,illustration ,illustration ,cape ,cod by ,henry ,david ,thoreau ,author of 8,a ,week on the ,concord10 8,walden10 8,excursions10 8,the ,maine ,woods10 etc4 ,,illustrated ,,by ,,clifton ,,johnson ,illustration ,,new ,,york ,,thomas ,y4 ,,crowell ,,co4 ,,publishers ,copyright1 #aijh ,by ,,thomas ,y4 ,,crowell ,,co4 ,,the ,,university ,,press1 ,,cambridge1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,contents ,,introduction ,i4 ,the ,shipwreck ,,ii4 ,stage-coach ,views ,,iii4 ,the ,plains ,of ,nauset ,,iv4 ,the ,beach ,v4 ,the ,wellfleet ,oysterman ,,vi4 ,the ,beach ,again ,,vii4 ,across the ,cape ,,viii4 ,the ,highland ,light ,,ix4 ,the ,sea and the ,desert ,x4 ,provincetown ,,illustrations ,the ,clam-,digger 7,photogravure7 ,cohasset--,the little cove at ,whitehead promontory ,an old windmill ,a street in ,sandwich ,the old ,higgins tavern at ,orleans ,a ,nauset lane ,nauset ,bay ,a scarecrow ,millennium ,grove camp-meeting grounds ,a ,cape ,cod citizen ,wreckage under the sand-bluff ,herring ,river at ,wellfleet ,a characteristic gable with many windows ,a ,wellfleet oysterman ,wellfleet ,hunting for a leak ,truro--,starting on a voyage ,unloading the day's catch ,a ,truro footpath ,truro meeting-house on the hill ,a herd of cows ,pond ,village ,dragging a dory up on the beach ,an old wrecker at home ,the ,highland ,light ,towing along shore ,a cranberry meadow ,the sand dunes drifting in upon the trees ,the white breakers on the ,atlantic side ,in ,provincetown harbor ,provincetown--,a bit of the village from the wharf ,the day of rest ,a ,provincetown fishing-vessel ,,introduction ,of the group of notables who in the middle of the last century made the little ,massachusetts town of ,concord their home1 and who thus conferred on it a literary fame both unique and enduring1 ,thoreau is the only one who was ,concord born4 ,his neighbor1 ,emerson1 had sought the place in mature life for rural retirement1 and after it became his chosen retreat1 ,hawthorne1 ,alcott1 and the others followed2 but ,thoreau1 the most peculiar genius of them all1 was native to the soil4 ,in #ahcg1 at the age of twenty1 he graduated from ,harvard1 and for three years taught school in his home town4 ,then he applied himself to the business in which his father was engaged1--the manufacture of lead pencils4 ,he believed he could make a better pencil than any at that time in use2 but when he succeeded and his friends congratulated him that he had now opened his way to fortune he responded that he would never make another pencil4 8,why should ,i80 said he4 8,i would not do again what ,i have done once40 ,so he turned his attention to miscellaneous studies and to nature4 ,when he wanted money he earned it by some piece of manual labor agreeable to him1 as building a boat or a fence1 planting1 or surveying4 ,he never married1 very rarely went to church1 did not vote1 refused to pay a tax to the ,state1 ate no flesh1 drank no wine1 used no tobacco2 and for a long time he was simply an oddity in the estimation of his fellow-townsmen4 ,but when they at length came to understand him better they recognized his genuineness and sincerity and his originality1 and they revered and admired him4 ,he was entirely independent of the conventional1 and his courage to live as he saw fit and to defend and uphold what he believed to be right never failed him4 ,indeed1 so devoted was he to principle and his own ideals that he seems never to have allowed himself one indifferent or careless moment4 ,he was a man of the strongest local attachments1 and seldom wandered beyond his native township4 ,a trip abroad did not tempt him in the least4 ,it would mean in his estimation just so much time lost for enjoying his own village1 and he says3 8,at best1 ,paris could only be a school in which to learn to live here--a stepping-stone to ,concord40 ,he had a very pronounced antipathy to the average prosperous city man1 and in speaking of persons of this class remarks3 8,they do a little business commonly each day in order to pay their board1 and then they congregate in sitting-rooms1 and feebly fabulate and paddle in the social slush1 and go unashamed to their beds and take on a new layer of sloth40 ,the men he loved were those of a more primitive sort1 unartificial1 with the daring to cut loose from the trammels of fashion and inherited custom4 ,especially he liked the companionship of men who were in close contact with nature4 ,a half-wild ,irishman1 or some rude farmer1 or fisherman1 or hunter1 gave him real delight2 and for this reason1 ,cape ,cod appealed to him strongly4 ,it was then a very isolated portion of the ,state1 and its dwellers were just the sort of independent1 self-reliant folk to attract him4 ,in his account of his rambles there the human element has large place1 and he lingers fondly over the characteristics of his chance acquaintances and notes every salient remark4 ,they1 in turn1 no doubt found him interesting1 too1 though the purposes of the wanderer were a good deal of a mystery to them1 and they were inclined to think he was a pedler4 ,his book was the result of several journeys1 but the only trip of which he tells us in detail was in ,october4 ,that month1 therefore1 was the one ,i chose for my own visit to the ,cape when ,i went to secure the series of pictures that illustrate this edition2 for ,i wished to see the region as nearly as possible in the same guise that ,thoreau describes it4 ,from ,sandwich1 where his record of ,cape experiences begins1 and where the inner shore first takes a decided turn eastward1 ,i followed much the same route he had travelled in #ahdi1 clear to ,provincetown1 at the very tip of the hook4 ,thoreau has a good deal to say of the sandy roads and toilsome walking4 ,in that respect there has been marked improvement1 for latterly a large proportion of the main highway has been macadamed4 ,yet one still encounters plenty of the old yielding sand roads that make travel a weariness either on foot or in teams4 ,another feature to which the nature lover again and again refers is the windmills4 ,the last of these ceased grinding a score of years ago1 though several continue to stand in fairly perfect condition4 ,there have been changes on the ,cape1 but the landscape in the main presents the same appearance it did in ,thoreau's time4 ,as to the people1 if you see them in an unconventional way1 tramping as ,thoreau did1 their individuality retains much of the interest that he discovered4 ,our author's report of his trip has a piquancy that is quite alluring4 ,this might be said of all his books1 for no matter what he wrote about1 his comments were certain to be unusual2 and it is as much or more for the revelations of his own tastes1 thoughts1 and idiosyncrasies that we read him as for the subject matter with which he deals4 ,he had published only two books when he died in #ahfb at the age of forty-four1 and his 8,cape ,cod0 did not appear until #ahfe4 ,nor did the public at first show any marked interest in his books4 ,during his life1 therefore1 the circle of his admirers was very small1 but his fame has steadily increased since1 and the stimulus of his lively descriptions and observations seems certain of enduring appreciation4 ,clifton ,johnson4 ,hadley1 ,mass4 ,i ,,the ,,shipwreck ,wishing to get a better view than ,i had yet had of the ocean1 which1 we are told1 covers more than two-thirds of the globe1 but of which a man who lives a few miles inland may never see any trace1 more than of another world1 ,i made a visit to ,cape ,cod in ,october1 #ahdi1 another the succeeding ,june1 and another to ,truro in ,july1 #ahee2 the first and last time with a single companion1 the second time alone4 ,i have spent1 in all1 about three weeks on the ,cape2 walked from ,eastham to ,provincetown twice on the ,atlantic side1 and once on the ,bay side also1 excepting four or five miles1 and crossed the ,cape half a dozen times on my way2 but having come so fresh to the sea1 ,i have got but little salted4 ,my readers must expect only so much saltness as the land breeze acquires from blowing over an arm of the sea1 or is tasted on the windows and the bark of trees twenty miles inland1 after ,september gales4 ,i have been accustomed to make excursions to the ponds within ten miles of ,concord1 but latterly ,i have extended my excursions to the seashore4 ,i did not see why ,i might not make a book on ,cape ,cod1 as well as my neighbor on 8,human ,culture40 ,it is but another name for the same thing1 and hardly a sandier phase of it4 ,as for my title1 ,i suppose that the word ,cape is from the ,french cap2 which is from the ,latin caput1 a head2 which is1 perhaps1 from the verb capere1 to take1--that being the part by which we take hold of a thing3--,take ,time by the forelock4 ,it is also the safest part to take a serpent by4 ,and as for ,cod1 that was derived directly from that 8great store of codfish0 which ,captain ,bartholomew ,gosnold caught there in #afjb2 which fish appears to have been so called from the ,saxon word codde1 8a case in which seeds are lodged10 either from the form of the fish1 or the quantity of spawn it contains2 whence also1 perhaps1 codling 7pomum coctile87 and coddle1--to cook green like peas4 7,v4 ,dic47 ,cape ,cod is the bared and bended arm of ,massachusetts3 the shoulder is at ,buzzard's ,bay2 the elbow1 or crazy-bone1 at ,cape ,mallebarre2 the wrist at ,truro2 and the sandy fist at ,provincetown1--behind which the ,state stands on her guard1 with her back to the ,green ,mountains1 and her feet planted on the floor of the ocean1 like an athlete protecting her ,bay1--boxing with northeast storms1 and1 ever and anon1 heaving up her ,atlantic adversary from the lap of earth1--ready to thrust forward her other fist1 which keeps guard the while upon her breast at ,cape ,ann4 ,on studying the map1 ,i saw that there must be an uninterrupted beach on the east or outside of the forearm of the ,cape1 more than thirty miles from the general line of the coast1 which would afford a good sea view1 but that1 on account of an opening in the beach1 forming the entrance to ,nauset ,harbor1 in ,orleans1 ,i must strike it in ,eastham1 if ,i approached it by land1 and probably ,i could walk thence straight to ,race ,point1 about twenty-eight miles1 and not meet with any obstruction4 ,we left ,concord1 ,massachusetts1 on ,tuesday1 ,october #ith1 #ahdi4 ,on reaching ,boston1 we found that the ,provincetown steamer1 which should have got in the day before1 had not yet arrived1 on account of a violent storm2 and1 as we noticed in the streets a handbill headed1 8,death6 one hundred and forty-five lives lost at ,cohasset10 we decided to go by way of ,cohasset4 ,we found many ,irish in the cars1 going to identify bodies and to sympathize with the survivors1 and also to attend the funeral which was to take place in the afternoon2--and when we arrived at ,cohasset1 it appeared that nearly all the passengers were bound for the beach1 which was about a mile distant1 and many other persons were flocking in from the neighboring country4 ,there were several hundreds of them streaming off over ,cohasset common in that direction1 some on foot and some in wagons1--and among them were some sportsmen in their hunting-jackets1 with their guns1 and game-bags1 and dogs4 ,as we passed the graveyard we saw a large hole1 like a cellar1 freshly dug there1 and1 just before reaching the shore1 by a pleasantly winding and rocky road1 we met several hay-riggings and farm-wagons coming away toward the meeting-house1 each loaded with three large1 rough deal boxes4 ,we did not need to ask what was in them4 ,the owners of the wagons were made the undertakers4 ,many horses in carriages were fastened to the fences near the shore1 and1 for a mile or more1 up and down1 the beach was covered with people looking out for bodies1 and examining the fragments of the wreck4 ,there was a small island called ,brook ,island1 with a hut on it1 lying just off the shore4 ,this is said to be the rockiest shore in ,massachusetts1 from ,nantasket to ,scituate1--hard sienitic rocks1 which the waves have laid bare1 but have not been able to crumble4 ,it has been the scene of many a shipwreck4 ,the brig ,st4 ,john1 from ,galway1 ,ireland1 laden with emigrants1 was wrecked on ,sunday morning2 it was now ,tuesday morning1 and the sea was still breaking violently on the rocks4 ,there were eighteen or twenty of the same large boxes that ,i have mentioned1 lying on a green hillside1 a few rods from the water1 and surrounded by a crowd4 ,the bodies which had been recovered1 twenty-seven or eight in all1 had been collected there4 ,some were rapidly nailing down the lids1 others were carting the boxes away1 and others were lifting the lids1 which were yet loose1 and peeping under the cloths1 for each body1 with such rags as still adhered to it1 was covered loosely with a white sheet4 ,i witnessed no signs of grief1 but there was a sober dispatch of business which was affecting4 ,one man was seeking to identify a particular body1 and one undertaker or carpenter was calling to another to know in what box a certain child was put4 ,i saw many marble feet and matted heads as the cloths were raised1 and one livid1 swollen1 and mangled body of a drowned girl1--who probably had intended to go out to service in some ,american family1--to which some rags still adhered1 with a string1 half concealed by the flesh1 about its swollen neck2 the coiled-up wreck of a human hulk1 gashed by the rocks or fishes1 so that the bone and muscle were exposed1 but quite bloodless1--merely red and white1--with wide-open and staring eyes1 yet lustreless1 dead-lights2 or like the cabin windows of a stranded vessel1 filled with sand4 ,sometimes there were two or more children1 or a parent and child1 in the same box1 and on the lid would perhaps be written with red chalk1 8,bridget such-a-one1 and sister's child40 ,the surrounding sward was covered with bits of sails and clothing4 ,i have since heard1 from one who lives by this beach1 that a woman who had come over before1 but had left her infant behind for her sister to bring1 came and looked into these boxes and saw in one1--probably the same whose superscription ,i have quoted1--her child in her sister's arms1 as if the sister had meant to be found thus2 and within three days after1 the mother died from the effect of that sight4 ,we turned from this and walked along the rocky shore4 ,in the first cove were strewn what seemed the fragments of a vessel1 in small pieces mixed with sand and sea-weed1 and great quantities of feathers2 but it looked so old and rusty1 that ,i at first took it to be some old wreck which had lain there many years4 ,i even thought of ,captain ,kidd1 and that the feathers were those which sea-fowl had cast there2 and perhaps there might be some tradition about it in the neighborhood4 ,i asked a sailor if that was the ,st4 ,john4 ,he said it was4 ,i asked him where she struck4 ,he pointed to a rock in front of us1 a mile from the shore1 called the ,grampus ,rock1 and added3 8,you can see a part of her now sticking up2 it looks like a small boat40 ,i saw it4 ,it was thought to be held by the chain-cables and the anchors4 ,i asked if the bodies which ,i saw were all that were drowned4 8,not a quarter of them10 said he4 8,where are the rest80 8,most of them right underneath that piece you see40 ,it appeared to us that there was enough rubbish to make the wreck of a large vessel in this cove alone1 and that it would take many days to cart it off4 ,it was several feet deep1 and here and there was a bonnet or a jacket on it4 ,in the very midst of the crowd about this wreck1 there were men with carts busily collecting the sea-weed which the storm had cast up1 and conveying it beyond the reach of the tide1 though they were often obliged to separate fragments of clothing from it1 and they might at any moment have found a human body under it4 ,drown who might1 they did not forget that this weed was a valuable manure4 ,this shipwreck had not produced a visible vibration in the fabric of society4 ,about a mile south we could see1 rising above the rocks1 the masts of the ,british brig which the ,st4 ,john had endeavored to follow1 which had slipped her cables and1 by good luck1 run into the mouth of ,cohasset ,harbor4 ,a little further along the shore we saw a man's clothes on a rock2 further1 a woman's scarf1 a gown1 a straw bonnet1 the brig's caboose1 and one of her masts high and dry1 broken into several pieces4 ,in another rocky cove1 several rods from the water1 and behind rocks twenty feet high1 lay a part of one side of the vessel1 still hanging together4 ,it was1 perhaps1 forty feet long1 by fourteen wide4 ,i was even more surprised at the power of the waves1 exhibited on this shattered fragment1 than ,i had been at the sight of the smaller fragments before4 ,the largest timbers and iron braces were broken superfluously1 and ,i saw that no material could withstand the power of the waves2 that iron must go to pieces in such a case1 and an iron vessel would be cracked up like an egg-shell on the rocks4 ,some of these timbers1 however1 were so rotten that ,i could almost thrust my umbrella through them4 ,they told us that some were saved on this piece1 and also showed where the sea had heaved it into this cove1 which was now dry4 ,when ,i saw where it had come in1 and in what condition1 ,i wondered that any had been saved on it4 ,a little