence In Barastable, and several citizens died. 1700. Rev. Oakes Shaw settled over the We!<t parish, Barnstable, and Rev. Wm. Rnwsou retired from the Yarmouth parish. 1782. Rev. Joseph Qreen. Jr. became pastor of the church in Yarmouth. 1763. CoL Joseph Thaoher of Yarmouth d. June IT, and Rev. Joslah Dennis ot the eastern precinct, Yarmouth, Aug. 3L— Hon. Sylvanus Bourne of Barnstable d. Sept. IB. CHAPTER XI. GATHERING OF THE STORM. Colonitts' lutereits uubeeded lu the W«n— Lessou* learned ti; tbem— OtU ou the "Writ* of AMlstouce," and Imsc Seara on the StanipB — Tlmoth;' Rugbies —Stamp Act, "Mutiny Act," And Duty on Tea — Mr, Greeiiough'it comiilicaUou- Reaolres of the Cap*" towns — Oonuly Cougre-is- Divided eeutlnieiit of the County at Urst— OlMtnictlon of Seislousot the C'onrts— K«wi from Lexington and Couoord. '^f^ HE almost intermittent wars of the previous Ji^^f half century between England and France, had i developed a state of feeling in the colonies _ if which the mother country viewed with r^-f|(' apprehension. So far as this continent was ^^ concerned, the American colonists had been ^ left to bear the brunt of the fighting, and their interests and safety had been but little consulted ID the frequent treaties and readjustments that followed the hollow truces which, from mere exliaustion, had from time to time been arranged by the combatants. The restoration of Louisburg to the French, after the arduous and brilliant uampaign which accomplished its capture, surreudering it as an equivalent for the restoration of French conquests in other directions, was most repugnant to the feelings of the colonists. The people of New England, who had braved and suffei'ed so much to maintain the supremacy of England on this continent, were thus left to calculate how much these exertions counted with tlie mother country in the great 164 CAPE COD. game of diplomacy, and were made sensible that their welfare was secondary to other, and what was regarded as the more important, interests of tlie English nation. The restrictions with which their commerce and trade were hampered, the impressment of their citizens, both in the naval and military service, and the encroachments of the royal governors upon the prerogatives of the popular legislative bodies, were the occasion of much apprehension and discontent. The final conquest of Canada, accomplished in so great a degree by the valor of colonial troops, had educated them in the lessons of self-reliance, and of military skill, which was soon to be directed to upholding their own rights against the oppressions of their former allies. **The same old drums that beat at the capture of Louisburg rallied the troops on their march to Bunker Hill ; and the same Col. Gridley who planned Pepperell's luitteries, marked and laid out the one where Gen. Warren fell ; and when Gage was erecting breastworks across Boston Neck, the provincial troops sneeringly remarked that his mud walls were nothing compared with the stone walls of old Louisburg."* The reluctance of the colonial assemblies to grant suppUes to the governors and judges appointed by the crown, upon the requisition of those officers, until they had carefully scrutinized all the items, had been remarked upon by the British ministers with grave disapproval on more than one occasion; but the exigencies of the times had led to the temporary waving of the question at issue. After the peace of Paris, the ministry had more leisure to pursue their schemes of repression, and the vast debt of the late wars led them to look about for the means of defiuying the greatly augmented expenses of the government. Before *ParflOO0*« Life of PeppereU; Everett's Orations. GATHERING OF THE 8TORM. Ifl6 that time, in 1761, **the opening scene of American resistance,*** had been precipitated by the attitude of the citizens of Boston, sustained and viyified by the matchless eloquence of a son of Cape Cod. The oppressive acts of trade which had been passed by Parliament had been evaded by the people of the colonies, and the Superior court was petitioned for ** writs of assistance," to aid them in their work of enforcement. The hearing on this petition was had before the court, of which Thomas Hutchinson had but recently been appointed chief justice. Gridley, for the crown, in an able manner laid down the law and cited the precedents. Oxenbridge Thacher replied with wise and learned words of dissent. James Otis, Jr., a young man who had recently been a student in the office of the King's attorney, in an argument which since then has been forever memorable, plead the cause of the people of Boston. He said: **I am determined to my dying day to oppose with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand and viUiany on the other as this writ of assistance is. I argue in favor of British liberties at a time when we hear the CTcatest monarch on earth declarino: from his throne that he fflories in the name of Briton, and that the privileges of his people are dearer to him than the most valuable prerogatives of the crown. I oppose the kind of power the exercise of which, in former i>eriods of English history, cost one King of England his head and another his throne. Let the conse- quences l>e what they will, I am determined to proceed, and to the call of my country am ready to sacrifice estate, health, applause, and even life. The patriot and the hero will ever do thus. And if brought to the trial, it will then be known how far I can reduce to practice principles whidi ^Bancroft. 166 GAPS COD. I know to be founded in truth.'' His whole plea was exceedingly able, and as poured forth was listened to with almost breathless attention for over four hours, a stream of eloquence, patriotism, and legal acumen, creating most intense excitement. Well did John Adams say, in reference to that plea and occasion, " Otis was a fiame of fire ; with a prompitude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid smnmary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all before him. American independence was then and there bom. Every man of an immense crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take up arms against writs of assistance." Though the validity of these writs was after some delay afiirmed, they served no purpose beyond imtating and inflaming tlie resentment of the people of Boston and of the other sections. The purpose of taxing the colonies, which had been under consideration for several years, was brought forward in Parliament in 1764, and the following session an excise was made on certain goods, and stamp duties were also imposed. The measure met with the most determined opposition in the colonies. The stamp officers were compelled to resign, and the act, therefore, became a nullity. In New York the opposition to this act was, if possible, more determined than in Boston, and the leader in the popular movement was one whose origin was from Cape Cod, Capt. Isaac Sears, who put himself at the head of the populace, exclaiming, '^Hun-ah, boys, we icUl have the stamps!" and they were seized and committed to the flames. The governor dared not resist; and Sears was then placed at the head of the committee for geneml safety. The fii'st Continental Con<rrcss ever assembled was held in GATHERING OF THE 8T0BM. VK October, 1765» consisting of delegates from each colony, **to consult on the common interest.'' Of this body, Timoth}*' Ruggles, recently and for some years an inhabitant of Sandwich, was chosen president. Up to this time he had been regarded as an ardent patriot. He was a man of showy abilities, witty, audacious and well-informed, but with no guiding principle, except ambition and self-seeking. Allied to this county by no ties of blood or lineage,* our people have no occasion to cither take pride in his abilities nor to blush for his apostacy to the cause of liberty. The congress over which he presided passed a declaration of the lights and grievances of the colonists ; asserting the iii*st of these to be "^the rights and libeilies of the natural-bom subjects of Great Britain — tlic chief of which arc, the exclusive power to tax themselves, and the trial b}' jurj*^ — both of which Parliament by its recent action had invaded.'' The repeal of the Stamp Act, January, 1766, was preceded In'^ a declaration of Parliament that they •* have and of right ought to have, power to bind the colonies in all cases w'hatsocver." In pursuance of the purpose disclosed in this declaration, an act followed the next j'^ear, imposing duties on tea, pai)er, glass, paints, etc. ; a custom house was established; a board of commissioners appointed, and two regiments of soldiers sent over to Boston to enforce these laws and overawe the people. Another, and a most revolting act was passed, pro>'iding that all offenders against these laws should be sent to England for trial. This statute, denominated '^the mutiny act," excited the fiercest resent- ment in the popular mind. The general couit refused all compliance with this act, and it having been demanded of them that they rescind their declaration not to submit to the •He marriecl, iu 17^, widow Buthsheba Neweomb of Sandwich, and carried ou the dou1)le oicupatiou of lawyer and tavern keeper, iu the houM* still Ataudiu^ by the town house. U8 CAPE COD. enactment, the refosal was again and most emphatically re-affirmed. Said James Otis, Jr., a reprepresentative from Boston in 1768: ^Let GhrecU Britain rescind; if she does not, the colonies are lost to her forever.^ Got. Bernard then dissolved the general court, and subsequently refused to prorogue it. A convention of the towns was then called — the Cape being generally represented — and petitioned the 'King for a redress of grievances, followed by an **address to the sovereign people." They had barely time to do this ere Boston was garrisoned by 4000 troops. The feelings of irritation, caused by these troops, were still further aggravated in 1769, by a demand from the Governor for funds to defray the expenses of the soldiers in Boston, which demand was instantly and indignantly refused. Then followed non-importation associations ; and after repeated acts of retaliation, Bernard left the province and was succeeded by Hutchinson as Lieutenant Governor. The Boston massacre, in 1770, was the natural sequence of the preceding transactions and the state of feeling which they engendered. Lord North this year became prime minister of England, and as a peace offering to the excited feelings of the Americans, all duties were repealed, except the slight one of 3d. per pound on tea, which was retained as the assertion of the right of Parliament to tax America. This the people recognized as the vital principle at issue, and determined at all hazards to resist ; and they did this at an immense sacrifice of their business interests, particularly those of a commercial nature. Many families from this county, especially those in the towns of Harwich and Chatham, removed to Nova Scotia, the better to prosecute the fisheries and agriculture, under more favorable condi- GATHERINQ OF THE STORM. le^ tioDs.* The towns of this county, through correspondence with the central committees in Boston, were kept in sympathy with the patriot cause. Associations of the " Sons of Liberty ^ had been formed in several towns, so that in the year 1773, those who resisted the acts of the British ministry were well organized and in a favorable position to repel the efforts to force upon the people the consumption of articles, which had been made subject to taxation^ particularly of tea. The improvised tea party in Boston harbor had its accompaniment here. The arrival of the tea ships^ the meetings of the citizens to prevent the landing of their cargoes, the boarding of the vessels by men disguised as Indians, who emptied the contents of three hundred and forty-two chests into the sea — ail these events are familiar to the readers of revolutionary history. The day following, a letter was despatched to the South shore, which read in this wise : Boston, Dec. 17, 1773. Gentlemen : — We inform you in great haste that every chest of Tea on board the three Ships in this Town waa destroyed the last evening without the least injury to the Vessels or any other property. Our Enemies must acknowledge that their people have acted upon pure and upright Principle. The people at the Cape will we hope behave with propriety and as becomes men resolved to save their Country.** ' To Plymouth and to Sandwich with this addition : " We trust you will afford them Your immediate Assistance and Advice.** The reference at the close of the letter was to still a fourth teaship which had been cast away on the back of the *The9e families were uot Tories, as 9ome have «uppo9ed, but remoyed as from oue Atate to another, at a time when Indepeudeuce was not seriously coutemplated by the general mind. 170 CAPE COD. Cape, within the limits of Provincetown. This occurrence led to complications which inyolved un&vorably one who, up to this time, had held a high position in the councils and confidence of the patriots. When Capt. Loring's barkentine was cast away, Mr. John Greenough, the teacher of the town of Truro, and a member of the committee to carry into effect resolves of the several congresses, undertook to procure and did procure, two vessels for the agent, Mr. Clarke, and assisted in getting the cargo to Boston. While in Provinceto^^ll, he procured two damaged chests of tea, partly for himself and partly for other persons. As the tea paid no dut}^ he said he conceived that he might do so without injury to the country's cause. One chest was disposed of to Col. Willard Knowlcs of Eastham, and another retained by himself. This transaction was not viewed with lenity by the citizens of Truro, who held a public meeting, called Mr. Greenough before them, and received his explanation as already set forth, and also his offer to do anything in his power to remedy any evil effects of his action, which the to\\Ti might require. The advice of the Committee of CoiTcspondence in Boston wa^^ asked, and after considerable delay Mr. Greenough's explanation was accepted, and he was restored, in some measure, to the confidence of his colleagues. It was creditable to the patriotism of the Truro people, that the repeated solicita- tions of the owners of the teaship, to accept employment in transporting the cargo to Boston, were refused, notwith- standing promises of a large reward, and that several vessels there were unemployed. The vessels to do this were procured in Boston. The public proceedings of all the towns at this juncture breathe a tone of the loftiest patriotism. Sandwich, in January, 1773, instructed its representative to petition the GATHERING OF THE STORM. 171 King for a redress of grievances. In 1774, it was voted, not to import, buy nor make use of the teas purchased by the East India company-, or subject to an unconstitutional duty. Yarmouth appointed a committee to see that no tea be brought into the town, and also a committee of observation and prevention. Barnstable prepared instructions to its representative, among the objects of which were, **to have the liberties wrested from us bj*^ arbitrary measures restored ;** **to use ever}' legal and constitutional method to have the Port of Boston opened and made free," and ""in case the governor shall dissolve the House of Kepresentatives" to join with others in forming a Provincial Congress, etc. Eastham, in 1773, voted, that the several acts of Parliament complained of by the colonies are a manifest violation of their rights; that everj' true friend of his country who should accept an offer of a judge in the courts under the loyal governor should reject it with abhorrence, and those who should accept it would be regarded as objects of contempt. It was also voted, that thanks be given to the people of Boston, "for their zeal and activity in the cause of liberty." In 1774, the town again expressed a determi« nation to opi)ose the ministerial plan of taxation ; that the action of the East India company to send their teas to this country subject to payment of duty, " is a violent attack on our liberties; that whoever shall, directly or indii'ectly, countenance this attempt, is an enemy to his country.'* Falmouth, in 1774, appointed a committee of correspondence and ordered that evcrj' man from 16 to 60 years of age be furnished with anus and ammunition; also appointed a committee "to see that the Continental Congress be adhered to." Harwich voted to purchase fire-arms, and to pay the taxes to Hcnr}" Gardner, Esq., the provincial treasurer. Truro, though exposed to great peril, voted their sympathy 172 GAPE GOD. with the common cause, especially in resistance to the scheme of sending teas to the colonies, and though some had been led to yield to the temptation of procuring tea at a small cost, the town remained inflexible on that point. A committee of correspondence was also chosen. In Chatham the record says, ^a large number signed against tea*" Wellfleet, in 1774, passed resolves pledging the town to ^the defence of liberty against the unjust enactments of Parliament and the usurpations of the Crown ;^ also **not to purchase any imported articles on which Government has imposed any unconstitutional and unlawful duties." The first provincial congress, which assembled Oct. 7, was generally represented by the Cape towns. This waa preliminary to county congresses in the different divisions of the State. A Barnstable county congress, composed of delegates from the several towns, assembled in the court house in Barnstable, Nov. 16. Hon. James Otis was chosen chairman, and Col. Joseph Otis clerk, of the meeting. Col. Nathaniel Freeman, Col. Joseph Otis, Mr. Thomas Paine, Daniel Davis, Esq. and Mr. Job Crocker were appointed a committee of correspondence, to communicate with different parts of the county and with other counties in the province as occasion might require; and a committee consisting of Hon. James Otis, Col. Jos. Otis, Col. N. Freeman, and Mr. Thomas Paine, Daniel Davis, Esq. and Capt. Jonathan Howes, was appointed ''to consider further the public grievances and the state of this county, and report at the time at which this meeting shall be adjourned." Thanks were then voted to the moderator, clerk and Col. Fi*eeman, **for their good services," and the meeting separated. We have no information of the re-assembling of this body, but the foundation here laid, brought forth its fiiiit in the future transactions of the people of the Cape. An address adopted GATHERING OF THE STORM. ITS hj this body was circulated among the people, and had a good influence, concentrating the sentiment of the community in the direction which it pointed out. There was need of great promptness and discretion at this crisis. Those who were aggrieved by the acts of Parliament and the assumptions of the King were by no means united as to the most practical modes of resistance, or in the determination of resisting by force at all. It was a step, which no one can l)e blamed for hesitating to enter upon, in view of the certain consequences of such action, if unsuc- cessful. There are many reasons for thinking that the moderate or conservative party was much larger than is generally lielieved. It consisted of pronounced loyalists — those who received or expected favors from the government — including many persons of position and culture ; and a still larger class, who shrank from a contest with the power of the British government. There were many of the latter in Barnstable and Sandwich, who made themselves felt in the proceedings of the towns, i)ostponing action in some cases, and at other times defeating the designs of the more advanced patriots. In Sandwich, Dr. Nathaniel Freeman, an active Whig gentleman, was assailed in the night time by parties who had felt themselves aggrieved by his course, and he barely escaped with his life. A loyalist mob in Barnstable cut down the lil)erty pole and went to the brutal extreme of tar and feathering a woman, whose sharp speeches had excited their resentment. In Truro, as late at Dec, 1774, such was the venom with which the loyalists viewed the patriot cause, that they threatened to assail the house in which lodged Dr. Adams, an ardent Whig physician, and a large numl)er of citizens refused, for this cause, to employ him professionally. Rev. Mr. Upham, the clergy- man of Truro, for entertaining a numl>er of eminent Whig 174 CAPE COD. gentlemen who visited the town, was abased in a most scurriloas manner by some of his parishioners, who forbade his entering their houses, threatening him with personal indignity if he did so.* Even after the events of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, in consequence of representations made, that some of the inhabitants of East- ham and Chatham, and other towns in the county, had violated the resolves of the Continental Congress and the Congress of this Colony, Nathaniel Freeman and Col. Jamea Otis were requested to make inquiry into the matter, with authority to cause such person or persons to be apprehended and secured, and brought up to the court to answer for their conduct — but we have no record that this last step was in any case taken. Still later, in consequence of a letter received by the Council from Col. James Otis, a committee was raised by the legislature to investigate the conduct of ^certain Tories in Barnstable, and in particular a person at the head of them who professes himself a whig." Until a short time before the outbreak of hostilities, the numerica] strength of the loyalists was not inconsiderable, and embraced some men of position and influence, but they were in time completely overborne by the zeal, activity and efficiency of the patriots, until the moderate and temporizing of their number were swept away by the tide of enthusiasm and the force of will of those who had determined upon resistance. There was no footing for moderate or half-way parties. There trere two extremes, and the one or the other had to be taken. Very soon, in the march of events, there was practically but one party here. To punish the inhabitants of Boston, and compel them to make restitution for the value of the tea destroyed, ^Letter from Dr. S. Adams to Thomni* Paine, Esq., of Ea^ithain, Dec. 6,1771. GATHERING OF THE STORM. 17& parliament passed a bill interdicting commercial intercourse with that port, and prohibiting the landing or shipping of goods there. The effect was of coarse to deprive at once a large portion of the inhabitants of all means of subsistence ; and the only way in which their sufferings could be relieved was by contributions from other towns. These were poured in from all parts of the country, the Cape not failing to contribute her share. Among these Tvei*e the following: Barnstable, £12, 10s., 8d. ; Wellfleet, £7, 10s., 8d.; Eastham, £10 and 50 bushels of com ; Falmouth, £30, ISs. and 5} cords of wood, at one time ; at another time £5, 15s., 8d. ; Truro, £11, 16s.; Sandwich, £19; Mashpee, 18s. ; Yarmouth £. parish, £7, 4s., 8d., W. parish, £5, 6s.» 8d. ; Eastham, N. parish, £7, IGs. The year 1774 was made memorable by the meeting of the Continental Congress, and by the promulgation of the Solepm League and Covenant, to suspend all intercourse with Great Britain, set on foot by the leading patriots of Massachusetts. It is, however, the purpose of this narra- tive to enlarge upon these proceedings no further than is necessary to make intelligible the conduct and action of the inhabi^nts of the Cape. Heretofore, the local demonstrar tions had been in the direction of the assertion of their rights, and protests against their infringement, by the lo<^ assemblies ; stopping short of actual resistance to authority. The time had now come when forcible means were resorted to, when the Jirst overt act^ done in the face of day, was to be taken by our people. Parliament having taken from the House of Representa- tives of the pro>ince the right to choose the council — a right granted by the charter to the province — and author- ized tiie King to appoint the council by maiidamtis^ and directed the sheriffs of the several counties to appoint the 176 CAPS COD. jurors instead of their being drawn, as provided hy law, from the jury boxes, by the selectmen, the popular leaders determined to resbt an act which put them so completely at the mercy of their oppressors. A court of Common Pleas was to be held in Barnstable on the first Tuesday of September, and they resolved to put an end to its sitting and prevent the transaction of any business whatsoever. Accordingly, a large body of citizens, men of substance and position, from Rochester, Wareham and Middleboro, repaired to Sandwich the Monday preceding the opening of the court, and was there joined by many other citizens of that town. Dr. Nathaniel Freeman was chosen conductor- in-chief, and subordinate ofiicers were appointed. On Tuesday the body marched to Barnstable, where they were joined by many citizens of that and the lower towns, in all about 1500 strong, and took possession of the grounds in front of the court house. Commissioners were then appointed, to ferret out the disaffected among the people, and require them to renounce in writing their Toryism. Many were found and signed, as required, but did it with a very poor grace. The court, led by the sheriff, soon made its appearance. The crowd giving way, Col. Otis, the chief justice, addressed the assemblage, denmnding to know the cause of this obstmction, and was answered by Dr. Freeman, standing on the court house steps, as follows: "May it please your honor — Oppressed by a view of the dangers with which we are surrounded, and terrified by the horribly black cloud which is suspended over our heads and ready to burst upon us, our safety, all that is dear to us, and the welfare of unborn millions, have directed this movement to prevent the court from being opened or doing any business. We have taken all the consequences into consideration ; we have weighed them well, and have formed this resolution GATHERING OP THE STORM. 177 which we shall not rescind.*' The chief justice, then, calmly but firmly replied, "This is a legal and constitutional oom-t; it has suffered no mutations; the juries have been drawn from the boxes as the law directs ; and why would you interrupt its proceedings ? Why do you make a leap before you get to the hedge ?" Dr. Freeman i-espondcd, "All this has Ix^en considered. We do not appear here out of any disrespect to this honorable court ; nor do we apprehend that if j'ou proceed to business you ^nll do anjihing that we could censui'e. But, sir, from all the decisions of this court, of more than forty shillings' amount, an appeal lies, an appeal to what? — to a court holding oflSce during the King's pleasure ; a court over which we have no control or influence ; a court paid out of the revenue that is extorted fi'om us by the illegal and unconstitutional edict of foreign despotism; and there the jur}^ will be appointed by the sheriff. For this reason, we have adopted this method of stopping the avenue through which business may otherwise pass to that tribunal, well knowing that if the}'' have no. business, they can do us no harm." The chief justice then said, "As is my duty, I now, in his majesty's name, order you immediately to disperse and give the court the oppor- tunity to perform the business of the county." Dr. Freeman replied, "We thank your honor for having done your duty; ^^'E shall coxtixue to perfoioi ours." The court then turned and repaired to the house, where they had lodged. A committee, of which Dr. Freeman was chairman, was also chosen to wait on the chief justice and request him to attend at Salem at the time appointed for the meeting of a new general court, and there take his seat at the council I>oard, to which he had been duly chosen. He answered in writing that he had concluded to do so, if his health ITO CAPE COD. permitted. The justices also signed a paper not to accept any appointuieiit under the authority of the act of Parliament under review. The justices whose names were appended were : James Otis, Thomas Smith, Joseph Otis, ICymphas Marston, Shearjashub Bourne, David Thachor, Daniel Davis, Melatiah Bourne, Edward Bacon, Isaac Hinckley, Solomon Otb, Kenelm Winslow, Richard Bourne. Thomas Winslow, David Gorhara, and Chillingworth Foster, Rsq'rs, subse- quently, by request, also signed the document. The deputy sheriffs were then called upon to sign a similar dcclamtion, and the military officers were also requested to i-esign commissions wliich they held under the existing authority, which they accordingly did. Before dissolving, committees from all towns were appointed to cairy into effect the wishes of the meeting. Their names have been preserved, and are : For Falmouth, Moses Swift, John Gi'annis, Daniel Butler. Yarmouth, Daniel Taylor, Isaac Haml>lin, Joseph Crowell. Barnstable, Ebenczer Jenkins, George Lewis, Eli Phinney. Sandwich, Nathaniel Freeman, Lot Nye, Seth Freeman. Harwich, Benj. Freeman, John Freeman, Lot Gray. Eastham, Job Crocker, Amos Knowles, Jr., Thomas Paine. Wellfleet, Samuel Smith, David Grecnouirh. Truro, Dr. Samuel Adams, Jonathan Collins. Chatham, Dea. Bassett, Richard Sears. While the English ministry, disregarding the protests of Dr. Franklin, and the waniings of Chatham, Burke and Camden, were taking measures to enforce their decrees at the cannon's mouth, the patriots of Massachusetts were deliberately preparing for resistance. And when the news was brought to Cape Cod, by rapidly-riding couriers, that Lord Percy, Major Pitcaim and their three thousand regulai's had 1)een driven back to Boston by the embattled farmers at Lexington and Concord, the whole countrj' rushed GATHERING OF THE STORM. 179 to arms, ready to repel other aggressive movements. Nowhere was this spirit more determined and earnest than at the Cai)e. When the intelligence reached Yarmouth, the two companies of militia in town -— the western, under the. command of Ca]>t. Jonathan Croweii, of Iti men ; and the eastern, commanded by Capt. Micah Chapman, 22 men — started immediately for Boston, but the news that the troops had not dared to again leave the place, determined them to return home, which they did, after three daj's. At Barn- stable, 19 soldiers were mustered and started off April 20 — the verv next dav after the battle. AVhen this body of patriots was about to move, in the first rank was a young man, the son of a respectable farmer, and his only child. In marching from the village as they passed his house, he came out to meet them. There was a momentary halt. The (brum and fife paused for an instant. The father, suppress- ing a strong emotion, said, "God be with you all, my friends; and John, my son, if you are called into battle, take care that 3'ou behave like a man, or else let me never see your face ! " The march was resumed, whilst a tear started in every ej^e.* The rhetoric of that speech, says Palfrey, may not l>e Greek, but the spirit was — it was Spartan. Ebenczcr Weckes, of Harwich, when the news of the engagement reached him, said to his son, of the same name, "Eben, you are the only one that can be spared ; take your gun and go ; fight for religion and liberty ! " The son obeyed, and others joined him. They were in the battle of Bunker Hill. Henceforth all thoughts of a pacific solution of the differences with the mother country were abandoned. Minute men, ready to reiwrt hostile movements, were •Ell PhinneyV Diary. 180 CAP£ COD. appointed in all the towns, and ^Besistance, onto deaths" was the motto of the hour. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1764-1776. 1764. Hoii. John Thaoher d.— Rev. Nathan Stone settled as pastor of the East parish, Yarmouth. — Hon. Ezra Bourne, Sandwich, d. 1765. Rev. Jonathan Mills called to the pastorate of South precinct» Harwich. 1768. Rev. Joseph Green, Jr., of Yarmouth, d. 1768. Col. James Otis of Barnstable appointed a member of His Majesty's Couucil.— Rev. Timothy Alden became pastor of First church, Yarmouth. 