further on a crowd of men was collected around the mate of the ,st4 ,john1 who was telling his story4 ,he was a slim-looking youth1 who spoke of the captain as the master1 and seemed a little excited4 ,he was saying that when they jumped into the boat1 she filled1 and1 the vessel lurching1 the weight of the water in the boat caused the painter to break1 and so they were separated4 ,whereat one man came away1 saying3-- 8,well1 ,i don't see but he tells a straight story enough4 ,you see1 the weight of the water in the boat broke the painter4 ,a boat full of water is very heavy10--and so on1 in a loud and impertinently earnest tone1 as if he had a bet depending on it1 but had no humane interest in the matter4 ,another1 a large man1 stood near by upon a rock1 gazing into the sea1 and chewing large quids of tobacco1 as if that habit were forever confirmed with him4 8,come10 says another to his companion1 8let's be off4 ,we've seen the whole of it4 ,it's no use to stay to the funeral40 ,further1 we saw one standing upon a rock1 who1 we were told1 was one that was saved4 ,he was a sober-looking man1 dressed in a jacket and gray pantaloons1 with his hands in the pockets4 ,i asked him a few questions1 which he answered2 but he seemed unwilling to talk about it1 and soon walked away4 ,by his side stood one of the life-boatmen1 in an oil-cloth jacket1 who told us how they went to the relief of the ,british brig1 thinking that the boat of the ,st4 ,john1 which they passed on the way1 held all her crew1--for the waves prevented their seeing those who were on the vessel1 though they might have saved some had they known there were any there4 ,a little further was the flag of the ,st4 ,john spread on a rock to dry1 and held down by stones at the corners4 ,this frail1 but essential and significant portion of the vessel1 which had so long been the sport of the winds1 was sure to reach the shore4 ,there were one or two houses visible from these rocks1 in which were some of the survivors recovering from the shock which their bodies and minds had sustained4 ,one was not expected to live4 ,we kept on down the shore as far as a promontory called ,whitehead1 that we might see more of the ,cohasset ,rocks4 ,in a little cove1 within half a mile1 there were an old man and his son collecting1 with their team1 the sea-weed which that fatal storm had cast up1 as serenely employed as if there had never been a wreck in the world1 though they were within sight of the ,grampus ,rock1 on which the ,st4 ,john had struck4 ,the old man had heard that there was a wreck1 and knew most of the particulars1 but he said that he had not been up there since it happened4 ,it was the wrecked weed that concerned him most1 rock-weed1 kelp1 and sea-weed1 as he named them1 which he carted to his barn-yard2 and those bodies were to him but other weeds which the tide cast up1 but which were of no use to him4 ,we afterwards came to the life-boat in its harbor1 waiting for another emergency1--and in the afternoon we saw the funeral procession at a distance1 at the head of which walked the captain with the other survivors4 ,on the whole1 it was not so impressive a scene as ,i might have expected4 ,if ,i had found one body cast upon the beach in some lonely place1 it would have affected me more4 ,i sympathized rather with the winds and waves1 as if to toss and mangle these poor human bodies was the order of the day4 ,if this was the law of ,nature1 why waste any time in awe or pity8 ,if the last day were come1 we should not think so much about the separation of friends or the blighted prospects of individuals4 ,i saw that corpses might be multiplied1 as on the field of battle1 till they no longer affected us in any degree1 as exceptions to the common lot of humanity4 ,take all the graveyards together1 they are always the majority4 ,it is the individual and private that demands our sympathy4 ,a man can attend but one funeral in the course of his life1 can behold but one corpse4 ,yet ,i saw that the inhabitants of the shore would be not a little affected by this event4 ,they would watch there many days and nights for the sea to give up its dead1 and their imaginations and sympathies would supply the place of mourners far away1 who as yet knew not of the wreck4 ,many days after this1 something white was seen floating on the water by one who was sauntering on the beach4 ,it was approached in a boat1 and found to be the body of a woman1 which had risen in an upright position1 whose white cap was blown back with the wind4 ,i saw that the beauty of the shore itself was wrecked for many a lonely walker there1 until he could perceive1 at last1 how its beauty was enhanced by wrecks like this1 and it acquired thus a rarer and sublimer beauty still4 ,illustration3 ,cohasset1 ,the little cove at ,whitehead promontory ,why care for these dead bodies8 ,they really have no friends but the worms or fishes4 ,their owners were coming to the ,new ,world1 as ,columbus and the ,pilgrims did1--they were within a mile of its shores2 but1 before they could reach it1 they emigrated to a newer world than ever ,columbus dreamed of1 yet one of whose existence we believe that there is far more universal and convincing evidence--though it has not yet been discovered by science--than ,columbus had of this2 not merely mariners' tales and some paltry drift-wood and sea-weed1 but a continual drift and instinct to all our shores4 ,i saw their empty hulks that came to land2 but they themselves1 meanwhile1 were cast upon some shore yet further west1 toward which we are all tending1 and which we shall reach at last1 it may be through storm and darkness1 as they did4 ,no doubt1 we have reason to thank ,god that they have not been 8shipwrecked into life again40 ,the mariner who makes the safest port in ,heaven1 perchance1 seems to his friends on earth to be shipwrecked1 for they deem ,boston ,harbor the better place2 though perhaps invisible to them1 a skillful pilot comes to meet him1 and the fairest and balmiest gales blow off that coast1 his good ship makes the land in halcyon days1 and he kisses the shore in rapture there1 while his old hulk tosses in the surf here4 ,it is hard to part with one's body1 but1 no doubt1 it is easy enough to do without it when once it is gone4 ,all their plans and hopes burst like a bubble6 ,infants by the score dashed on the rocks by the enraged ,atlantic ,ocean6 ,no1 no6 ,if the ,st4 ,john did not make her port here1 she has been telegraphed there4 ,the strongest wind cannot stagger a ,spirit2 it is a ,spirit's breath4 ,a just man's purpose cannot be split on any ,grampus or material rock1 but itself will split rocks till it succeeds4 ,the verses addressed to ,columbus1 dying1 may1 with slight alterations1 be applied to the passengers of the ,st4 ,john3-- 8,soon with them will all be over1 ,soon the voyage will be begun ,that shall bear them to discover1 ,far away1 a land unknown4 8,land that each1 alone1 must visit1 ,but no tidings bring to men2 ,for no sailor1 once departed1 ,ever hath returned again4 8,no carved wood1 no broken branches1 ,ever drift from that far wild2 ,he who on that ocean launches ,meets no corse of angel child4 8,undismayed1 my noble sailors1 ,spread1 then spread your canvas out2 ,spirits6 on a sea of ether ,soon shall ye serenely float6 8,where the deep no plummet soundeth1 ,fear no hidden breakers there1 ,and the fanning wing of angels ,shall your bark right onward bear4 8,quit1 now1 full of heart and comfort1 ,these rude shores1 they are of earth2 ,where the rosy clouds are parting1 ,there the blessed isles loom forth40 ,one summer day1 since this1 ,i came this way1 on foot1 along the shore from ,boston4 ,it was so warm that some horses had climbed to the very top of the ramparts of the old fort at ,hull1 where there was hardly room to turn round1 for the sake of the breeze4 ,the ,datura stramonium1 or thorn-apple1 was in full bloom along the beach2 and1 at sight of this cosmopolite1--this ,captain ,cook among plants1--carried in ballast all over the world1 ,i felt as if ,i were on the highway of nations4 ,say1 rather1 this ,viking1 king of the ,bays1 for it is not an innocent plant2 it suggests not merely commerce1 but its attend-ant vices1 as if its fibres were the stuff of which pirates spin their yarns4 ,i heard the voices of men shouting aboard a vessel1 half a mile from the shore1 which sounded as if they were in a barn in the country1 they being between the sails4 ,it was a purely rural sound4 ,as ,i looked over the water1 ,i saw the isles rapidly wasting away1 the sea nibbling voraciously at the continent1 the springing arch of a hill suddenly interrupted1 as at ,point ,alderton1--what botanists might call premorse1--showing1 by its curve against the sky1 how much space it must have occupied1 where now was water only1 ,on the other hand1 these wrecks of isles were being fancifully arranged into new shores1 as at ,hog ,island1 inside of ,hull1 where everything seemed to be gently lapsing1 into futurity4 ,this isle had got the very form of a ripple1--and ,i thought that the inhabitants should bear a ripple for device on their shields1 a wave passing over them1 with the datura1 which is said to produce mental alienation of long duration without affecting the bodily health1#a springing from its edge4 ,the most interesting thing which ,i heard of1 in this township of ,hull1 was an unfailing spring1 whose locality was pointed out to me1 on the side of a distant hill1 as ,i was panting along the shore1 though ,i did not visit it4 ,perhaps1 if ,i should go through ,rome1 it would be some spring on the ,capitoline ,hill ,i should remember the longest4 ,it is true1 ,i was somewhat interested in the well at the old ,french fort1 which was said to be ninety feet deep1 with a cannon at the bottom of it4 ,on ,nantasket beach ,i counted a dozen chaises from the public-house4 ,from time to time the riders turned their horses toward the sea1 standing in the water for the coolness1--and ,i saw the value of beaches to cities for the sea breeze and the bath4 ,at ,jerusalem village the inhabitants were collecting in haste1 before a thunder-shower now approaching1 the ,irish moss which they had spread to dry4 ,the shower passed on one side1 and gave me a few drops only1 which did not cool the air4 ,i merely felt a puff upon my cheek1 though1 within sight1 a vessel was capsized in the bay1 and several others dragged their anchors1 and were near going ashore4 ,the sea-bathing at ,cohasset ,rocks was perfect4 ,the water was purer and more transparent than any ,i had ever seen4 ,there was not a particle of mud or slime about it4 ,the bottom being sandy1 ,i could see the sea-perch swimming about4 ,the smooth and fantastically worn rocks1 and the perfectly clean and tress-like rock-weeds falling over you1 and attached so firmly to the rocks that you could pull yourself up by them1 greatly enhanced the luxury of the bath4 ,the stripe of barnacles just above the weeds reminded me of some vegetable growth1--the buds1 and petals1 and seed-vessels of flowers4 ,they lay along the seams of the rock like buttons on a waistcoat4 ,it was one of the hottest days in the year1 yet ,i found the water so icy cold that ,i could swim but a stroke or two1 and thought that1 in case of shipwreck1 there would be more danger of being chilled to death than simply drowned4 ,one immersion was enough to make you forget the dog-days utterly4 ,though you were sweltering before1 it will take you half an hour now to remember that it was ever warm4 ,there were the tawny rocks1 like lions couchant1 defying the ocean1 whose waves incessantly dashed against and scoured them with vast quantities of gravel4 ,the water held in their little hollows1 on the receding of the tide1 was so crystalline that ,i could not believe it salt1 but wished to drink it2 and higher up were basins of fresh water left by the rain1--all which1 being also of different depths and temperature1 were convenient for different kinds of baths4 ,also1 the larger hollows in the smoothed rocks formed the most convenient of seats and dressing-rooms4 ,in these respects it was the most perfect seashore that ,i had seen4 ,i saw in ,cohasset1 separated from the sea only by a narrow beach1 a handsome but shallow lake of some four hundred acres1 which1 ,i was told1 the sea had tossed over the beach in a great storm in the spring1 and1 after the alewives had passed into it1 it had stopped up its outlet1 and now the alewives were dying3 by thousands1 and the inhabitants were apprehending a pestilence as the water evaporated4 ,it had live rocky islets in it4 ,this ,rock shore is called ,pleasant ,cove1 on some maps2 on the map of ,cohasset1 that name appears to be confined to the particular cove where ,i saw the wreck of the ,st4 ,john4 ,the ocean did not look1 now1 as if any were ever shipwrecked in it2 it was not grand and sublime1 but beautiful as a lake4 ,not a vestige of a wreck was visible1 nor could ,i believe that the bones of many a shipwrecked man were buried in that pure sand4 ,but to go on with our first excursion4 #a ,the ,jamestown weed 7or thorn-apple74 8,this1 being an early plant1 was gathered very young for a boiled salad1 by some of the soldiers sent thither i4e4 to ,virginia to quell the rebellion of ,bacon2 and some of them ate plentifully of it1 the effect of which was a very pleasant comedy1 for they turned natural fools upon it for several days3 one would blow up a feather in the air2 another would dart straws at it with much fury2 and another1 stark naked1 was sitting up in a corner like a monkey1 grinning and making mows at them2 a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions1 and sneer in their faces1 with a countenance more antic than any in a ,dutch droll4 ,in this frantic condition they were confined1 lest they should1 in their folly1 destroy themselves1--though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature4 ,indeed1 they were not very cleanly4 ,a thousand such simple tricks they played1 and after eleven days returned to themselves again1 not remembering anything that had passed40--,beverly's ,history of ,virginia1 p4 #abj4 ,,ii ,,stage ,,coach ,,views ,after spending the night in ,bridgewater1 and picking up a few arrow-heads there in the morning1 we took the cars for ,sandwich1 where we arrived before noon4 ,this was the terminus of the 8,cape ,cod ,railroad10 though it is but the beginning of the ,cape4 ,as it rained hard1 with driving mists1 and there was no sign of its holding up1 we here took that almost obsolete conveyance1 the stage1 for 8as far as it went that day10 as we told the driver4 ,we had forgotten how far a stage could go in a day1 but we were told that the ,cape roads were very 8heavy10 though they added that1 being of sand1 the rain would improve them4 ,this coach was an exceedingly narrow one1 but as there was a slight spherical excess over two on a seat1 the driver waited till nine passengers had got in1 without taking the measure of any of them1 and then shut the door after two or three ineffectual slams1 as if the fault were all in the hinges or the latch1--while we timed our inspirations and expirations so as to assist him4 ,we were now fairly on the ,cape1 which extends from ,sandwich eastward thirty-five miles1 and thence north and northwest thirty more1 in all sixty-five1 and has an average breadth of about five miles4 ,in the interior it rises to the height of two hundred1 and sometimes perhaps three hundred feet above the level of the sea4 ,according to ,hitchcock1 the geologist of the ,state1 it is composed almost entirely of sand1 even to the depth of three hundred feet in some places1 though there is probably a concealed core of rock a little beneath the surface1 and it is of diluvian origin1 excepting a small portion at the extremity and elsewhere along the shores1 which is alluvial4 ,for the first half of the ,cape large blocks of stone are found1 here and there1 mixed with the sand1 but for the last thirty miles boulders1 or even gravel1 are rarely met with4 ,hitchcock conjectures that the ocean has1 in course of time1 eaten out ,boston ,harbor and other bays in the mainland1 and that the minute fragments have been deposited by the currents at a distance from the shore1 and formed this sand-bank4 ,above the sand1 if the surface is subjected to agricultural tests1 there is found to be a thin layer of soil gradually diminishing from ,barnstable to ,truro1 where it ceases2 but there are many holes and rents in this weather-beaten garment not likely to be stitched in time1 which reveal the naked flesh of the ,cape1 and its extremity is completely bare4 ,i at once got out my book1 the eighth volume of the ,collections of the ,massachusetts ,historical ,society1 printed in #ahjb1 which contains some short notices of the ,cape towns1 and began to read up to where ,i was1 for in the cars ,i could not read as fast as ,i travelled4 ,to those who came from the side of ,plymouth1 it said3 8,after riding through a body of woods1 twelve miles in extent1 interspersed with but few houses1 the settlement of ,sandwich appears1 with a more agreeable effect1 to the eye of the traveller40 ,another writer speaks of this as a beautiful village4 ,but ,i think that our villages will bear to be contrasted only with one another1 not with ,nature4 ,i have no great respect for the writer's taste1 who talks easily about beautiful villages1 embellished1 perchance1 with a 