1770. Rev. Joseph Green of East parish, Barnstable, d., and was succeeded next year by Rev. Timothy Hilliard. 1771. First Baptist church, Barnstable, organized, under the ministry of Rev. Enoch Eldridge. 1772. A mysterious tragedy occurred on the high seas this year. Sch. Thomas Xickerson, from Boston for Chatham, was boarded back of the Cape, in consequence of signals of distress whicli she was fljring, and only one man found on board, and he ** very much fright- ened." He stated that the day before a topsail schooner overhauled them, and four boats with armed men came ul>oard, and the master, mate and one man were murdered and the boy carried away. The survivor says, that supposing they belonged to a King's cruiser and would impress him, he had hidden himself and escaped observation^ and after the invaders had left he came out, found the decks bloody, the chests broken open and plundered, etc. Edward Bacon, Esq., of Barnstable, notified the Governor, and Admiral Montague of the frigate ''Lively" went in pursuit of the pirate, but none was found, and it was considered certain that there was none on the coa;«t. The person found on board was sent to Boston, tried for murder on the high seas, and the jury disagreed. The next trial resulted in a vei'dict of NOT ouiLTr, tlic trial lasting fourteeu days, '' the most surprising trial on record." The affair was transferred to the politics of the times and did much to iuerease the popular excitement. The leading Whigs expressed their t)elief in the prisoner's declarations, and charged murder upon the crew of the royal navy, while the Tories, on the con- trary, insisted that he killed three of the crew to obtain their money, and then took the life of the fourth, who was a boy, to escape detection. CHBONOLOGT OF EVENTS. 181 Th« nsinea of the rlotlm* ot thin traced]? were, Cnpt. Tbomat NickervoD, Ell*taK Newoomb, Wm. Keot, Jr., and another, all of Cbklham. 1773. Popawet incorporated a* 2ii prechu-t of Sandwich.— Tenibla Are In Sandwich woods, attended with preat destruction of sheep.— Samuel Tupper, Esq., of Sandwich, d.— Rev. Jouo, UlUsot Harwich, d. CHAPTER Xn. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. CoL James Otii, Prevideut oJ th« Counoil— Tarmouth Troops at Dorobester Heights — Cape Towns for tbe Declaration of Indepen- denoe— Their contributions of troops and supplies for the War — Demonstration upon Falmouth— Death of Col. James OtU— Wreck of BritUh Frigate Somerset— Wreck of American Privateer Brig, Gen. Arnold, Capt. Uagee— The British at Wood's Hole- Capture of the Oenenil Leslie by Capt Joneph Dimmiok— Calls for supplies, and exhaustion of the people — Peace and the Fisheries —British Fleet lu Cape Cod Harbor- Cape Cod Heroic Incidents —Captures and Restoratlona- Privateers— Jersey Prisou Ship- Death of James Otis, Jr. HEN Gen. Gage left Boston iu 1775, ^V Gen. Huwe, who succeeded him, kept up only in appearance the fiction of a lieutenant governor and mandamus council. From 1776, when Howe evacuated, to 1780, when the constitution was adopted, all public concerns were, in the recess of the general court, directed by the council, annually chosen under the charter granted by William and Mary. The eldest of the councillors present, it was determined, should be prasident of the council for the time being. Col. Jajies Otis of Barnstable tilled that station under this nile, and thus was virtually flie chief executive magistrate for four of the five years interregnum, while Massachusetts was in the stage of transition, from province to state. THE REVOLUTIOXARY WAR, 18» With the occupation of Dorchester Heights and the consequent expul&»ion of the British troops from Boston, it was the fortune of one of the to^vns of this county to be intimately connected. Gen. Washington, having determined ujKin the attempt to fortify this point, wrote early in the year 1776 to the council for Massachusetts Bay, submitting to their wisdom " whether it may not be best to direct the militia of certain towns, contiguous to Dorchester and Roxbury, to repair to the line at those places with anns, ammunition and accoutrements, instantly upon a given signal." Yarmouth was not exactly "contiguous," but was called upon ; and Capt. Joshua Gray, who commanded the town militia, at once set forth, accompanied b}' a diiimmer, to call for volunteei's. Every one manifested a readiness to go. The succeeding night was spent in preparation ; the mothers and the daughters sat up moulding bullets, making caitridges and preparing for the departure of the husbands and brothers,* and at early dawn, 81 men were on the march for Dorchester, where they annved in time to participate in the achievement which resulted in freeing Boston and Massachusetts from the presence of British troops. The House of Ivein-esent^itivcs of Massachusetts, May 10, passed a resolve, requesting each town in the jurisdiction to advise the persons who should represent them in the next general court, whether, if Congress should declare them independent of the kingdom of Great Britain, thej' would solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support Congress in the measure? The responses were generally both emphatic and satisfactory. Sandwich resolved, "that should the Hon. Conirress of the United Colonies declare tliese Colonies in<lependent of the kingdom of Great Britain, •The house, in the chani])cr of which tht^e in-eparaliuuj* were made, ip ritUl standing at the corner of Hailet street and Wharf road, Yarraouthport. 184 CAPE COD. we solemnly engage with our lives and our fortunes to support them in the measure." Yarmouth voted unanimously ^that the inhabitants of Yanuouth do declare a State of Indepexdexce of the King of Great Britain, agreeably to a late resolve of the general court, if in case the wisdom of Ck)ngre8s should see fit to do so." Eastham instructed the representative to urge upon the Continental congress the importance of declaring the United Colonies independent of Great Britain. Falmouth voted to stand by the Continental congress on this subject. Harwich voted, ^that should the Hon. Congress, for the safety of the Colonies, declare them independent of the kingdom of Great Britain, the inhabi- tants of this town solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in the measure." Wellfleet voted "^that if the Hon. Continental congress shall think proper for the safety of the good people of the United Colonies, to declare said colonies independent, we, the inhabitants of Wellfleet, will support them with our lives and fortunes." Truro instnicted their representative to '^fall in with the Provincial and Continental congresses." The action of Barnstable was unexpectedly unfavoral)le to the patriotic party. Owing to personal and political complications, a peculiar condition of affairs prevailed in the town. The existence of a small but active body of pronounced loyalists there has already been noticed. Besides these there were some who hesitated to openly array themselves against the authority of government, and others, who hoped for a redress of ginevances without a final separation fn)m the mother country. Added to these were others, who from personal hostility to the leading advocates of independence joined with the other factions in voting against the proposition, or by not voting at all, and thus defeating an expression in favor of a cause which they aftcnvards were shown to THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 185 liave deeply at heart. The proposition to instinct the representatives of the town to vote for independence was voted down, 30 to 35, in a meeting at which 140 were present. It is evident that in the heat of the personal controversy, the tiiie question at issue was subordinated or lost sight of, and it was subsequently, with good reason, it would seem, claimed by some who were of the 35 nays, that they voted, not against independence, but in opposition to instructing the representatives liow to vote. There is no reason to doubt that a town which gave to the ix)pular cause the elder and younger Otis, Daniel Davis, NjTnphas Marston, and a long array of other devoted patriots,, and which had heretofore sustained their position, was sincerely and overAvhelminglj' in sympathy with their countrymen in this supreme hour of their history. That it placed the town in an unfortunate, if not in a false position, is evidenced by the fact Uiat a protest, signed by Joseph Otis and 22 other inhabitants of the town, was made and requested to be entered on the town's records, that the subscribers thereto might be absolved from seeming acquiescence in *^80 strange a vote." This protest, the substance of which had subse- quently been published in a "Watertown newspaper, was, July 23, read in oi^n town meeting, and it was then voted that the protest was a " wrong and injurious representation of the proceedings of the town." Although not prepared to recede from their former position, the majority were evidently unwilling to be considered as not in full sjTnpathy with the prevailing sentiment of the community on this, paramount question. The action of the Continental congress, in passing the Declaration of Indei)endence, changed the iss^ue from one for constitutional libeily to national independence, upon the appearance of which issue all minor and subsidiary questions IM CAPE COD. seem to have been overshadowed, and the parties opposed to the loyalists to have been compacted into one grand and united patriotic organization. From this period the national existence of the United States must be dated, and all who hencefoi-th supported the cause of independence, however they may have differed on preliminary questions of legal theor}' or of policy, are entitled to the cordial and grateful recognition of their countrymen for their patriotic exertions. While the events already noticed were pending, a. company of 100 men was enlisted in the county to serve on IVIartha's Vineyard, ''to pass muster before Major Josei)h Dinunick, and to be under the command of ^lajor Barachiah Basset, for the defence of the island." The general couit, in 1776, ordered that the selectmen of Sandwich be paid £4, 18s., 2d. for barracks, wood, cartridges, powder and flints furnished. Also that 600 cwt. of cannon balls be supplied for Truro. July 10, a resolve was passed by the general court, to ** draft every 25th man" to re-enfoi'ce the northern army, and Amos Kuowles, Jr. of Eastham and Joseph Xye of Sandwich were appointed agents for the county. Sept. 10, it was ordei^ed again, ''that onc-iifth part of the entire militia be dmfted to re-enforce the army." Joseph Nye and others were appointed agents to purchase 60 whalcbouts with oars, to be delivered at Falmouth, or some other convenient point on Buzzard s bay, to convey troops to Khode Island, and £360 was appropriated for these purposes. The men drafted for the Barnstable county brigade were designed for New York, but subsequently were ordered to Khode Island^ where the enemy's fleet had concentrated. Enlistments in the service were encouraired in all the towns. Falmouth voted to add £1, IGs. to the wages of such citizens as should be diufted in the Continental army. Barastable voted instructions to the selectmen to pay £1 to THE REVOLUnOXARY WAR. 187 each private soldier or non-commissioned private who should enlist, over the amount given by the general eouil. Yar- mouth, West prerinet, raised £70 to pay 5 men for the army^ and the East precinc^t alx)ut the same amount. Eastham offered a bountj" of £8 for those enlisting in the Continental senice, and £3 for tlie Provincial service. Truro voted to give to each man who enlisted in the Crown Point expedition £25. £40 had been offered for volunteers for the Conti- nental army during the war, but it was found necessaiy to resort to a draft. Subsequently the town was excused from furnishing its full quota. Joseph Nye, Esq., of Sandwich, was appointed by tlie general court agent for Barnstable county, to procure for the arm}'-'* coats, waistcoats, breeches^ felt hats, shiils, hose and shoes." The year 1776 closed and 1777 opened, it must be confessed, under gloomj' auspices. Every industrial emploj^- ment was completely paralyzed. Agriculture, a secondary calling with our people, was greatly abridged. The whole seacoast was under tlie sui-veiUance of British cruisers. At both exti-emes of the Cape — at AVood's Hole and Provincetown — the enemy were in full possession of the adjacent waters. It was in many cases impossible to meet the requisitions for money, even if those for men could be complied with. The town of WcUfleet petitioned, that on account of scarcity of money and the interruption of their regular business, they miirht have their tax abated. The memorial stated that the people of this town are located *" on the most barren soil of the Province," that ''all the land capable of being tilled would not yield com enough for more than a quarter of the inhabitants," that "the harbor, which was convenient enough for small vessels in carrying on the whale fishery, was the only advantage of the location, and this pursuit, in which hitherto had been employed 2000 tons of shipping, and by 1S8 CAPE COD. which nine-tenths of the inhabitants gained their living, was entirely cut off by British men-of-war anchored in Cape Cod harbor ; that " the oj'ster fishery, by which the other tenth obtained their livelihood/' was lost to them, and most of their vessels were hauled up and becoming worthless, and the few which attempted to go out of the harbor and fetch provisions had been captured ; and that the town was almost destitute of bread and other necessaries of life ; they therefore prayed they might be relieved from a public tax. Provincetown was completely at the mercy of the British ; it was lai'gely deserted by the inhabitants, and those who remained were obliged to trust to the clemency of the commanders of the ships of war in their harbor. In a lesser degree, perhaps, the condition of Wellfleet may be said to serve as the counterpart of that of the entire county. But requisitions for men and supplies were constantly made of them. Jan. 1, the militia officers were directed to detach from the several companies of the town 25 able- bodied men, 1 lieutenant, 2 sergeants and 2 corporals, to be stationed at Naushon for the defence of the harbor of Tarpaulin Cove. Subsequently it was ordered that 53 men be enlisted for this purpose. Jan. 30, of 5000 blankets that were called for for the army, this county was required to furnish 160, viz. : Barnstable 32, Sandwich 25, Yar- mouth 23, Eastham 17, Wellticct 13, Chatliam 9, Harwich 20, Falmouth 19, Truro 11. And Jan. 26, a resolve which had passed requiring the drafting of eveiy 7th man was defined to mean l-7th '^of all the male inhabitants over 16 years of age, whether at home or abroad," a requirement, which bore with peculiar hardship upon a community made up so largely of :$camen as was the county of Barnstable. Volunteering, after a time, exhausted the number of those who were found ready to enter the service, and recourse THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. m was had to drafts. The men, thus di*afted, in some cases refused to march agreeable to orders, and were committed to jail. These were aided and abetted by the Tories in Barnstable and Sand^nch, and subsequently esca}>ed from jail without paying their fines and costs; and the general coiut took action to reclaim them, to enforce the collection of the lines, and to dispose of the proceeds of this process. Growing out of these occurrences, the court appointed a commission, at the request of Joseph Otis s^nd Nathaniel Freeman, to inquire into the disorders in Sandwich and Barnstable, with authority to send for persons and papers, Joseph Otis being muster and paymaster for the tix)ops from this county. The legislature of 1778 gave evidence that the success of the American cause was recognized as assured in the popular mind, from the fact th:it many Avho had sjTiipathizcd with the British and had left their homes tempomrily, as they had supposed, indicated a desire to return and give in their adhesion to the govemment then established. This county was not without some such instances. The dominant party, considering their causes of exasperation, can be said to have been inclined to leniency. Sundry persons in Sandwich, who were petitioners, were referred to the committee of correspondence from that town, who treated the applications with favorable considei-ation ; and later, several persons, who were confined in Barnstable jail, were permitted to leave, upon producing a certificate from said committee that they believed these persons hereafter *^will approve them- selves faithful subjects of the state,** they givmg bond with sureties, and taking the oath of allegiance to the govem- ment. The quota for the Continental army for this county was found to be incomplete, AVellfleet being one of the towns 190 CAPS COD. delinquent in this respect. The town again memorialized the court, setting forth tliat great numbers of its inhabitants had removed from town, and tliat the circumstances of those who i*emained were those of distress. Half of the state tax was, therefore, abated. The situation of the entire county was fairly descril>ed by Gen. Joseph Otis. '^TTe have," he wrote, '^more men in the land and sea scrrice than our proportion. We have, from Wareham line, a sea-coast of 60 miles to Qiatham, where there is scarcely a day that the enemy is not within gun-shot of some part of the coast, and thej'' very often anchor in our harlK)rs. Under these circumstances, to detach men from their property, wives and children, to protect the town of Providence in the heart of Rhode Island, and not in as much danger, causes great uneasiness. Not a word is said against filling up the Continental army, although every man costs $450, which is owing to our men that are fit for the sen'ice being aboard the navy or in captivity by l^eing taken by the enemy's fleet.** Still the calls for this service continued ; April 20, 70 men from this county were ordered to Ehode Island, and June 12, 78 more. Shoes, stockings, shirts, etc., were included in the requisition, the num1>er of each article required of the county being 505, and £30 was the forfeit for delinquency. In September of this year, the enemy made a demonstra- tion upon Falmouth, and Brigadier Otis, with a portion of his command, went there to the defence of the place. The enemy had just engaged in a series of operations at New Bedford and Fairhaven, which reflected less credit upon their military skill than it did upon their capacity for burning and pillaging non-combatants, and evinced a disposition to continue these operations here. But beyond landing and carrying away four coasters and burning one, thej"" accom- THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, ' IW plishcd nothing. The militia were readj^ to receive them, and they declined the combat. Almost ^simultaneous with these transactions, Brigadier Otis, receiving orders to raise 50 men in his brigade to go to Providence, Avrote, "As the «nemy are around and threaten danger here, it is like drairsrinir men from homo when their houses arc on lire ; but I \rili do my best to c-omply." A few days afterwards, uiH)n the re<'eipt of a letter from Gen. Otis, the council were desired by the house to order the company of militia under the command of Capt. Job Cix>cker, on duty at Barnstaible, to march to Boston to do duty under Gen. Heath. It was also resolved "that inasmuch as the militia of the countj' have been and continue to be greatly harassed by the api)earance of the enemy's jihips and the landing of troops in the vicinit}', the count}' »)e excused for the present from raising men agreeably to the order of the council.'' Col. Enoch Hallet of Yarmouth wrote about the same time, that "the general opinion that prevails among the people here is that this county is so nmcli exposed on both sides to the enemy that it would be very dangerous to send off those men.** The friends of the popular cause in this coimty and throughout the land were saddened by the death, Nov. 9th, of the venerable patriot. Col. James Otis. His fame was somewhat obscured by the brilliancy and eloquence of his illustrious son, but it may well be doubted whether the services of the father were not of almost equal value to the cause of his country. He was what is known as a "self-made man." The ancestor of the family in this country. Gen. John Otis, was boni in Barnstable, Eng., in 1581, and came with wife and children to Hingham in 1635, and afterwards, though at what time it is difficult to detcnnine, Avas in Barnstable. Col. James was bom in 192 . CAPE COD. 1702. He learned the business of a tanner , but soon became distinguished for his intellectual j^owers. Being- at court in Barnstable one day, as a spectator of the- proceedings, a neighbor, who was unprovided with counsel^ applied to him for assistance in a case before the tribunal. Consenting to act, he managed the case with such ability that friends urged him to ent^r the legal profession, after a due course of study. Procuring books, he assiduously devoted himself to his new pursuit, in which he soon became eminent. Colonel of the militia, at a time when both honor and influence attached to the position, he soon added to thia title, that of a member of the provincial legislature, in 1745. It was one of the defects of the provincial system of government, that legislative, judicial, executive and military duties were often combined and exercised by the same persons, — a blending of functions and authority which existing theories of government, as set forth in statutes, expressly and most properly inhibit. He was speaker of the house in 1760 and '61. Being recognized as a leading patriot, his continued election was negatived by the government. He was nevertheless appointed judge of Probate court in 1763, and chief justice of Common Pleas in 1764. That year his appointment as member of the council was negatived by the royal governor, and, although durincr the remainder of Bernard's administiTition he was uniformly elected to the council, he was, for his fidelity to the people's cause, on each occasion rejected by the governor, until 1761), when Hutchinson, coming into power, tried to conciliate him l)y acceding to his appointment ; and he continued in the position from that time until the opening of the Revolutionary war. He was a meml>er of the first provincial congress, and, as before remarked, was the senior member of the provincial council, from 1775 until a short THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 198 time before his death. An a compeer of Samuel Adams, Quincy, Hancock and other illustrious patriots, he stood in the foremost ranks of the advocates and defcndci*s of the popular cause. Nearly simultaneous mth the decease of Col. Otis, Nov. 2-3, 1778, the British warship Somerset, Capt. Aurey, was wrecked on the back side of Pix)vincetown, having, while in pursuit of the French fleet, struck on Peaked Hill bars, and, like many a good craft before and since, was unable to extricate herself. After unavailinir efforts to lighten the vessel b}* throwing over guns and ammunition, a succession of gi'cat waves lifted her over the bar and landed her, a helpless wreck, a long way up the beach. There was a rush of people to the wreck to plunder whatever might come ashore ; and considering the necessities of the times no one can great Ij*^ censure the needy i)opulaoe for helping themselves to the spoil of the enemy so oppoitunely wafted to their doors. The militia of Truro and the adjacent country took charge of the crew, and Shearjashub Bourne, Esq. libelled the vessel. Col. Doane of AVellfleet in the meantime taking formal possession. Col. Enoch HaUet of Yarmouth, high sheriff of the county, marched the- prisoners, 480 men, through the county to Baiiistable and thence to Boston, and there was much exultation over the event. The Somerset had been for several years upon this coast, and had participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. Longfellow, in his poem of Taul Revere's Ride," has the lines: ** Where swinging wide at her moorings, lay The Somerset, British man-of-war." 'NMiile in Provincetown Harbor she had been a familiar sight, and had, with her formidable armament, been viewed with some degree of awe by the inhabitants. Under the direction IM- CAPB COD. of the Board of War she was now stripj^ed, her guns sent to various pomts on the coast, and her ammunition and small arms devoted to the use of the continental army. When abandoned by^the authorities she was again pillaged by the local wreckers, and her frame left to the chances of time and the elements. The winds swept over her, and the drifting sands enveloped her in their embraces, until the changes of a centuiy again disclosed her battei*ed hulk to the obsen^ation of a new generation, to whom her history comes like a memory of auld lang syne.* Another wreck, attended by more tragical consequences, occurred to an American armed vessel Dec. 26 and 27 of this year, in the awful storm, generally known as the "Magee stoinn." The government brig Gen. Arnold, Capt. James ^lagee, sailed from Xantasket Roads, Boston, Dec. 2-t, 1778, in company with the privateering slobp Revenge. In the bay they encountered a violent northeast storm, described as "" unparalleled in the annals of New England.*^ The sloop weathered the Cape, which the Gen. Arnold was unable to do, but in the afternoon anchored off PIjTnouth. The gale increased, and in the morning of Dec. 26, *The remains of the Somerstet came to li^ht iu the summer of 18S0, and were examined liy huudreds of ])eoi>ie from all section:* of the oouutry. The foUowiug letter, received by a gentleman of Province- town, wa3 in au3wer to a request for information made to the Secretary of Admiralty, Whitehall, London: Admiralty, S. W., "iSth May, lim. Sir — In reply to your letter of the 12th instant, a<kin^ for informa- sixtv-fimr gnn«*, was laid down to build in Her Mn jesty\< dockyard at Chatham oil May 5, 174G, launched July 18, 174S, and fitted as a jruard ship. She nppear.-* to have been employed as a guard ship and on home service until 1776, excepting durins the time she was under repairs at Chatham, apparently between 1768 autl 1770. She l«ft England in October, 1774, for the North American station. She returned to England in 177C, and appears to have been fitted again as a guard ship. She left Kinrland in March, 1777, and was lost off Cape Odd on the 2d or 3d of November, 1778. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Evan MAcGasooit. THE REVOLIJTIOXARY WAR. WJ continued ven" severe. Despite of ample precautions, the vessel ))ecoming encumhored in snow and ice, and the waves dashing furiouslv airainst her, the suffcrinsrs of the crew were intense. Manv hcmn to sink and die from exhaustion. Lieut. Jolin Kussoll of Barnstable, commander of the marines, was among the iirst to succumb, but othci*s soon followed. On Sunday, the 27th, the storm abated, Imt the extreme cold continued. The vessel was boarded from the shore; seventy bodies were found frozen on the deck or attached to the shrouds and spars ; thirty or more exhibited signs of life, but were unconscious. Of the 105 who sailed from Boston the Thursday preceding, only 33 were then living ; of these 9 died a few days after, 6 were confirmed invalids, and only 10 entirely recovered. The people of Plymouth, with a tenderness and humanity which did them honor, took the sufferers to their homes, nursed and cared for them, and i^ei-formed the last rites of Christian burial for the dead. The bodies of seventy-two of them, placed in coffins, were removed to the court house, where, after affecting services, they were committed to a common grave. The names of 11 of the deceased, who belonged in Barn- stable, were: Capt. John Russell, Barnabas Lothrop, Daniel Hall, Thos. Casley, Eben Bacon, Jesse GaiTett, John Berry, Baniabas Howes, Stephen Bacon, Jonathan Lothrop, and Boston, a negro.* Barnabas Downs, Jr., was the only sunivor of the twelve Bamstal)le men on board. The great public event of 1779 was the French alliance, which cheered the drooping spirits of the patriots ; but at home, affairs were gloomj'^ in the extreme. The town of Falmouth and the shores along the Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay being exposed to attack, troops for defenee were concentrated there. April 2, a formidable fleet *See ** Remarka1)le Narration," by Barnabas Dowua; Otis's Sketches of Baru8table Families, etc. IM OAPE COD. attempted the destruction of the town. At a late hour the night previous a marauding party from the fleet in Tarpaulin Cove landed from their boats, and under the direction of a refugee proceeded from Wood's Hole to the farms of Ephraim and Manasseh Swift. They drove some 12 head of cattle to the beach, knocked them in the head, and were in the act of taking the carcasses on board the vessels when they were surprised, and put off without their booty. Returning to the fleet they concluded to come back the following day, and bum the town. Infoimation, which was communicated by a refugee, of this intention, soon reached the town, and great excitement prevailed. Expresses were despatched to neighboring towns, while the men at hand hastened the work of the entrenchments. Major Dimmick was in conmiand. Col. Freeman, with Capts. Fish and Swift of Sandwich, arrived by the next morning. The expected fleet hove in sight early in the morning and came to anchor abreast of the town about 9 a. m. They were evidently surprised at the extent of the preparations to receive them. About 11 J o'clock they formed their fleet, consisting of two schooners and eight sloops, into a line against the posts on the shore, and commenced a warm fire with cannon-ball, double-headed shot, grape and small arms, and manned their boats, ten in number, with about 220 men, having, to appearance, double that number on board, and made several attempts to land at various places, keeping up a continual fire until 5 o'clock. The troops on the shore at first reserved their fire, but becoming impatient, and after ineffectually challenging the invaders to the attack, they opened a brisk volley. The enemy was soon forced into the sound, where they remained until the next morning. A party attempted to land at Wood's Hole, but the troops posted there opened fire and they retired to their vessel. THE BEVOLUTIONART WAR. 197 They went to the island of Nonnamessit, where they committed some depredations, killing a few cattle and swine, which they took away with them. The alarm was renewed by the appearance of the fleet on the 9th, but they finally retired in the direction of Chatham. Subsequently the brigadier of the county was ordered to detach, for service in Falmouth, that part of his brigade in the towns west of Harwich. Orders for the raising of 87 men in this county were issued in June, and requisitions for 513 each of shirts, shoes, stockings, for the army were made. Col. Nath'l Freeman was appointed superintendent for the county, and Col. Enoch Hallet, receiver for the goods. An embargo was placed bj' the legislature on vessels outward bound, excepting wood and oyster craft within Cape Cod and Cape Ann, such vessels to obtain permits. The lands of ^conspirators^ having been liable to confiscation, Joseph Kye of Sandwich was designated for agent, and a commis- sion, consisting of Solomon Freeman, Esq. of Harwich, Capt. John Howes of Yarmouth, and Major Joseph Dimmick of Falmouth, was constituted for this county. The difficulties attending the mo>ing of men for the protection of Falmouth, having compelled the officer in command to impress horses for the more rapid movement of troops, and the owners threatening prosecution, an act was passed exempting the officer from legal proceedings, but expressly providing that it shall not be construed to justify such action in the future. By the summary measures adopted the coast was in a degree protected, but on the water, upon the whole southern shore of the Cape, the enemy's cruisers were very destructive and annojing. About a league off Hyannis, in October, they captured a fish-laden vessel bound to Stonington, and 19B CAPE COD. drove another ashore on the eastward coast of Falmouth. A company of refugees with some 20 Vineyard pilot boats^ ran into the Cape harbors and were enabled to take property, which was not duly pi-otected. Gen. Otis applied in this emergency for a number of 8-pounders, swivels, etc., and engaged to procure ^two small vessels and get them manned to scour the sound.^ He at the same time wrote that ^ Hyannis is much exposed ; and to draw off the men to Falmouth causes much uneasiness." The taking of the sch. Gen. Leslie, in Old Town [now Vineyard Haven] harbor, by a party under command of Col. Joseph Dimmick, from Falmouth, was an act of great gallantry and enterprise. The Leslie had on board 33 men and 10 4-pounders. The Falmouth vessel had 25 men, 2 3-pounders and 2 wooden guns. They went to Old Town harbor, where lay the Gen. Leslie and a sloop mounting 12 9-pounders, with three prizes anchored between them. They first made for the 12-gun sloop, intending to board and sweep the harbor ; but the wind and tide setting out, they fell about a biscuit toss astem, and could not fetch again. This was night work. The sloop being alaiined began a fire. They then immediately i*an the Leslie aboard amidst the attack from the sloop, tiring a volley of small arms into the Leslie, wounding one of her men, who afterwards died, and receiving a volley in return, which hurt nobody ; then, jumping on board, about 20 men drove the Leslie's men below, cut the cable, and earned the prize in triumph to Hyannis, with the vessel and her 33 prisoners, who were sent manacled to Boston. Another of Col. Dinmiick's brave and gallant acts may properly be narrated here, though referring to another period of the war. A schooner sent to the Connecticut river for com — then extremely scarce in these parts, and THE REVOLUTIONART WAR, 1» selling for tS per bushel — was intercepted as it was entering the sound, and captured. The captain escaped to the shore in his boat and hastened to Col. Dimmick, whom he reached at midnight, and to whom he communicated his tale. The colonel jumped from his bed, and directed the captain to go for his brother Lot. The two soon succeeded in mustering 20 resolute men, and started for Wood^s Hole. Thev there procured three whaleboats and proceeded to Tarjiaulin Cove, arriving just before daybreak. It was very cold, and the colonel allowed his men to land and kindle a tire in a hollow, where they would l>e unobserved, and wait until morning. At the first glimmerinjr of day the privateer and the prize were discovered lying at anchor in the cove. Col. Dimmick and his men were, in another minute, in their boats pulling vigorously for the prize. They were fired on from both vessels, but returning the fire, boarded the prize, retook it, got immediately under way, and ran ashore at the west end of the Vineyard. The privateer followed, and was repulsed ; the tide rose, and in a few hours the schooner was safely moored in Wood's Hole harbor, to the great joy of the inhabitants. Shortly after the capture of the Gen. Leslie, George Leonai*d, who was at the head of a company of refugees in the sound, sent a flag of truce to Gen. Otis, proposing an exchange of Barnabas Eldridge and Isaac Matthews of Yarmouth, held as prisoners, and Manasseh Swift and James Wing of Falmouth, held on parole, for certain persons captured on board the Leslie. Gen. Otis subsequently ascertained that Leonard, under date of ''On board ship Resolution, Holmes' Hole, Oct. 1," had issued a proclamation inviting all who had taken up arms ag:iinst the government to la}^ them down, promising '* protection and every comfort^ to such as should do so. aOO CAPE COD. Monetary necessities at the close of the year were pressing; the currency was depreciated and of uncertain value. Committees had been chosen to regulate the prices of products, and everything possible had been done to prevent speculation and extortion. An unpleasant epbode of the times, though not necessarily a part of the record of the war, must be noticed in order to make the history of the year complete. The commanding general of the county became embroiled with the authorities by reason of his appointing a brigade major who was, from his antecedents and abilities, distasteful to the officers of the county. The council in delicate terms hinted a disapproval of the choice, and no notice being taken of this, some pretty plain talk was indulged in by the presiding members- speaking as the mouthpiece of the body. Gen. Otis, who felt, probablj', that the sei-vices of his family entitled him to immunity from interference, was finally obliged to jdeld, and his future position and influence were greatly lessened by this unfortunate event. The gloomy aspect with which the year 1780 opened was increased by the curse of an irredeemable paper currency, a calamity little less than that of war itself. The money and credit of the states being at a low ebb, the only alter- native was to make requisitions upon the several states so as to include provisions and forage. Blankets, shoes, shirts, stockings, were called for in quick succession. 453 of each article were discounted as the proportion of this county. This was more satisfactory than calling for money which had limited purchasing power, as is illustrated by the fact that the general court in June of this year voted to Rev. Samuel Parker, minister at Provincctown, £3000 in addition to the regular annual grant of £45 I Another requisition for the re-enforcement of the army THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 201 was made Juno 2, and in order that a sufficient num)3er of effective men might be retained on shore to supply the call, an embargo was laid on the departure of vessels throughout the State. From this county 187 men were asked for, and June 22, 223 more. Xath'l Freeman, Esq., was appointed superintendent for the county, and Mr. Freeman, with Barnabas Freeman, Esq., and Capt. Edmund Howes were appointed '^to receive moneys in and of the public treasury.** The sale of confiscated estates was urged forward for the benefit of the treasury, by the commissioners, Nathaniel Freeman, Daniel Davis and Joseph Otis. An additional call for 156 men was made Dec. 1. Besides this, a requisition was received Sept. 25, for 71,280 lbs. beef, and Dec. 4, for 136,875 lbs., for Barnstable county. These repeated calls completely drained the towns of men and of munitions, and the time came when the requisitions were not met, because there was no way of supplying them. The people were at the end of their resources. Harwich, Chatham, Eastham and Yarmouth were obliged to memorial- ize the general court, severally setting forth '^the many difficulties and distresses the inhabitants of said towns labor under by reason of the extraordinary diminution of inhabitants and many other inconveniences of the present war" — praj'ing that they may ^be abated the txixes and requisitions for beef and other articles." A committee being sent by the genei-al court to the Cape, the members were satisfied that no amount of effort and no degree of patriotism could furnish beef where it was not to be found, and that the requisition for the same amount of this proWsion that it required of the rich agricultural region of the interior, was a most preposterous exaction. A resolve consequently passed in Jan., 1781, '"to stay executions issued against said towns until further orders," also to remit 20St CAPS COD. a fine of £600 to the town of Barnstable, assessed for a fiiilure to provide the whole number of soldiei'S that had been required the previous year, tlie members being satisfied of the inability of the town to meet the requisition. The new constitution of the state being adopted took effect Oct. 25, 1780, and the first election by the people followed. John Hancock was chosen Governor, and Thomas Gushing lieutenant-governor. The first senator from Barnstable county was Solomon Freeman of Harwich, who served in that office for 17 — though not successive — terms. The expenence of 1781 was nearly a rej^etition of that of the preceding year. The people in general were gi-eatly impoverished, but there still remained some citizens of means and resources. Loans of money were solicited by the state government for war purposes, and Joseph Nye, Esq. of Sandwich, and Elisha Doane, Esq. of Wellfieet, were made a committee to procure subscriptions. The county was again called upon for beef, j(),489 lbs. being its pro^>ortioii. Men were called for to defend Rhode Island, the brio^dier (>:eneral beino^ ordered to detach from liis brigade ''one l:>t lieut. and 56 non-commissioned officers and privates, provided with good firelock, bayonet, cartridge- box, haversack and blanket." Some of the towns, especially those in the lower portion of the county, feeling that it was utterly impossible to comply with the government requisition for beef for the army, met by delegates at Barnstable, and appointed Dr. John Davis to represent their case before the general court. In an address adopted ''the inequality of the burdens laid upon the people" was intelligently discussed. Especially was the impossibility of furnishing beef enlarged upon ; that they had been disproportionately taxed was rendered so evident to the authorities that £2224 of the tax of this year THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 20ft was abated. U|X)n the representation of Brig.-Gen. Freeman, under date of Oct. 20, it was ordered that a guard for the town of Falmouth **be detached from the Ist regiment in the company and placed under the command of Lt.-Col. Dimmick.'' Negotiations for peace had been progressing, and it shows the interest and importance attached to the fisheries, that the towns in many instances gave instruction to their representatives, to *'ask of the legislature to see that the commissioners be instiiicted to preserve and restore that interest." Accordingly a resolve was passed Oct. 27, instructing the delegates in Congress "to present to that body the importance to the United States in general and to this state in particular, of the fisheries, that the rights heretofore enjoyed by the United States may, in any settlement of peace, 1>e acknowledged and secured. ** The condition of the army under Gen. Washington, early in 1782, which was most deplorable, was hardly worse than that of the people in many sections of the country. Nowhere vras the state of affairs more apparent than in many jmrts of the Cape, as it is fully disclosed by the proceedings of the legislature. On the petition of Edward Knowles and others, in behalf of the towns of this county, that body, Jan. 30, appointed a committee to repair to the towna of Yarmouth, Harwich, Eastham and Chatham, and view the circumstances, hear all parties, and report ; also to go into other towns in the county for the purpose mentioned, and until further orders, all executions for any deficiency in procuring beef or men, were ordered to be staj'ed. This committee was subsequently superseded by another, which after some delay reported that they were satisfied that the towns had complied to the utmost of their ability with the requisitions made on them, and that they were incapable of 20i GAPS COD. complying therewith any farther. And the conunittoe having also reported that in their opinion all deficiencies of beef or men due from any of the towns in the county of Barnstable should be abated and all fines due from them be remitted, a resolve to that effect was passed by the general court. The last requisition for recruits for the army, of which there is record, was made March 7, 1782, which was s call for 1500 men, 36 for Barnstable county, to make up for the deficiency of the quota of Massachusetts line, caused by mortality and other casualties. Still other evidence appears of the total exhaustion of the resources of the several towns. March 12, upon the petition of the inhabitants of Eastham, Harwich and Yarmouth, and Juno 23, upon a similar petition of Barnstable, Sandwich and Falmouth, setting forth their extreme poverty and utter inability to pay their taxes at present, the state treasurer was directed to recall the executions issued and to stay in future, until further ordered, demands for two-thirds ox the taxes. One of the last acts of the general court relative to the war in connection with this county was passed Oct. 9, by which ofiicers were directed "to cause the shores of their respective towns and the vessels in the harboi's to be examined, that if any cattle or sheep are found which, from their local situation or other apparent circumstances, are likely to fall into the hands of the enemy, they may be driven to places of safety." Our coast was thoroughly beleaguered. The hostile movements on the south shore, in Tarpaulin Cove as the base of operations of the British fleet, were supplemented by a similar condition of affairs at the other extreme of the county, Provincetown being the place of rendezvous. The opei*ations extended from Cape Cod harbor, all along the coast, to PljTiiouth. The THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. W^ small crafts, which sometimes ventured to skirt the coast, bringing supplies from Boston, or to search the fishing grounds, sometimes succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the enemy's ships, and were treated with as much leniency as could be exi)ected in a time of war. Lieutenant, after- wards tlie famous Admiral, Nelson, was this year in Cape Cod bay in command of his majesty's ship Albemarle, and gave up to its owner a vessel fi*om Plymouth which he had captured.* From the fact that the fleet in Provincetown harbor was controlled by English oflBcers, instead of refugee American loyalists, the relations between them and the inhabitants was of a far more amicable chai*acter than those which subsisted between the parties at FaUuoutli and vicinity. The officers of the English ships often visited the people and cultivated their acquaintance. They sometimes attended church, and the chaplains not unfrequently preached. Dr. Wm. Thayer^ a surgeon of an English man-of-war, married a young lady of Truro, left the service, and practised medicine, and reared a family there. f But there were not enough of such instances to greatly mitigate the existing condition of hardship and hostility. They were simply tiie "touches of nature" which are said to make "the whole world kin," and which sprang from the origin of both as members of the same great English-speaking race. The endurance and constancy of the people, as exemplified by these years of suffering and privation, was at length to ''Hou. Wm. T. Davis of Plymouth has in his possession the original doeiiineiit of which the following: is a copy: T))e:*e are to certify that I took the seiiooner Harmony, Nathaniel Carver, master, !)eloiipinp to Plymouth, hut on account of his good servicer, have ^iveii him up his vessel a^in. Dated ou board His Majesty's ship Albemarle, 17th August. 1782, in Boston Bay. Horatio ^buoit. tRieh*s Truro. ^206 CAPE COD. be crowned by success. Early in ITSS, the negotiations which had been pending for more than a year were concluded, and to the inexpressible joy of the i)eople, the cessation of hostilities was proclaimed by Gren. Washington, on the 19th day of April, just eight years from the day when Lord Percy started out on his illnstarred visit to Concord and Lexington. The definitive treaty was signed Sept. 3, following. The part taken by Cape Cod in this great struggle for freedom, both in respect to leadership and tlie co-operation of the people, will be seen to have been of the most important character. The exertions of the latter in the tield, as sketched in the preceding pages, were only limited fey their capacity and power of endurance. They contri- buted to the common cause not only almost the last dollar «nd the last man, but the political T^-isdom and undeviating constancy of the elder Otis, and the matchless and inspiring eloquence of the younger of the name ; the tireless energy and activity of Dr. Nathaniel Freeman ; the military skill, enterprise and daring of Gens. Braddock Dimmick and Joseph Otis, men whose fame was not confined by local bounds. Xor should we forget to render again a just tribute to the services of one of Cape Cod blood and origin, whose field of operations was in the city of New York, that matchless agitator and untiring patriot, Capt. Isaac Sears. The bitter and ghastly realities of the war have with sufficient minuteness and detail been enlarged upon in the foregoing relation, but there was mingled with these hard experiences enough of daring and adventure to impart some- what of the glow of romance to the narrative of the times. The men of the Cape, not a few of them, were brought in contact with some of the best remembered and most talked of events of that eight years of agony and exeition. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 207 Ebenezcr Scars, a soldier of Yarmouth, stood guaixJ over Major Andre the night before his execution, and, like all who came in contact with that gallant and accomplished officer, was deeply touched by his noble l>earing and his unhappy fate. Benjamin Collins, of Truro, belonged to the crew of the Ixu-ge that rowed Benedict Arnold on board the Vulture. He was drugged and kept on board the frigate until he learned Arnold had joined the enemy, when, fearing that he also would be regarded as a traitor, he ran away to Canada, and did not return home for forty-eight years, when he spent a year in Truro and returned finally to his Canadian home.* During the year 1775, David Snow and son, aged 15 years, were fishing back of Cape Cod, when they were taken by a privateer, and earned to Halifax. They were thence transfeiTed to the Old Mill prison in England. They soon gained the confidence of the officers, who granted them many privileges. One day the young man found a file, and this led to a scheme for recovering their liberty. They arranged for a great party and frolic among the prisoners; thirty-six of them were enlisted in a scheme for escape* With the fiddling, began the double-shuflle of prison brogans, which drowned the noise of the file upon the prison bars. The festivities were kept up until the bar was severed, leaving room for exit, when the thirty-six emerged, undetected, from the prison yard. Knocking down the sentinels, they were soon outside the walls, and directed their steps to Plymouth harbor, fifteen miles distant. Before davli^rht thev had reached the barter, and embarked on a large scow, and were afioat on the English Channel. With almost superhuman strength they boarded a small vessel, ♦Kich*.^ Truro. i 208 CAPE COD. captured it and set sail for the coast of France. Upon their arrival they sold their prize, ^Ir. Snow and son retaining $40 as their share of the proceeds. They gave themselves up to the French government, were placed on board a cartel, sent to America, and landed in Carolina. The war was still raging, the coast was guarded, and their only hope of getting home was by land, which they accomplished after weeks of wearisome travel. Peace had in the meantime been declared. From Boston they took passage in a vessel for Provincetown. They continued on a boat their home- ward journey. ^Ir. Snow ascertained where his wife, who had for seven years mourned him as dead, was to be found, and presented himself without ceremony. She fell in a swoon, apparently dead, but recovering, walked home with her husband. The boy, David, had now become a stalwart man, but he, instead of going directly home, went first to a neighbor's, without giving his name. The quick observation of one of the bright-eyed girls of the family penetrated the secret, and she said to her sister, ^' If that isn't David Snow, it is his ghost ! " David got home before his parents, and met them on the road, where neighbors and friends joyfully welcomed them.* Many Cape men found their way on board the privateers, which were so numerous and serviceable to the American cause, both in furnishing supplies and ammunition, and in weakenmg the commerce of Great Britain. In the two years, from 177G to 1778, nearly eight hundred pidzes were captured, which, with their cargoes, were woilh not less than twenty millions of dollars. It is stated on authority that during the war quite two hundred thousand of tons of British shipping were captured by our privateers, principally manned by fishermen. These crafts did not always escape •Rlch'8 Truro. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 209 with impunity, and when taken, their crews were consigned to a punishment only a little worse than death — imprison- ment on board the "Jersey" or in the ** Old jSIill." On board the brig Kcsolution, a privateer taken by an English vessel in 1780, were 13 men from Truro and Wellflect, who were sent to the Old Mill Prison.* Obadiah Rich, then or recently of Truro, was conmiander of the privateer brig Intrepid, of four guns. The records of the towns, during the period of the Revolution, ever and anon contain words like these, after tlie names of citizens : "" Died on board Jersey Prison Ship." To those who have read the history of that ** fatal, that perfidious bark, BuUt iu the eclipse and rigged with curses dark,** no further description is required. It was an old sixty- four gun-ship, which through age had become unfit for actual service. It was stripped of spar and rigging and ever}^ trace of ornament, and nothing remained but an old, unsightly, rotten hulk. Its dark and filthy appearance perfectly corresponded with the death and despair that reigned aboard. It was moved about three-quarters of a mile to the eastward of Brooklyn ferry, near a tide mill on the Long Island shore. It is computed that not less than eleven thousand American seamen perished in it. Here wei*e promiscuously huddled the well and the sick, twelve hundred together at times. Fever, small-pox, and all sorts of infectious diseases prevailed. Insufficiently nourished with the poorest of food, without medical aid to the sick, what wonder that the pestilent hulk became a charnel-house, a commitment to which was like a sentence of death. It is *Their names were, Thomas Cobb, Isaac Snow, Joseph CroweU. Ellas Gape, Stephen Youiijr, Jeremiah New<-oml), Atiuilla Rieh, Sam*l Curtii*, Nathan Atwood, Eleazer Higgins, Elisha Jones, Joseph Pierce, and Ezekiel Rich. 210 CAPE COD. not known how many of our men perished here, as no report of names was ever made; enough is ascertained to leave a record which can never be effaced.* The advent of peace brought to an end, except in memory, the privations, sufferings and hoiTors of the la«t seven years. "^Mien the rejoicings of grateful heaiis were over, the people addressed themselves earnestly to the work of repairing the wastes of war, reviving long suspended industries, and pursuing, with all their accustomed ardor, the arts and avocations of peace. With the closing year of the War of Independence came the close of mortal life of one who had infused into the hearts of his countrymen those principles of resistance to arbitrary power, of which independence was bora. James Otis, Jr., standing in his doorway in Andover, was struck l>y a flash of lightning and died from its effects May 23, 1783. He was boni in West Banistable, 1725, gi'aduated at Harvard College in 1743, practised law in Barnstable and Plymouth, and removed thence to Boston. He was appointed advocate-general at the Couit of Admiralty, which position he resigned rather than sustain the ai)i)lication for the Writs of Assistance, which he ojiposed. His plea on this occasion has already ))een adverted to as a masterj^iece of eloquence and conclusive reasoning. Hutchinson endeavors to account for his disaffection towards the government, by the fact that his father was not appointed chief justice of the Supreme court, to which ho aspired; but the disinterestedness and patriotism of Otis need no defence from such charges or insinuations. President John Adams said, '"I have been young and now am old, and I solemnly say, I have never known a man whose love of country was more ardent or sincere, never one who suffered ^Sketch of Jersey PrUou Ship by Rev. Tho3. Audros. JAMES OTIS. THE nEVOLUTIONARY WAR. 211 SO much, never one whose services for any ton years of his life were so impoi-tant and essential to the cause of his countrv as those of Mr. Otis from 1760 to 1770." He was elected a representative from Boston in 1761, opiX)sed the stamf) act in 1765, for which next j^ear the government negatived his election as speaker, to which he liad been chosen. Ilis pamphlet entitled, *'llights of the Colonies Vindicated," was considered in England a masterpiece of <rood writini^ and conclusive reasoning. He was threatened with an-est bv the <rovcrnment and for his severe strictures upon the conduct of the commissioner of customs and of the ministerial pai-ty, he was assailed in 1769 by the commissioners and other ru£5ans, in a public room, and was left covered with blood. The wound was not mortal, but it was seen that his intellect had been shattered. At times iiashes of his old genius and eloquence would electiify his companions, to lie succeeded by incongruous utterances, ** Like swuet boUs Jaugled, Harsh and out of tune." In this manner he lived on until the elements of nature set free a gigantic intellect, clouded and shattered in its mortal frame, on the year in which the liberties of his country had been acknowledged by the British nation. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1776-1783. 1776. Feb., Traur^port ship Friendship, Capt. Jame^ Holmes, was oast ashore back of Cape Cod.— A sloop loaded with English goods, household furniture, etc., sailed from Boston to Halifax **with sundry Tories'* and a large number of women and children, some of whom were siok of small-pox, was oast ashore at Provincetown, the last of Maroh. A committee was sent to prevent the escape of the passengers and orew and secure the cargo. The men were ordered to Boston for triaL— 212 CAPE COD. April 5, the committee of Falmouth petitioned for a guard of soldiers to be placed ^'on the Neok,** of that town.— The courts of the county were, by «peoial aot, postponed from May to October, on account of the prevaleuoe of small-pox.— The continental congress haring recommended the encouragement of the manufacture of salt, the general court also recommended to the inhabitants of the seaport towns to use their utmost endeavors to attain this end.— May 1, the council voted: ** Whereas, it is represented to this court th:it a navigable canal may, without much difficulty, be cut through the Isthmus which separates Buzzard's Bay and Barnstable Bay, whereby the hazardous navigation around Cape Cod, both by reason of the enemy and the shoals, may be prevented, and a safe communication between this colony and the Southern colonies be so far secured: Therefore, be it resolved, that James Bowdoin and Wm. Seaver, Esquires, with such as the House shall Join, or a major part of them, be a committee to repair to the town of Sandwich and view the premises, and determine whether the cutting of the aforesaid be practicable; and they are hereby authorized to employ any necessary assistance of surveyors and engineers for the purpose." Col. Freeman, Brig. Gk>df rey and Mr. Cushiug were Joined on the part of the House. 1777. This year the brig Wilkes was cast away on the back side of the Cape, in Ea^tham, and was pillaged by some parties on shore. The town held a meeting and api>ointed a committee to endeavor to bring the offenders to Justice.— Aug. 17, the board of war was requested to furnish field pieces and ammunition for the defence of Truro, and it was ordered that a company be raised in Truro and adjoining towns to be constantly in practice, and be ready at all times to prevent all intercourse with the British men-of-war in Cai>e Cod harbor or elsewhere, as well as for protection. 1778. Mar. 23, regular session of the Courts suspended, so many officers. Justices, etc., being engaged in military and other operations for the pul)lic defence.— Small-pox raged this year in Sandwich, and also carried off lar^e numbers of the native Indians of Yarmouth. — Barnstable was agitated by the action of the provincial a^s^embly, which put on record aspersions upon the patriotism of the town's representative, Edward Bacon, Esq. This quarrel had mn(^h to do with the unfortunate record of the town on the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Bacon was vindicated by his townsmen, and subse(iueutly restored most fully to the public confidence. 17TD. Committees were chosen by the towns to repnilate the prices of necessaries of life and prevent extortion.— Ship America, with Capt. Wm. Doane and twenty-two others of Well fleet, was lost at sea. 1780. By a special act of the legislature, Joseph Otis and David Thacher, Esquires, were authorized to license Otis Loring of Barnsta- ble to keep an inn ; the reason assigned for this unusual proceedins: being **for the better accommodation for the courts of Justice."— CHRONOLOGY OF ETEHTS. SIS Mav 19, occurred the "dark dm^," an event which earned mucb •pecnlation among the learned, aa well a« the unlettered and aup o r atl - im. An act puttied to prevent damage to NobucusRet meadow* in Tarmouth.— All the town* were enjta^red In inefTectual efforta to procure thetr quota of beer for the army.— The militia was thla jear reorpiulzed, cou«equFuI upon the Hdo])tiou of the Constitution, and the perMiiiiiel was aa foUowa: Brl|;.-Oen., KathaiiEel Freeman of Sandwich, who held office for twelve yeari auoceedlng. Brigade Uajor and Insjtector, Xathauiel Frcemau, Jr., who helJ office for tixteen veara. Flmt Re^ment— Tol. Enoch Hallet, Tnrmoutb, realgned ITVOl LC-Col. Joseph Dimmlck, Falmouth, promoted Major In 17W, Brig,- Gen., inu. Major, Micah Chapman, Yarmouth, succeeded ITVO. Adjn- faut, Thomaa Thacher, Tarmouth, racoeeded 1790. Secoud Regiment — CoL Benj. Godfrey, Chatham, realgued 1T90. Lt.-Cot Job Crook«r. Chatham, aucceeded ITOO. Major, Wm. Qage, Harwich, Adjutant, Joseph Paine, Chatham, succeeded ITSO. ITBt. Rev. Mr. HilUard dismissed from East church, Barnstable, and Rev. John Miller appointed hla auoceasor.