8fulling-mill10 8a handsome academy10 or meeting-house1 and 8a number of shops for the different mechanic arts02 where the green and white houses of the gentry1 drawn up in rows1 front on a street of which it would be difficult to tell whether it is most like a desert or a long stable-yard4 ,such spots can be beautiful only to the weary traveller1 or the returning native1--or1 perchance1 the repentant misanthrope2 not to him who1 with unprejudiced senses1 has just come out of the woods1 and approaches one of them1 by a bare road1 through a succession of straggling homesteads where he cannot tell which is the alms-house4 ,however1 as for ,sandwich1 ,i cannot speak particularly4 ,ours was but half a ,sandwich at most1 and that must have fallen on the buttered side some time4 ,i only saw that it was a closely built town for a small one1 with glass-works to improve its sand1 and narrow streets in which we turned round and round till we could not tell which way we were going1 and the rain came in1 first on this side1 and then on that1 and ,i saw that they in the houses were more comfortable than we in the coach4 ,my book also said of this town1 8,the inhabitants1 in general1 are substantial livers40--that is4 ,i suppose1 they do not live like philosophers3 but1 as the stage did not stop long enough for us to dine1 we had no opportunity to test the truth of this statement4 ,it may have referred1 however1 to the quantity 8of oil they would yield40 ,it further said1 8,the inhabitants of ,sandwich generally manifest a fond and steady adherence to the manners1 employments1 and modes of living which characterized their fathers02 which made me think that they were1 after all1 very much like all the rest of the world2--and it added that this was 8a resemblance1 which1 at this day1 will constitute no impeachment of either their virtue or taste03 which remark proves to me that the writer was one with the rest of them4 ,no people ever lived by cursing their fathers1 however great a curse their fathers might have been to them4 ,but it must be confessed that ours was old authority1 and probably they have changed all that now4 ,illustration3 ,an old windmill ,our route was along the ,bay side1 through ,barnstable1 ,yarmouth1 ,dennis1 and ,brewster1 to ,orleans1 with a range of low hills on our right1 running down the ,cape4 ,the weather was not favorable for wayside views1 but we made the most of such glimpses of land and water as we could get through the rain4 ,the country was1 for the most part1 bare1 or with only a little scrubby wood left on the hills4 ,we noticed in ,yarmouth--and1 if ,i do not mistake1 in ,dennis--large tracts where pitch-pines were planted four or five years before4 ,they were in rows1 as they appeared when we were abreast of them1 and1 excepting that there were extensive vacant spaces1 seemed to be doing remarkably well4 ,this1 we were told1 was the only use to which such tracts could be profitably put4 ,every higher eminence had a pole set up on it1 with an old storm-coat or sail tied to it1 for a signal1 that those on the south side of the ,cape1 for instance1 might know when the ,boston packets had arrived on the north4 ,it appeared as if this use must absorb the greater part of the old clothes of the ,cape1 leaving but few rags for the pedlers4 ,the wind-mills on the hills1--large weather-stained octagonal structures1--and the salt-works scattered all along the shore1 with their long rows of vats resting on piles driven into the marsh1 their low1 turtle-like roofs1 and their slighter wind-mills1 were novel and interesting objects to an inlander4 ,the sand by the road-side was partially covered with bunches of a moss-like plant1 ,hudsonia tomentosa1 which a woman in the stage told us was called 8poverty-grass10 because it grew where nothing else would4 ,i was struck by the pleasant equality which reigned among the stage company1 and their broad and invulnerable good-humor4 ,they were what is called free and easy1 and met one another to advantage1 as men who had at length learned how to live4 ,they appeared to know each other when they were strangers1 they were so simple and downright4 ,they were well met1 in an unusual sense1 that is1 they met as well as they could meet1 and did not seem to be troubled with any impediment4 ,they were not afraid nor ashamed of one another1 but were contented to make just such a company as the ingredients allowed4 ,it was evident that the same foolish respect was not here claimed for mere wealth and station that is in many parts of ,new ,england2 yet some of them were the 8first people10 as they are called1 of the various towns through which we passed4 ,retired sea-captains1 in easy circumstances1 who talked of farming as sea-captains are wont2 an erect1 respectable1 and trustworthy-looking man1 in his wrapper1 some of the salt of the earth1 who had formerly been the salt of the sea2 or a more courtly gentleman1 who1 perchance1 had been a representative to the ,general ,court in his day2 or a broad1 red-faced ,cape ,cod man1 who had seen too many storms to be easily irritated2 or a fisherman's wife1 who had been waiting a week for a coaster to leave ,boston1 and had at length come by the cars4 ,a strict regard for truth obliges us to say that the few women whom we saw that day looked exceedingly pinched up4 ,they had prominent chins and noses1 having lost all their teeth1 and a sharp ,w would represent their profile4 ,they were not so well preserved as their husbands2 or perchance they were well preserved as dried specimens4 7,their husbands1 however1 were pickled47 ,but we respect them not the less for all that2 our own dental system is far from perfect4 ,still we kept on in the rain1 or1 if we stopped1 it was commonly at a post-office1 and we thought that writing letters1 and sorting them against our arrival1 must be the principal employment of the inhabitants of the ,cape this rainy day4 ,the post-office appeared a singularly domestic institution here4 ,ever and anon the stage stopped before some low shop or dwelling1 and a wheelwright or shoemaker appeared in his shirt sleeves and leather apron1 with spectacles newly donned1 holding up ,uncle ,sam's bag1 as if it were a slice of home-made cake1 for the travellers1 while he retailed some piece of gossip to the driver1 really as indifferent to the presence of the former as if they were so much baggage4 ,in one instance we understood that a woman was the postmistress1 and they said that she made the best one on the road2 but we suspected that the letters must be subjected to a very close scrutiny there4 ,while we were stopping for this purpose at ,dennis1 we ventured to put our heads out of the windows1 to see where we were going1 and saw rising before us1 through the mist1 singular barren hills1 all stricken with poverty-grass1 looming up as if they were in the horizon1 though they were close to us1 and we seemed to have got to the end of the land on that side1 notwithstanding that the horses were still headed that way4 ,indeed1 that part of ,dennis which we saw was an exceedingly barren and desolate country1 of a character which ,i can find no name for2 such a surface1 perhaps1 as the bottom of the sea made dry land day before yesterday4 ,it was covered with poverty-grass1 and there was hardly a tree in sight1 but here and there a little weather-stained1 one-storied house1 with a red roof1--for often the roof was painted1 though the rest of the house was not1--standing bleak and cheerless1 yet with a broad foundation to the land1 where the comfort must have been all inside4 ,yet we read in the ,gazetteer--for we carried that too with us--that1 in #ahcg1 one hundred and fifty masters of vessels1 belonging to this town1 sailed from the various ports of the ,union4 ,there must be many more houses in the south part of the town1 else we cannot imagine where they all lodge when they are at home1 if ever they are there2 but the truth is1 their houses are floating ones1 and their home is on the ocean4 ,there were almost no trees at all in this part of ,dennis1 nor could ,i learn that they talked of setting out any4 ,it is true1 there was a meeting-house1 set round with ,lombardy poplars1 in a hollow square1 the rows fully as straight as the studs of a building1 and the corners as square2 but1 if ,i do not mistake1 every one of them was dead4 ,i could not help thinking that they needed a revival here4 ,our book said that1 in #agie1 there was erected in ,dennis 8an elegant meeting-house1 with a steeple40 ,perhaps this was the one2 though whether it had a steeple1 or had died down so far from sympathy with the poplars1 ,i do not remember4 ,another meeting-house in this town was described as a 8neat building02 but of the meeting-house in ,chatham1 a neighboring town1 for there was then but one1 nothing is said1 except that it 8is in good repair10--both which remarks1 ,i trust1 may be understood as applying to the churches spiritual as well as material4 ,however1 8elegant meeting-houses10 from that ,trinity one on ,broadway1 to this at ,nobscusset1 in my estimation1 belong to the same category with 8beautiful villages40 ,i was never in season to see one4 ,handsome is that handsome does4 ,what they did for shade here1 in warm weather1 we did not know1 though we read that 8fogs are more frequent in ,chatham than in any other part of the country2 and they serve in summer1 instead of trees1 to shelter the houses against the heat of the sun4 ,to those who delight in extensive vision10--is it to be inferred that the inhabitants of ,chatham do not8--8they are unpleasant1 but they are not found to be unhealthful40 ,probably1 also1 the unobstructed sea-breeze answers the purpose of a fan4 ,the historian of ,chatham says further1 that 8in many families there is no difference between the breakfast and supper2 cheese1 cakes1 and pies being as common at the one as at the other40 ,but that leaves us still uncertain whether they were really common at either4 ,illustration3 ,a street in ,sandwich ,the road1 which was quite hilly1 here ran near the ,bay-shore1 having the ,bay on one side1 and 8the rough hill of ,scargo10 said to be the highest land on the ,cape1 on the other4 ,of the wide prospect of the ,bay afforded by the summit of this hill1 our guide says3 8,the view has not much of the beautiful in it1 but it communicates a strong emotion of the sublime40 ,that is the kind of communication which we love to have made to us4 ,we passed through the village of ,suet1 in ,dennis1 on ,suet and ,quivet ,necks1 of which it is said1 8when compared with ,nobscusset10--we had a misty recollection of having passed through1 or near to1 the latter1--8it may be denominated a pleasant village2 but1 in comparison with the village of ,sandwich1 there is little or no beauty in it40 ,however1 we liked ,dennis well1 better than any town we had seen on the ,cape1 it was so novel1 and1 in that stormy day1 so sublimely dreary4 ,captain ,john ,sears1 of ,suet1 was the first person in this country who obtained pure marine salt by solar evaporation alone2 though it had long been made in a similar way on the coast of ,france1 and elsewhere4 ,this was in the year #aggf1 at which time1 on account of the war1 salt was scarce and dear4 ,the ,historical ,collections contain an interesting account of his experiments1 which we read when we first saw the roofs of the salt-works4 ,barnstable county is the most favorable locality for these works on our northern coast1--there is so little fresh water here emptying into ocean4 ,quite recently there were about two millions of dollars invested in this business here4 ,but now the ,cape is unable to compete with the importers of salt and the manufacturers of it at the ,west1 and1 accordingly1 her salt-works are fast going to decay4 ,from making salt1 they turn to fishing more than ever4 ,the ,gazetteer will uniformly tell you1 under the head of each town1 how many go a-fishing1 and the value of the fish and oil taken1 how much salt is made and used1 how many are engaged in the coasting trade1 how many in manufacturing palm-leaf hats1 leather1 boots1 shoes1 and tinware1 and then it has done1 and leaves you to imagine the more truly domestic manufactures which are nearly the same all the world over4 ,late in the afternoon1 we rode through ,brewster1 so named after ,elder ,brewster1 for fear he would be forgotten else4 ,who has not heard of ,elder ,brewster8 ,who knows who he was8 ,this appeared to be the modern-built town of the ,cape1 the favorite residence of retired sea-captains4 ,it is said that 8there are more masters and mates of vessels which sail on foreign voyages belonging to this place than to any other town in the country40 ,there were many of the modern ,american houses here1 such as they turn out at ,cambridgeport1 standing on the sand2 you could almost swear that they had been floated down ,charles ,river1 and drifted across the ,bay4 ,i call them ,american1 because they are paid for by ,americans1 and 8put up0 by ,american carpenters2 but they are little removed from lumber2 only ,eastern stuff disguised with white paint1 the least interesting kind of drift-wood to me4 ,perhaps we have reason to be proud of our naval architecture1 and need not go to the ,greeks1 or the ,goths1 or the ,italians1 for the models of our vessels4 ,sea-captains do not employ a ,cambridgeport carpenter to build their floating houses1 and for their houses on shore1 if they must copy any1 it would be more agreeable to the imagination to see one of their vessels turned bottom upward1 in the ,numidian fashion4 ,we read that1 8at certain seasons1 the reflection of the sun upon the windows of the houses in ,wellfleet and ,truro 7across the inner side of the elbow of the ,cape7 is discernible with the naked eye1 at a distance of eighteen miles and upward1 on the county road40 ,this we were pleased to imagine1 as we had not seen the sun for twenty-four hours4 ,illustration3 ,the old ,higgins tavern at ,orleans ,the same author 7the ,rev4 ,john ,simpkins7 said of the inhabitants1 a good while ago3 8,no persons appear to have a greater relish for the social circle and domestic pleasures4 ,they are not in the habit of frequenting taverns1 unless on public occasions4 ,i know not of a proper idler or tavern-haunter in the place40 ,this is more than can be said of my townsmen4 ,at length we stopped for the night at ,higgins's tavern1 in ,orleans1 feeling very much as if we were on a sand-bar in the ocean1 and not knowing whether we should see land or water ahead when the mist cleared away4 ,we here overtook two ,italian boys1 who had waded thus far down the ,cape through the sand1 with their organs on their backs1 and were going on to ,provincetown4 ,what a hard lot1 we thought1 if the ,provincetown people should shut their doors against them6 ,whose yard would they go to next8 ,yet we concluded that they had chosen wisely to come here1 where other music than that of the surf must be rare4 ,thus the great civilizer sends out its emissaries1 sooner or later1 to every sandy cape and light-house of the ,new ,world which the census-taker visits1 and summons the savage there to surrender4 ,,iii ,,the ,,plains ,,of ,,nauset ,the next morning1 ,thursday1 ,october #aath1 it rained1 as hard as ever2 but we were determined to proceed on foot1 nevertheless4 ,we first made some inquiries with regard to the practicability of walking up the shore on the ,atlantic side to ,provincetown1 whether we should meet with any creeks or marshes to trouble us4 ,higgins said that there was no obstruction1 and that it was not much farther than by the road1 but he thought that we should find it very 8heavy0 walking in the sand2 it was bad enough in the road1 a horse would sink in up to the fetlocks there4 ,but there was one man at the tavern who had walked it1 and he said that we could go very well1 though it was sometimes inconvenient and even dangerous walking under the bank1 when there was a great tide1 with an easterly wind1 which caused the sand to cave4 ,for the first four or five miles we followed the road1 which here turns to the north on the elbow1 --the narrowest part of the ,cape1--that we might clear an inlet from the ocean1 a part of ,nauset ,harbor1 in ,orleans1 on our right4 ,we found the travelling good enough for walkers on the sides of the roads1 though it was 8heavy0 for horses in the middle4 ,we walked with our umbrellas behind us1 since it blowed hard as well as rained1 with driving mists1 as the day before1 and the wind helped us over the sand at a rapid rate4 ,everything indicated that we had reached a strange shore4 ,the road was a mere lane1 winding over bare swells of bleak and barren-looking land4 ,the houses were few and far between1 besides being small and rusty1 though they appeared to be kept in good repair1 and their dooryards1 which were the unfenced ,cape1 were tidy2 or1 rather1 they looked as if the ground around them was blown clean by the wind4 ,perhaps the scarcity of wood here1 and the consequent absence of the wood-pile and other wooden traps1 had something to do with this appearance4 ,they seemed1 like mariners ashore1 to have sat right down to enjoy the firmness of the land1 without studying their postures or habiliments4 ,to them it was merely terra firma and cognita1 not yet fertilis and jucunda4 ,every landscape which is dreary enough has a certain beauty to my eyes1 and in this instance its permanent qualities were enhanced by the weather4 ,everything told of the sea1 even when we did not see its waste or hear its roar4 ,for birds there were gulls1 and for carts in the fields1 boats turned bottom upward against the houses1 and sometimes the rib of a whale was woven into the fence by the road-side4 ,the trees were1 if possible1 rarer than the houses1 excepting apple-trees1 of which there were a few small orchards in the hollows4 ,these were either narrow and high1 with flat tops1 having lost their side branches1 like huge plum-bushes growing in exposed situations1 or else dwarfed and branching immediately at the ground1 like quince-bushes4 ,they suggested that1 under like circumstances1 all trees would at last acquire like habits of growth4 ,i afterward saw on the ,cape many full-grown apple-trees not higher than a man's head2 one whole orchard1 indeed1 where all the fruit could have been gathered by a man standing on the ground2 but you could hardly creep beneath the trees4 ,some1 which the owners told me were twenty years old1 were only three and a half feet high1 spreading at six inches from the ground five feet each way1 and being withal surrounded with boxes of tar to catch the cankerworms1 they looked like plants in flower-pots1 and as if they might be taken into the house in the winter4 ,in another place1 ,i saw some not much larger than currant-bushes2 yet the owner told me that they had borne a barrel and a half of apples that fall4 ,if they had been placed close together1 ,i could have cleared them all at a jump4 ,i measured some near the ,highland ,light in ,truro1 which had been taken from the shrubby woods thereabouts when young1 and grafted4 ,one1 which had been set ten years1 was on an average eighteen inches high1 and spread nine feet with a flat top4 ,it had borne one bushel of apples two years before4 ,another1 probably twenty years old from the seed1 was five feet high1 and spread eighteen feet1 branching1 as usual1 at the ground1 so that you could not creep under it4 ,this bore a barrel of apples two years before4 ,the owner of these trees invariably used the personal pronoun in speaking of them2 as1 8,i got him out of the woods1 but he doesn't bear40 ,the largest that ,i saw in that neighborhood was nine feet high to the topmost leaf1 and spread thirty-three feet1 branching at the ground five ways4 ,illustration3 ,a ,nauset lane ,in one yard ,i observed a single1 very healthy-looking tree1 while all the rest were dead or dying4 ,the occupant said that his father had manured all but that one with blackfish4 ,this habit of growth should1 no doubt1 be encouraged2 and they should not be trimmed up1 as some travelling practitioners have advised4 ,in #ahjb there was not a single fruit-tree in ,chatham1 the next town to ,orleans1 on the south2 and the old account of ,orleans says3 8,fruit-trees cannot be made to grow within a mile of the ocean4 ,even those which are placed at a greater distance are injured by the east winds2 and1 after violent storms in the spring1 a saltish taste is perceptible on their bark40 ,we noticed that they were often covered with a yellow lichen-like rust1 the ,parmelia parietina4 ,the most foreign and picturesque structures on the ,cape1 to an inlander1 not excepting the salt-works1 are the wind-mills1--gray-looking octagonal towers1 with long timbers slanting to the ground in the rear1 and there resting on a cart-wheel1 by which their fans are turned round to face the wind4 ,these appeared also to serve in some measure for props against its force4 ,a great circular rut was worn around the building by the wheel4 ,the neighbors who assemble to turn the mill to the wind are likely to know which way it blows1 without a weathercock4 ,they looked loose and slightly locomotive1 like huge wounded birds1 trailing a wing or a leg1 and re-minded one of pictures of the ,netherlands4 ,being on elevated ground1 and high in themselves1 they serve as landmarks1--for there are no tall trees1 or other objects commonly1 which can be seen at a distance in the horizon2 though the outline of the land itself is so firm and distinct that an insignificant cone1 or even precipice of sand1 is visible at a great distance from over the sea4 ,sailors making the land commonly steer either by the wind-mills or the meeting-houses4 ,in the country1 we are obliged to steer by the meeting-houses alone4 ,yet the meeting-house is a kind of wind-mill1 which runs one day in seven1 turned either by the winds of doctrine or public opinion1 or more rarely by the winds of ,heaven1 where another sort of grist is ground1 of which1 if it be not all bran or musty1 if it be not plaster1 we trust to make bread of life4 ,there were1 here and there1 heaps of shells in the fields1 where clams had been opened for bait2 for ,orleans is famous for its shell-fish1 especially clams1 or1 as our author says1 8to speak more properly1 worms40 ,the shores are more fertile than the dry land4 ,the inhabitants measure their crops1 not only by bushels of corn1 but by barrels of clams4 ,a thousand barrels of clam-bait are counted as equal in value to six or eight thousand bushels of ,indian corn1 and once they were procured without more labor or expense1 and the supply was thought to be inexhaustible4 8,for10 runs the history1 8after a portion of the shore has been dug over1 and almost all the clams taken up1 at the end of two years1 it is said1 they are as plenty there as ever4 ,it is even affirmed by many persons1 that it is as necessary to stir the clam ground frequently as it is to hoe a field of potatoes2 because1 if this labor is omitted1 the clams will be crowded too closely together1 and will be prevented from increasing in size40 ,but we were told that the small clam1 ,mya arenaria1 was not so plenty here as formerly4 ,probably the clam ground has been stirred too frequently1 after all4 ,nevertheless1 one man1 who complained that they fed pigs with them and so made them scarce1 told me that he dug and opened one hundred and twenty-six dollars' worth in one winter1 in ,truro4 ,illustration3 ,nauset ,bay ,we crossed a brook1 not more than fourteen rods long1 between ,orleans and ,eastham1 called ,jeremiah's ,gutter4 ,the ,atlantic is said sometimes to meet the ,bay here1 and isolate the northern part of the ,cape4 ,the streams of the ,cape are necessarily formed on a minute scale1 since there is no room for them to run1 without tumbling immediately into the sea2 and beside1 we found it difficult to run ourselves in that sand1 when there was no want of room4 ,hence1 the least channel where water runs1 or may run1 is important1 and is dignified with a name4 ,we read that there is no running water in ,chatham1 which is the next town4 ,the barren aspect of the land would hardly be believed if described4 ,it was such soil1 or rather land1 as1 to judge from appearances1 no farmer in the interior would think of cultivating1 or even fencing4 ,generally1 the ploughed fields of the ,cape look white and yellow1 like a mixture of salt and ,indian meal4 ,this is called soil4 ,all an inlander's notions of soil and fertility will be confounded by a visit to these parts1 and he will not be able1 for some time afterward1 to distinguish soil from sand4 ,the historian of ,chatham says of a part of that town1 which has been gained from the sea3 8,there is a doubtful appearance of a soil beginning to be formed4 ,it is styled doubtful1 because it would not be observed by every eye1 and perhaps not acknowledged by many40 ,we thought that this would not be a bad description of the greater part of the ,cape4 ,there is a 8beach0 on the west side of ,eastham1 which we crossed the next summer1 half a mile wide1 and stretching across the township1 containing seventeen hundred acres1 on which there is not now a particle of vegetable mould1 though it formerly produced wheat4 ,all sands are here called 8beaches10 whether they are waves of water or of air that dash against them1 since they commonly have their origin on the shore4 8,the sand in some places10 says the historian of ,eastham1 8lodging against the beach-grass1 has been raised into hills fifty feet high1 where twenty-five years ago no hills existed4 ,in others it has filled up small valleys1 and swamps4 ,where a strong-rooted bush stood1 the appearance is singular3 a mass of earth and sand adheres to it1 resembling a small tower4 ,in several places1 rocks1 which were formerly covered with soil1 are disclosed1 and being lashed by the sand1 driven against them by the wind1 look as if they were recently dug from a quarry40 ,we were surprised to hear of the great crops of corn which are still raised in ,eastham1 notwithstanding the real and apparent barrenness4 ,our landlord in ,orleans had told us that he raised three or four hundred bushels of corn annually1 and also of the great number of pigs which he fattened4 ,in ,champlain's 8,voyages10 there is a plate representing the ,indian cornfields hereabouts1 with their wigwams in the midst1 as they appeared in #afje1 and it was here that the ,pilgrims1 to quote their own words1 8bought eight or ten hogsheads of corn and beans0 of the ,nauset ,indians1 in #afbb1 to keep themselves from starving4#a 8,in #affg the town of ,eastham voted that every housekeeper should kill twelve blackbirds or three crows1 which did great damage to the corn2 and this vote was repeated for many years40 ,in #afie an additional order was passed1 namely1 that 8every unmarried man in the township shall kill six blackbirds1 or three crows1 while he remains single2 as a penalty for not doing it1 shall not be married until he obey this order40 ,the blackbirds1 however1 still molest the corn4 ,i saw them at it the next summer1 and there were many scarecrows1 if not scare-blackbirds1 in the fields1 which ,i often mistook for men4 ,illustration3 ,a scarecrow ,from which ,i concluded that either many men were not married1 or many blackbirds were4 ,yet they put but three or four kernels in a hill1 and let fewer plants remain than we do4 ,in the account of ,eastham1 in the 8,historical ,collections10 printed in #ahjb1 it is said1 that 8more corn is produced than the inhabitants consume1 and about a thousand bushels are annually sent to market4 ,the soil being free from stones1 a plough passes through it speedily2 and after the corn has come up1 a small ,cape horse1 somewhat larger than a goat1 will1 with the assistance of two boys1 easily hoe three or four acres in a day2 several farmers are accustomed to produce five hundred bushels of grain annually1 and not long since one raised eight hundred bushels on sixty acres40 ,similar accounts are given to-day2 indeed1 the recent accounts are in some instances suspectable repetitions of the old1 and ,i have no doubt that their statements are as often founded on the exception as the rule1 and that by far the greater number of acres are as barren as they appear to be4 ,it is sufficiently remarkable that any crops can be raised here1 and it may be owing1 as others have suggested1 to the amount of moisture in the atmosphere1 the warmth of the sand1 and the rareness of frosts4 ,a miller1 who was sharpening his stones1 told me that1 forty years ago1 he had been to a husking here1 where five hundred bushels were husked in one evening1 and the corn was piled six feet high or more1 in the midst1 but now1 fifteen or eighteen bushels to an acre were an average yield4 ,i never saw fields of such puny and unpromising looking corn as in this town4 ,probably the inhabitants are contented with small crops from a great surface easily cultivated4 ,it is not always the most fertile land that is the most profitable1 and this sand may repay cultivation1 as well as the fertile bottoms of the ,west4 ,it is said1 moreover1 that the vegetables raised in the sand1 without manure1 are remarkably sweet1 the pumpkins especially1 though when their seed is planted in the interior they soon degenerate4 ,i can testify that the vegetables here1 when they succeed at all1 look remarkably green and healthy1 though perhaps it is partly by contrast with the sand4 ,yet the inhabitants of the ,cape towns1 generally1 do not raise their own meal or pork4 ,their gardens are commonly little patches1 that have been redeemed from the edges of the marshes and swamps4 ,all the morning we had heard the sea roar on the eastern shore1 which was several miles distant2 for it still felt the effects of the storm in which the ,st4 ,john was wrecked1--though a school-boy1 whom we overtook1 hardly knew what we meant1 his ears were so used to it4 ,he would have more plainly heard the same sound in a shell4 ,it was a very inspiriting sound to walk by1 filling the whole air1 that of the sea dashing against the land1 heard several miles inland4 ,instead of having a dog to growl before your door1 to have an ,atlantic ,ocean to growl for a whole ,cape6 ,on the whole1 we were glad of the storm1 which would show us the ocean in its angriest mood4 ,charles ,darwin was assured that the roar of the surf on the coast of ,chiloe1 after a heavy gale1 could be heard at night a distance of 8#ba sea miles across a hilly and wooded country40 ,we conversed with the boy we have mentioned1 who might have been eight years old1 making him walk the while under the lee of our umbrella2 for we thought it as important to know what was life on the ,cape to a boy as to a man4 ,we learned from him where the best grapes were to be found in that neighborhood4 ,he was carrying his dinner in a pail2 and1 without any impertinent questions being put by us1 it did at length appear of what it consisted4 ,the homeliest facts are always the most acceptable to an inquiring mind4 ,at length1 before we got to ,eastham meeting-house1 we left the road and struck across the country for the eastern shore at ,nauset ,lights1--three lights close together1 two or three miles distant from us4 ,they were so many that they might be distinguished from others2 but this seemed a shiftless and costly way of accomplishing that object4 ,we found ourselves at once on an apparently boundless plain1 without a tree or a fence1 or1 with one or two exceptions1 a house in sight4 ,instead of fences1 the earth was sometimes thrown up into a slight ridge4 ,my companion compared it to the rolling prairies of ,illinois4 ,in the storm of wind and rain which raged when we traversed it1 it no doubt appeared more vast and desolate than it really is4 ,as there were no hills1 but only here and there a dry hollow in the midst of the waste1 and the distant horizon was concealed by mist1 we did not know whether it was high or low4 ,a solitary traveller whom we saw perambulating in the distance loomed like a giant4 ,he appeared to walk slouchingly1 as if held up from above by straps under his shoulders1 as much as supported by the plain below4 ,men and boys would have appeared alike at a little distance1 there being no object by which to measure them4 ,indeed1 to an inlander1 the ,cape landscape is a constant mirage4 ,this kind of country extended a mile or two each way4 ,these were the 8,plains of ,nauset10 once covered with wood1 where in winter the winds howl and the snow blows right merrily in the face of the traveller4 ,i was glad to have got out of the towns1 where ,i am wont to feel unspeakably mean and disgraced1--to have left behind me for a season the bar-rooms of ,massachusetts1 where the full-grown are not weaned from savage and filthy habits1--still sucking a cigar4 ,my spirits rose in proportion to the outward dreariness4 ,the towns need to be ventilated4 ,the gods would be pleased to see some pure flames from their altars4 ,they are not to be appeased with cigar-smoke4 ,as we thus skirted the back-side of the towns1 for we did not enter any village1 till we got to ,provincetown1 we read their histories under our umbrellas1 rarely meeting anybody4 ,the old accounts are the richest in topography1 which was what we wanted most2 and1 indeed1 in most things else1 for ,i find that the readable parts of the modern accounts of these towns consist1 in a great measure1 of quotations1 acknowledged and unacknowledged1 from the older ones1 without any additional information of equal interest2--town histories1 which at length run into a history of the ,church of that place1 that being the only story they have to tell1 and conclude by quoting the ,latin epitaphs of the old pastors1 having been written in the good old days of ,latin and of ,greek4 ,they will go back to the ordination of every minister and tell you faithfully who made the introductory prayer1 and who delivered the sermon2 who made the ordaining prayer1 and who gave the charge2 who extended the right hand of fellowship1 and who pronounced the benediction2 also how many ecclesiastical councils convened from time to time to inquire into the orthodoxy of some minister1 and the names of all who composed them4 ,as it will take us an hour to get over this plain1 and there is no variety in the prospect1 peculiar as it is1 ,i will read a little in the history of ,eastham the while4 ,when the committee from ,plymouth had purchased the territory of ,eastham of the ,indians1 8it was demanded1 who laid claim to ,billingsgate80 which was understood to be all that part of the ,cape north of what they had purchased4 8,the answer was1 there was not any who owned it4 #8,then1' said the committee1 #8that land is ours4' ,the ,indians answered1 that it was40 ,this was a remarkable assertion and admission4 ,the ,pilgrims appear to have regarded themselves