— Rev. Thoinaa Boby called to ptutorate of ohui'ch in Cbatbam. \\ CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE WAR OF 1812-16. Rattflcattou of Coa«tltutiou of th« United States— First BepreMoto- tWe in CongreM from tli« Cape— lucorporntlon of Deuai», Orleans ftnd Brewster— Rise Aud growtli of Methodism on (be Cape- Manufacture of Salt— Wreck of Salem Sbips ou Peolced Hill Bars -Canal iicrosB the Cape— Snnrlwfch AotKHeiny liii'fir[)Or»teii— Dr. Bamuel West- HaritlmeAohleTementtfof Cape(;aptaluii,£l*eueier Sears, Jotaii Keuriek, Elijah Cobb— Robespierre- Bar bary PiraWs — Commercial Beetrictious, Embargo acts, etti. T cannot be deemed sti-ange that such a . aevere struggle as that of the Revolutionatj- War should have been succeeded by a seaauu of comparatiTe exhaustion. But in a little ■^^;^VJj^C^ time the old energy and resolution of the "^^^ people returned, and they counnenccd anew apon a career of activity and devclojimcnt. But the want of uniform commercial regulations, and a safe and conven- ient currency, and the heavy debt iuipending over them, were the sources of embarrassments and hindrances to gro^vth and the prosperity of trade. The public mind was soon brought to see the need of a new bond of union between the different states. In 1787, the constitution of the United States having been adopted by the general convention, the several states held conventions to ratify or reject the game. The convention for JIassachusetts was an able body, and the debates were animated and of marl^ed ability. Tlie vote on the ratificatiou was quite close, but the preponderance of sentiment in thi» FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE WAR OF IBVi^lB. 215 county was strongly in favor of the adoption of the con- stitution, as will be seen by the record of the vote of the members, as follows: Yeas, Shearja.shub Bourne, of Barnstable; David Thacher and Jonathan Howes, of Yarmouth; Solomon Freeman and Kimbal Clark of Harwich; Levi Whitman of Wellfleet; Joseph Palmer, of Falmouth. Nays, Thomas Smith and Thomas Xye, of Sandwich. Shearjashub Bourne was chosen representative to the second congress from the district which comprised the county of Barnstable, having received the unanimous vote of tliis county for that office, which he faithfully filled for two successive terms. From this time, for a number of years, there were no questions before the people demanding their absorbing attention, apait from the concerns of the geneml public. In 1794, by a division of Yarmouth, Dexxis was incor- porated as a separate township. The separation of Dennis from the mother town was effected without controversy an.d with the cordial assent of both sections. It was done with the design of subserving the convenience of the citizens in the transaction of their local business. As a matter of ^-t, they had for many years i)receding acted as separate communities. In tlie Revolutionary War, the East and West parishes not onl}' levied their ministerial taxes, but voted money and made regulations for raising troops and carrying un the campaign, distinct from and with the assent of the town, and the system worked so well that they were led to continue it in relation to all municipal affairs. The final action of the town on this matter was substantially unanimous, and from that time to the present, the relations of the two towns have been harmonious and fraternal. The name given to the new town was that of a former beloved pastor of the West parish, llev. Josiah Dennis. 216 CAPS COD. Three years later, the town of Orleans was incorporated, being set off from Eastham, of which it had heretofore formed the South precinct. This separation was also effected without serious controversy, or opposition from the remainder of the town. The seceding portion did not take the name, though it embraced the larger portion of the population, of the mother town, and it retained the original records. None of the contemporary documents throw light upon the reason for assuming the name by which it has since been known. The separation of the North parish of Harwich from that town, in 1803, and its incorporation by the name of Brewster, was not effected without bitter controveray, the results of which continued for many years thereafter. The distance between the villages on the north and south sides of the Cape would naturally suggest the ultimate division of the township; but it is probable that matters of political expediency hastened the movement, and led to opposition in the new township, which under other circumstances it would not have encountered. There was a strong remonstrance against the division, signed by a considerable number of citizens of the North parish, as well as those from the South {Mirish, and their representations led to the inseition of the incongruous provision into the act of incorporation, permit- ting such of them as were living in the North parish, ** together with such widows as live therein, and shall request it, have liberty to remain, with their families and estates to the town of Harwich, by leaving their names in the oflSce of the secretaiy of this commonwealth at any time within two years from the act of incoi'poration, certifying that such is their intention." A paper, containing the names of 65 citizens, two of them widows, was tiled with the town clerk of Harwich and in the office of the secretary of the FBOM THE PEACE OF 17BS TO THE WAR OF lOB-lft. S17 •commonwealth, the subsequent year, in which they express their intention of availing themselves of the provisions of this section of the act of incorporation. It can readily be seen that such an anomalous provision as this was liable to lead to great confusion of authority and endless difficulties and complications while it remained in existence, and kept up the antagonism growing out of the division long after the period, which, under ordinary circumstances, would have subsided. In the division, the old name of the township was conceded to the younger portion in point of time of settlement, and the new town was given the name of the old Pilgrim pastor, who was a near and dear friend of ihotie who first occupied this region. The changing {)hases of the religious sentiments of a people are always interesting and instructive subjects of inquiry and speculation. The ** Great Awakening" of 1725- 45, with the Whitefield episode, was a breaking away from tlie formalism of the churches, which had tl^cmsetves originated in a protest against the ceremonious forms and ritualism of the Established church of England. In the latter part of the century the Methodists began to attract the more earnest and demonstrative portion of the people, by their fervid and impassioned preaching. These sectaries did not meet the approval of the learned and refined, but possessed great fascination for men of ardent natures and warm susceptibilities. Their meetings were held in dwellings and out-houses, the ordinary places of assembling being denied to them. Men and women came from great distances and tarried long, to listen to the earnest words of the uncultured preachei-s, who, disdaining the rules of rhetoric or the conventionalities of the church organizations, went right home to the subject, esteeming the soul of the rude fisherman or common sailor of as much account as the most 318 CAPE COD. • important man in the parish. It was what Southey styled ** Religion in earnest.'' Such was the preaching of the* first Methodists — a sect which, from humhie beginnings, has since become great, powerful and influential, with endowed seminaries, gifted preachers, and professors learned in all the lore of the schools. Jesse Lee commenced his preaching in Boston, where he formed a society in 1792, and another society was gathered in Lynn about the same time. From Boston, small numbers of these people found their way to the Cape. Capt. Wm. Humbert, a local preacher, while lying windbound in Provincetown harbor, preaurhed in that place some time in the year 1793. Kev. Joseph Snelling and Rev. Hawkins also soon after preached in that town and in Truro and Wellfleet. Mr. Snelling was really the pioneer of Methodi:5m in the county, where he was stationed for about twenty veara. The first Methodist nieetiii«:-house on the Cape and the second one in the country, was built in Truro, in 1794. It was at first intended to build in Provincetown, but the persecution there was so intense that the project was postponed. The next year the plan of building in Provincetown was revived and the meeting- house was erected. The society i)urchased a frame and landed it on shore to be raised the next day; but during the night it was carried off and cut up, so tli:it nothing remained but chips. The minister. Rev. Geo. Cannon, was tarred and feathered in effigy, and the mob threatened to subject his person to the same treatment. Nothing daunted nor discouraged, these earnest men procured another frame, and succeeded in accomplishing their object. Subsequently^ Rev. Mr. Lee came down from Boston, and the offenders were exposed to a withering excoriation at his hands. In 179G, there were but two preachers of the denomination stationed on the Cape — Mr. Snelling, who ofiiciated m FROM THE PEACE OP 1783 TO THE WAK OF 1812-15. 21» Provinceto^\'n, Truro and Wellfleet ; and Rev. Joshua HalU in Sandwich. Methodism was introduced into Bamstable- in 1808, where the first preacher was threatened by the mob. Dr. Francis Weeks, one of the first of the men of social influence in the county to embrace its tenets, incul- cated the doctrine at Falmouth, the same year. From that time onward the spread of the denomination has been steady, until it now embraces bj' far the largest number of worship^ pers of any Christian denomination in the country.* It required nearl}'' a half century to extinguish the l^rejudice and bitterness with which this sect was regarded,, by a portion of the community, who adhered to the old order of things. The Baptists were fire^t gathered in this county in a church organization, at Harwich in 175G. Rev. Elisha Paine was their pastor, and he was succeeded by Rev. Richard Chase. They cannot be considered as seccders from the existing churc^hes, in any regard, except in their views of imuiersicm as a requisite in the baptismal rite. In fact, they were, if anj-thing, more congregational than the Congrega- tionalists themselves. With these few exceptions, if such they may l>e regarded, and those of the Quaker societies of the county, the Methodist movement was the first great schism from the "standing order** since the settlement of the county ; and this circumstance accounts, in some degree, for the bitterness and distrust with which the new movement was viewed by the generation which first came in contact with the disciples of this faith. The granting of letters patent in 1799, to Mr. John Sears,, for the manufacture of salt by solar evaporation, after years of effort and experiment, renders this a convenient and suitable occasion to reWew the history of this once important industry. During the Revolutionary war, and afterwards,, *Rieh*8 Truro. Lllc of Rev. Joseph SuelUng. this prime necessaiy of life waa scarce and high, and mcny attempts were made to manufacture it from sea water. Bnt the salt obtained waa impure, and but little progress was made in the business. Mr. Sears waa the first person who was completely successful in procuring pure marine salt by the rays of the sun alone, without the aid of artificial heat. The ReT. Dr. James Freeman, in 1802, wrote a quite fuU acoouQt of Mr. Sears's experiments, derived partly from data fumbhed by the tatter. It appears that as early as 1776, "this ingenioos seaman constructed a vat a hundred feet long and ten feet wide. Bafters were fixed over it, and shatters were contrived to move up and down, Utat the vat might be covered when it rained and exposed to the heat of the sun in fair weather. By this f^imple invention the rain was excluded, the water in the vut was gradually exhaled, and at length, to his inexpressible ]'oy, Capt. Sears peiteived the salt beginning to ci^-stallize. His works, however, were leaky, and he bad such bad success in his operations the first year that he was unable to obtain more than eight bushels of salt. He was exposed besides to the vidicule of his neigh- bors, who scoffed at his invention, styling it 'Sears's Folly.' FROM THE PEACE OF 1788 TO THE WAR OF 1812-lA. 2X1 **Cupt. Sears persevered. The second }*ear the works were made tight ; and thirty bushels of salt were obtained. In this and the third }xar the salt water was poured into the vat from buckets ; a tedious and painful operation. "^In the fouilh }*ear a pump was introduced; it was worked by hand, which was still great labor. This method of conveying salt water into the vat continued to be practised till tlie year 1785, when at the suggestion of Major Katlianiel Freeman of Harwich, who had seen at a distance a similar construction, Capt. Sears contrived a pump to be worked by the wind. By this lucky invention the labor was greatly abridged." Covers to move on shives, that is, rollers or small wheels, such as are contained in the blocks of ships, were invented b^' ]Mr. Reuben Sears, a carpenter of Harwich, in 1793. These covers are shaped like the roof of a barn, or what is commonly styled a gable roof. The shive, which is placed under the cover, rolls over a narrow piece of plank fixed across the vat, and the motion is farther facilitated by shives moving on each side of the same slip of plank horizontally, the first mentioned shive moving perpendicularly. When the cover is drawn off, which can be done without a great exertion of strength, it rests on a frame placed by the side of the vat. In 1798, Mr. Hattil Kelley of Dennis contrived another mode of constructing the vats and moving the covers. '*By Mr. Sears they are placed in a string, or direct line ; but by 'Mr. Kelley they are placed like the squares of a chess* board. Two black scjuares will represent the first and second vats. At the point where their angles touch is fixed a crane, consisting of a perpendicular beam, supporting a horizontal beam. From each half of the last beam is suspended a cover shaped like a hipped roof ; that is, a roof SB CAPE COD. composed of four triangles, rising fi'om each of the four sides, •and meeting in a point at the top. The thiixl vat will be represented by the white square, the angle of which touches it. At this point is iixcd a second crane ; and so the vats and cranes are continued to any extent the proprietor chooses. By these cranes the covers are moved with great ease. It is a subject of dispute which is the best invention, Sears's or Kelley's ; experience only can decide that point." Capt. Sears was greatly assisted in the invention and improvement of the works by Capt. William Crowell, Capt. Christopher Crowell and Capt. Edward Sears of Dennis. These persons resigning to him their right and title to the invention, he applied to the national government for a patent, which he obtained in 1799. ''Such is the account which Capt. Sears himself gives. It is alleged by several persons, that he has not made a new discovery and consequently has no right to a patent. But whatever may be thought of Capt. Sears*s merit as an inventor, there can be no dispute that he is entitled to applause for first introducing an impoitant manufacture, by which ho has contributed greatly to the prosiperity of the village in which he resides, and to that of the country at large." Incidental to this industry the manufacture of the Glauber-salts, once greatly esteemed in medical practice, sprang up and became quite an important adjunct of this business. Tliis product was effected by boiling, and was considered of an excellent quality. The value and extent of the salt business was for many yeai*s of great importance, to the county of Barnstable particularly. In 1801 there were 121,313 feet of works in the county, of which 50,430 were in Dennis and Yarmouth ; these works being calculated to manufacture aI)out 44,000 FROM THE PEACE OP 1788 TO THE WAIl OF 181^15. 22S bushels of salt. The capital invested in the business, in the year 1808, was nearly half a million of dollars. In 1830, about 600,000 bushels M'ere luanufac-tured by this process in Massachusetts alone, and a still larjrcr quantity in Maine. In 1832, the countj'^ of Barnstable had 1,425,500 feet of vats, producing 358,250 bushels, but in 1834, the Inisiness was checked in consequence of the reduction of the duty. The policy of the general goveniment was not whollj'' consistent or friendly in its aspect towards this industiy ; sometimes encouraging it by placing a high duty on imported salt, and at other times reducing the impost to a low figure. The bounty offered by the state in the infancy of the business was afterwards withdrawn, the profits being found to be larger than that of other local industries. The clevelopment of the salt springs in New York and other places also tended to make the business less important and profitable, and for the last twenty-five yean no new works have been erected, those still existing at that time being kept up by repairs, and operated with moderate success; but at the time of writing this narrative (1884) hardly any works are standing as monuments of a once flourishing industrj.* One by one, as the century closed, the leading actora of the Revolutionary period lK5gan to fall by the wayside. In 1799, Daniel Da\is departed this life, at the age of 85 years, 6 months. He was an ardent and uncompromising Whig, and was closely identified with the espousera of the patriot cause in the province. He was later in life chief justice of the court of Common Pleas, judge of Probate, and held other prominent positions. In 1800, Aug. 22, the county sustained a severe loss in the death of Hon. Nathaniel Freeman, Jr., representative in *0\<{ Yarmouth. 234 CAPE COD. Congress from this district, at the early age of 34 years. He was a classmate at Harvard of John Quincy Adams , and divided the honors of the class ^dth ^Ir. Adams in the graduation exercises. He embraced the profession of the law, as his pursuit in life. At the age of 30 years, upon the retirement of Hon. Shearsjashub Bourne, ho was chosen that gentleman's successor in Congress, having previously filled with honor for several years the position of brigade- major on the staff of his father. In 1801, David Thacher of Yarmouth departed this life. He was 27 years in the house of representatives, and one year in the senate from Barnstable county, -and judge of the court of Common Pleas, and a member of the convention to form a state constitution, and of that to ratify the fedeml constitution. He was a leading character of the town during the Revolutionary War, his judgment being sound, and his sympathies on the side of his oppressed countrymen,, though far from being an extremist in his political opinions ; his cautious temperament causing him at times to excite the distrust of the more ardent and impetuous patriots. A memorable shipwreck occurred near Peaked Hill bars, off Provincetown, in 1802. Three Salem ships, the Ulysses, Brutus and Yolutia, sailed together from Salem on a beautiful day in February, with valuable cargoes on board, one of them bound for Leghorn, the other two for Bordeaux. They encountered a sudden snow storm before reaching the Cape, and the three were wrecked near one another on those treacherous bars, then as now the terror of sailors. The Brutus lost all but five of its crew, some twenty men; the other two crews escaped with their lives. As an illustration of the facilities for the spread of intelligence in those days, it is stated that the account of those wrecks, which occurred February 22, did not reach Salem until FROM THE PEAC£ OF 17B3 TO THE WAR OF 1812-15. 225 March 4, following, and it was not until the 8th of March that full intelligence was received there. In 1804, a canal from Town Cove to Boat Meadow River, nearly on the boundary line between Orleans and Eastham, was dug by a companj' deriving its powers from the two towns, but the project did not prove a success. The legislature was petitioned for authority to create a lottery in aid of the project, but no action was taken in that direction » The route chosen was over the region through which Capt. Southack sailed in 1718, when going to the scene of pirate Bellamy's shipwreck. By the incorporation of Sandwich Academy, in 1804, was established an institution of learning in which the entire county was interested, both in its patronage and dii'ection. A gitmt of one half-township of six miles square, of unappropriated land in the district of Maine, was made by the legislature for the use of such academy in some town of the county, on condition that $3000 be actually raised and secured from other sources for the endowment of the same. There was great rivalry among the towns and villages of the Cape to secure the location of the institution within their limits, but the citizens of Sandwich offered the most substantial inducements, — the chief of them being the pre-eminent qualifications of the proposed principal. Rev. Jonathan Burr — and the academy was located there. The trustees named in the act of incorporation were eighteen in number, eight from Sandwich and ten from other towns, viz: Rev. Jonathan Burr, Hon. Nathaniel Freeman, Dr. Jonathan Leonard, Wendall Davis, Esq., James Freeman,^ Esq., Mr. \Vm. Fessenden, Mr. Stephen Basse tt, Mr. TVm. Bodfish, Sandwich; Rev. Henry Lincoln, Thomas Jones,. Esq., Falmouth; Thomas Thacher, Esq., Yarmouth; Rev. Levi 'Whitman, AVellfleet ; Rev. Oakes Shaw, David Soudder, 230 CAPE COD. Esq., Barnstable; Rev. John Simpkins, Brewster; Iwichard Sears, Esq., Chatham; Rev. Nathan Stone, Dennis; Rev. Jude Damon, Truro. Hon. Nathaniel Fi^eeman was president, and Mr. Wm. Fessenden, treasurer, of the corporation for many years. For some time this academy was a most prosperous and useful educational instinimentality. But sectarian differences among the managers at last operated to undermine the usefulness of the institution, so that finally its management fell into control wholly local and sectarian. The building and lot which it occupied have recently l)een sold, and a new location sought, to which whatever remains of the academy interest has l)cen trans- ferred in connection with the Sandwich High school. Sept. 24, 1807, died in Dartmouth, Mass., Rev. Samuel West, D. D. He was bom in Yarmouth, March 3, 17H0, in the southeasterly part of the town, near Swan Pond. His father was Sackfield West, a man of humble fortunes, but of strong mind, who often used to exhort the Indians in their meeting-house near by. Samuel was early employed in the pursuit of husbandrj'-, but discerning men discovering his abilities, the means of education were procured for him, and he <rraduutcd from Harvard College in 1751. "He became noted for his metaphysical and controversial talents, and was a thorouofh critic in Greek and Hebrew." He was a zealous Whig during the Revolution, and wrote much of a political character, and deciphered the letter of Dr. Church, to the British ministry, which disclosed that noted person's treason and duplicity. He was a member of the convention which formed the constitution of Massachusetts, and also of that which ratified the constitution of the United States. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences at Philadelphia and at Boston. '^He was," says Dr. Aldcn. "as remarkable for his mental powers as Dr. FKOM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE WAR OF ISIIMS. Samuel Johnson, the great biogi*apher and moralist. He was supposed to have much resembled him in jx^rsonal appeai*ance, and with the same litcrar}' advantages would, unquestionably, have equalled him for reputation in the learned world." His manners were very uncouth, and many anecdotes are told of his conduct while engrossed in thought or study, rendering him unconscious of the lapse of time and oblivious of everything around him. On one occasion he harnessed his horse to go to church, and, falling into a reverie, took the steed by the bridle and led it all the way there. He preached with great vigor and power, and without the aid of notes. The origin of the family is unknown. Dr. West had a brother, who was undis- tinguished.* The commercial and maritime interests of the country, in which the i^eople of the Cape had borne so prominent a part, were greatly imperilled by European complications. Soon after the Revolutionary War the commerce of the United States entered u|X)n a career of rapid expansion and prosperity, which continued for nearly twenty years. Maintaining a strict neutrality with the belligerents of Europe, our people were enabled to enjoy the rich harvest derived from the carrying trade of the nations engaged in war. The people of the Cape were large sharers in this prosperity, and many ample fortunes were made by our enterprising shipmasters, who kept up the old-time reputation of their class for energy and perseverance. It was claimed, and the claim has not to the knowledge of the writer been disputed, that the sloop "Stork," of Boston, Capt. Ebenezer Sears, of Yarmouth, was the first craft that carried the American flag east of the Cape of Good Hope. The sloop of those days was not necessarily the small craft ^Old Tarmouth. 228 CAPE COD. which passes under that classificatioii at the present day^ but was sometimes sqmire-riggedy with standing royal yard, and capable of spreading large quantity of canvas. It was frequently of two or three hundred tons capacity^ which in those days was regarded as a large vessel. There were a number of these crafts sailing from Boston at the beginning of the century, some of which were conunanded by Barnstable county men. In the opposite direction, during the year 1792, Capt. John Kenrick, in the private armed vessel, Columbia Bedivivia, having for a tender the sloop Lady Washington, was the first American commander who circumnavigated the globe. It was claimed for him that **he discovered the Columbia River, and named it for his ship; sailed into Nootka Sound, rigged his tender into a brig, gave the ship in charge of his first lieutenant, Kobert Gray, ordered him to enter the Columbia, and himself, in his little brig, returned via the East Indies and the Cape of Good Hope." Capt. Gray has been awarded the credit of the discovery of the Columbia River, * but it is indisputable that it was Capt. Kenrick's vessel, by his orders, which first entered the river> while the captdin took his adventurous coui*se towards home. Not long after this time, while Capt. Kenrick was exploring seas unknown to his countrymen, another Cape shipmaster, Capt. Elijah Cobb, of Brewster, was invoking justice of the revolutionary government of France. His vessel had been seized and its cargo appropriated by the French authorities, at Brest, and, after a struggle, he had extracted from the French oflicials a promise of reparation, but no progress had been made in securing its perfoimance. It was represented to him that the papers in the case had been sent to Paris ; and, after securing certified copies thereof, to •Am. Cyclopasdia, vol. V. FROM THE PEACE OF 1788 TO THE WAR OF 1812-lS. 2» Paris he went to further prosecute his suit for redress. He arrived in that city in the midst of the bloodiest period of that fearful drama, the recital of which, even now, sends a thrill of horror through the civilized world. He was an eye-witness to the execution of hundreds of persons by the guillotine, of men, women, priests, civilians, of all agea and conditions of life. These scenes did not deter him from his pui*pose. He found the French officials to be tricky and evasive, and finally they pretended to have lost his papers and could not proceed. In this emergency he had bethought him of appealing to Robespierre himself, who, though hard-hearted and cruel, was not destitute of a sense of justice and public honor. In response to an appeal by letter from Capt. Cobb, representing himself as an American citizen, who had been captured by a French frigate on the high seas, and who desired an interview on business, he received reply, of which the following is a translation : *" I will grant Citizen Cobb an interview tomorrow at ten a. m. Robesfierbe/' Capt. Cobb called at the appointed time. Sobespierre's demeanor on this occasion was a model of courtesy and decorum, and he little resembled the monster he is generally pictured in contemporary history. Like Byi'on's pirate, '* He was the mildest mannered man. That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat.** He heard Capt. Cobb to the end, then convei*sed with him in very good English, and at the close told him to call at the office in Rue St. Honorie, tell them who sent him there, and direct them, at the risk of his displeasure, to a<ljust the business upon which he called. Capt. Cobb did so, and at once had his claim allowed by the obsequious official. Before Capt. Cobb left Paris he witnessed the execution on 280 CAPE COD. the guillotine of Rol>e8pierre himself.* Capt. Cobb was destined to exi)erience other adventures of a thrilling nature before returning home. He was some time a resident at Hamburg, and during the succeeding war wits captured and imprisoned by a British frigate. The shipmaster in those daySy beside being a thorough navigator, was required, before the advent of magnetic telegraphs, telephones and &8t mails, to exercise the functions of supercargo and merchant, being so remote from his o>vners and employers that it was necessary to rely upon his own judgment and discretion. These exigencies developed lirst-class ability in many instances, and it was during this period that the business reputation and sagacity of Cape shipmasters was at the highest point. Among the disadvantages attending the prosecution of foreign commerce by Amencans, was the inadequacy of our naval forces in distant waters. The United States was for many years unable to claim respect for the flag or exact protection for those sailing under it. Even in tlie Barbary States, a tribute was required and enforced, and was submitted to for many years, as the price of exemption from capture. It seems strange at this day to record the fact, that in some of the chuivhes of the Cape, in the early pail of this century, it was not an unusual occurrence to take up a contidbution of ransom money for captured American sailors, or for tribute for those who were vovaffinor to the Meditermncan and were liable to be overhauled by Algerine cruisers. It was not until the war of 1812-15 had demon- strated our naval strength, that the United States government was enabled to send Commodore Decatur to Algiers, who e:ffectually chastised these piratical collectors of tribute and put an end to their extortions. •Capt. Cobb's Autobiography, iu Yarmouth Register, May, 1878. FROM THE PEACE OP 1T«3 TO THE WAR OF 1813-15. 231 In the complications which arose in Europe in the early pait of the nineteenth century, it was difficult for the United States to avoid misunderstandings with two jealous and unreasonable rivals like Enjrland and Fiance. A<;ainst England, especially, complaints were made of spoliations and insults. The British Orders in Council, on one hand, and the French Berlin and ^lilan decrees on the other, came near extinguishing our commerce. Then, after other ineffectual measures, came the Embargo act in 1807, prohibiting intercourse with all foreign countries, thus crushing out the remaining foi*eigu ti*ade which had escaped annihilation at the hands of the two great Europcstn contest- ants. It excited the fiercest political discu^^sion between the Federalists . and Republicans (or Democrats,* as they were derisively called by their opponents, and began to call themselves.) The measure brought ruin to many with Imt little good, however well meant. It was believed in the New England states to be aimed directly at their prosperity. They were certainlj^ the greatest sufferei-s. Their fishing vessels were given up, and abandoned crafts of all kinds lay unused at the wharves. Their crews, out of emplojTnent and without the means of livelihood, swelled the volume of public discontent. Petitions from all parts of the county were sent to the President, to Congi'ess and to the state legislature, deprecating the embargo, setting forth its disastrous effects and pmying for relief. The restiveness of the people was not restrained within the strict limits of their legal rights. A vessel belonging to Brewster, which had been fitted out to run the embai*go, was captured off the Cape, l)y a sloojnof-war, and sent to Provincetown harbor. The c;iptain communicated with the owners, a packet was manned and the prize was boarded, retaken, and sailed for Surinam. The U. S. marshal tried to investigate the affair. '282 CAPK COD. but was received in an unfriendly manner, and his efforts proved ineffectual. All these clamors and indications of popular disapproba- tion with the results of the embargo were unavailing. Mr. Jefferson continued to justify the measure. He had the power, in certain contingencies, to suspend the act, but refused to exercise it. The discontent increased. John Quincy Adams, who, as a senator from Massachusetts, had sustained the president in this measure, and who, in consequence, was compelled to resign his position, his course being disapproved by the legislature, at length informed the president that this policy could be endured no longer, and just before Mr. Jefferson retired from office, the Embargo gave way to the Non-intercourse act, by which trade and commerce with England and France was interdicted. But little amelioration of the condition of affairs resulted from this measure. Other causes of irritation were constantly arising. The detention and search of American vessels and the impressment of American seamen on board of British men-of-war were of frequent occurrence, and the British government studiously refused reparation or assuitmces of discontinuance of the injurious practice. It was soon apparent that the alternative was either submission or war. The prospect, in any view, was most deplorable. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1784-1812. 1781 Aug. 8, Rev. Abram Williams of Saudwich died.— Mr. Cornelius Crocker of Barnstable, tavern keeper, died, aged 80. 1785. Rev. Levi Wliltman settled over the Welllleet society. —An act passed the legislature to protect Pocha beach, in Eastham. 1786. An act passed the legislature for the protection of Province- CHRONOLOGY OP EVENTS. 28S town harbor.— Hey. Caleb Upham of Truro died« and was succeeded hj Rey. Jude Damon. 1787. Rev. Jonathan Burr suooeeded Mr. Williams in Sandwich.— Mr. Elisiha Tupper, missionary to the Indians, died in Pocasset, aged 80.— -Dr. Abner Hersey died in Barnstable. 1788. Col. Enoch Hallet of Yarmouth, sheriff of the county, died.— —Hon. Nymphas Marston of Barnstable died.— Rev. Enoch Eldredge ordained pastor of First Baptist church in Barnstable (Hyannis). 1789. Rev. Josiah Mann of Falmouth died, and Rev. Henry Lincoln «uc<>eeded him.— Barnstable offered a reward of 850 to any one who would kill the wolf that infested the vicinity, if killed in town; if elsewhere, 825. 1790. Sandwich offered a reward of $30 to any one who would kill the wolf, catamount or tiger that infested this and the neighboring towns; and it was ordered, that if, in the opinion of the committee, a general muster of the inhabitants be necessary, every able-bodied man be called upon to hunt him. 1791. Capt. Joshua Gray, of Revolutionary fame, died in Yarmouth. — Rev. Isaiah Dnnster, pastor of North precinct of Harwich, died, and was suc<»eeded by Rev. John Simpkins. 1792. The wolf continuing its ravages, a general muster of the iiihaliitauts of t>audwich wiis ordered for its destruction.- Rev. Nathan Underwood was settled over the Second precinct of Harwich. 1794. Rev. Edward Cheever of Eastham died. 1797. Ineffectual attempt was made to divide the town of Sandwich, and make a separate township of Monument and Pocasset. 1708. Job Chase and others were incorporated, under the name of The Baptist Religious Society of Harwich. 1800. The death of Gen. Washington was observed in Orleans by a sermon preached by Rev. Mr. Bascom, which was afterwards pul>> lished. 1802. Wellfleet voted ^* to repair the Indians' house in the north part of the town so as to make it comfortable."— A Methodist church, consisting of three persons, was organized in Welllleet.— Capt. David Wood of Falmouth and four men died of yellow fever at Cape Fran- -cois, Aug. 10. 1804. Ca)>t. Joshua Crowell of Falmouth and four men were lost in Boston bay, by the capsizing of their vessel. 1807. Rev. Oakes Shaw, pastor of West Barnstable church, died Feb. 11th, in the 47th year of his ministry.— Rev. Gideon Hawley of Mashpee died. Out. 3.— Rev. Jonathan Bascom, pastor of Orleans t^hurch, died March 8, after a ministry of 35 years. 1809. Methodist Episcopal church gathered in Falmouth through the instrumentality of Rev. Erastus Otis.— Holmes Allen, councillor At law, died in Barnstable. 1810. Gen. Joseph Otis, of Barnstable, died Sept. 23, aged 82.— It is Si CAPS COD. recorded that n hatt viol was purrbnsert tbls year for the cliatr In OrlenDS mcetlug-housp, thp ftivt Ini-tniinrat of miiiilo ever entployed tbere.— Brew^Ie^ voted to retnourtmle Kgaiu^t the niipuiutmeut of Edmrd O'Briirii &t iiovtniU:<litr of tlint towD, "he 1>elu([ a torelxuer. uid. In tfap opiiiiou of lliu liilialilLiiuth, uii alieu." 1*11, Iieave va* grunted to Sumuel ITius ■^ud otbers of Satidvlcb "to erect a dam uiid work^ of a wittou factory oil the£trciini between tlie upper aud lonrcr poudf . at a place uear Wolf-trap Ne«k, so-cnlled." — Hon. Ebenezer Bac-ou of Barnstable died.— Rev. Jamea Baruabj was called to the pastorate of the Biiptliit churcti lu We«I Harwivh. ssfcj^m CHAFTER XrV. WAR OF 1812-15. Tbe Admiiiiitriitiou fori^d to declare War— Scut Imeut of tblB Conat]' defliicd — Coupres^iDDU Greeu fupenieded liv Hon. Joha Reed — Voti"!>for fiOTpruof In 1813 nod 181* — "Couuly CougrenB" endorse tbe ndmiulstrotion— History mt right— Bom Dardmeut of Tml- luoHlb. Iiy Brig Nimrod — Brltii<h Prlvat^-fr " Retaliation " captured hjr Capt. Wei<tou JrukliiBaudcompaiitoiiii — Operations in Hyannto Hnrliur— CajMs Ve««el4 captured lu Cape Cod Buy — CommunkM- lUm with New York via Buzzards Bay— Adveuturou* trip to Boftou of Cnptf. Mayo and Kuowl en— Tribute demanded of Eastham, Breirtiter aud Orlean« — Orleaus refused, and retlsted TClth force— Demoui»tratlon upon B ami table— Cape roeo In tbe uaral forces and privateers- Peace restored. • AR with Gi-cat Britain now became inevitable^ ^The goTemment of that country adhered \teiiaciuutily to ita jx>Iicy relating to neutrals, K and American vessels coutiuued to be seized ' by British cruisers and condemned in Britiiih admiralty courts. Early .in 1812, Congress passed an act laying an embargo' for ninety* days on all vessels within _the United States. This was well understood to lie prcponitory to a declaration of hostilities, an event for which the country was unprepared, for which the government had no dct>ire, but which was forced upon the reluctant Aladi^on by the 3'ounger element of his supjxjrters, led by Clay, Calhoun and Lon-udes. The formal <lecl»ration was made June 18, of that 3'ear. It ia ■well understood that the war party made the President'a 286 CAPE COD. acquiesence in their policy the condition of their support for his re-election. The Federalist leaders, especially those of New England in general, and Massachusetts in particular, had all along been most bitter in their denunciations of what was styled by them, ^the timid and yielding policy of Mr. Madison's administration;" they had demanded a more determined and aggressive attitude; but when war was declared, they evinced a bitter hostility to a measure which they knew would prostrate the commercial interests of the nation, and bring temporary disaster upon their peculiar industries. They were partly in the right, and partly in the wrong, in their position. Appreciating the national weakness and deficiencies, our government had hesitated at the taking of strong grounds ; but goaded by constant and continued insults and outrages by Great Britain, had at length been led to assume a more aggressive position. The declaration was passed in the house, by a vote of 74 to 49, and in the senate by 19 to 13, and was signed by the President June 18, 1812. The reasons assigned in this manifesto were : the impressment of American seamen by the commanders of British ships of war; the British doctrine and system of blockade; the orders in council; and lastly, various depredations committed by British subjects on the commerce of the United States. Five days later the British government revoked its orders in council, a step which, had it been taken a little before, would doubtless have prevented hostilities at that time; but we had no telegraphic cables, and war had begun before the intelligence of this change of policy could reach this country. If ever a war was justifiable, that of 1812-15 most undeniably was, whatever criticism may fairly be made upon the policy which preceded it. There probably would never have been an adequate acknowledgement of our commercial WAR OF 1812-15. 287 rights and of the respect due our flag, until an assertion by force of our position as one of the nations of the earth. It would doubtless have been better bad we never resorted to such palliatives as non-intercourse and embargoes, by which our vitality was sapped and our resources exhausted^ without any compensating advantages. The longer the final decision was put off , the weaker was our position, and the war party reasoned rightly, that as Great Britain was determined to yield nothing unless under compulsion, the sooner the struggle came, the better for the country. The maritime interests of New England were for the time destroyed. Our vessels lay rotting at the wharves, and our men were out of employment. A powerful opposition party at once sprang up, composed of those whose business had been prostmted, and others who felt that the government had managed our relations with Great Britain with a lack of discretion, and had rushed finally into a war which we were unprepared to wage with prospect of success. Beyond the local and political contests, the earlier months of the war in this portion of New England were uneventful. Great Britain was at that time engaged in her tremendous struggle with Napoleon, and gave not much attention or thought to the American war. This afforded time, which was not very well improved, to put our seacoast in a state of defence. The operations of the enemy were not directed to our waters until the following year, when the whole coast of the United States was declared in a state of blockade, with the exception of the fedeml states of New England, a distinction not growing out of any understanding or overtures proceeding from them, but obviously made with the view on the part of the British government of widening the breach between them and the portion of the country most favorable to the war. It was a piece of strategy 288 CAPE COD. which probably produced but little effect. The people of New England were loyal to their country, however antag- onistic to the policy of the government. Having but slight participation in the events of the first years of the war, and feeling keenly its deprivations and disasters to their business interests, the unwonted number of her citizens who were at home participated more than was usual in public affairs, and the expressions of their discontent were frequent and vehement. The citizens of Yarmouth, July 8, 1812, drafted * a memoiial to the President, and appointed a committee to correspond with other sections of the county, "to consult for the general good and safety. '' Chatham expressed its opposition to the war in a memorial to the President, in which was expressed the ''abhorrence of the people to any alliance with France." Other towns, though making no formal avowal of their sentiments, were lukewarm, if not hostile, in seconding the movements of the government. The most bitter denunciations of the administration policy came from the commercial class. Our representative in Congress, Hon. Isaiah L. Green, who had voted for the declaration, doing so, as he said at the time, with a full consciousness that he was thereby imperilling his seat in the national legislature, was obliged to withdraw from Congress and give place to an opponent of the administration, Hon. John Reed succeeding to the position. Partisan rancor and personal hostility were carried to a great extreme, and the citizens of this county formed no exception to this condition. Perhaps the most coiTcct estimate of the political sentiments of the people can be gained by a record of the votes cast for the state officers in the spring of 1813, after the declaration of war, and on the succeeding year. By this table it will be learned what were the political proclivities of each of the towns. The persons voted for in 1813 were WAA OF 1822-15. 289 Caleb Strong, the Fedemlist, anti-war candidate, and Joseph B. Vamum, administration, war candidate. The next j'ear, Gov. Strong had for his opponent Mr. Dexter, also an upholder of the war : • 1814. 1818. 8trouR. Dexter. Stroug. Varuum. Provincctown, 88 59 55 12 Chatham, 114 29 95 29 Harwich, 104 49 115 70 Dennis, 2(J5 26 245 23 Barnstable, 176 261 168 240 Falmouth, 80 150 74 170 Sandwich, 152 180 144 157 Yarmouth, 245 23 265 23 Orleans, 21 101 41 103 Easthara, 53 31 73 18 Truro, 30 31 42 30 Wellfleet, 52 18 53 17 Brewster, 127 16 140 14 1507 974 1510 906 The foregoing figures make it apparent that there were here a considerable numl^er of men of standing and influence who upheld the national government, and approved its policy, both in declaring war and in the method of conducting hostilities. Delegates to a county congress assembled in the summer of 1813 ; though not an official bod}', it voiced the sentiments of the minority. They resolved that "It becomes us, in imitation of the patriots of the Revolution, to unite in the common cause of the countrj", patiently bearing every evil, and cheerfullj'- submitting to those privations which are neccssarilv incident to a state of war. AVe consider the war in which we are engaged as just, necessary and unavoid- able, and we will support the s:inie with our lives and MO CAPS COD. fortunes.'' Also, "^That the Hon. Isaiah L. Green, our congressional representative , has done nobly, and desenrea well of his country.'' ^That although the present chief magistrate of this commonwealth is not the man of our choice, yet his councils we will follow and his ordera cheerfully obey, so far as are compatible with the spirit and meaning of the Federal Constitution;" a qualification sufficiently broad to cover all contingencies that might arise. They also put on record this national sentiment : ^ But our allegiance to the United States, and attachment to its constitution we hold paramount to every other duty ;" also, ** We have the fullest confidence in the wisdom, firmness and patriotism of the President and Congress, of whose doings we cordially approve." That this was campaign talk, not shared by a large majority of the voters, has already been made apparent. But it misled a local historian to assert that the national administration was sustained and that ** the party which advocated war measui*es was politically ascendant in this county."* No statement could be more untrue or misleading, if the sentiments of the voting portion of the population afforded any indication of the opinions of the county. The undeniable facts, that Mr. Green was obliged to relinquish his seat in Congress to an anti-war candidate, and that Gov. Strong, a bitter opponent of Mr. Madison and the war, was sustained by an overwhelmning majority the two succeeding elections, indicate the trend of opinion and sentiment in this county in the period under review. The earlier campaigns of the war were can-ied on languidly, and were, upon the whole, disastrous to the American cause upon the land. The gallant achievements of our navy alone relieved the operations of the year from *Freeman*8 History of Cape Cod, vol. I, pages 507-S. Blake's Hist, of Cape Cod. WAR OF 1812-1&. 2il disaster and humiliation. So far as our seacoast town^^ were concerned, we were not subjected to alarms of hostile invasions, but the loss of employment to our people, the difficulty of obtaining the supplies for subsistence, and consequent distress and dissatisfaction were everj'where apparent. In 1814, Great Britain, haWng been relieved for a time of the pressure of a continental war, by the subjugation and banishment of Xapoleon Bonaparte, was enabled to turn her attention to affairs in America. A large fleet was sent over, and operations were actively inaugurated on the coast of ^lassachusetts, their place of rendezvous being in Provincetown harbor, whence they sent out their tenders and barges to the surrounding coasts.. Every harbor and creek which was capable of the egi'ess of sailing crafts \vas subject to a strict sunxillance, and hostile demonstrations were made on the villages on the inside shores of the Cape. C>n the south shore, as in the Revolutionary war, armed vessels made threatening incursions upon the coast and caused considerable alarm. Early in Januarj", 1814, three boats from the British vessel Albion attempted to land at '>Vood's Hole, but were driven off by a company of militia. It was reported that several of the invaders were killed or wounded. Jan. 23, 1814, the town of Falmouth was excited by a demonstration by H. B. M. brig Nimrod. A demand had been made for several pieces of artillery, which had been employed to annoy the British cruisers, and the Nantucket packet sloop, which had been detained by the citizens, believing its crew to be either friendly to the enemy or neutral. The demand, so far as the cannon was concerned, was refused. Capt. Weston Jenkins, who was in command of the local militia, is reported to have tauntingly asked the ZiQ CAPE COD. British commander to **come on and get them.** A flag was then sent b}' the commander of the Nimrod, giving two hours in which to remove the women and children, at the end of which time the bombardment was to commence. A scene of confusion ensued, while the sick and non- combatants were removed to places of safety. In the meantime the neighboring militia came pouring into the town. About noon the cannonade commenced and continued until near nightfall, some guns l>eing fired after dark. A demonstration of landing was made, but the determined look of the militia in the entrenchments deterred the enemy from the attempts In the moniing the brig sailed away, after firing a few shots at the militia at Xobsque Point. No casualties to life or limb were reported. The damage to buildings and salt works was considemble. Eight 32 lbs. balls were shot through one house.* This repulse by no means released the town from anxiety and immunity from the incursions of the British cruisers. As in the Revolutionary War, thirty years before, they hovered on ' the coast and committed repeated acts of aggression upon the town. They were not, however, permitted to do so, without frequent evidence of the fact that the citizens were ready to wage an aggi'cssive, as well as a defensive warfare. Oct., 1814, was signalized by a daring and successful exploit, by Falmouth men under the command of Capt. Weston Jenkins. The British privateer Retaliation, Capt. Porter, had been active in annoying the inhabitants of the town during the preceding months. Capt. Jenkins, who was in command of the militarj' companj' of the town, called for volunteers to capture the annoying intruder. Thirty-two men offered their services. They *The priucipal sufferers were Elijah Swift, Silas Jones. Thomas Bourne, Job Hatch, Rev. Henry Lincoln, Sbubael Hatch, Jr., iu damages to buildings aud salt works.— [Boston Ceutinei, Feb. 2. WAR OF 1813-1&. 248 embarked on board of tlie little sloop **Two Friends,*' at Wood's Hole; being becalmed, they rowed to Taqmulin Cove, where the privateer laj- at anchor. Arrived within three-fourths of a mile of the Retaliation, its gun was fired, which Capt. Jenkins chose to consider as a signal to stop ; and no sooner was anchor dropped than a boat put off from the privateer with the captain and live men. Capt. Jenkins's men, with two or three exceptions, kept out of sight until the boat was alongside and had made fast ; then, at a signal previously agreed to, twenty men rose up and pointed their muskets into the boat, demanding a surrender, which was at once made. Then, putting twelve men into the privateer boat, they also got the sloop under way, boarded the privateer and captured her without resistance. They brought their prize into Falmouth, and its cargo, consisting principally of plunder, was landed there. The privateer had five guns, a crew of twelve men, and two American prisoners. Hyannis harbor, the only eligible roadstead on the southerly shore of the Cape beside Wood's Hole, was the scene of considerable excitement during the year 1814, July 16, the shipping records report, **The privateer Yankee, from a cruise, arrived at Hyannis Wednesday, landed upwards of a hundred packages of dry goods, and would proceed on to Bristol."* Landing of goods was sometimes effected which did not find a record in the public prints. Cargoes of wine, spirits, and Southern products, which had run the blockade and had not been reported to the govern- ment officers, were several times seized by the revenue authorities, and condemned, f The north, or bay shore of the Cape, was, as before ^Boston CentineL i^Collector Greeu's Letter Book, in possession of Maj. S. B. Phinney. 2U CAPS COD. remarked, strictly blockaded, the British fleet near Boston harbor having undisputed control of Provincctown harbor and its surrounding waters. Provincctown itself was nearly depopulated. All intercourse with Boston from the Cape was attended with extreme risk. Fishing and coasting vessels were closely watched and confined to their waters, where not unfrequently they were subject to attack and destruction from the enemy. During June, launches from the British ships captured in the bay the sloop Mariner, Nye, of Sandwich, for Boston; schs. Betsey, Nickci'son; Nightingale, Atkins ; Beauty, Holmes ; and the Fly, all of Provincctown. They were liberated, after the captors had taken out their cargoes, fish and oil. They also captured and released sloop Experiment, of Truro, for Sandwich from Boston. The sch. Two Friends, of Provincctown, was taken off Gloucester by British privateer Shannon, and sent to Nova Scotia. The sch. Victory, of Yarmouth, Capt. Timothy Hallet, was captured while on a fishing voyage, by H. B. M.* Frigate Leander. Capt. HrJlct, who was held a prisoner on board the Victory, afterwards saved the frigate from shipwreck, by warning the sailing master of his dangerous proximity to the shoals ; and ho received therefor an order on the governor at Halifax for his vessel, and a safe conduct to his home for vessel and crew.* Under the date of June 2d, 1814, is the following: Arrived at Hyannis, sch. Kutuzoff, Capt. Alexander, 14 days from Savannah, with a full load of cotton and rice. It was chased by an English privateer schooner, which fired several shots at its adversary. The Kutuzoff was run ashore, and the cargo immediately landed. A four-pounder belonging to the prize-ship London Packet was on the beach, and about 100 militia collected to repel the enemy *01d Yarmouth. WAR OF 1812-15. 215 had ho attempted to hind. The privateer sent one of its boats with combustibles and set fire to the prize ship, but it was extinguished without material injurj'.* During that time and until the close of the war, a favorite mode of communication with the cities was by means of boats, and Boston harbor was so thoroughly blockaded, that intercourse by water was more frequent with New York than with the former city. "Watching their opportunity, large fleets of whalcboats would sail to North Sandwich, to be carted thence across Buzzard's Bay from that point of dei>ai*ture, running near the shores as occasion required, until they reached the port of their destination. The expoi-ts were generally dried fish, or salted mackerel, and sometimes salt, which were bartered for flour and other necessaries of life. One person, at least, is known to have exchanged a cargo, at the rate of a bushel of salt for a barrel of flour. Men who had been commanders of firs1>- class ships sometimes engaged in this business. In the summer of 1814, Capt. Matthew H. Mayo and Capt. Winslow L. Knowles left Eastham in a whaleboat loaded with rye, and arrived safely in Boston. Purchasing ailicles for domestic consumption and exchanging their boat for one somewhat lai-ger, they started on their homeward journey. When near the Gurnet they discovered a pink- stem schooner at anchor, with five men on deck apparently fishing. Suddenly a gun was discharged, and they not stopping, another was also fii-ed, the shot falling near them, when they hove to, and the schooner came up to their boat, Capt. Ma^'o in the meantime throwing overboard his valuable glass, to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy. They were taken on board of the schooner and conveyed to the British man-of-war Spencer, where they were kept *Boston Centiuel. 946 CAPE COD. three days. Capt. Knowles was then permitted to go to Boston to obtain $300, the price agreed upon for their ransom, but was advised to give up the scheme. At the end of seven days, Capt. Mayo was placed on the schooner which captured him, as a pilot, with the British officers and twenty men and ample armament, with orders to cruise in the bay. They were soon after overtaken by a severe northwest wind, and Capt. ]^Iayo advised them to take shelter under Billingsgate Point, but when they acceded, he purposely anchored in bad holding ground. He went forward unobserved, and with his pen-knife, so cut the cable, that it soon parted; then, by his advice, they attempted to reach a harbor ten miles to the leeward. He had previously picked the lock of the first officer's writing- desk, and abstracted a pair of pistols, which he secreted under his jacket. The schooner soon grounded on Eustham flats, and the officers became suspicious ; but Capt. Mayo assured them they had struck on the outward bar and would soon drift over ; he advised them and the men to go below 80 that their numbers might not excite suspicion on shore. He gave the men a gimlet with which they tapped a cask of rum, and drank until they were intoxicated. The vessel soon began to heel over as the tide ebbed, and the officers, their suspicions being confirmed, ordered the men on deck for resistance, but they could not come. Capt. !Mayo threw overboard all the arms that were on deck, drew his pistols and threatened to shoot any one who should advance. He then went on shore, gave information of his position, and the militia came and took possession of the vessel, cargo and crew, who were confined in a )>arn on shore; but they were soon allowed to escape, and, taking a boat, reached the frigate in the bay. The U. S. marshal took possession of the crew's arms and baff2:a<re, and the vessel was claimed V* WAR OF 1812^15. 247 by pai-ties in Duxbury, from whom it was cajiturcd, but the authorities awarded it to Capt. ^layo, who afterwards released it to the owners for §200. The British com- mander dis|^tched a barge to the shore with a demand for $200 for tlie prisoners' baggage and $1000 for desisting from an invasion of the town, threatening to land with sufficient force to bum the vessels, dwellings and salt works, if the demand were not complied with in twenty-four hours. The selectmen, as a committee of safety, visited the flag-ship, and upon their recommendation the town paid the $1200, taking a receipt with a written promise not to take or destroy the property of the town of Eastham during the war. This seems to have been a needless concession, as the forces were sufficient to repel the landing of the British and they would hardly have made an attempt. There was no thickly settled village, and the salt works were scattered over the town at some distance from the shore. A demand was also made by the British commander upon the people of Brewster for a contribution of $4000 for immunity from invasion and destruction of property. A meeting was held on Sunday, Sept. 18, at which the subject was discussed, and committees appointed to consult with the other towns in the vicinity, and also to visit H. B. M. ship Sppncer, and make the best terms possible with the commander. The meeting adjourned to the next day, when the committee reported. The adjoining towns had sufficient employment in attending to their own defence ; and the British commander refused to abate a dollar of the $4000 demand, and they, therefore, felt obliged to give their security for the sum. The committee's report was accepted by a nearly unanimous vote, and measures taken to tax salt works, buildings of all descriptions, and vessels owned in town or frequenting or Ij'ing on the shores. The day 1)efore 248 CAPE COD. the term of grace had expired the $4000 was paid, and a receipt given, by which the British commander guaranteed the safety of the s^alt works and the town ''during the present war." Signed by Kichard Kaggctt, Captain. The payment of the taxes for this contribution was in some cases resisted, and legislation had to be resorted to in order to legalize the proceedings. The inhabitants were severely criticised for their action in this matter, but contended that as the general government had left them in a defenceless condition, they were impelled to do the best they could to avei-t the destruction of the town. A similar demand to that made upon the towns of Eastham and Brewster was also made upon Orleans, with the offer of a guarantee of safety and protection in case of compliance. The demand and proft'or were immediately rejected. Attempts were made by the enemy during the fall to land, but thev were as often driven back. About the middle of December, the British frigate Newcastle was ashore near Orleans. It was necessary to throw overboard a number of spai-s before the vessel was extricated from her dangerous position. These the people on shore destroyed. Dec. ly, a four-oared barge from the Newcastle entered Orleans harbor and took possession of sch. Betsey, and sloops Camel, Washington and Nancy. On board the former were placed a midshipman and nine men ; two of the vessels being aground, they were set on tire, but the flames were extinguished b}^ the inhabitants. The Betsey was got under way, and the midshipman being unacquainted with the coast put the only American on board in charge of the vessel, upon his promise to carry it to Provincctown ; but he ran tao craft ashore on Yarmouth beach, where it was recaptured by the inhabitants, and tlie crew made prisoners and sent to Salem. The Camel arrived in Proviucetown, WAR OF 1812-1&. 219 several unsuccessful attempts being made to recapture it. A barge containing amis, with two men, drifted ashore in Orleans, and the men gave themselves up as prisoners.* During the operations the militia of the town repaired to "Rock Harbor," the scene of the events, in considerable force, and resisted the approach of the foe, in an engage- ment, in which one or more of the enemy wei*e killed. This skirmish was styled the ** Battle of Orleans," and sixty years afterwards the participants, or their sui-viving widows, obtained, under the act of Congress of March 3, 1855, and a subsequent statute, wan*ants of 160 acres of public lands, as a pension Iiount}', for their service in this affair. Threatening demonstrations were, during the fall of 1814, made upon the town of Barnstable. The militia was called out and assistance sent for from the neighboring towns; several companies were under arms there two or three days, but the enemy did not make the attempt. The war party, or friends of the administration, complained that the state government was lukewarm and negligent of the safety of our people. Collector Green, who, for the loss of his seat in Congress in consequence of voting for a declaration of war, had been recognized by President Madison by an appointment as collector of customs at Barnstable, in his correspondence with Gen. Dearborn, complains of the action or non-action of the state authorities and suggests measures for defence and the procurement of arms.f He also addressed remonstrances on this point to the authorities in Washington, who were unable to furnish the facilities needed here. Capt. Simeon Kingman of Orleans also made an ineffectual effort to obtain arms and equipments of the state authorities. ♦Boston Ceutiuel, Dec. 2S, 1814. fCoilei-tor GieeuV Letlf r Book. 250. CAPE COD. The lack of sympathy in the objects of the war, although it was professedly waged to vindicate the commercial and maritime rights of the nation, prevented organization for warlike enterprises in some of the towns, and embarrassed the effoits to that end in the others. Thus the war measures were languidly pursued, and the spirit, which actuated the- fiU;hers of the Revolution in resistance to the mother country, was not revived in the war of 1812-15. But there were exceptions to this rule. Among the descendants of the men of 1776-'83, and especially those who inherited the adventurous instincts of the contemporaries of Paul Jones and his associates, business considerations and political influences could not obliterate the old desire to meet Great Britain on the sea, where she had \)cen most aggressive and defiant. The tishcrmcn resoited to the privateei*s and some of them enlisted in the naval service. For j^ears after the war, was suns: the sons: commemorative of the valor of our tars, and of their aversion to British aggression, commencing i "Ye Parliaments of Kii^lnnd, ye Lord-.? anil commons, too, Cousider well what you*re almiit and what yon mean to do; You're now at war with Yunkeex, I'm sure you'll rue the day. You've roused the &oni of liberty in Xorth America." The literary execution of these stanz:is was hardly up ta their patriotism, but the latter could not be safely challenged. Privateering, too, turned out a profitable business. Capt. Keuben Rich of Wellfleet, who, with two others, fitted out a vessel under a letter of marque, captured an East Indiaman the first day out ; brought the piizc to Boston, and realized $17,000 for his interest when ten days from port.