as ,not ,any's representatives4 ,perhaps this was the first instance of that quiet way of 8speaking for0 a place not yet occupied1 or at least not improved as much as it may be1 which their descendants have practised1 and are still practising so extensively4 ,not ,any seems to have been the sole proprietor of all ,america before the ,yankees4 ,but history says that1 when the ,pilgrims had held the lands of ,billingsgate many years1 at length 8appeared an ,indian1 who styled himself ,lieutenant ,anthony10 who laid claim to them1 and of him they bought them4 ,who knows but a ,lieutenant ,anthony may be knocking at the door of the ,white ,house some day8 ,at any rate1 ,i know that if you hold a thing unjustly1 there will surely be the devil to pay at last4 ,thomas ,prince1 who was several times the governor of the ,plymouth colony1 was the leader of the settlement of ,eastham4 ,there was recently standing1 on what was once his farm1 in this town1 a pear-tree which is said to have been brought from ,england1 and planted there by him1 about two hundred years ago4 ,it was blown down a few months before we were there4 ,a late account says that it was recently in a vigorous state2 the fruit small1 but excellent2 and it yielded on an average fifteen bushels4 ,some appropriate lines have been addressed to it1 by a ,mr4 ,heman ,doane1 from which ,i will quote1 partly because they are the only specimen of ,cape ,cod verse which ,i remember to have seen1 and partly because they are not bad4 8,two hundred years have1 on the wings of ,time1 ,passed with their joys and woes1 since thou1 ,old ,tree6 ,put forth thy first leaves in this foreign clime4 ,transplanted from the soil beyond the sea40 99 99 99 99 99 ,these stars represent the more clerical lines1 and also those which have deceased4 8,that exiled band long since have passed away1 ,and still1 ,old ,tree ,i thou standest in the place ,where ,prince's hand did plant thee in his day1-- ,an undesigned memorial of his race ,and time2 of those our honored fathers1 when ,they came from ,plymouth o'er and settled here2 ,doane1 ,higgins1 ,snow1 and other worthy men4 ,whose names their sons remember to revere4 99 99 99 99 99 8,old ,time has thinned thy boughs4 ,old ,pilgrim ,tree6 ,and bowed thee with the weight of many years2 ,yet 'mid the frosts of age1 thy bloom we see1 ,and yearly still thy mellow fruit appears40 ,there are some other lines which ,i might quote1 if they were not tied to unworthy companions by the rhyme4 ,when one ox will lie down1 the yoke bears hard on him that stands up4 ,one of the first settlers of ,eastham was ,deacon ,john ,doane1 who died in #agjg1 aged one hundred and ten4 ,tradition says that he was rocked in a cradle several of his last years4 ,that1 certainly1 was not an ,achillean life4 ,his mother must have let him slip when she dipped him into the liquor which was to make him invulnerable1 and he went in1 heels and all4 ,some of the stone-bounds to his farm which he set up are standing to-day1 with his initials cut in them4 ,the ecclesiastical history of this town interested us somewhat4 ,it appears that 8they very early built a small meeting-house1 twenty feet square1 with a thatched roof through which they might fire their muskets10--of course1 at the ,devil4 8,in #affb1 the town agreed that a part of every whale cast on shore be appropriated for the support of the ministry40 ,no doubt there seemed to be some propriety in thus leaving the support of the ministers to ,providence1 whose servants they are1 and who alone rules the storms2 for1 when few whales were cast up1 they might suspect that their worship was not acceptable4 ,the ministers must have sat upon the cliffs in every storm1 and watched the shore with anxiety4 ,and1 for my part1 if ,i were a minister ,i would rather trust to the bowels of the billows1 on the back-side of ,cape ,cod1 to cast up a whale for me1 than to the generosity of many a country parish that ,i know4 ,you cannot say of a country minister's salary1 commonly1 that it is 8very like a whale40 ,nevertheless1 the minister who depended on whales cast up must have had a trying time of it4 ,i would rather have gone to the ,falkland ,isles with a harpoon1 and done with it4 ,think of a whale having the breath of life beaten out of him by a storm1 and dragging in over the bars and guzzles1 for the support of the ministry6 ,what a consolation it must have been to him6 ,i have heard of a minister1 who had been a fisherman1 being settled in ,bridgewater for as long a time as he could tell a cod from a haddock4 ,generous as it seems1 this condition would empty most country pulpits forthwith1 for it is long since the fishers of men were fishermen4 ,also1 a duty was put on mackerel here to support a free-school2 in other words1 the mackerel-school was taxed in order that the children's school might be free4 8,in #affe the ,court passed a law to inflict corporal punishment on all persons1 who resided in the towns of this government1 who denied the ,scriptures40 ,think of a man being whipped on a spring morning till he was constrained to confess that the ,scriptures were true6 8,it was also voted by the town that all persons who should stand out of the meeting-house during the time of divine service should be set in the stocks40 ,it behooved such a town to see that sitting in the meeting-house was nothing akin to sitting in the stocks1 lest the penalty of obedience to the law might be greater than that of disobedience4 ,this was the ,eastham famous of late years for its camp-meetings1 held in a grove near by1 to which thousands flock from all parts of the ,bay4 ,we conjectured that the reason for the perhaps unusual1 if not unhealthful1 development of the religious sentiment here was the fact that a large portion of the population are women whose husbands and sons are either abroad on the sea1 or else drowned1 and there is nobody but they and the ministers left behind4 ,the old account says that 8hysteric fits are very common in ,orleans1 ,eastham1 and the towns below1 particularly on ,sunday1 in the times of divine service4 ,when one woman is affected1 five or six others generally sympathize with her2 and the congregation is thrown into the utmost confusion4 ,several old men suppose1 unphilosophically and uncharitably1 perhaps1 that the will is partly concerned1 and that ridicule and threats would have a tendency to prevent the evil40 ,how this is now we did not learn4 ,we saw one singularly masculine woman1 however1 in a house on this very plain1 who did not look as if she was ever troubled with hysterics1 or sympathized with those that were2 or1 perchance1 life itself was to her a hysteric fit1--a ,nauset woman1 of a hardness and coarseness such as no man ever possesses or suggests4 ,it was enough to see the vertebrae and sinews of her neck1 and her set jaws of iron1 which would have bitten a board-nail in two in their ordinary action1--braced against the world1 talking like a man-of-war's-man in petticoats1 or as if shouting to you through a breaker2 who looked as if it made her head ache to live2 hard enough for any enormity4 ,i looked upon her as one who had committed infanticide2 who never had a brother1 unless it were some wee thing that died in infancy1--for what need of him8--and whose father must have died before she was born4 ,this woman told us that the camp-meetings were not held the previous summer for fear of introducing the cholera1 and that they would have been held earlier this summer1 but the rye was so backward that straw would not have been ready for them2 for they lie in straw4 ,there are sometimes one hundred and fifty ministers 767 and five thousand hearers assembled4 ,the ground1 which is called ,millennium ,grove1 is owned by a company in ,boston1 and is the most suitable1 or rather unsuitable1 for this purpose of any that ,i saw on the ,cape4 ,it is fenced1 and the frames of the tents are at all times to be seen interspersed among the oaks4 ,they have an oven and a pump1 and keep all their kitchen utensils and tent coverings and furniture in a permanent building on the spot4 ,they select a time for their meetings when the moon is full4 ,a man is appointed to clear out the pump a week beforehand1 while the ministers are clearing their throats2 but1 probably1 the latter do not always deliver as pure a stream as the former4 ,i saw the heaps of clam-shells left under the tables1 where they had feasted in previous summers1 and supposed1 of course1 that that was the work of the unconverted1 or the backsliders and scoffers4 ,it looked as if a camp-meeting must be a singular combination of a prayer-meeting and a picnic4 ,illustration3 ,millennium ,grove camp-meeting grounds ,the first minister settled here was the ,rev4 ,samuel ,treat1 in #afgb1 a gentleman who is said to be 8entitled to a distinguished rank among the evangelists of ,new ,england40 ,he converted many ,indians1 as well as white men1 in his day1 and translated the ,confession of ,faith into the ,nauset language4 ,these were the ,indians concerning whom their first teacher1 ,richard ,bourne1 wrote to ,gookin1 in #afgd1 that he had been to see one who was sick1 8and there came from him very savory and heavenly expressions10 but1 with regard to the mass of them1 he says1 8the truth is1 that many of them are very loose in their course1 to my heartbreaking sorrow40 ,mr4 ,treat is described as a ,calvinist of the strictest kind1 not one of those who1 by giving up or explaining away1 become like a porcupine disarmed of its quills1 but a consistent ,calvinist1 who can dart his quills to a distance and courageously defend himself4 ,there exists a volume of his sermons in manuscript1 8which10 says a commentator1 8appear to have been designed for publication40 ,i quote the following sentences at second hand1 from a ,discourse on ,luke xvi4 #bc1 addressed to sinners3-- 8,thou must erelong go to the bottomless pit4 ,hell hath enlarged herself1 and is ready to receive thee4 ,there is room enough for thy entertainment4444 8,consider1 thou art going to a place prepared by ,god on purpose to exalt his justice in1--a place made for no other employment but torments4 ,hell is ,god's house of correction2 and1 remember1 ,god doth all things like himself4 ,when ,god would show his justice1 and what is the weight of his wrath1 he makes a hell where it shall1 indeed1 appear to purpose4444 ,woe to thy soul when thou shalt be set up as a butt for the arrows of the ,almighty4444 8,consider1 ,god himself shall be the principal agent in thy misery1--his breath is the bellows which blows up the flame of hell forever2--and if he punish thee1 if he meet thee in his fury1 he will not meet thee as a man2 he will give thee an omnipotent blow40 8,some think sinning ends with this life2 but it is a mistake4 ,the creature is held under an everlasting law2 the damned increase in sin in hell4 ,possibly1 the mention of this may please thee4 ,but1 remember1 there shall be no pleasant sins there2 no eating1 drinking1 singing1 dancing1 wanton dalliance1 and drinking stolen waters1 but damned sins1 bitter1 hellish sins2 sins exasperated by torments1 cursing ,god1 spite1 rage1 and blasphemy4--,the guilt of all thy sins shall be laid upon thy soul1 and be made so many heaps of fuel4444 8,sinner1 ,i beseech thee1 realize the truth of these things4 ,do not go about to dream that this is derogatory to ,god's mercy1 and nothing but a vain fable to scare children out of their wits withal4 ,god can be merciful1 though he make thee miserable4 ,he shall have monuments enough of that precious attribute1 shining like stars in the place of glory1 and singing eternal hallelujahs to the praise of ,him that redeemed them1 though1 to exalt the power of his justice1 he damn sinners heaps upon heaps40 8,but10 continues the same writer1 8with the advantage of proclaiming the doctrine of terror1 which is naturally productive of a sublime and impressive style of eloquence 7#8,triumphat ventoso glori curru orator1 qui pectus angit1 irritat1 et implet terroribus4' ,vid4 ,burnet1 ,de ,stat4 ,mort41 p4 #cji71 he could not attain the character of a popular preacher4 ,his voice was so loud that it could be heard at a great distance from the meeting-house1 even amidst the shrieks of hysterical women1 and the winds that howled over the plains of ,nauset2 but there was no more music in it than in the discordant sounds with which it was mingled40 8,the effect of such preaching10 it is said1 8was that his hearers were several times1 in the course of his ministry1 awakened and alarmed2 and on one occasion a comparatively innocent young man was frightened nearly out of his wits1 and ,mr4 ,treat had to exert himself to make hell seem somewhat cooler to him02 yet we are assured that 8,treat's manners were cheerful1 his conversation pleasant1 and sometimes facetious1 but always decent4 ,he was fond of a stroke of humor1 and a practical joke1 and manifested his relish for them by long and loud fits of laughter40 ,this was the man of whom a well-known anecdote is told1 which doubtless many of my readers have heard1 but which1 nevertheless1 ,i will venture to quote3-- 8,after his marriage with the daughter of ,mr4 ,willard 7pastor of the ,south ,church in ,boston71 he was sometimes invited by that gentleman to preach in his pulpit4 ,mr4 ,willard possessed a graceful delivery1 a masculine and harmonious voice2 and1 though he did not gain much reputation by his #8,body of ,divinity1' which is frequently sneered at1 particularly by those who have read it1 yet in his sermons are strength of thought and energy of language4 ,the natural consequence was that he was generally admired4 ,mr4 ,treat having preached one of his best discourses to the congregation of his father-in-law1 in his usual unhappy manner1 excited universal disgust2 and several nice judges waited on ,mr4 ,willard1 and begged that ,mr4 ,treat1 who was a worthy1 pious man1 it was true1 but a wretched preacher1 might never be invited into his pulpit again4 ,to this request ,mr4 ,willard made no reply2 but he desired his son-in-law to lend him the discourse2 which being left with him1 he delivered it without alteration to his people a few weeks after4 ,they ran to ,mr4 ,willard and requested a copy for the press4 #8,see the difference1' they cried1 #8between yourself and your son-in-law2 you have preached a sermon on the same text as ,mr4 ,treat's1 but whilst his was contemptible1 yours is excellent4' ,as is observed in a note1 #8,mr4 ,willard1 after producing the sermon in the handwriting of ,mr4 ,treat1 might have addressed these sage critics in the words of ,phaedrus1 8#8,en hic declarat1 quales sitis judices4'0#b ,mr4 ,treat died of a stroke of the palsy1 just after the memorable storm known as the ,great ,snow1 which left the ground around his house entirely bare1 but heaped up the snow in the road to an uncommon height4 ,through this an arched way was dug1 by which the ,indians bore his bod to the grave4 ,the reader will imagine us1 all the while1 steadily traversing that extensive plain in a direction a little north of east toward ,nauset ,beach1 and reading under our umbrellas as we sailed1 while it blowed hard with mingled mist and rain1 as if we were approaching a fit anniversary of ,mr4 ,treat's funeral4 ,we fancied that it was such a moor as that on which somebody perished in the snow1 as is related in the 8,lights and ,shadows of ,scottish ,life40 ,the next minister settled here was the 8,rev4 ,samuel ,osborn1 who was born in ,ireland1 and educated at the ,university of ,dublin40 ,he is said to have been 8,a man of wisdom and virtue10 and taught his people the use of peat1 and the art of drying and preparing it1 which as they had scarcely any other fuel1 was a great blessing to them4 ,he also introduced improvements in agriculture4 ,but1 notwithstanding his many services1 as he embraced the religion of ,arminius1 some of his flock became dissatisfied4 ,at length1 an ecclesiastical council1 consisting of ten ministers1 with their churches1 sat upon him1 and they1 naturally enough1 spoiled his usefulness4 ,the council convened at the desire of two divine philosophers1--,joseph ,doane and ,nathaniel ,freeman4 ,in their report they say1 8,it appears to the council that the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,osborn hath1 in his preaching to this people1 said1 that what ,christ did and suffered doth nothing abate or diminish our obligation to obey the law of ,god1 and that ,christ's suffering and obedience were for himself2 both parts of which1 we think1 contain dangerous error40 8,also3 #8,it hath been said1 and doth appear to this council1 that the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,osborn1 both in public and in private1 asserted that there are no promises in the ,bible but what are conditional1 which we think1 also1 to be an error1 and do say that there are promises which are absolute and without any condition1--such as the promise of a new heart1 and that he will write his law in our hearts4'0 8,also1 they say1 #8it hath been alleged1 and doth appear to us1 that ,mr4 ,osborn hath declared1 that obedience is a considerable cause of a person's justification1 which1 we think1 contains very dangerous error4'0 ,and many the like distinctions they made1 such as some of my readers1 probably1 are more familiar with than ,i am4 ,so1 far in the ,east1 among the ,yezidis1 or ,worshippers of the ,devil1 so-called1 the ,chaldaeans1 and others1 according to the testimony of travellers1 you may still hear these remarkable disputations on doctrinal points going on4 ,osborn was1 accordingly1 dismissed1 and he removed to ,boston1 where he kept school for many years4 ,but he was fully justified1 methinks1 by his works in the peat-meadow2 one proof of which is1 that he lived to be between ninety and one hundred years old4 ,the next minister was the ,rev4 ,benjamin ,webb1 of whom1 though a neighboring clergy-man pronounced him 8the best man and the best minister whom he ever knew10 yet the historian says that1 8,as he spent his days in the uniform discharge of his duty 7it reminds one of a country muster7 and there were no shades to give relief to his character1 not much can be said of him4 7,pity the ,devil did not plant a few shade-trees along his avenues47 ,his heart was as pure as the new-fallen snow1 which completely covers every dark spot in a field2 his mind was as serene as the sky in a mild evening in ,june1 when the moon shines without a cloud4 ,name any virtue1 and that virtue he practised2 name any vice1 and that vice he shunned4 ,but if peculiar qualities marked his character1 they were his humility1 his gentleness1 and his love of ,god4 ,the people had long been taught by a son of thunder 7,mr4 ,treat73 in him they were instructed by a son of consolation1 who sweetly allured them to virtue by soft persuasion1 and by exhibiting the mercy of the ,supreme ,being2 for his thoughts were so much in heaven that they seldom descended to the dismal regions below2 and though of the same religious sentiments as ,mr4 ,treat1 yet his attention was turned to those glad tidings of great joy which a ,saviour came to publish40 ,we were interested to hear that such a man had trodden the plains of ,nauset4 ,turning over further in our book1 our eyes fell on the name of the ,rev4 ,jonathan ,bascom1 of ,orleans2 8,senex emunct naris1 doctus1 et auctor elegantium verborum1 facetus1 et dulcis festique sermonis40 ,and1 again1 on that of the ,rev4 ,nathan ,stone1 of ,dennis3 8,vir humilis1 mitis1 blandus1 advenarum hospes2 7there was need of him there27 suis commodis in terr non studens1 reconditis thesauris in clo40 ,an easy virtue that1 there1 for methinks no inhabitant of ,dennis could be very studious about his earthly commodity1 but must regard the bulk of his treasures as in heaven4 ,but probably the most just and pertinent character of all is that which appears to be given to the ,rev4 ,ephraim ,briggs1 of ,chatham1 in the language of the later ,romans1 8,seip1 sepoese1 sepoemese1 wechekum10--which not being interpreted1 we know not what it means1 though we have no doubt it occurs somewhere in the ,scriptures1 probably in the ,apostle ,eliot's ,epistle to the ,nipmucks4 ,let no one think that ,i do not love the old ministers4 ,they were1 probably1 the best men of their generation1 and they deserve that their biographies should fill the pages of the town histories4 ,if ,i could but hear the 8glad tidings0 of which they tell1 and which1 perchance1 they heard1 ,i might write in a worthier strain than this4 ,there was no better way to make the reader realize how wide and peculiar that plain was1 and how long it took to traverse it1 than by inserting these extracts in the midst of my narrative4 #a ,they touched after this at a place called ,mattachiest1 where they got more corn2 but their shallop being cast away in a storm1 the ,governor was obliged to return to ,plymouth on foot1 fifty miles through the woods4 ,according to ,mourt's ,relation1 8he came safely home1 though weary and surbated10 that is1 foot-sore4 7,ital4 sobattere1 ,lat4 sub or solea battere1 to bruise the soles of the feet2 v4 ,dic4 ,not 8from acerbatus1 embittered or aggrieved10 as one commentator on this passage supposes47 ,this word is of very rare occurrence1 being applied only to governors and persons of like description1 who are in that predicament2 though such generally have considerable mileage allowed them1 and might save their soles if they cared4 #b ,lib4 v4 ,fab4 #e4 ,,iv ,,the ,,beach ,at length we reached the seemingly retreating boundary of the plain1 and entered what had appeared at a distance an upland marsh1 but proved to be dry sand covered with ,beach-grass1 the ,bearberry1 ,bayberry1 ,shrub-oaks1 and ,beach-plum1 slightly ascending as we approached the shore2 then1 crossing over a belt of sand on which nothing grew1 though the roar of the sea sounded scarcely louder than before1 and we were prepared to go half a mile farther1 we suddenly stood on the edge of a bluff overlooking the ,atlantic4 ,far below us was the beach1 from half a dozen to a dozen rods in width1 with a long line of breakers rushing to the strand4 ,the sea was exceedingly dark and stormy1 the sky completely overcast1 the clouds still dropping rain1 and the wind seemed to blow not so much as the exciting cause1 as from sympathy with the already agitated ocean4 ,the waves broke on the bars at some distance from the shore1 and curving green or yellow as if over so many unseen dams1 ten or twelve feet high1 like a thousand waterfalls1 rolled in foam to the sand4 ,there was nothing but that savage ocean between us and ,europe4 ,having got down the bank1 and as close to the water as we could1 where the sand was the hardest1 leaving the ,nauset ,lights behind us1 we began to walk leisurely up the beach1 in a northwest direction1 towards ,provincetown1 which was about twenty-five miles distant1 still sailing under our umbrellas with a strong aft wind1 admiring in silence1 as we walked1 the great force of the ocean stream1-- 4 ,the white breakers were rushing to the shore2 the foam ran up the sand1 and then ran back as far as we could see 7and we imagined how much farther along the ,atlantic coast1 before and behind us71 as regularly1 to compare great things with small1 as the master of a choir beats time with his white wand2 and ever and anon a higher wave caused us hastily to deviate from our path1 and we looked back on our tracks filled with water and foam4 ,the breakers looked like droves of a thousand wild horses of ,neptune1 rushing to the shore1 with their white manes streaming far behind2 and when at length the sun shone for a moment1 their manes were rainbow-tinted4 ,also1 the long kelp-weed was tossed up from time to time1 like the tails of sea-cows sporting in the brine4 ,illustration3 ,a ,cape ,cod citizen ,there was not a sail in sight1 and we saw none that day1--for they had all sought harbors in the late storm1 and had not been able to get out again2 and the only human beings whom we saw on the beach for several days were one or two wreckers looking for drift-wood1 and fragments of wrecked vessels4 ,after an easterly storm in the spring1 this beach is sometimes strewn with eastern wood from one end to the other1 which1 as it belongs to him who saves it1 and the ,cape is nearly destitute of wood1 is a ,godsend to the inhabitants4 ,we soon met one of these wreckers1--a regular ,cape ,cod man1 with whom we parleyed1 with a bleached and weather-beaten face1 within whose wrinkles ,i distinguished no particular feature4 ,it was like an old sail endowed with life1--a hanging cliff of weather-beaten flesh1--like one of the clay boulders which occurred in that sand-bank4 ,he had on a hat which had seen salt water1 and a coat of many pieces and colors1 though it was mainly the color of the beach1 as if it had been sanded4 ,his variegated back--for his coat had many patches1 even between the shoulders--was a rich study to us1 when we had passed him and looked round4 ,it might have been dishonorable for him to have so many scars behind1 it is true1 if he had not had many more and more serious ones in front4 ,he looked as if he sometimes saw a doughnut1 but never descended to comfort2 too grave to laugh1 too tough to cry2 as indifferent as a clam1--like a sea-clam with hat on and legs1 that was out walking the strand4 ,he may have been one of the ,pilgrims1--,peregrine ,white1 at least1--who has kept on the back-side of the ,cape1 and let the centuries go by4 ,he was looking for wrecks1 old logs1 water-logged and covered with barnacles1 or bits of boards and joists1 even chips1 which he drew out of the reach of the tide1 and stacked up to dry4 ,when the log was too large to carry far1 he cut it up where the last wave had left it1 or rolling it a few feet appropriated it by sticking two sticks into the ground crosswise above it4 ,some rotten trunk1 which in ,maine cumbers the ground1 and is1 perchance1 thrown into the water on purpose1 is here thus carefully picked up1 split and dried1 and husbanded4 ,before winter the wrecker painfully carries these things up the bank on his shoulders by a long diagonal slanting path made with a hoe in the sand1 if there is no hollow at hand4 ,you may see his hooked pike-staff always lying on the bank ready for use4 ,he is the true monarch of the beach1 whose 8right there is none to dispute10 and he is as much identified with it as a beach-bird4 ,crantz1 in his account of ,greenland1 quotes ,dalagen's relation of the ways and usages of the ,greenlanders1 and says1 8,whoever finds driftwood1 or the spoils of a shipwreck on the strand1 enjoys it as his own1 though1 he does not live there4 ,but he must haul it ashore and lay a stone upon it1 as a token that some one has taken possession of it1 and this stone is the deed of security1 for no other ,greenlander will offer to meddle with it afterwards40 ,such is the instinctive law of nations4 ,we have also this account of drift-wood in ,crantz3 8,as he 7the ,founder of ,nature7 has denied this frigid rocky region the growth of trees1 he has bid the streams of the ,ocean to convey to its shores a great deal of wood1 which accordingly comes floating thither1 part without ice1 but the most part along with it1 and lodges itself between the islands4 ,were it not for this1 we ,europeans should have no wood to burn there1 and the poor ,greenlanders 7who1 it is true1 do not use wood1 but train1 for burning7 would1 however1 have no wood to roof their houses1 to erect their tents1 as also to build their boats1 and to shaft their arrows 7yet there grew some small but crooked alders1 c471 by which they must procure their maintenance1 clothing and train for warmth1 light1 and cooking4 ,among this wood are great trees torn up by the roots1 which by driving up and down for many years and rubbing on the ice1 are quite bare of branches and bark1 and corroded with great wood-worms4 ,a small part of this drift-wood are willows1 alder and birch trees1 which come out of the bays in the south of 7i4e4 ,greenland72 also large trunks of aspen-trees1 which must come from a greater distance2 but the greatest part is pine and fir4 ,we find also a good deal of a sort of wood finely veined1 with few branches2 this ,i fancy is larch-wood1 which likes to decorate the sides of lofty1 stony mountains4 ,there is also a solid1 reddish wood1 of a more agreeable fragrance than the common fir1 with visible cross-veins2 which ,i take to be the same species as the beautiful silver-firs1 or zirbel1 that have the smell of cedar1 and grow on the high ,grison hills1 and the ,switzers wainscot their rooms with them40 ,the wrecker directed us to a slight depression1 called ,snow's ,hollow1 by which we ascended the bank1--for elsewhere1 if not difficult1 it was inconvenient to climb it on account of the sliding sand1 which filled our shoes4 ,this sand-bank--the backbone of the ,cape--rose directly from the beach to the height of a hundred feet or more above the ocean4 ,it was with singular emotions that we first stood upon it and discovered what a place we had chosen to walk on4 ,on our right1 beneath us1 was the beach of smooth and gently sloping sand1 a dozen rods in width2 next1 the endless series of white breakers2 further still1 the light green water over the bar1 which runs the whole length of the forearm of the ,cape1 and beyond this stretched the unwearied and illimitable ocean4 ,on our left1 extending back from the very edge of the bank1 was a perfect desert of shining sand1 from thirty to eighty rods in width1 skirted in the distance by small sand-hills fifteen or twenty feet high2 between which1 however1 in some places1 the sand penetrated as much farther4 ,next commenced the region of vegetation--a succession of small hills and valleys covered with shrubbery1 now glowing with the brightest imaginable autumnal tints2 and beyond this were seen1 here and there1 the waters of the bay4 ,here1 in ,wellfleet1 this pure sand plateau1 known to sailors as the ,table ,lands of ,eastham1 on account of its appearance1 as seen from the ocean1 and because it once made a part of that town1--full fifty rods in width1 and in many places much more1 and sometimes full one hundred and fifty feet above the ocean1--stretched away northward from the southern boundary of the town1 without a particle of vegetation1--as level almost as a table1--for two and a half or three miles1 or as far as the eye could reach2 slightly rising towards the ocean1 then stooping to the beach1 by as steep a slope as sand could lie on1 and as regular as a military engineer could desire4 ,it was like the escarped rampart of a stupendous fortress1 whose glacis was the beach1 and whose champaign the ocean4--,from its surface we overlooked the greater part of the ,cape4 ,in short1 we were traversing a desert1 with the view of an autumnal landscape of extraordinary brilliancy1 a sort of ,promised ,land1 on the one hand1 and the ocean on the other4 ,yet1 though the prospect was so extensive1 and the country for the most part destitute of trees1 a house was rarely visible1--we never saw one from the beach1--and the solitude was that of the ocean and the desert combined4 ,a thousand men could not have seriously interrupted it1 but would have been lost in the vastness of the scenery as their footsteps in the sand4 ,the whole coast is so free from rocks1 that we saw but one or two for more than twenty miles4 ,the sand was soft like the beach1 and trying to the eyes when the sun shone4 ,a few piles of drift-wood1 which some wreckers had painfully brought up the bank and stacked up there to dry1 being the only objects in the desert1 looked indefinitely large and distant1 even like wigwams1 though1 when we stood near them1 they proved to be insignificant little 8jags0 of wood4 ,for sixteen miles1 commencing at the ,nauset ,lights1 the bank held its height1 though farther north it was not so level as here1 but interrupted by slight hollows1 and the patches of ,beach-grass and ,bayberry frequently crept into the sand to its edge4 ,there are some pages entitled 8,a description of the ,eastern ,coast of the ,county of ,barnstable10 printed in #ahjb1 pointing out the spots on which the ,trustees of the ,humane ,society have erected huts called ,charity or ,humane ,houses1 8and other places where shipwrecked seamen may look for shelter40 ,two thousand copies of this were dispersed1 that every vessel which frequented this coast might be provided with one4 ,i have read this ,shipwrecked ,seaman's ,manual with a melancholy kind of interest1--for the sound of the surf1 or1 you might say1 the moaning of the sea1 is heard all through it1 as if its author were the sole survivor of a shipwreck himself4 ,of this part of the coast he says3 8,this highland approaches the ocean with steep and lofty banks1 which it is extremely difficult to climb1 especially in a storm4 ,in violent tempests1 during very high tides1 the sea breaks against the foot of them1 rendering it then unsafe to walk on the strand which lies between them and the ocean4 ,should the seaman succeed in his attempt to ascend them1 he must forbear to penetrate into the country1 as houses are generally so remote that they would escape his research during the night2 he must pass on to the valleys by which the banks are intersected4 ,these valleys1 which the inhabitants call ,hollows1 run at right angles with the shore1 and in the middle or lowest part of them a road leads from the dwelling-houses to the sea40 ,by the word road must not always be understood a visible cart-track4 ,there were these two roads for us1--an upper and a lower one1--the bank and the beach2 both stretching twenty-eight miles northwest1 from ,nauset ,harbor to ,race ,point1 without a single opening into the beach1 and with hardly a serious interruption of the desert4 ,if you were to ford the narrow and shallow inlet at ,nauset ,harbor1 where there is not more than eight feet of water on the bar at full sea1 you might walk ten or twelve miles farther1 which would make a beach forty miles long1--and the bank and beach1 on the east side of ,nantucket1 are but a continuation of these4 ,i was comparatively satisfied4 ,there ,i had got the ,cape under me1 as much as if ,i were riding it bare-backed4 ,it was not as on the map1 or seen from the stagecoach2 but there ,i found it all out of doors1 huge and real1 ,cape ,cod6 as it cannot be represented on a map1 color it as you will2 the thing itself1 than which there is nothing more like it1 no truer picture or account2 which you cannot go farther and see4 ,i cannot remember what ,i thought before that it was4 ,they commonly celebrate those beaches only which have a hotel on them1 not those which have a ,humane house alone4 ,but ,i wished to see that seashore where man's works are wrecks2 to put up at the true ,atlantic ,house1 where the ocean is land-lord