* Four men from Brewster were in the In*ig Reindeer of Boston, Capt. Nathaniel Snow of Truro, commander. They fell in with a fleet of East Indiamen bound to England, but owing to the strength of the convoy did not attack. Subsequently •Rich's Truro. WAR OF 1813-16. 251 they captured six prizes, from which the}' took such part a& they wished, and burned the others. Five men from Eastham were hi privateer Brutus, Ca[>t. Austin, from Boston. They, too, had a number of engagements and took several prizes.* Capt. Winslow L. Knowlcs of £astham engaged in this service with i^ccuniary success. Some of the sailors of the Cape enlisted in the naval ]>ranch, in which they did good sendee. John Cook of Eastham was one of the crew of the flag-ship of Com. Peny in the battle of Lake Erie. Two Harwich men were of the crew of U. S. frigate Constitution, when it captured the British frigate Guerriere. The restoration of peace to Euro^^e led both the United States and Great Britain to desire a termination of war, which had almost wholly grown out of complications originating in the great conflict of arms beyond the Atlantic ; and after protracted negotiations, a treaty of peace waa signed at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1815, on the imit of the United States by Henry Cla3% John Quincy Adams, Jonathan Russell, James A. Bayard and Albert Gallatin. Singu- larly, nothing was said in the treaty about the impi-essment of seamen, the only remaining subject of contention; bat the practice was ever after discontinued by the British commanders, in agreement with a tacit understanding with the British commissioners. Peace at almost any price, short of absolute surrender, was a welcome boon, and the results of the war, on the whole, were favorable to the development of the commercial and maritime interests, in which the people of this county were almost whollj' engaged. The prisoners from Dartmoor and Halifax, of which the county had many, were released; those held hy our authorities •Pratrs Eastham. Their nameK were Sam'l Freeman, Jr., Capt. Nath'l Suow, Joseph Suow, Josiah Smith, Matthew H. Mayo. vero sent home; the great military establishments vera discontinued ; and the sailor, furmer, artisan and mechanic, DO longer hami>ered in their pursuits by the presence of armed soldiery, hailed with gladness the welcome advent of Peace! % CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1812-1815. 1812. Oct., Cougregattonal sooletj, Cbattiam, voted to enlnrge tbe meetiiig-bouae aud iiicroiuit the number of pew.4. — Aii act passed by the LegUlnture to iirolfct Ibe lolnter Hshery ot Proviiipptown, ISIS. The Vint pariah, Sttudwioti, tu ISU, di>>mtM«d tbe pastor, Rer. Ur. Burr, The sociHlj, by a very large majority, Toted lor tbe dlamlssal, while ttie church auatpjned the pastor, by an equally lorje TOte. The pastor brought autlou for hie ealary, and to decide whether the church or the society uuutrolii-d the teuipurulilicii, L a., the fuiidd, reoordi, etc. The Supreme court thin year sustained the soctety, which retaiuud posseHHiou ot ttauM'. 15ir p«r»u»a Itiereupnu receded, ■ud formed the Catviiilstio t'ouiirc>[jt'iouiil society, retniuiujc Mr. Burr for their pastor. Rct. Ezra S, Goodwlu succeeded Mr. llurr as pastor of the t'iriit Cuugrejiiutiouul »oclety. Ttiis cuite serreil us n terit iu subseqiii'iit at'tiniip ^on-iug out of the divi^ilnn lintw-eeu the Orthodox and L'Dltartan Coiigregatioual bodtos in this state, which occurred about this time, the preTtiiliiig party iu thi^t cu^e Iwiug ot the latter faith.— March :!1, Rav. Caleb Holmes of Flrrt parish, Deuiii.i, died, aged S3. ISU. Iter. Joseph Haveu iuvlted to the First parish. Deuuls.— Nol>- ipii->sett Pier Co. Iu same t^owii iiii-nriiomteil. 1S15. Welllleet MuuufacturlUK Co. iucurporutcd. n-ltb capital of €6,000, for the purpose of mamifuclurl'ig cotlnii iiuil woolen yarn.— ReT. jothsm Wati'vmauwaiidliimisi'ed'rom Riti't parUblii G:iru^tu1>le, aud was succeeded by Rev. Oliver Iliiyward. — t<ci)t. 113, ii ^■eiit pale swept over that part at the county coutlsiioiu to Burziird's Buy. The tides were the hiithe^t ever before kuowu, e."c<'ewUu|r the .meuiom)>le gale of 1C86. Tree* were uprooted, Kall-work« dci-Iroyed, vessels dri tu fr m th ir moorii ? oi 1 lai ded hVli > I ii tl e ih le iid ve/i^tation iu muny places de*trovril Hud the tide ri *• 11 iiilies bighei itwullhi\ s^tpcov r tl etaie L »er I vuoulUtLipe W win mi h l-n ev re mid de tr Pti\ CHAPTER XV. FROM THE WAR OF 1812-15 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. Industrial Rerival — Commercial Developmeut—Tbe Hereey BctAtfl dirided — Breakwater constructed at By nnui«— Burning of the Couutj Buildiuff— Xew Court House— Second Centennial Cal«- braliou ut Barnntable — DestructiTe Gale of IMl — Friuclpal LegUlatlre Eu act men ts— Obituary notices— Local events. ROM the termination of hoetilities between the UDited States and Great kUritaiu, the industrial activity of the people of Cape Cod again revired. ^Maniifuctures, dunng the cootinoanoe ut the struggle, had heeo initiated and pursued with some degree of vigor and success, here as in other paiis of the country, but before much capital or effort had been expended, the reverses which overtook this industry in all sections of the country deterred the people of the Cape from entering largely into the bttsinesB. The genius of our citizens was so largely of a maritime cast, and their habit of lookiug to the sea and the counting-room as the theatre of their efforts and exertions, has been bo ingrained in their natures, that it has for a century been found a difficult matter to divert their energies in the direction of manufactures and the arts. Commerce and the sailing of ships had their seasons of reverses and of success- ful achievement, but from the close of the war of 1812-15 254 CAPE COD. to the opening of the Southern Rebellion, may be counted as the most memorable and satisfactory period in the industrial development of Barnstable county. The reputation of our ship-mastei*3 and merchants who were of Cape Cod origin in the chief cities stood at the head of the column in all business enterprises ^nth which they were engaged. It is only necessary to recall such names as Sturges, Bacon, Sears, Broolvs, Swift, Collins, Lombard, Hallett, Nickerson, Kenrick, Baker, Crocker, and many pthers, merchants and master-mariners of renown in Boston, New York and Baltimore, to emphasize this assertion. It may be justly said of them that they were the peers and rivals of the most enterprising in the land, for at least half a century, in which the United States and Great Britain contended for the mastery of the sea. This period may, therefore, be regarded as the most auspicious epoch in the industrial history of Capo Cod, though its annals, in jiccordance with the oft-quoted maxim, while prosperous, were uneventful and unexciting. The narrative of events, however, was not without many episodes of interest, and in the succeeding pages these transactions will be narrated in the order in which they occurred. In 1816 the Congregational churches of the county petitioned for, and obtained permission from, the legislature, to sell their several and collective shares in the Hersey estate. This property lies about a mile eastward of the court house, and was devised by the will of Dr. Abner Hersey, in 1786, to the thirteen Congregational churches then existing in the county, for the dissemination of a certain character of religious literature. Dr. Hersey was a man of peculiar intellectual order. "With much vigor of judgment, he was also a confirmed hypochondriac. He came to Barnstable from Hingham, as the successor of his PROM WAR OF 18l:^•15 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. 255 "brother James, who died in 1770. He was not then considered, either by education or acquirements, particularly well fitted for the position of medical practitioner. But he had something as good as education, great native sense and sagacity and the power of application and acquisition of knowledge. He soon became the leading medical man on the Ca})e. He travelled on a regular circuit, and his times of coming found scoi*es of sufferers awaiting his advent, with patrons at all the important centres and cross-roads in the region. His manners were brusque and im^^rious. At the close of his life he began to take precautions about his own health. He lived sparingly, and took much care to avoid exposui'e to damp and cold weather. He had leather curtains to his sulky, and in winter wore a leather cloak made of sixteen calf skins. His bed was covered with a large number of milled blankets, and on retiring he would turn down a considerable number, according to the weather. EUs garments were cut after a fashion of his own. He was capricious and uncertain in his moods, but a just and beney- olent man, as well as a good manager in financial matters, having in his practice accumulated what was in his time regarded as a good fortune. In his will he bequeathed £500 to Harvard college for the endowment of a professorship of physic and surgery, and the remainder of his estate, after the decease of his wife, to the thirteen Congregational churches in the county, proportioned to the amount he had obtained in each of the parishes. The proportion reduced to 56ths was as follows : East Precinct, Barnstable, 7-56th8 West " " 5-56ths Fahnouth, 4-56ths Sandwich, 4-56th8 AVest, or First Precinct, Yarmouth, 6-56tli8 2M CAPE COD. East, or Second Precinct, Yarmouth, 4-56th8 North, or First, Harwich, 4-56th8 South, or Second, Harwich, 3-56th8 Church in Chatham, 4-56th8 '' '' South Eastham, 5-56th8 '' • «< North Eastham, 3-56ths " " Wellfleet, 3-56ths " " Truro, 4-59ths This estate, which was appraised at £3998 : 9 : 10, was to be managed by the deacons of the several churches, the income to be devoted to the purchase and dissemination of theological books, such as Dodridge's ^'Rise and Progress of Religion," Evans's seimons on '^The Christian Temper,** Groves's "Discourses on the Lord's Supper," and Dodridge's discourses on other subjects of a theological nature. The deacons used to hold an annual meeting at Mrs. Lydia Sturgis's tavern, in Barnstable, which seldom lasted less than two or three days, and as they lived well, and were not stinted in drinks and diet, in days when couvinality was no detriment to the character of a professor of religion, and the travelling expenses of the thirteen absor1>ed a considerable sum, the income of the estate after a few years left but little margin for the purchase of religious books. The legislature was therefore called upon, at the end of thirty years, to interpose, and an act was passed to authorize the sale of the property, and, after compromising with the heirs, to divide the remainder among the several churches ; which was eventually accomplished. Were these pages intended to epitomize the acts of general legislation, in which our own people were intimately interested and concerned, it would be expected that thej' would record the passage of the tariff acts and the Missouri Compromise measures, which agitated the public mind in FROM WAR OF 181^15 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. 257 those days, hero as in other parts of the country ; but this does not seem to be called for in a narrative of local events. Two measures of importance to the Cape were, however, enacted by the legislature in 1821, the incoi*poration of the first banking institution in the county, at Falmouth, with a capital of $100,000 ; also of the Salt Manufacturing Co. of Billingsgate Island, capital $50,000. By an act of Congress of 1826, an appropriation of $10,600 was made for the construction of a breakwater for « the protection of shipping in Hyannis harbor, which has been followed by several additional appropriations since that time, for extensions and repairs. It has added much to the value of that harbor and the security of shipping. The expiration of Mr. Monroe's administration and the accession of John Quincy Adams to power were the events, of public importance in 1828, and in the political struggles which accompanied those events. Cape Cod citizens were actively identified. The establishment of a manufactory of Hint glass, at Sandwich, this year, inaugurated by far the most impoitant manufacturing industry which ever existed ' in the county. The upper towns of the county, particularly Falmouth and Sandwich, were, in 1828, saddened by the loss of a vessel retuniing from Charleston, S. C, with some thirty young men, merchants and artisans, who had spent the winter season in prosecuting their business in South Carolina. This year was a peculiarly afflictive one for Truro, particularly, and to all the Cape towns, many of the young men going down beneath the treacherous waves. The burning of the county house, at Barnstable, on the night of October 22, 1827, was an event which may rank as a calamity of the first importance to the business and family interests of the county. This building was occupied 258 CAPE COD. for a registry of deeds, registry of probate, and an olBSce for clerk of the courts. The Ave was discovered from his chamber window, by Rev. Henry Hersey, the pastor of the East church and society, about 11 o'clock at night, and ho immediately gave the alarm. Foitunately, several young gentlemen were at Crocker's hotel, enjoying a social evenuig, and immediatel}' went to the spot, and by their efforts and those of ^h\ Hersey succeeded in rescuing a large number of volumes from destruction. The court records were nearly all destroyed, together with 93 folios of records of deeds, numerous deeds left for record, and vols. 29, 44 and 46 of the probate records. All the rest of the probate records were rescued by the efforts of these young men.* The legislature of the succeeding year did all that could be accomplished to rescue from oblivion the records destroyed by the fire in the county building. By the act of January 16, 1828, an extra teim of the court of Sessions was authorized to take measures for the erection of a county building, in consequence of the late destruction by fire ; and by another act, approved March 10, it was made the duty of the selectmen of each town to cause to be recorded all deeds for conveyance of real estate lying in their respective towns, which should be brought them for that purpose, and which bore date not more than forty yeara back and had been recorded in the registry of deeds of the county before the 3d of October preceding, the said books then to be deposited in the oflSce of the register of deeds, and to be as effectual in law as the first records destroyed by fire. The time for receiving these conveyances was afterwards extended to the first day of May, 1829. The ♦From Mr. Ebeu H. Eldrid^e, the la*t survivor of the party, the foregolug account was obtained by the writer. He pave a« his associates, Messrs. Heury Hersev, Josiah Hinckley, Jonas Whitman, £ben Bacon, Mr. Parker of Boston, and two or three others. FROM WAR OF 1612-15 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. 2» result of this legislation was the collection of many impoi-tant papers, eml)odied in thirteen large volumes. In 1832-3, a new court house was erected in Barnstable, under the direction of the county commissioners, Messrs. Samuel P, Croswell, of Falmouth, Matthew Cobb of Barnstable and Obed Brooks of Harwich. It is built of granite and is fire proof. J. & J. Taylor of Plymouth were the contractors. It has twice since been enlarged. The old bell on the former court house was removed to the cupola of the new. It was cast, apparently, in Munich, and bears the inscription, ** Si Devs pwn bvs qvis contra nos 1673 J* ^ If God be with us who can be against ? '* This bell has an interesting histor3\ In 1702, Capt. Peter Adolphe was cast away upon our shore, his body recovered, and buried in Sandwich. His widow, in grateful acknowledgment of the act, presented the citizens this bell, which for thirty years hung in the tower of the old meeting-house. In 1756 the bell was sold to procure another and larger one, the county of Barnstable being the purchaser. It is not now used, being preserved as a relic in the office of the clerk of the courts. Sept. 3, 1839, was celebrated, in Barnstable, under the most favorable auspices, the second centennial of the incorporation of the town. It was also made a county affair; everything combined to give it the absorbing interest and importance which it attained. There was an imposing parade of soldiery. Prof. John G. Palfrey delivered an address, which contained many things that have since often been quoted, as they were then admired and applauded. Hon. Nymphas Marston presided at the dinner, Hon. Henry Crocker was chief marshal, Gov. Edward Everett made one of his most eloquent and polished speeches, and Chief Justice Shaw, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Hon. William Sturgis and other natives of the town added to the interest of the occasion bj 260 CAPS COD. happy after-dinner efforts. Fire-works and a grand bait were the attractions of the evening. An act was passed by the legislature of 1839, annexing part of Eastham to Orleans. By these successive divisions of territory, the old and once important town of Eastham has been gi*adually shorn of her former proportions, until she is now next to the smallest town of the county in respect to population. The great gale and storm of Oct. 3 and 4, 1841, was one of the most memorable and appalling in its results ever experienced here. Its victims were chiefly the crews of vessels engaged in the fisheries. When the gale commenced there was a large fleet on Geoi'ges Bank. They made sail for the Cape, but the strongest canvas was torn to shreds. Some of the vessels succeeded in getting into the bay and running ashore on the beach. Others were driven on Nantucket shoals, and still others were foundered at sea. The scenes which followed were of the most heart-rending description. Fifty-seven lives were lost of citizens of Truro, 10 of Yarmouth, and 20 of Dennis. That the period from 1830 to 1860 was one of great industrial energy and development for the county, not only upon the sea, but among the business men and enterprises on the land, is made evident by the number of legislative acts, incorporating^ or authorizing important fiscal institu- tions, and opening facilities for trade and commerce. These statutes show the evolution of business methods, from the primitive to the modern systems. Among these acts the most impoitant and representative were : The Institution for Savings in Barnstable, incorporated Januar}% 1829 ; Fishing Insurance Company of Provincctown ; incorporation of Proprietors of Bass River Lower Bridge ; authorizing the towns of Chatham and Orleans to open a passage through FBOM WAR OF 1B12-16 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. ^61 Nauset beach in Chatham for the improvemeut of Chatham hai*bor, 1832 ; the Barnstable County Mutual ¥\Ye Insurance Company at Yarmouth, incorporated March 2, 1833; capital stock of Barnstable Bank in Yarmouth, increased the same year ; Falmouth Academy incorporated March 7, 1835 ; Union Insurance Company, Provincctown, and Truro Breakwater Company, for the purpose of forming an artificial harbor, incoiporated in 1835 ; Truro Academy, incorporated 1840; authorizing the Wharf and Harbor Company of Dennis to construct and maintain a breakwater and improve the harbor at Sesuit Creek; authonty to construct a highway and bridges across Pamet, Hopkins's and East Harbor Creeks, in Truro, 1841 ; Marine Insurance Company in Chatham, 1842 ; jVIarine Insui-ance Company of Province town, incorporated; Barnstable County Agri- cultm*al Society, incorporated ^larch 15, 1844; Equitable lilarine Insurance Company, incorporated 1845 ; Cape Cod Branch Railroad, incorporated 1846, (name subsequently changed to the Cape Cod Railroad) ; Manomet Iron Company, Sandwich, incorporated 1847; Hyannis Packet Insurance Company, Sandwich Savings Bank, Truro 'NMiarf and Breakwater Company, to be constructed near Pond Lauding, Provincetown Marine Railway, incori)oi'ated 1847 ; capital of Barnstable Bank, in Yarmouth, again increased this year ; the county commissioners authorized to lay out a highway and build a bridge across East Harbor, in Truro, from the end of Beach Point to Provincetown, 1849 ; Cape Cod Association, Boston, organized May 12; Seamen's Savings Bank, Provincetown, incorporated ; permission granted to Cape Cod Branch Railroad Company to extend the road from Sandwich, Barnstable and Yarmouth to Hyannis, with increase of capital stock, 1851 ; Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, and Barnstable Bank gmnted 262 CAP£ COD. increade of capital, 1853 ; Provincetown Bank, incorporated 1854; Bunk of Cape Cod, Harwich; Equitable jVIaiiue Insurance Companj' of Provincctown, Nantucket and Cape Cod Steamboat Company, Cape Cod Telegraph Company, incorporated 1855 ; Cape Cod Marino Telegmph Comi>any, incorporated ; further act providing for the constniction by Truro and Provincctown of a bridge over East Harbor, 1856; the Mounamoit In^m*ance Company, of Chatham, incorporated, and capital of Cape Cod Bank, Harwich, increased, 1857. These are only the more general public acts affecting the business interests of the county, while the statutes relating to private interests w^ould require many pages to recount. During the period under review, a large number of distinguished citizens of the county who had perfonned eminent public service and filled positions of honor and trust in civil and military life, in the Revolutionary war, just preceding it, or during the war of 1812-15, paid the debt of nature. Gen. Joseph Dimmick of Eevolutionary fame died in Falmouth, Sept. 21, 1822, aged 88 years. He early enlisted in the sendee of his countrv, and ser\'od as lieu- tenant under Abercrombie, at Ticonderoga. His prowess and sagacity in the conflict with Great Britain have been set forth in the story of the Revolutionary days. In j)eaee as well as in war, he was a good citizen, and a man of rectitude and high honor. Hon. George Thacher, a native of this count}-, died April 6, 1824, at Biddelord, Me., having been born in Yarmouth, April 12, 1754. He was a descendant in the fourth generation of Anthony Thacher, one of the grantees of the town, and gi-aduated from Harvard College in 1776. Having prepared himself for the practice of law, in the GEORGE THACHER. PROM WAR OF IftTMS TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. 208 office of Shcarjashub Bourne, Esq., of Barnstable, in 1782, he established himself in Biddeford, in the district of Maine. Chosen, before the estalilishnient of the constitution, a delegate to Congress, he was also after the adfjption chosen a representative, serving in that capacity until 1801. He took an active part in the business of that body, and was one of the keenest debatei's and most influential workers in the house. His wit, sarcasm, and power of ridicule, which he had frequent occasion to exercise, brought him in collision with some of the leaders of the opposition. In 1801, he resigned his seat in Congress, to accept the position of judge of the Supreme Judicial court, where he remained until 1824. He was (me of the chief ornaments of a tribunal, which numl^ers among its most conspicuous membei's, such lawyers as Parsons, Shaw, Parker, iloilon, and others whose opinions ai-e quoted and relied upon in all American judicial pi-oceedings. Judge Thacher was also something more than a mere lawyer; he was a man of learning in other departments, and was particularly well versed in theological and j)olemical controversies, and his knowledge of history and the literature of the period, was surpassed by few of his contemporaries. His wit and humor often enlivened many of the dreary judicial proceedings in which he participated, auvd he sometimes took a very practical view of what was transpiring before him. On one occasion, Hon. Daniel Davis, as solicitor-general, was prosecuting a horse thief, before Judge Thacher, in the county of Kennebec. The case suggested a precedent to the keen- witted judge. AVhen he was a boy, he and the solicitor- general lived in the adjoining towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable, and the day after the affair at Lrcxington and Concord, the militia of the two towns started off for Boston. The boj's accompanied the soldiers, Daris acting as fifer, 26A CAPE COD. antil an order came for the troops to return home. In their retreat y tired of marching, the boys found an old horse by the way-side, mounted it and rode some miles, after which they abandoned the steed on the highway, to return to its home if it so willed. In the course of the trial the judge leaned over the bench and said, in an undertone, ''Davy, that reminds me of the horse we stole in Barnstable.'' Judge Thacher remained on the bench until 1824, during which time his residence was in Newburyport. After retiring, he lived with his children a short period in Biddeford, until the time of his death.* September 20, died in Sandwich, Gen. Nathaniel Freeman, who was bom in Dennis (then a portion of Yarmouth), in 1741, and occupied a conspicuous position in the county during and after the Rcvolutionarj'' war. He was a leading spirit among the patriots, and was honored at its close by many marks of public confidence, as has been detailed in appropriate connection. November 13, 1828, Rev. Timothy Alden, of Yarmouth, departed this life at the ripe age of 92. He was born in Bridgewater, and was a direct descendant of John Alden, one of the Mayflower company. He was called to the pastorate of the First church in Yarmouth, in 17G9. An ardent patriot during the Revolution, he suffered many privations during that period, cheerfully sharing the poverty and destitution of his flock. He was a good sermonizer, noted for his felicity in the selection of texts. He retained, to the last, the dress of the olden time. Mr. Freenjan, in the History of Cape Cod, says: "AVe vividly recall the appearance of this venerable gentleman as wo saw him last at the ordination of Rev. Mr. Hersey at Karnstai)le, in 1824, seated among the clerg}' and distinguished attendants, ♦Old Yarmouth, FBOM WAB OF 1812-15 TO 80UTHEEX REBELLION. 265 on the platform, his antique wig conspicuous, in small clothes and knee and shoe buckles, and thrce-comcred hat lying nearby — objects of interest to the young." He left four sons and three daughters, his eldest son being known as president of Alleghany College, at Mcadville, Pa., and as the author of a collection of American epitaphs, a work of five volumes. Hon. Wendell Davis of Sandwich, deceased Dec. 30, 1830. He was a native of Plymouth. He was a lawyer by profession, several times represented Sandwich in the legislature, was two j'cars a member of the senate, and sheriff of the county, 1816-23. By the decease of Rev. James Freeman, D. D., a native of Tmro, Nov. 4, 1835, at the age of 77, historical and genealogical students lost one of their most devoted members, and the clerical profession a distinguished ornament and example. For many years he was the minister of the Stone Cha]^)el, Boston, and ever kept up a deep interest in the history and traditions of the county. Mr. Ebenezer Sears died in Yarmouth, Sept. 20, 1835, aged 80 years. He was in the Revolutionary army, and, as already stated, was one of the guard over Major Andre the night before his execution at West Point. He after- wards commanded the first American vessel that rounded the Cape of Good Hope, on a voyage to India. He was of the family of Capt. Isaac Sears, the Revolutionarj' agitator of New York, and father of the didtiuguished Boston merchant, Joshua Scars. Abner Davis, Esq., for many years register of probate and clerk of the courts for the county, deceased Sept. 4, 1830, aged 55 years. He was of the legal i)rofession. He was in direct descent from Robert Davis, one of the first settlers of Barnstable. 266 CAPE COD. Rev. Xathan Underwood, jxastor of South Precinct church, in Ilanvich, departed this life ilay 1, 1841, aged 88 yeai-s. Mr. Underwood was a native of Lexington, Mass., and was early a student, while yet an apprentice to a carpenter. He was prevented by a severe cut in the foot from taking part in the affair of the 19th of April, 1775, but soon after joined the army and was engaged in the battle of Bunker Hill, being one of the last to leave the field. He was also in the battles on Long Island, displaying great fearlessness and bravery. He participated in the sufferings and privations in camp on the succeeding winter, was with Washington in the crossing of the Delaware, and in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. He afterwards entered Harvard college, graduating in 1788, and studied for the ministry, settling in Harwich in 1792. He was i)opular and successful as a citizen, I)eing several times elected to the leirislature, and was also a shrewd business man and a scientific farmer. He reai-ed a larsre fainilv. Hon. Isaiah L. Green died in New York in 1841, aired 80 years. He graduated at Harvard in 1781. He was elected a member of Conirress and served in the ses-^ions of 1805-9, and again in 1811-13, when he was superseded by Hon. John Reed. In 1814, he was appointed by Madison, collector of customs for the district of Banistable, which office he retained until 18;^7. After his ixitircmcnt, Mr» Green lived for a year or two in New York. Rev. Philander Shaw, a pastor for many years of the Eastham society, died Oct. 10, 1x41, airod 73. He was a native of Bridgewater, was ordained pa.'