as well as sea-lord1 and comes ashore without a wharf for the landing2 where the crumbling land is the only invalid1 or at best is but dry land1 and that is all you can say of it4 ,we walked on quite at our leisure1 now on the beach1 now on the bank1--sitting from time to time on some damp log1 maple or yellow birch1 which had long followed the seas1 but had now at last settled on land2 or under the lee of a sandhill1 on the bank1 that we might gaze steadily on the ocean4 ,the bank was so steep that1 where there was no danger of its caving1 we sat on its edge1 as on a bench4 ,it was difficult for us landsmen to look out over the ocean without imagining land in the horizon2 yet the clouds appeared to hang low over it1 and rest on the water as they never do on the land1 perhaps on account of the great distance to which we saw4 ,the sand was not without advantage1 for1 though it was 8heavy0 walking in it1 it was soft to the feet2 and1 notwithstanding that it had been raining nearly two days1 when it held up for half an hour1 the sides of the sand-hills1 which were porous and sliding1 afforded a dry seat4 ,all the aspects of this desert are beautiful1 whether you behold it in fair weather or foul1 or when the sun is just breaking out after a storm1 and shining on its moist surface in the distance1 it is so white1 and pure1 and level1 and each slight inequality and track is so distinctly revealed2 and when your eyes slide off this1 they fall on the ocean4 ,in summer the mackerel gulls--which here have their nests among the neighboring sand-hills--pursue the traveller anxiously1 now and then diving close to his head with a squeak1 and he may see them1 like swallows1 chase some crow which has been feeding on the beach1 almost across the ,cape4 ,though for some time ,i have not spoken of the roaring of the breakers1 and the ceaseless flux and reflux of the waves1 yet they did not for a moment cease to dash and roar1 with such a tumult that if you had been there1 you could scarcely have heard my voice the while2 and they are dashing and roaring this very moment1 though it may be with less din and violence1 for there the sea never rests4 ,we were wholly absorbed by this spectacle and tumult1 and like ,chryses1 though in a different mood from him1 we walked silent along the shore of the resounding sea1 ' 4#a ,i put in a little ,greek now and then1 partly because it sounds so much like the ocean1--though ,i doubt if ,homer's ,mediterranean ,sea ever sounded so loud as this4 ,the attention of those who frequent the camp-meetings at ,eastham is said to be divided between the preaching of the ,methodists and the preaching of the billows on the back-side of the ,cape1 for they all stream over here in the course of their stay4 ,i trust that in this case the loudest voice carries it4 ,with what effect may we suppose the ocean to say1 8,my hearers60 to the multitude on the bank6 ,on that side some ,john ,n4 ,maffit2 on this1 the ,reverend ,poluphloisboios ,thalassa4 ,there was but little weed cast up here1 and that kelp chiefly1 there being scarcely a rock for rockweed to adhere to4 ,who has not had a vision from some vessel's deck1 when he had still his land-legs on1 of this great brown apron1 drifting half upright1 and quite submerged through the green water1 clasping a stone or a deep-sea mussel in its unearthly fingers8 ,i have seen it carrying a stone half as large as my head4 ,we sometimes watched a mass of this cable-like weed1 as it was tossed up on the crest of a breaker1 waiting with interest to see it come in1 as if there were some treasure buoyed up by it2 but we were always surprised and disappointed at the insignificance of the mass which had attracted us4 ,as we looked out over the water1 the smallest objects floating on it appeared indefinitely large1 we were so impressed by the vastness of the ocean1 and each one bore so large a proportion to the whole ocean1 which we saw4 ,we were so often disappointed in the size of such things as came ashore1 the ridiculous bits of wood or weed1 with which the ocean labored1 that we began to doubt whether the ,atlantic itself would bear a still closer inspection1 and wold not turn out to be a but small pond1 if it should come ashore to us4 ,this kelp1 oar-weed1 tangle1 devils-apron1 sole-leather1 or ribbon-weed1--as various species are called1--appeared to us a singularly marine and fabulous product1 a lit invention for ,neptune to adorn his car with1 or a freak of ,proteus4 ,all that is told of the sea has a fabulous sound to an inhabitant of the land1 and all its products have a certain fabulous quality1 as if they belonged to another planet1 from sea-weed to a sailor's yarn1 or a fish-story4 ,in this element the animal and vegetable kingdoms meet and are strangely mingled4 ,one species of kelp1 according to ,bory ,st4 ,vincent1 has a stem fifteen hundred feet long1 and hence is the longest vegetable known1 and a brig's crew spent two days to no purpose collecting the trunks of another kind cast ashore on the ,falkland ,islands1 mistaking it for drift-wood4 7,see ,harvey on ,alg7 ,this species looked almost edible2 at least1 ,i thought that if ,i were starving ,i would try it4 ,one sailor told me that the cows ate it4 ,it cut like cheese3 for ,i took the earliest opportunity to sit down and deliberately whittle up a fathom or two of it1 that ,i might become more intimately acquainted with it1 see how it cut1 and if it were hollow all the way through4 ,the blade looked like a broad belt1 whose edges had been quilled1 or as if stretched by hammering1 and it was also twisted spirally4 ,the extremity was generally worn and ragged from the lashing of the waves4 ,a piece of the stem which ,i carried home shrunk to one quarter of its size a week afterward1 and was completely covered with crystals of salt like frost4 ,the reader will excuse my greenness1--though it is not sea-greenness1 like his1 perchance1--for ,i live by a river-shore1 where this weed does not wash up4 ,when we consider in what meadows it grew4 and how it was raked1 and in what kind of hay weather got in or out1 we may well be curious about it4 ,one who is weatherwise has given the following account of the matter4 8,when descends on the ,atlantic ,the gigantic ,storm-wind of the equinox1 ,landward in his wrath he scourges ,the toiling surges1 ,laden with sea-weed from the rocks4 8,from ,bermuda's reefs1 from edges ,of sunken ledges1 ,on some far-off bright ,azore2 ,from ,bahama and the dashing1 ,silver-flashing ,surges of ,san ,salvador2 8,from the trembling surf that buries ,the ,orkneyan ,skerries4 ,answering the hoarse ,hebrides2 ,and from wrecks and ships and drifting ,spars1 uplifting ,on the desolate rainy seas2 8,ever drifting1 drifting1 drifting ,on the shifting ,currents of the restless main40 ,but he was not thinking of this shore1 when he added3-- 8,till1 in sheltered coves and reaches ,of sandy beaches1 ,all have found repose again40 ,these weeds were the symbols of those grotesque and fabulous thoughts which have not yet got into the sheltered coves of literature4 8,ever drifting1 drifting1 drifting ,on the shifting ,currents of the restless heart10 ,and not yet 8in books recorded ,they1 like hoarded ,household words1 no more depart40 ,the beach was also strewn with beautiful sea-jellies1 which the wreckers called ,sun-squall1 one of the lowest forms of animal life1 some white1 some wine-colored1 and a foot in diameter4 ,i at first thought that they were a tender part of some marine monster1 which the storm or some other foe had mangled4 ,what right has the sea to bear in its bosom such tender things as sea-jellies and mosses1 when it has such a boisterous shore that the stoutest fabrics are wrecked against it8 ,strange that it should undertake to dandle such delicate children in its arm4 ,i did not at first recognize these for the same which ,i had formerly seen in myriads in ,boston ,harbor1 rising1 with a waving motion1 to the surface1 as if to meet the sun1 and discoloring the waters far and wide1 so that ,i seemed to be sailing through a mere sunfish soup4 ,they say that when you endeavor to take one up1 it will spill out the other side of your hand like quicksilver4 ,before the land rose out of the ocean1 and became dry land1 chaos reigned2 and between high and low water mark1 where she is partially disrobed and rising1 a sort of chaos reigns still1 which only anomalous creatures can inhabit4 ,mackerel-gulls were all the while flying over our heads and amid the breakers1 sometimes two white ones pursuing a black one2 quite at home in the storm1 though they are as delicate organizations as sea-jellies and mosses2 and we saw that they were adapted to their circumstances rather by their spirits than their bodies4 ,theirs must be an essentially wilder1 that is1 less human1 nature than that of larks and robins4 ,their note was like the sound of some vibrating metal1 and harmonized well with the scenery and the roar of the surf1 as if one had rudely touched the strings of the lyre1 which ever lies on the shore2 a ragged shred of ocean music tossed aloft on the spray4 ,but if ,i were required to name a sound the remembrance of which most perfectly revives the impression which the beach has made1 it would be the dreary peep of the piping plover 7,charadrius melodus7 which haunts there4 ,their voices1 too1 are heard as a fugacious part in the dirge which is ever played along the shore for those mariners who have been lost in the deep since first it was created4 ,but through all this dreariness we seemed to have a pure and unqualified strain of eternal melody1 for always the same strain which is a dirge to one household is a morning song of rejoicing to another4 ,a remarkable method of catching gulls1 derived from the ,indians1 was practised in ,wellfleet in #agid4 8,the ,gull ,house10 it is said1 8is built with crotchets1 fixed in the ground on the beach10 poles being stretched across for the top1 and the sides made close with stakes and seaweed4 8,the poles on the top are covered with lean whale4 ,the man being placed within1 is not discovered by the fowls1 and while they are contending for and eating the flesh1 he draws them in1 one by one1 between the poles1 until he has collected forty or fifty40 ,hence1 perchance1 a man is said to be gulled1 when he is taken in4 ,we read that one 8sort of gulls is called by the ,dutch mallemucke1 i4e4 the foolish fly1 because they fall upon a whale as eagerly as a fly1 and1 indeed1 all gulls are foolishly bold and easy to be shot4 ,the ,norwegians call this bird havhest1 sea-horse 7and the ,english translator says1 it is probably what we call boobies74 ,if they have eaten too much1 they throw it up1 and eat it again till they are tired4 ,it is this habit in the gulls of parting with their property disgorging the contents of their stomachs to the skuas1 which has given rise to the terms gull1 guller1 and gulling1 among men40 ,we also read that they used to kill small birds which roosted on the beach at night1 by making a fire with hog's lard in a frying-pan4 ,the ,indians probably used pine torches2 the birds flocked to the light1 and were knocked down with a stick4 ,we noticed holes dug near the edge of the bank1 where gunners conceal themselves to shoot the large gulls which coast up and down a-fishing1 for these are considered good to eat4 ,we found some large clams of the species ,mactra solidissima1 which the storm had torn up from the bottom1 and cast ashore4 ,i selected one of the largest1 about six inches in length1 and carried it along1 thinking to try an experiment on it4 ,we soon after met a wrecker1 with a grapple and a rope1 who said that he was looking for tow cloth1 which had made part of the cargo of the ship ,franklin1 which was wrecked here in the spring1 at which time nine or ten lives were lost4 ,the reader may remember this wreck1 from the circumstance that a letter was found in the captain's valise1 which washed ashore1 directing him to wreck the vessel before he got to ,america1 and from the trial which took place in consequence4 ,the wrecker said that tow cloth was still cast up in such storms as this4 ,he also told us that the clam which ,i had was the sea-clam1 or hen1 and was good to eat4 ,we took our nooning under a sand-hill1 covered with beach-grass1 in a dreary little hollow1 on the top of the bank1 while it alternately rained and shined4 ,there1 having reduced some damp drift-wood1 which ,i had picked up on the shore1 to shavings with my knife1 ,i kindled a fire with a match and some paper and cooked my clam on the embers for my dinner2 for breakfast was commonly the only meal which ,i took in a house on this excursion4 ,when the clam was done1 one valve held the meat and the other the liquor4 ,though it was very tough1 ,i found it sweet and savory1 and ate the whole with a relish4 ,indeed1 with the addition of a cracker or two1 it would have been a bountiful dinner4 ,i noticed that the shells were such as ,i had seen in the sugar-kit at home4 ,tied to a stick1 they formerly made the ,indian's hoe hereabouts4 ,at length1 by mid-afternoon1 after we had had two or three rainbows over the sea1 the showers ceased1 and the heavens gradually cleared up1 though the wind still blowed as hard and the breakers ran as high as before4 ,keeping on1 we soon after came to a ,charity-house1 which we looked into to see how the shipwrecked mariner might fare4 ,far away in some desolate hollow by the sea-side1 just within the bank1 stands a lonely building on piles driven into the sand1 with a slight nail put through the staple1 which a freezing man can bend1 with some straw1 perchance1 on the floor on which he may lie1 or which he may burn in the fireplace to keep him alive4 ,perhaps this hut has never been required to shelter a ship-wrecked man1 and the benevolent person who promised to inspect it annually1 to see that the straw and matches are here1 and that the boards will keep off the wind1 has grown remiss and thinks that storms and shipwrecks are over2 and this very night a perishing crew may pry open its door with their numbed fingers and leave half their number dead here by morning4 ,when ,i thought what must be the condition of the families which alone would ever occupy or had occupied them1 what must have been the tragedy of the winter evenings spent by human beings around their hearths1 these houses1 though they were meant for human dwellings1 did not look cheerful to me4 ,they appeared but a stage to the grave4 ,the gulls flew around and screamed over them2 the roar of the ocean in storms1 and the lapse of its waves in calms1 alone resounds through them1 all dark and empty within1 year in1 year out1 except1 perchance1 on one memorable night4 ,houses of entertainment for shipwrecked men6 ,what kind of sailors' homes were they8 ,illustration3 ,wreckage under the sand-bluff 8,each hut10 says the author of the 8,description of the ,eastern ,coast of the ,county of ,barnstable10 8stands on piles1 is eight feet long1 eight feet wide1 and seven feet high2 a sliding door is on the south1 a sliding shutter on the west1 and a pole1 rising fifteen feet above the top of the building1 on the east4 ,within it is supplied either with straw or hay1 and is further accommodated with a bench40 ,they have varied little from this model now4 ,there are similar huts at the ,isle of ,sable and ,anticosti1 on the north1 and how far south along the coast ,i know not4 ,it is pathetic to read the minute and faithful directions which he gives to seamen who may be wrecked on this coast1 to guide them to the nearest ,charity-house1 or other shelter1 for1 as is said of ,eastham1 though there are a few houses within a mile of the shore1 yet 8in a snow-storm1 which rages here with excessive fury1 it would be almost impossible to discover them either by night or by day40 ,you hear their imaginary guide thus marshalling1 cheering1 directing the dripping1 shivering1 freezing troop along2 8at the entrance of this valley the sand has gathered1 so that at present a little climbing is necessary4 ,passing over several fences and taking heed not to enter the wood on the right hand1 at the distance of three-quarters of a mile a house is to be found4 ,this house stands on the south side of the road1 and not far from it on the south is ,pamet ,river1 which runs from east to west through body of salt marsh40 ,to him cast ashore in ,eastham1 he says1 8,the meeting-house is without a steeple1 but it may be distinguished from the dwelling-houses near it by its situation1 which is between two small groves of locusts1 one on the south and one on the north1--that on the south being three times as long as the other4 ,about a mile and a quarter from the hut1 west by north1 appear the top and arms of a windmill40 ,and so on for many pages4 ,we did not learn whether these houses had been the means of saving any lives1 though this writer says1 of one erected at the head of ,stout's ,creek in ,truro1 that 8it was built in an improper manner1 having a chimney in it2 and was placed on a spot where no beach-grass grew4 ,the strong winds blew the sand from its foundation and the weight of the chimney brought it to the ground2 so that in ,january of the present year #ahjb it was entirely demolished4 ,this event took place about six weeks before the ,brutus was cast away4 ,if it had remained1 it is probable that the whole of the unfortunate crew of that ship would have been saved1 as they gained