^tor of the Eastham church in 1795, which relation he siistaincd for a little over 41 vears, or until about two voars before his death. He was also two vtars in the legislature from Eastham. Hon. Russell Freeman died Jan. i^ 1842. He was a son FROM WAR OP VnZ-lb TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. of Gen. Nathaniel Freeman of Revolutionary memory, was some time a member of the executive council, representative fi^om Sandwich, and collector of customs of the port of New Bedford. His genial manners, polished v.it, and acknowl- edged abilities rendei'ed him a favonte in social circles and public assemblages. Rev. Jonathan Burr of Sandwich died Aug. 2, 1842. He. was l>orn in West Bridgewater, graduated at Harvard college, and settled in Sandwich in 1787. He was a fine scholar and a faithful principal of Sandwich academy for the first years of its existence. His dismissal from the pastonitc of the First parish church, Sandwich, and the subsequent litigation in connection witli that transaction, involved no question of moi*aIs or pei'sonal integrity. It was brought to establish the legal lights of the parties in controversy. Rev. Jolm Simpkins, pastor of the First Congregational church and society of Brewster for forty years, died in Boston, Feb. 28, 1843. Mr. Simpkins held a high position as a scholar and theologian, and both in devotion to hia duties and his deportment sustained the traditional reputation of a minister of the Old Colony. David Crocker, Esq., sheriff of the county, deceased Sept. 4, 1843. Mr. Crocker was only fifth in lineal descent from Dea. AVm. Crocker, one of the original settlers of the town, and was prominent in business as well as political circles. He was bom Feb. 28, 1789. Dr. James Thacher, a native of Barnstable, died in Plymouth, ^lay, 1844, aged 90. He studied medicine with the eccentric Dr. Abner Hersey, of his native town, and, in 1775, entered the Revolutionary army as a surgeon, continuing in the service until the close of the war, or seven and one-half years. He wrote and published the Revolu- 288 CAPE COD. tionary Journal « Medical Biography, History of Plymouth, American Orchardist, Medical Dispensar^^ works of literary merit and ample information. Hon. Braddock Dinmiick of Falmouth, died April 30, 1845, aged 84. He was the eldest son of Gen. Joseph Dimmick of Revolutionary renown, and had himself been often honored by his fellow-citizens of the town and county. Sept. 3, of the same year, died, ]Mr. George Hallet, a native of Yarmouth, and an eminent merchant of Boston, a man whose helpful and benevolent disposition was as prominent a ti*ait of his character as his enterprise and business sagacity. In 1848, Nov. 21, died. General Elijah Ck)bb of Brewster, eminent as a shipmaster and in civil life, aged 81 years. In 1849, Jan. 25, Dr. Jonathan Leonard, a distinguished physician and honored citizen of Sandwich, died, aged 86 years. Capt. Benj. Hallett of Barnstable, shipmaster and theological controversialist, died Deceml>er 31, 1849, aged 90. Ol^ed Brooks, Esq., Harwich, prominent as county ofBcial and business man, died Aug. 4, 1856, aged 75. Rov. Henry Lincoln, more than 50 yeai-s pastor of the church in Falmouth, died in Nantucket, May 28, 1857, aged 92 yeai-s. Jojshua Sears, Esq., a native of Yarmouth, died in Boston, Feb. 7, 1857. He was an enterprising and sagacious merchant, and left one of the largest estates ever acquired in Massachusetts, some poilions of which he bequeathed to his native town for educational puri)Oscs, and to other public beneiicial objects. Hon. Elijah Swift died in Falmouth, Jan. 19, 1852, aged 77 years. He was 12 years a representative, and two years a mem1)er of the executive council. He made a considerable FROM WAR OF 181^15 TO SOUTHERN REBELLION. 260 fortone as a government contractor for cutting live oak for the navy, and established and many years carried on the whaling business at Wood's Hole. Capt. John Collins, who was a native of Tiniro, and whose name is honorably connected with the establishment of regular lines of steamers between this country and Europe, died at New York, Nov. 21, 1857, aged 63 years. Hon. Zeno Scudder died in Osterville, June 26, 1857. He was bom in Barnstable in 1807, studied law, and settled first in Fabnouth, and afterwards in Barnstable. He was in the Massachusetts senate in 1846-7-8, the last year serving as president of that body. He was elected to the 3 2d Congress, and made an able speech on the American fisheries. He was re-elected, but did not take his seat^ owing to an accident which disabled him, dying soon after, at the age of 50 years. Hon. John Reed, many years a resident in Yarmouth^ died at Bridgewater, Nov. 25, 1860. He was bom in Bridgewater, in 1781, was graduated at Brown University, 1803, embraced the legal profession, and settled in Tar- mouth. In 1813, he was elected to Congress as an avowed opponent of the war measures of Mr. jNIadison's adminis- tration. He was re-elected in 1815, and defeated in 1817, by "Walter Folger of Nantucket. He was again chosen in 1821, and remained in Congress until 1841, an almost unexampled tenii of service. In 1844 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts and was six times re-elected. Rev. Enoch Pratt died in Brewster, Feb. 2, 1860, aged 78. He was 27 years pastor of West Barnstable church, receiving during that period 380 persons to church com- munion. He wrote a history of Eastham, Wellfleet and Orleans, published in 1844. 4870 CAPE COD. In 1861, Dea. Allen Hinckley of Truro died, aged 91 years. He was a native of Falmouth and went to Truro in early life^ and was a house-builder of prominence in his ^enemtion. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1815-1860. 1816. Proprietors of Bass River Bridge, between Yarmouth and Bouth Deuuis, incorporated.— Jurisdiction cedc^ to the United States for sites of light-houses on Race Point and Point Gammon.— Dennis divided into North and South parishes.— Hon. James Freeman of Sandwich, sheriff of the county, died July 3.— A proposal for building a county poor-house was agitated. 1817. The Eastham and Orleans canal proprietors incorporated, for opening a canal from the head of Nauset Cove to Boat Meadow Creek. —Yarmouth Society for Suppression of Intemperance (.the second in the country) formed. 1818. The South Congregational society of Barnstable incorporated. ^-The lands lying in Harwich, Orleans and Brewster belonging to the Potnumaquet Indians (then extinct) were sold for ^31)0. 1819. Major George Lewis, a native of Barnstable, one of the early settlers of Gorham, Maine, died there this year. He served in the Revolutionary war and was in the battle of Bunker Hill. 1820. The town of Brewster appointed a comniittee "to keep the meeting-house clear of dogs and to kill them if their owners will not keep them out," and compensation of ^.oo was voted therefor. 1833. Site for liglit-ho«>e on Mouonioy Point granted to tlio United States.— Lower Bridge Company, of Yarmouth and Dennis, incor- porated. 18:25. The Sandwich Glass Factory e^tiiblished in this town com- menced operations by blowing glass July 4. The company was Incorporated the next year, with a capital of $'.•$00,000. 1828. Congress appropriated ^,600 tor preservation of Provincetown Harbor.— Sites gi'anted to the irnited Stnt«»s for light-liouses on Long Point, Provincetown, and on Sandy Neck, Barnstable. 1827. Sandwich offered a reward of clOO for the killing of a wolf, that was destroying sheep in the woods. 1828. Site for light-house ceded to the United States at Nobsque Point, Falmouth. 1829. Several estates in Truro set off to Provincetown. CHRONOLOGY OP BVENT8; 271 1831. In January of $bis year a heavy fall of snow prored fatal to ^eer in Sandwich wood?. People with snow ^hoes barbarously slaughtered or captured al>out :M); forty of the»e were taken alive. 1833. Rev. Kzra 8. Goodwin, of Fir^t church in Sandwich, died. 1831. Indian Plantation of Mashpee constituted a district. 1835. A poi*tion of Truro annexed to Wellfleet. 1837. Act parsed establishing the dividing line 1)etween Wellfleet and Truro.— *' Millennial Grove," in Eastham, incorporated for camp- meeting purposes. 1838. The Xorth Parish in Harwich authorized to take the name of The First Parish in Brewster. 18i0. March, Mashpee created a parish for religious purposes. 1811. Portion of Mashpee annexed to Falmouth.— April 80, Capt. Samuel Taylor, a Revolutionary soldier, died in Yarmouth, aged 8& years. He was near Gen. Warren when he fell at Bunker Hill, was at Princeton, Monmouth, Saratoga and Yorktown, and endui*ed the terrible winter at Valley Forge. 1842. Division of plantation lands of Mashpee to the proprietors, authorized. 1848. May 11, a monster whale was captured near the end of Cape Cod, by Capt. El>enezer Cook, David Sparks and others, in a smaH pink-sverii schooner of about 50 tons, called the Cordelia. The whale was estimated at 200 bbls. of oil and about 2000 lbs. bone. Not having proper facilities for the purpose, only 125 bbls. of oil and about 900 lbs. of bone were saved. The real value of the whale was estimated at 810,000. 1844. Crew of ten men of fishing schooner Commerce, at anchor near Truro harbor, disappeared in the night time. They were supposed to have been lost by the swamping of their boat while coming ashore.— A Jail was erected in Provincetown, by order of the county commissioners. 1845. Schooner Altorf, of Truro, Capt. Wm. S. Hutchins, with six men, lost on Grand Banks.- Martha HamiltK)n of Falmouth died, aged 107 years. 1846. Six of the crew of schooner Brenda, of Truro, drowned in that harbor by upsetting of a boat.— British steamship Cambria grounded on Truro beach, about five miles south of the light-house. The mails were sent to Boston by stage coach and railroad, and the steamer was hauled off by tugs in a day or two, uninjured. 1848. Dividing line between Harwich and Brewster changed, by act of the legislature. 1849. The commissioners of Barnstable county were authorized to construct a bridge and lay out a highway across East Harbor in Truro« from the end of Beach Point to Provincetown. 1850. Ansel Taylor, Yarmouth, died, aged 101 years, 7 months.^Brig Eagle lost at Provincetown, with 15 lives. sra CAFE COD. 1B51. "The Capo Cod AMOciatlon lii Boston " orfniiiced. UK!. 95000 was appn>print«d by Coiifprf.as for the preiervatioa ot Provlncetoim Hortwr.^A oommissioii, aiipoiuted by authority ol tbe leglslHture, to examine ftiid report iipou the coiidltinn of ProTlucetotm harbor, rpporterl the next ye»r. — (tnmuel Lewis, nnntiTc of Falmouth, Snperiuteiiileot of Common Bohooln of Ohio for fifteen Tears, and known by the title of " Father of the Common Schools of Ohio," ili«d July 28, aged &5 years. 1S>3. Boston Cnpe Cod Association celebrated their annlversarv at Yarmouth. — Steamer AJax foundered off ProvlnoetowD, aud 13 Uvea lost.— Great December storm ou tbe con-it; Central wharf store, Yarmouth, swept away and wharf destroyed. Schooner Leo of Rockland came ashore at Bandy N'eok ; her crew lost. IBM. Tbe flr^t bridge across East Ilai'bor, Proviiicetowu, was con- ■truGted by order of the commlngioners of RiLm^talilc county. 186S. Land was ceded to the LTutted States for the .erection of a custom bouse lu Bavuiitable. which wa« commeuced, and Uniiibed tbe ■ucceediug year.— Bridge from Beacb FoUit iu Tniro to Provincvtown, oonstruated by order of the county oommtiisioners, at a cost of MOOO, of which ProvinceUwn paid oue-batt, Truro aud the county the balance. 1858, "The New York Cape Cod AsFociallon" was or~aulzed. 1857. Land on Billln^gate Island. Wellflect, whs ceded to tht' United States for the coiistructiou of a dweUiu^ fur a llght-liouse keeper.— 62S00 appropriated by the legislature to eiiablfi Lt'vi Baker of Yar- mouth to test before tbe U. B. Supreme Court, the constitutionality ot the act ot the Virginia legislature iu relation to deleutlon ond ;;earch of Tessels,- A hali for use ot Biirustuble Couuty Agricultural Society iros erected. ISaS. In October schooner Qranite of ijuiucy was lost on outer bar at Yarmouth, with her crew of five or si.x men. 1850. Ebeu S. Ward of South Welltteel was muntercd by his son-in- law, who WB4 of unsound miud. =*i=4J- CHAPTER XVI. CAPE COD IN THE REBELLION. lUxpouM* to 8umt«r'f pinn— Antion ol Cape To wii«— Filling ot ttM (Jublaa~CaiM) OlUceni aud Sol d lent— Deiitrnciinu of our MariiM — Ma-M>u & Slldell — Dcnlli? of Chief Justi<« Sliuw, Hnu. Willlua Sturtd'', Jud^ Kymtihas Uarstou, Bon. Zeim^ D. Ba«^ell, Hon. Solomuii Davi* — Vsrmoutti Oftmp Meeting Aflso<;intlou. i^iLv^C ^^ opening guns ol Sumter aiu!<e(l a remark- !u.^^^r^ able upri&iag of patriotism in itl! the E^j^^^fe communities of the Cape. Meetings of fc^\iZ' aC^ citizens were at once held to devise measures ' for vindicating the honor of the nation and 2<E^- upholding the dignity of the insulted flag. In ^ some cases meetings were unoflScial, but were called by authority of the officers of the towns. Hie earliest <if these tonn meetiDgs were those held 2Iay 2, in Yarmouth and ProviQcetowo. At the former, resolutioas were passed pledging the town to the support of the government in its endeavors to suppress the Rebellion, and recommending the especial efforts of the citizens to strengthen the naval arm of the service, in view of the avowed design of the South to send forth " piratical crafts for the purpose of six)liation and plunder upon the commerce of the country." Tbe resolves adopted at Proviucetowa breathed a spirit of tbe most devoted patriotism, and pledged the government a "hearty support of men and means." Barnstable followed. May 4th, in a series of 274 CAPE COD. resolutions, offering the sam of $40 to each volunteer ; and pledging support to the families of those citizens who enlisted '" during the whole time the head of the family is actually employed in the service.'* Harwich voted, IVIay 10th, to raise 100 men for a coast guard, and authorized the selectmen to set apart $1,000 for war purposes. Bi'ewster, May 24th, raised money and provided for the families of volunteers. Orleans, May 27th, passed a series of spirited resolves, and raised $1,000 for the supix)!^ of families of the volunteers. Sandwich, May 11th, held a meeting authorizing the selectmen to borrow $4,000 as it might be required, for the benefit of the families of those in the military service. This town had, in April preceding, held public meetings, at which a military company was formed^ which subsequently became a part of the 29th regiment, and the sum of $620 was raised by private subscription as a bounty to the volunteers. Those towns which held no public meetings were in no way behind their neighbors, in their efforts through their citizens, unofficially, in promoting the cause which all had equally at heait. On the 4th of July, 1862, the President issued a call for 300,000 volunteers for three years' service, of which number Massachusetts was to furnish 15,000, and the county of Barnstable, 379. Meetings were immediately held in all the towns, the money appropriated and bounties offe^'ed for such as would leave their pursuits at home and join the ranks of their country's defenders. In less than sixty days the call was responded to. On the 4th of August, 300,000 more men were called for, to serve for nine months, and of these, Massachusetts was to furnish 19,080, and Barnstable county 394. Before these calls were made, the Cape had furnished her due proportion of men for the anuy and a considemble number for the navy, for which no credit was « CAPE COD IN THE REBELLION. 275 given; and this injustice continued until 1864, when an act passed Congi*ess and was approved by the President, allowing those who had enlisted in the navy since April, 1861, to be counted in the contingent of the state to which they belonged, and in which they had enlisted. A recruiting office was opened in Barnstable custom house, in November, 1863, Lieut.-Col. J. M. Day being superintendent, from which recruits were sent fon\^ard as soon as they were mustered into the sei*vice. Before the end of 1863, the additional men demanded under these calls had been enlisted and sent forward to the front. In October, 1863, another call was made for 300,000 more troops for three years. Of this number, this county was required to furnish 380, and recruiting progressed with reasonable activity, but the number of those who were able to leave their employments and associations to enter the service of the country had been greatly reduced. The nine months' men had all returned, and it was necessary, for the efficiency of military operations, that the number of troops in the field should be increased. So, in February, 1864, the President issued a proclamation ordering a draft for 500,000 men, or 200,000 in addition to the number called for in October ; and of this latter quota Barnstable coun^ was to furnish 308 additional. During the year 1863, the realities of the war were brought home to the doors of our people by the incursion of the rebel privateer Tacony, which, coming upon our coast, captured, plundered and burned nineteen vessels, including five ships, the remainder being mostly fishing schooners* After cruising several days in this portion of the Atlantic, finding a U. S. vessel in pursuit, ^the Tacony was abandoned and destroyed The crew proceeded to Portland harbor, took possession of the revenue cutter Gushing, lying at anchor 276 GAPE COD. with a few men on board, and, upon being pursued, abandoned and destroyed it, and were afterwards captured and made prisoners. In the operations around Richmond, in the spring of 1864, numerous casualties occurred to soldiera from Barnstable county, especially to Co. A, 58th Regiment, and Cos. £ and I, 4th Regiment. In 1862, January 1, Mason and Slidell, the two emissaries of the so-called Southern Confederacy, who had been captured by Capt. Wilkes and confined at Foil; Warren, in Boston harbor, were brought to Provincetown harbor and delivered to the commander of British steamer Rinaldo, and proceeded to their destination. The capture of Charleston and Richmond occasioned great rejoicing and patriotic demonstrations everywhere throughout the county, which were followed by less enthusiastic, but no less sincere, expressions of gratitude and relief. The number of men furnished by the county for the army and navy, according to the selectmen's returns, was 2,305. But this refers probably to the inhabitants of the towns only, who enlisted under the several calls, for about 3,400 were requisite to fill the various quotas, and each of the towns not only did this, but had in the aggregate a surplus of 309 men above every demand, giving evidence that 3,600 or 3,700 men were furni:?hed by the towns of the Cape. The total expense of the towns of the county on account of the war was $308,9^5.08. This is exclusive of $90,934.84, which was niised and paid in stiite aid to soldiers' families durinir the four voars of the war, and which was reimbursed bj*^ the state. The total was $399,919.92.* The loss of life of brave and devoted men, and tlie broken health of nianv of those who lived to return, •Schouler's History of the Rebellion. CAPE COD IN THE REBELLION. 277 were results which this community shared with others all over this broad land. Although furnishing but few conspicuous examples of brilliant military achievements, such as were exhibited by her sons in the French wars and in the Revolution, the steadfastness and courage of the rank and file of the Cape contingent were equal to every emergency. A few of her native officers rose to distinction, and others fell a sacrifice to the duties of their positions. Lieut.-Col. Charles Chipman, a native of Sandwich, of the 29th JIassachusetts regiment, who was killed at Petersburg, Va., August 8th, 1864, was an officer of considerable merit, great gallantry and ardent patriotism. Brevet Major-General Joseph E. Hamblin, a native of Yarmouth, survived the war, but his death, which occurred in 1870, was directly traceable to hardships and rigors in the field. He entered the service as adjutant of tlie 5th New York regiment, and was promoted, by saccessive steps, for gallantry and meritorious service. He participated in sixteen important engagements, and was twice wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek, for which he was promoted to the rank of brigadier- general, by the recommendation of Gen. Sheridan. Capt. Chas. M. Upham of Chatham, of 58th jVIassachusetts regiment, was killed near Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864. In the naval branch of the service this county furnished many excellent sailors, as well as a number of valuable officers for the volunteer force, and several skilful pilots of the highest value in the operations on the Southern coasts and harbors of the Confederacy. The part taken by the people of the county in the arduous war, which followed the firing upon the flag, illustrated their patriotic impulses and their devotion to the Federal Union. Notwithstanding the ruin of their business, such as occurred aXB CAPS COD. to no other portion of the state, they put forth their whole efforts to suppress the Kebellion and subdue the enemies of the Union, as the official records and the foregoing brief recital illustrate. By the census of 1860, the county was found to contain a population of 36,011. The business pursuits of her people had prospered and the growth of her population had been gradually, though steadily, on the increase. Thousands of her citizens, who followed the seas for a livelihood, made their homes and established their families here. This was the climax of their prosperity and growth. The Slaveholders' Rel)eIlion, which decimated the commerce of the nation, was nowhere more disastrous in its results than in the county of Barnstable. Unlike other communities, the people of this county had no other great industries to fall back upon when maritime business was abandoned. They were essentially a commercial people, and nothing else. When this pursuit faile<l they were obliged to seek new fields of enterprise, and in order to do so were compelled to remove to communities where suitable industries were already established. For a better comprehension of the position of the people of this county as related to the war, the foregoing narrative has been given, without recording the events which would tend to interrupt the continuity of the relation. Returning to the year 1861, we have to record tlie departure from this life of citizens of eminence and ability in their various walks of life. March 30, 1861, Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw suddenly expired at his home in Boston. He was born in West Barnstable, January 9, 1781, his father being Rev. Oakes Shaw, pastor of the church in that place. He graduated at Harvard college, and educated to the law, commencing his professional career in Boston. He was LEMUEL SHAW. CAPE COD IK THE REBEIXION. 279 elected by that town, in 1816, a member of the legislature, 8er^^ng seven years in the house of representatives and four in the senate. He was also a member of the constitutional convention of 1820. In 1830, he was appointed by Gov. Lincoln to the office of chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of the state, and retained the position for thirty years, voluntarily retiring in 1860. His reported decisions are characterized by great ability, a mastery of legal principles, and are quoted as authoritv in everv state of the union as well as in the courts of Great Britain, stamping him as one of the greatest jurists of the age. In 1863, January 11, occurred one of the veiy few deliberate murders which have stained the annals of the county. Isaiah T. Wright of East Sandwich, while passing in the night time through his fiold from one houjse to another, was shot and almost instantly killed. No reliable clue to the muixler was ever obtained, and the transaction remains one of those mysterious affairs, which refute the oft-quoted maxim, "* Murder will out.** During the year 1863, a camp-meeting association was formed of Cape and Boston Methodists, with societies from some other localities, and the first camp-meeting was held in a grove at Yannouth, on the line of the Hyannis Branch railroad, commencing August 11, 1863, and continuing a week. The camp-mcctings, which for about a quarter of a century had Ikjcu held in Eastham, and were famous resorta for the primitive Methodists, were found to be inaccessible, and had been for a year or two abandoned, when Yarmouth was selected as a more desirable locality. Hon. AVillium Sturgis died in Boston, Oct. 21, 1863, aged 81 years. Mr. Sturgis was bom in Barnstable, and at the early age of 19 years was in command of a ship. His voyages to the noilhwest coast, to China and the East 280 CAPE COD. Indies, were attended with adventures and perils of an almost romantic character. He quitted the sea with a large fortune and establislied himself in mercantile pursuits in Boston. He was several years a member of the legislature. He was a keen and witty debater and a valuable legislator. He wrote much for the public journals, being an independent thinker and possessed of an engaging style of composition. As a public lectui*er he was greatly esteemed in departments covered by his own experience and obser>'ation. He at one time contributed over $1,000 to the Barnstable Agricultui'al Society, to relieve it fi-om debt, and his heii*s have since his death carried out the intention formed in his life-time, to found and endow a public library for his native town, Bam.^^table. In 1864, May 2, ex-Judge Nymphas Marston died at his residence in ^larston's Mills. He was born in that town in Febmary, 1788. He graduated at Harvard college in 1807, was educated for the legal profession, and was a very successful and popular practitioner. He was county attorney from 1816 to 1829. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1820, sciTcd a year in the house of representatives, and was in the {*enate in the years 1826-7-8. In the latter year he was appointed judge of Probate for Barnstable countv, and continued in office until his resignation, in 1854. December 30, Hon. Zenas D. Basset died in Hyannis, aged 78 years. He was in early life engaged in commerce, as master and owner of shipping, and kept up his latter relation for many years thereafter. He was elected to the state senate, serving in the years 1851-2, and was six years on the board of county commissioners. He ^\•as also for about twenty years pre>idcnt of the Barn>table County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. CAPE COD IN THE REBEI.IJON. 281 In 1865, Nov. 20, died in Tmro, Hon. Soioinoa Davis, aged 05 years. Mr. Davis wos a native and constant resident of tbut town. He bad held, besides a Dumber of town offices, the positions of representative and senator in the legislature, and was a member of the executive council for tivo years, under the administration of Gov. Briggs. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1861-1865. ISCl. Octo1>er, Frederic Hallet, coaucUlor-at-law, Tarmoutb, died, agitd 25 j-«3i'8. 180:2. Mnrcb, Jouathftn Nlckerron, Esq., of Denols, died, aged 88. He vrat, 10 yean « seleittman, and ieverBl years spec-ial count; com- mlMtoner. 1804. Jan. 2, Cnpt. Isniab Crowell died in Soutb Yarmoutb. He bad be«u a Bucc-e^ful iihiitmaijt«r, \ra« Inter repre«eulatire to the legb- lature, and preaideut of tbe Barnstable Bauk of Tarmoutli.— Jan. 22, Benjamin Burgess, Esq., West Sandwich, died, aged 80.— Sot. 21, th» "First National Bank of Yarmouth," sacccssor lo the Barnstable Bank, cbartered iiudcr the itaW laws, went into operation. IWB. Jan. Vt. .Tob Chn^e, E»q„ Went Harwich, died.— April 8, tiro men killed and one wounded in Harwich, wbile firing a talute over Union rlctorlcB.— Dec. C, Cape Cod Central railroad, running from Tarmoutb to Urlcnns, a distance of 18 mUet, opened to ptihllo travel. CHAPTER XVII. FROM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. HBrittme Budiuess depreHsed at close of th« War— Cmnherrr Cultura ■■ a BusfnesB— Packets and Stage Coacbe* tb. Steam BoadH— Cape Cod Railroad project*— Malls, Express Ltnea, MajnicClo Telegraplu — Dlklug Provliioetoini Hnrhor— Base Riyer Brlrttrcs — Storm on Buzzard's Bay — Machpee a Town— Death of Qen. Joseph E. Ham- blin— Yarmouth Library Bulldiug— Wreck of Ship Peruriau— LUe Sarlug nervice — Bon, Beth Crowell — Railroad to Provtuoe- town— Nathan Freeroan'n doDntlou to Provluw-town — Cape Cod Canal projects— Hon. tieorge Marvlon — Bourne liicorpomted— Preeldent Gvaut viaited the Cape— Death of Amod OtU — Falmouth Second Ceuteunial Celebration — Death of Hon. Nnth'l E. Atirood. Hon. Joseph K. Bnker, and Hon. John B. D. L'o):«well — Quarter Mtlleuitlnl Celebrfttinua in Sandn-k-h aud Yarmouth— Wreck of Ship Ja^ou — Dt^ath of Capt. Thoinon P. Howes— Meniorlnl Tablet at Provlucetowu — Baruitoble County Normiil S<*ool in Uynuuia, HE wnr ended and the su|>reiiiacy of the govomment assured, the uniiy was dis- banded and the anion vc>hinteei\5 who had • acted so jri-eat a pai-t, Uke Cromwell's soldiery, once uiorc hcccmc private citizens, ready to resume their old places in the ranks of peaceful industry. But to the soldiers and sailors of Cape Cod, tho:?c places no longer remained open. X greut change, apparent even before the dawQ of the reljellion, hut accflcintod hy it-f occurrence, was evident in maritime business, in the modes of luarino construction and tlie methods of the tninsportation of mcrcliaiidise. Iron steanisliips and tlip remavkahfe develoii- FROM WAR OP THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMEa 288 ment of railroad service all over the countiy are responsible for this change. The vessels destroyed by confederate cruisers, or allowed to decay in port, were not replaced by new ones, and those already in .service became unremanera- tive to a great extent. A large propoilion of the men of Cape Cod, who had grown prosperous upon the sea and had established comfortable homes here, were obliged to seek new forms of industry and many of them removed to other and distant fields of labor. The population of the county, which, according to the U. S. census in 1860, had reached its highest {>oint, 36,011, declined to 32,774 in 1870, to 31,945 in 1880, and to 29,172 in 1890. Whether this downward course has at length been stayed, is what all are asking, but which none can with confidence answer. But for the development of the cranberry culture there is every reason to believe that the decreasing tendency of the numbers of our population would have been much greater than it really proved. This pungent little berry has been for years known to and esteemed by epicures, though until recent years it has not been an article of popular consumption. As long ago as 1677, the authorities of Massachusetts colony tried to appease the wrath of King Charles II., who was angry with them for coining *'pine tree" shillings, by sending him a present of those three choice products of the colony, ten barrels of cranberries, two hogsheads of samp and three thousand codfish. The berry is indigenous to our soil and is better developed here than in any other locality in the country. About seventy years ago the experiment was tried of cultivating this fruit. The first successful cultivator seems to have been Mr. Henry Hall of Dennis, who commenced the business in 1816 ; and Messrs. Zebina H. Small, Cyrus Cahoon, Alvan Cahoon and Nathaniel Robbins of Harwich were early and successfully engaged ^94 CAPE COD. in the business, on an esctensivc scale. Shortly before the war there was a con^iiderable development in this directioOy and remarkable prices and great profits were recorded. The unemployed men who had returned from the war, and those who had lost their employment on ship1>oard, in many cases found a business at their hand, and thousands of acres of heretofore useless swamp land were reclaimed and cultivated with success. AMien the supply of land became short on Cape Cod, Cape men, who had aajuired skill and experience -in this business, transferred their field of operations to the adjoining towns of Plj^mouth county, which now has a larger area of cranberry land under cultivation than the Cape, though Cape skill and Cape capital are lai'gely in the ascendant there. No strictly accurate figures of the business for several years have been compiled, but proliably 150,000 barrels, worth $1,000,000, would not much vary in amount and value from the product of the Old Colony in 1895, the most pros- perous year of the business. The preparation of the grounds, the extermination of the noxious weeds, plants and insects, the manufacture of packages for tmnsportation, and more especially the gathering of the fruit in the fall, give emploj'ment to hundreds of perjjons of both sexes and all ages, generally of the younger generations. Many novel inventions for greater facility in han-e&ting the crops have <of late years been perfected, which aid in saving from the destniction of the dread frosts a great portion of the product, which would otherwise be ruined. There is about 3500 acres of cranberry land in Barnstable county, accord- 'ing to the assessors' returns, and the average cost, at $400 per acre, would make the total investment SI, 400,000. In other ways than in their business pursuits the social condition and usages of the people of Barnstable county have greatly changed within the last third of a century. FROM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. 28S Fifty years ago, almost the entire intercourse with Boston and the outside world was carried on by means of sailing packet lines. From every village of the inside shore of the Cape one or more of these lines was maintained, and passengers and merchandise were conveyed by them to and from Boston. These lines were also maintained between that city and Chatham, on the southeastern extreme of the Cape, but the usual custom was to notify the south shore dwellers of the time of departure and arrival of these vessels, by signals hoisted on some eminence discernible to the citizens of these \illages. Speed and comfoilable accommodations were prime factors in these crafts, and a good deal of rivalry exih^tcd among the owners, sailors and agents of the vessels. The stage coaches ran daily for the exclusive transportation of the mails, except in the instance of what may be styled ''emergency passengers." Persona, who had to reach their destination at a fixed time and dared not trust to the uncertainties of the wind and water, were given the facilities of these lines. One by one, as railroad communication was established, these packets were with- drawn, but not until they had encountered opposition from steamboats from Kirnstable, about 1842-3, and several sepa- rate periods thereafter. ProvincetowTi, alone, is the only port in the county where daily steamboat communication with Boston is attempted to be kept up nearly all the year 'round. The Cape Cod Branch Railroad, as heretofore stated, was opened to Sandwich in 1848, and extended to Hyannis in 1854, and the Cape Cod Central was opened from Yarmouth to Orleans in 1865, extended to Wellfleet in 1870, and to Provincetown in 1873. In 1872 the railroad was extended from Buzzard's Bay to Wood's Hole, at about which time the steamboat line, which had been maintained for several years between Hyannis and Nantucket, was 186 CAPE COD. withdrawn. A branch railroad line from Harwich to Chatham, opened in 1887, completed the senrice to this oounty, leaving but one town — ^IVIashpee — without a railroad line within its limits. The rapid intercourse with the outside world, which this new facility for travel established, did not change the habits of the people of this county so greatly as it would have done a more rural community, as in every village were * scores of those who, some of them with their families, had visited all portions of the habitable globe, and were well acquainted with the ways of the world. But, nevertheless, the steam cars brought many changes, such as rapid transit of travellers, twice-daily mails, and express companies for the quick despatch of merchandise. The evolution of the mail service Avithin the limits of the county had progressed slowly, in consequence of our being remote from any line of travel between the great cities, and the isolated situation of the towns. A post route between Cambridge and Falmouth, via Plymouth and Sandwich, was established in 1775, Joseph Nye being named as the postmaster of the latter town, and Moses Swift of Falmouth. Thursday, 8 o'clock, a. m., was the date of arrival at Falmouth, and Thursday noon the date of departure for Cambridge. This was doubtless a temix)rary arrangement, called out by the exigencies of the war. The U. S. mail to Sandwich and Falmouth was established about a century ago. The first U. S. mail between Boston and Barnstable was established in 1792, when the Postmaster-General contracted with John Thacher, of the latter town, to perform the service for $1.00 per day, against the protests of the party of economy, which existed then as now. It took two days to go and two to return, and the service was perfoimed on horseback, the mail being carried on one side of a FBOM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. 287 saddlebag and the other side reserved for packages. A post-office was established in Rircstable probably the same year, in Yarmouth in 1795, and in Harwich in 1798. The latter year, Pro\'incetown in town meeting voted *'to petition to have a post come down to the Cape," and in 1801 the post-office was established and a postmaster appointed. During the war of 1812-15, the mails were brought to Barnstable and Yarmouth twice each week, about 1820 three times each week, and in 1837 daily. Below Yarmouth the service remained for many years at once per week. When i>eace with Great Britain was declared, in 1815, as we learn from a letter written by Josiah Whitman, postmaster at AVcllfleet, "by the uncommon severity of the weather, the then mail carrier, Mr. Davis, did not go through the route for three weeks. On the week after the news of peace reached Boston, Mr. Thacher came down with the mail, and at that time there was an almost impossibility of travelling, on account of the snow being drifted, but he, knowing the route so well and every by-path, did accomplish it. The next week we had no mail arrived." In 1820, a petition was circulated in the lower towns to have a mail t^vice a week, which was established soon after. In the winter, the mail carrier used to take with him a saw and axe to clear obstructions when a snow stoiiu compelled him to cross the fields, the towns not being accustomed to clear the highways from snow. About 1830, the service was extended to Provincetown three times a week, and daily, about 1846. From this to a double service daily upon the advent of the steam cars was a notable change, which effected many innovations in the social and business customs of the people. The railway postal ser\'ice which followed was initiated in 1855, when one man started from Boston in the morning in 288 CAPE COD. charge of the mails , with authoiity to lake and despatch letters along the route to Hyannis, returning in the afternoon to Boston. One pouch .was sufficient for the letters and a few sacks for the newspaper mail, where now from 150 to 200 pouches per day are required. The pi*esent force comprises six clerks, running through the entire route. An express line, known as the Cape Cod Expi*ess Co., was established in 1848, and ran from Boston, following the extension of the railroad service. In 1877, the New York and Boston Despatch Express Company commenced covering the same territory, and after two and a half years of competition, the two companies were united under the name of the latter. Communication by magnetic telegraph was established between Boston and the Cape, in 1855. Two lines, in fact, were projected and put in operation about the same time, one known as the Boston & Cape Cod Marine Telegraph Company, the other as the Cape Cod Telegi'aph Company. The two lines, after a lively competition of two or three years, were "consolidated," and were then ** absorbed " by the Western Union Telegraph Company. A telegraphic cable, in 1856, was extended from Xobsque Point to Gay Head, a distance of 3J miles. The same year a cable 14 miles long was laid from Monomoy to Great Point in Nantucket. Communication was for two days transmitted through it, but the force of the current or some other cause broke the cable and the enterprise was abandoned. In 1858, a cable was laid across Muskeget channel, and cstal)- lished telegraphic communication between Edgartown and Nantucket. There were frequent obstructions and the eal)le was abandoned in 1861. Other lines l)etween the :nain land and the islands were attempted, and after a while abandoned. In 1887, Congress having made an appropriation to maintain FROM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. 'JtS9 a cable from Wood's Hole to Nantucket, via the Vineyard, as an auxiliary to the life sa^'ing service, also permitting the transmission of -news and commercial messaires, communi- cation, with occasional interruptions, has since been main- tamed. This method of transmittin<r intelli;rence was supplemented, in 1882, by telephone service by the New Bedford system, with offices in West Barnstable, Ostcrville, Hyannis, Cotuit and ilarston's Mills, and the following year the service was extended to the remaining towns below Barnstable. Thus the man-els of half a centmy ago became the every-da^" incidents and instrumentalities of our own times. Having recounted the chief agencies which have trans- foimed the Cape Cod of the fathers to the Cape Cod as this generation knows it, the following pages will record only the more striking and prominent events in the memory of the generation now on the stage of action. The dangers which threatened Pi'ovincetown harbor by the rapid wearing away by the action of the tides and currents of the outer beach which protected East Har1x)r, became so imminent, that, in the failure of the general government to take remedial measures, the le<rislature of Massachusetts passed a resolve which was approved ^lay 9, 1807, appropriating $100,000 for constructing a sea wall or other solid and permanent structure across the opening of East Harbor. The commissioners appointed to superin- tend the work were James B. Francis of Lowell, Richard A. Pierce of New Bedford and James Gifford of Provincetown. Mr. Francis, who was a skillful civil engineer, originated and planned the work, which was accepted by the authorities, and Mr. Paul of Lowell had charge of the construction and superstructure. After a 290 CAPE COD. careful survey of Prorineeto\rn harbor and the channel^ the current and the waters adjacent to the projected dike, by the Lite Henry L. Whiting, for the purpose of verifying the alleged fact of the deposits of sand by the current from Ea:5t harbor into Provincctown harbor, and after making experiments by driving tongues and ground piles in the channel between the north end of Beach Point, in Truro, and the opposite bank in Province town, and considering all the contingencies liable to occur, Mr. Francis became convinced that the appropriation was insufficient for the work required, and $50,000 more was appropriated 3^Iay 20, 1868. The work has proved most efficacious for the end sought, and has doubtless saved that important harl>or fi'om destruction at that point. After the work had so far proceeded as to exclude the tide from passing the dike, Mr. Francis resigned. Subsequently, upon the death of Gen. Pierce, George iiarston of Barnstable was appointed on the commission, and ser^'ed until the completion of the work. Since lJ^77, the dike has been employed as a road bed between Pn^vincetown and Truro. The total cost to the state was $133,250. By an act of the Massachusetts legislature of 1869, the Upper and Lower bridges connecting Yarmouth and Dennis, the only toll bridges in the county, were made fi*ee to the public. By the terms of the act, the supreme judicial court was authorized to appoint three commissioners, to make a valuation of the property and apportion the cost and maintenance among the count}* and several towns interested. The court appointed Hon. Thomas D. Eliot and Andrew T. Wood of New Bedford and Hon. Alfred ^lacy of Nantucket, as comimissioners, who, after several hearings, made a decree, which was confirmed by the court, viz. : Valuation of lower bridge, $9,928.14. Seven-fourteenths JOSEPH E. HAMBLIN. FROM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWS TIMES. 251 to be paid by count}' of Banistable, $4,964.22 ; 3-14ths by town of Yarmouth, $2,127.50; 3-14ths by town of Dennis, $2,127.52 ; 1.14th by town of Harwich, $709.18. And for the future maintenance of the bridge, the town of Dennis to i)ay 4-llths, town of Yarmouth 4-llths, town of Harwich 1-1 llh, county of Barnstable 2-llths. Valuation of upper bridge, $758.71. }5-lGths, $379.35, was to l^e paid by the county of Barnstable, 3-lGths, $142.26, bj^ town of Yarmouth, 3-16ths, $142.26, by town of Dennis, 2-16th8, $94.84, l)y town of Harwich. And for its maintenance the county of Barnstable to pay 4-16th8 of expense, town of Yarmouth 5-16ths, town o'f Dennis 5-16ths, and town of Harwich 2-16ths. A great storm, which occuiTed in the northerly region of Buzzard's Bay, Sept. 8, 1869, rivalled in destructive power that of 1635, of which Bradford speaks in his history. The wind which came from the bay blew a hurricane, the tide was the highest of record for two hundred and thiily-four years. Buildings were in some places moved a considerable distance, in one or two cases directly obstructing the rail- road track, trees prostrated, bridges carried away, railroad )>eds undermined and washed away in several places. By an act of the legislature of May 28, 1870, the district of Mashpee was incorporated as a town, making the fourteenth in the county. A post-office was established here the same year. July 3, 1870, Brevet Brigadier-General Joseph E. Hamblin died in New York. He was a native of Yarmouth, where he was born January 13, 1828. He was the most distinguished soldier which Cape Cod contributed to the national cause in the War of the Rebellion.* A new library building, which was presented to his ♦See page 277. 292 CAPE COD. native town, Yarmouth, by Nathan jMatthews, Esq., of Boston, was dedicated with proper observances, Dec. 20, 1871. An address was delivered by Hon. John B. D. Cogswell, and President Eliot of Harvard college, and other gentlemen participated in the seiTices. Mr. Matthews also contributed other funds to the library on the condition, which was acceded to, that an existing library with some three thousand volumes, owned by stockholders, should be merged with the new association, which was to be made free to all the people of the town. The treaty of Washington, which was negotiated in 1871, and which was in agitation the close of that year and beginning of 1872, by which the fishery products of the Dominion of Canada were to be admitted into the United States free of duty, was regarded as extremely harmful to the interests of this county, as afterwai'ds proved to be the case. A meeting of those interested in the fisheries met in Harwich in December, and apj^ointed delegates to go to Washington, to oppose the ratification of the treaty, but their efforts were unavailing. One of the most disastrous shipwrecks of modern time occurred Dec. 28, 1872, by which the ship PcruWan, from Singapore for Boston, was stranded on that graveyard of shipping, Peaked Hill bars, off Provincetown, with twenty- five lives lost, and with a cargo vahicd at $1,000,000, which was either lost or great Ij' damaged. The reorganized life saving service established by the United States government went into operation under its present system, Jan. 21, 1^13. The service was originally established in detached localities on the coast in 1848, through the efforts of Hon. William A. Xewell, represen- tative in Congress from New Jersey, whose humane and beneficent efforts deserve to be held in grateful rcmeml)rance FROM WAR OP THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMEa 2« by those who go down to the sea in ships. But, though accomplishing great good, the organization was seen to be defective. By the act of Congress of June 10, 1872, the service was extended to Cape Cod, and Benjamin C. Sparrow of East Orleans was appointed superintendent of the Massachusetts district, ten stations being designated, viz. : Eace Point, Peaked Hill Bars, High Head, Provincetown ; Highland, Pamet River, Tmro ; Cahoon's Hollow, Wellfleet ; Nauset, Eastham; Orleans, East Orleans; Chatham and Monomoy, Chatham. Several additional stations and changes of location have occurred since their fii*st establish- ment. Hon. Seth Crowell of East Dennis died at his home April 1, 1873. He was a shipmaster of repute. He was four years representative, two years senator, nine year^ county commissioner, several years president of the First National Bank of Yarmouth, and a member of the Consti- tuticmal convention of 1853. The opening of the Cape Cod Railroad to Provincetown, giving additional transit from Boston to that place, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, was celebrated July 22, 1873, Tvith enthusiastic demonstration of joy and gladness, as the importance of the event to the people of the towns justified them in doing. Dec. 11, Nathan Freeman, Esq., an honored citizen, while still living presented to the town of Provincetown a building to be used for a public library, for rooms for the Young Men's Christian Association, and other similar purposes. The first visit of a chief masistrate of the nation to this region while in office was made by President Grant, August 28, 1874. He was accompanied by Mrs. Grant, and by Mr. Belknap, secretary of war, and Mr. Jewell, post- 2M CAPE COD. master-general, and by a numl)er of personal friends. The party came from Nantucket, via Ilyannis, and from that point to Provincetown many demonstrations of respect were made at every station at which the train 8toi)ped. After remaining several hours at Provincetown, the party returned in the evening. Oct. 19, 1875, Amos Otis, Esq., of Yarmouth, departed this life, at the age of 74 years. Mr. Otis was a native of Barnstable, was in early life a teacher, and afterwai'ds became cashier of Barnstable Bank in Yarmoutli, and its successor, the First National, and secretary and treasurer of the Barnstable County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which positions he occupied for nearly forty years. He was a prolific and interesting writer, his most conspicuous service to the cause of letters being his reseaix^hes and publications of matters of local history. His collected papers, entitled "Genealogical Notes of Bamstablc Families," exhibit persevering research, a tender sympathy and appreciation for the founders of the town, and a discriminating judgment of their aits and motives. August 31, 18^2, Hon. Marshall S. Underwood died in South Dennis. He was a son of Rev. Nathan Underwood of Harwich, where he was born. He was many times called to fill positions of honor and trust, having been four years representative from Dennis, two j'cars senator, two years a mem!)er of the executive council, and a presidential elector in 1880. By an act ajiproved June 26, 188^^, a charter was gninted to the Cape Cod Ship Canal company to cont^truct a canal to unite the waters of Bjirnstable and Buzzard's 1)ays. This act was amended by the act of ilay 27, 18S4, l>y changing the location of the Buzzard's bav teniiinus and several other provisions. By a resolve of June 4, 1884, the legislature PROM WAR OF THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. 285 commended the subject to the favonible con:»ide ration of Cons^css, as a work of great national im])ortunce, and wojithy of substantial assistance from the national govern- ment. As this was the only one of many projects of tlie kind which resulted in active operations, and in which an effort was made in good faith to accpmplish the work, a retrospect of the various })hases of this much agitated enterprise may be properly made here, althi)ugh the recital will necessitate traversing some portion of the groimd already covered. The digging of a canal across the Cape has at various points been a favorite scheme at times for the last two centuries. In 1717, Avhen the pii-ate ship AVhidah was wrecked at Welllleet, after a great storm, Capt. Cyprian Southack from Boston sailed with a whaleboat throuajh the channel which waCs forced bj' the sea, near the point which defines the boundary between Eastham and Orleans. This channel was closed after the storm subsided. An application, which was afterwards made to the legislature for permission to dig a {permanent channel, by legalizing a lotterj' to promote the object, was never earned into effect. About sixty years ago the project of a canal from Hyannis to Barubtable harbor, through the towns of Barnstable and Yarmoutli, was agitated, and the region was surveyed by U. S. engineers. The Bass liiver route has of late years been brought into prominence, and a charter was giTintcJ in 1895, which was never opemtcd. The route between Barnstable and Buzzard's l>a3's has always attracted greater attention, from tlie fact tliat it avoided the outside passage around the Cai)e, with its numerous shoals and dangerous obstructions to sailing crafts. Official notice of this project was taken as early as 1G98,* when a conunittee of the general court was raised to consider the subject, as already set forth. ♦See i»a^e 135. 296 CAPE COD. Again in 1776, the council and general court, and also the general court in 1791, passed resolves favoring its execution. In 1818, private parties considered the project, and surveys of the route were made. In 1824, the federal government made surveys under the direction of officers detailed by the secretary of war. A very favomble rei>ort was made to Congress, and but for the election of General Jackson to the presidency and the change of policy of the government on the subject of internal improvements, it is most probable that the work would have been commenced. The report favored the constiniction of locks to overcome tlie difficulties resulting from the difference in the time of the tides in the two bays, which has been the problem which other engineers have sou2:ht to solve. The lc<rislature again considered the matter in 1829, and, in 1860, the state, in conjunction with the general government, caused elaborate sur\''eys to be made, upon which favorable reports were submitted. In 1870, Gen. Foster, then iu the employment of the govern- ment, examined and reported upon this route, as did Mr. Clemens Herschcll, an eminent engineer, whose report M'as made in 1878. About this time a charter was granted for the construction of the canal to private individuals, who procured the Herschcll survey. At that time there existed a very strong sentiment in Massachusetts in favor of the canal, and a most liberal charter was gianted. The corporators, at the head of whom was Mr. Henry M. Whitney, largely interested in coastwise steamship transpor- tation interests, after a delibcrata investigation, abandoned tlie enterprise, as involving too great a risk and not assuring sufficiently favomble results. From that time to the present, the subject of the construction of the canal has almost annually engajred the attention of the legislature, five or six charters having been granted for the purpose. FROM WAR OF THE REDELLIOX TO OUR OWN TIMES. 207 The history of nearly' all these organizations has Ijeen a record of failure, disappoint men t and unfultilled pledges by their promoters. Operations were vigorously commenced under the charter of 168-4. The sum of $200,000, required by the charter to be deposited with the state treasurer, as security for the faithful perfomiance of the obligations imposed by the incoiporate act, was promptly paid in and land along the cour^^o of the projected canal was bonded. The work of excavation commenced at the Sandwich end of the route. A deep channel exceeding a mile in length was excavated by a steam dredger in the marsh}' land, to a point near the village of Sagamore, but at the end of about two yesLVs the work was abandcmed and the charter lajised. It is well understood that the experiment proved a verj' costly one to its promotera, and in 1897, by a decree of the supreme coui-t, the deix)sit of $200,000 was devoted to the payment of land damages, to liquidate the claims for labor performed or furnished in the construction of the canal, and the balance revelled to the agent of the parties furnishing the capital. August 11, 1883, Hon. George Marston died in New Bedford, where he had resided for several years, having removed there from his native town, Barnstable, in which he was born October 15, 1821. Mr. Marston was a jury lawyer of exceptional ability and influence. He represented Barnstable one 3'ear in the legislature, was register of prol)ate from 1853 to 1855, judge* of probate, 1855 to 1858, until the consolidation of the courts of probate and insolvenc3'. In lci59 he was elected district attoniey for the Southern di&trict of Massachusetts, and, in 1878, was elected attorney general of the state, which office he held for four consecutive terms. Mr. ^Marston was a brilliant 288 CAPE COD. and interesting public 8i)eaker, and his few public addresses which have been published possess much literary merit. The town of Bourne was created by an act of the legislature approved April 2, 1884, the territory set off being the western portion of Sandwich, with nearly half tho population and valuation of the town. The name selected was probably suggested by the memoiy of that early and devoted citizen of the parent town, so inseparably connected with the cause of the aborigines, and some of whose descendants, of wide and honomble reputation, were bom within the limits of the new town. This accession made the fifteenth town in the county. The town of Falmouth celebrated, with much enthusiasm, the bi-centennial of its incoi-ponition, Juno 2, 1886. There was a procession, dinner in a large pavilion erected for the purpose, an historical address by Gen. John L. Swift, a native of the town, and speeches at the dinner by His Excellency Gov. Robinsson, Hon. AVm. W. Crapo, and a number of the native citizens of the town. In 1886, the county sustained the loss of an unusual number of its valued citizens. Capt. Xjithaniol E. Atwood died in ProvincetoAvn Nov. 7, of that year, aged 70. Cupt. Atwood enjoyed l>ut few educational advantages in early life, but his natural abilities caused him, while engaged in the avocation of a fisherman, to criticall}' ohseiTC tho habits of fish, so that he was consulted 1)V naturalists and formed a permanent friendship with Storer and Agassiz, who pi-onounced him "the l>cst practical ichthyologist living.'* He sensed two vears in the house of representatives, and three years in the senate of ^Massachusetts. He also delivered a series of addresses in the Lowell lecture course in Boston, besides many occasional addresses on his favorite theme. FROM WAR OP THE REBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMES. 2X» Following Capt. Atwood, only fire days after, Nov. 12, Hon. Joseph K. Baker departed this life, very suddenly, at his home in Dennis. Entering the same pursuit as Capt. Atwood in early life, and soon after upon that of fitting and managing vessels for sea service, he successfuUj' pursued this business until the decline of the fisheries. Mr. Baker, besides holding many local offices, was two years a representative from Dennis, two years senator from the Cape district, four years a member of the executive council, and also of the commission on harbors and public lands. He was also a member, and high in the councils, of the Masonic fraternity, and director in railroad companies and banking institutions, enjoying a wide personal popularity. His a^e was 59 years. Rev. Azariah Eldridge, D. D., died at his home in Yarmouthix)rt, October 1, 1888. He was born in Yarmouth, Feb. 30, 1820, gi-aduated at Yale college, in 1841, was settled over the North Congregational church, Now Bedford, from 1847 to 1856, and over the Fort-street Congregational church, in Detroit, Michigan, from 1858 to 1865. He was in charge of the American chapel in Paris, France, from 1866 to 1868. Dr. Eldridge settled in Yarmouth about 1875. He was a member of the Republican national convention in 1881, and Presidential elector in 1884, and ten years president of the Barnstable County Agricultural Society. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Hamilton college, in 1863. June 10, 1889, Hon. John B. D. Cogswell died in Haverhill, Mass. He was the son of Rev. Nathaniel Cogswell of Yarmouth, where he was born June 6, 1829. He was graduated at Dartmouth college, studied for the legal profession, and in 1857 was a representative from AVorcester in the Massachusetts legislature. He afterwards 800 CAPE COD. settled in Milwaukee^ Wisconsin, and was several years TJ. S. district attorney for that state. In 1872, having returned to Massachusetts, he was elected a representative from the First district of Barnstable county and was twice re-elected. In 1877-8-9, he was senator for the Cape district, serving the three years as president of that bod3\ He made a most efficient and accomplished presiding officer. As an orator, Mr. Cogswell was highly esteemed for graceful rhetoric and wide information. The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of what is termed the incorporation of the towns of Sandwich and Yarmouth was fitly commemorated in 1889. September 3, 1639, being the date when those two towns were recognized as such, by being represented in the first colonial represen- tative assembly, was taken as that of their corporate existence. The Sunday previous was ol)servcd in Yaimouth bv sen'ices in the Conirre«jational church. Bev. John W. Dodge, pastor of the First church, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Taylor, Rev. C. A. Bradley, Rev. G. I. Ward, Revs. Atwood and Osirood ; and Messrs. Thomas Prince Howes and Joshua C. Howes, representing the Dennis portion of Old Yannouth, pailicipated in the exercises. The observances in Yarmouth, on the 3d, consisted of a procession, under the marshalship of Mr. John Simpkins, along the streets of the town, which were tii&tefully decorated, an address in the Congregational church, by Philip H. Sears, P>.sq. of Boston, a dinner in the pavilion, erected on a portion of the first parsonage grounds, at which Henry C. Thacher, Escj. presided. Addresses were made by Lieut.-Goveruer Brackott, and Treasurer ilarden, representing the Commonwealth of ^Massachusetts, Mr. A. H. Hardy, represcntinir the Boston Cape Cod Association, Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, Rev. John W. Dodge, Capt. Thomas FKOM WAR OF THE nEBELLION TO OUR OWN TIMEa 801 P. Howes, Judjre Darias Baker of Newport, and a i>oem ■was read written for the occasion hy Mrs. JIary SI. Bray. There was a oouocrt and dance in the evening at the Xobscussett House, Dennis, which closed a most interesting occasion. Sandwich, on the sitmc day, celebrated the occasion on a Scale comiiiensurate with its importance. Bourne, being a [)ortion uf the oiiginat Sandwich, as Dennis was of Yai'iuoutb, participated in the obsenauces. Tlic decorations of the town were clabomte and tasteful, and the procession, under the uiarshaUIiip of Mr. AViii. A. Nye, paraded through the priiicii>al streets of the town. The exercises were held in the Casino. Hon. Ciiarles Dillinglmm presided and made a speech of welcome, and afterwards introduced Rev. X. H. Chamberlain, who was the orator of the day. A dinner was iiervcd in a mammoth tent, after which, under the Biwpices of Toastmaster Frank H. Pojie, sentiment* appropriate to the occasion were responded to by ex-GoT. •lohn D. Long, Gen. John L. Swift, Hon. Charles S. Eiandall, Cdl. Myron P. Walker, Mr. Charles E. Pope. An ode, written by Mr. Daniel F. Chessman, was sung to the tune of "America," In the evening there were fireworks, a ball, and a Venetian boat carnival. It was a matter of regret that the three towns of the county, dating their origin on the same year, could not have had a union festival, hut it was a natural feeling with each to wish to obsen'c this natal day on its own hcartlistone, and amid accustomed ucenes. and surroundings. WH CAPE COD. The original design of this narrative was to cover the two and a half centuries since the settlement and incorporation of the first townships of the Ca|>e. Since the fulfilment of this purpose various matters have transpired which should be put on record, in order to complete the stoiy of the county's history up to the present time, which will be found recorded in chronological order. A memorable shipwreck occurred Dec. 5, 1893, on the outer side of the Cape, opposite the South Truro shore. British ship Jason, from Calcutta for Boston, with a valuable cargo, was stranded on the shoals and went to pieces, and all the crew but one man, 24 in number, lost their lives. The state of Massachusetts, by the action of the legislar ture of 1893, undertook the preservation and improvement of the long neglected Province lands, located in Province- town, comprising about 3100 acres. Their care and custody were given to the board of commissioners of harboi's and public lands, and $3000 was api)r()priated in<