the shore a few rods only from the spot where the hut had stood40 ,this 8,charity-house10 as the wrecker called it1 this 8,humane-house10 as some call it1 that is1 the one to which we first came1 had neither window nor sliding shutter1 nor clapboards1 nor paint4 ,as we have said1 there was a rusty nail put through the staple4 ,however1 as we wished to get an idea of a ,humane house1 and we hoped that we should never have a better opportunity1 we put our eyes1 by turns1 to a knot-hole in the door1 and after long looking1 without seeing1 into the dark1--not knowing how many shipwrecked men's bones we might see at last1 looking with the eye of faith1 knowing that1 though to him that knocketh it may not always be opened1 yet to him that looketh long enough through a knot-hole the inside shall be visible1--for we had had some practice at looking inward1--by steadily keeping our other ball covered from the light meanwhile1 putting the outward world behind us1 ocean and land1 and the beach1--till the pupil became enlarged and collected the rays of light that were wandering in that dark 7for the pupil shall be enlarged by looking2 there never was so dark a night but a faithful and patient eye1 however small1 might at last prevail over it71--after all this1 ,i say1 things began to take shape to our vision1--if we may use this expression where there was nothing but emptiness1--and we obtained the long-wished-for insight4 ,though we thought at first that it was a hopeless case1 after several minutes' steady exercise of the divine faculty1 our prospects began decidedly to brighten1 and we were ready to exclaim with the blind bard of 8,paradise ,lost and ,regained10-- 8,hail1 holy ,light6 offspring of ,heaven first born1 ,or of the ,eternal co-eternal beam4 ,may ,i express thee unblamed80 ,a little longer1 and a chimney rushed red on our sight4 ,in short1 when our vision had grown familiar with the darkness1 we discovered that there were some stones and some loose wads of wool on the floor1 and an empty fireplace at the further end2 but it was not supplied with matches1 or straw1 or hay1 that we could see1 nor 8accommodated with a bench40 ,indeed1 it was the wreck of all cosmical beauty there within4 ,turning our backs on the outward world1 we thus looked through the knot-hole into the ,humane house1 into the very bowels of mercy2 and for bread we found a stone4 ,it was literally a great cry 7of sea-mews outside71 and a little wool4 ,however1 we were glad to sit outside1 under the lee of the ,humane house1 to escape the piercing wind2 and there we thought how cold is charity6 how inhumane humanity6 ,this1 then1 is what charity hides6 ,virtues antique and far away with ever a rusty nail over the latch2 and very difficult to keep in repair1 withal1 it is so uncertain whether any will ever gain the beach near you4 ,so we shivered round about1 not being able to get into it1 ever and anon looking through the knot-hole into that night without a star1 until we concluded that it was not a humane house at all1 but a sea-side box1 now shut up4 belonging to some of the family of ,night or ,chaos1 where they spent their summers by the sea1 for the sake of the sea breeze1 and that it was not proper for us to be prying into their concerns4 ,my companion had declared before this that ,i had not a particle of sentiment1 in rather absolute terms1 to my astonishment2 but ,i suspect he meant that my legs did not ache just then1 though ,i am not wholly a stranger to that sentiment4 ,but ,i did not intend this for a sentimental journey4 ,illustration3 ,herring ,river at ,wellfleet #a ,we have no word in ,english to express the sound of many waves1 dashing at once1 whether gently or violently1 to the ear1 and1 in the ocean's gentle moods1 an to the eye4 ,v ,,the ,,wellfleet ,,oysterman ,having walked about eight miles since we struck the beach1 and passed the boundary between ,wellfleet and ,truro1 a stone post in the sand1--for even this sand comes under the jurisdiction of one town or another1--we turned inland over barren hills and valleys1 whither the sea1 for some reason1 did not follow us1 and1 tracing up a ,hollow1 discovered two or three sober-looking houses within half a mile1 uncommonly near the eastern coast4 ,their garrets were apparently so full of chambers1 that their roofs could hardly lie down straight1 and we did not doubt that there was room for us there4 ,houses near the sea are generally low and broad4 ,these were a story and a half high2 but if you merely counted the windows in their gable-ends1 you would think that there were many stories more1 or1 at any rate1 that the half-story was the only one thought worthy of being illustrated4 ,the great number of windows in the ends of the houses1 and their irregularity in size and position1 here and elsewhere on the ,cape1 struck us agreeably1--as if each of the various occupants who had their cunabula behind had punched a hole where his necessities required it1 and1 according to his size and stature1 without regard to outside effect4 ,there were windows for the grown folks1 and windows for the children1--three or four apiece2 as a certain man had a large hole cut in his barn-door for the cat1 and another smaller one for the kitten4 ,sometimes they were so low under the eaves that ,i thought they must have perforated the plate beam for another apartment1 and ,i noticed some which were triangular1 to fit that part more exactly4 ,the ends of the houses had thus as many muzzles as a revolver1 and1 if the inhabitants have the same habit of staring out the windows that some of our neighbors have1 a traveller must stand a small chance with them4 ,generally1 the old-fashioned and unpainted houses on the ,cape looked more comfortable1 as well as picturesque1 than the modern and more pretending ones1 which were less in harmony with the scenery1 and less firmly planted4 ,illustration3 ,a characteristic gable with many windows ,these houses were on the shores of a chain of ponds1 seven in number1 the source of a small stream called ,herring ,river1 which empties into the ,bay4 ,there are many ,herring ,rivers on the ,cape2 they will1 perhaps1 be more numerous than herrings soon4 ,we knocked at the door of the first house1 but its inhabitants were all gone away4 ,in the meanwhile1 we saw the occupants of the next one looking out the window at us1 and before we reached it an old woman came out and fastened the door of her bulkhead1 and went in again4 ,nevertheless1 we did not hesitate to knock at her door1 when a grizzly-looking man appeared1 whom we took to be sixty or seventy years old4 ,he asked us1 at first1 suspiciously1 where we were from1 and what our business was2 to which we returned plain answers4 8,how far is ,concord from ,boston80 he inquired4 8,twenty miles by railroad40 8,twenty miles by railroad10 he repeated4 8,didn't you ever hear of ,concord of ,revolutionary fame80 8,didn't ,i ever hear of ,concord8 ,why1 ,i heard the guns fire at the battle of ,bunker ,hill4 ,they hear the sound of heavy cannon across the ,bay4 ,i am almost ninety2 ,i am eighty-eight year old4 ,i was fourteen year old at the time of ,concord ,fight1--and where were you then80 ,we were obliged to confess that we were not in the fight4 8,well1 walk in1 we'll leave it to the women10 said he4 ,so we walked in1 surprised1 and sat down1 an old woman taking our hats and bundles1 and the old man continued1 drawing up to the large1 old-fashioned fireplace1-- 8,i am a poor good-for-nothing crittur1 as ,isaiah says2 ,i am all broken down this year4 ,i am under petticoat government here40 ,the family consisted of the old man1 his wife1 and his daughter1 who appeared nearly as old as her mother1 a fool1 her son 7a brutish-looking1 middle-aged man1 with a prominent lower face1 who was standing by the hearth when we entered1 but immediately went out71 and a little boy of ten4 ,while my companion talked with the women1 ,i talked with the old man4 ,they said that he was old and foolish1 but he was evidently too knowing for them4 8,these women10 said he to me1 8are both of them poor good-for-nothing critturs4 ,this one is my wife4 ,i married her sixty-four years ago4 ,she is eighty-four years old1 and as deaf as an adder1 and the other is not much better40 ,he thought well of the ,bible1 or at least he spoke well1 and did not think ill1 of it1 for that would not have been prudent for a man of his age4 ,he said that he had read it attentively for many years1 and he had much of it at his tongue's end4 ,he seemed deeply impressed with a sense of his own nothingness1 and would repeatedly exclaim1-- 8,i am a nothing4 ,what ,i gather from my ,bible is just this3 that man is a poor good-for-nothing crittur1 and everything is just as ,god sees fit and disposes40 8,may ,i ask your name80 ,i said4 8,yes10 he answered1 8,i am not ashamed to tell my name4 ,my name is----4 ,my great-grandfather came over from ,england and settled here40 ,he was an old ,wellfleet oysterman1 who had acquired a competency in that business1 and had sons still engaged in it4 ,nearly all the oyster shops and stands in ,massachusetts1 ,i am told1 are supplied and kept by natives of ,wellfleet1 and a part of this town is still called ,billingsgate from the oysters having been formerly planted there2 but the native oysters are said to have died in #aggj4 ,various causes are assigned for this1 such as a ground frost1 the carcasses of blackfish kept to rot in the harbor1 and the like1 but the most common account of the matter is1--and ,i find that a similar superstition with regard to the disappearance of fishes exists almost everywhere1--that when ,wellfleet began to quarrel with the neighboring towns about the right to gather them1 yellow specks appeared in them1 and ,providence caused them to disappear4 ,a few years ago sixty thousand bushels were annually brought from the ,south and planted in the harbor of ,wellfleet till they attained 8the proper relish of ,billingsgate02 but now they are imported commonly full-grown1 and laid down near their markets1 at ,boston and elsewhere1 where the water1 being a mixture of salt and fresh1 suits them better4 ,the business was said to be still good and improving4 ,the old man said that the oysters were liable to freeze in the winter1 if planted too high2 but if it were not 8so cold as to strain their eyes0 they were not injured4 ,the inhabitants of ,new ,brunswick have noticed that 8ice will not form over an oyster-bed1 unless the cold is very intense indeed1 and when the bays are frozen over the oyster-beds are easily discovered by the water above them remaining unfrozen1 or as the ,french residents say1 degle40 ,our host said that they kept them in cellars all winter4 8,without anything to eat or drink80 ,i asked4 8,without anything to eat or drink10 he answered4 8,can the oysters move80 8,just as much as my shoe40 ,illustration3 ,a ,welfleet oysterman ,but when ,i caught him saying that they 8bedded themselves down in the sand1 flat side up1 round side down10 ,i told him that my shoe could not do that1 without the aid of my foot in it2 at which he said that they merely settled down as they grew2 if put down in a square they would be found so2 but the clam could move quite fast4 ,i have since been told by oystermen of ,long ,island1 where the oyster is still indigenous and abundant1 that they are found in large masses attached to the parent in their midst1 and are so taken up with their tongs2 in which case1 they say1 the age of the young proves that there could have been no motion for five or six years at least4 ,and ,buckland in his ,curiosities of ,natural ,history 7page #ej7 says3 8,an oyster who has once taken up his position and fixed himself when quite young can never make a change4 ,oysters1 nevertheless1 that have not fixed themselves1 but remain loose at the bottom of the sea1 have the power of locomotion2 they open their shells to their fullest extent1 and then suddenly contracting them1 the expulsion of the water forwards gives a motion backwards4 ,a fisherman at ,guernsey told me that he had frequently seen oysters moving in this way40 ,some still entertain the question 8whether the oyster was indigenous in ,massachusetts ,bay10 and whether ,wellfleet harbor was a 8natural habitat0 of this fish2 but1 to say nothing of the testimony of old oystermen1 which1 ,i think1 is quite conclusive1 though the native oyster may now be extinct there1 ,i saw that their shells1 opened by the ,indians1 were strewn all over the ,cape4 ,indeed1 the ,cape was at first thickly settled by ,indians on account of the abundance of these and other fish4 ,we saw many traces of their occupancy after this1 in ,truro1 near ,great ,hollow1 and at ,high-,head1 near ,east ,harbor ,river1--oysters1 clams1 cockles1 and other shells1 mingled with ashes and the bones of deer and other quadrupeds4 ,i picked up half a dozen arrow-heads1 and in an hour or two could have filled my pockets with them4 ,the ,indians lived about the edges of the swamps1 then probably in some instances ponds1 for shelter and water4 ,moreover1 ,champlain in the edition of his 8,voyages0 printed in #afac1 says that in the year #afjf he and ,poitrincourt explored a harbor 7,barnstable ,harbor87 in the southerly part of what is now called ,massachusetts ,bay1 in latitude #db1 about five leagues south1 one point west of ,cap ,blanc 7,cape ,cod71 and there they found many good oysters1 and they named it 8le ,port aux ,huistres0 7,oyster ,harbor74 ,in one edition of his map 7#afcb71 the 8,r4 aux ,escailles0 is drawn emptying into the same part of the bay1 and on the map 8,novi ,belgii10 in ,ogilby's 8,america0 7#afgj71 the words 8,port aux ,huistres0 are placed against the same place4 ,also ,william ,wood1 who left ,new ,england in #afcc1 speaks1 in his 8,new ,england's ,prospect10 published in #afcd1 of 8a great oyster-bank0 in ,charles ,river1 and of another in the ,mistick1 each of which obstructed the navigation of its river4 8,the oysters10 says he1 8be great ones in form of a shoehorn2 some be a foot long2 these breed on certain banks that are bare every spring tide4 ,this fish without the shell is so big1 that it must admit of a division before you can well get it into your mouth40 ,oysters are still found there4 7,also1 see ,thomas ,morton's 8,new ,english ,canaan10 page #ij47 ,our host told us that the sea-clam1 or hen1 was not easily obtained2 it was raked up1 but never on the ,atlantic side1 only cast ashore there in small quantities in storms4 ,the fisherman sometimes wades in water several feet deep1 and thrusts a pointed stick into the sand before him4 ,when this enters between the valves of a clam1 he closes them on it1 and is drawn out4 ,it has been known to catch and hold coot and teal which were preying on it4 ,i chanced to be on the bank of the ,acushnet at ,new ,bedford one day since this1 watching some ducks1 when a man informed me that1 having let out his young ducks to seek their food amid the samphire 7,salicornia7 and other weeds along the river-side at low tide that morning1 at length he noticed that one remained stationary1 amid the weeds1 something preventing it from following the others1 and going to it he found its foot tightly shut in a quahog's shell4 ,he took up both together1 carried them to his home1 and his wife opening the shell with a knife released the duck and cooked the quahog4 ,the old man said that the great clams were good to eat1 but that they always took out a certain part which was poisonous1 before they cooked them4 8,people said it would kill a cat40 ,i did not tell him that ,i had eaten a large one entire that afternoon1 but began to think that ,i was tougher than a cat4 ,he stated that pedlers came round there1 and sometimes tried to sell the women folks a skimmer1 but he told them that their women had got a better skimmer than they could make1 in the shell of their clams2 it was shaped just right for this purpose4--,they call them 8skim-alls0 in some places4 ,he also said that the sun-squall was poisonous to handle1 and when the sailors came across it1 they did not meddle with it1 but heaved it out of their way4 ,i told him that ,i had handled it that afternoon1 and had felt no ill effects as yet4 ,but he said it made the hands itch1 especially if they had previously been scratched1 or if ,i put it into my bosom ,i should find out what it was4 ,he informed us that no ice ever formed on the back side of the ,cape1 or not more than once in a century1 and but little snow lay there1 it being either absorbed or blown or washed away4 ,sometimes in winter1 when the tide was down1 the beach was frozen1 and afforded a hard road up the back side for some thirty miles1 as smooth as a floor4 ,one winter when he was a boy1 he and his father 8took right out into the back side before daylight1 and walked to ,provincetown and back to dinner40 ,when ,i asked what they did with all that barren-looking land1 where ,i saw so few cultivated fields1--8,nothing10 he said4 8,then why fence your fields80 8,to keep the sand from blowing and covering up the whole40 8,the yellow sand10 said he1 8has some life in it1 but the white little or none40 ,when1 in answer to his questions1 ,i told him that ,i was a surveyor1 he said that they who surveyed his farm were accustomed1 where the ground was uneven1 to loop up each chain as high as their elbows2 that was the allowance they made1 and he wished to know if ,i could tell him why they did not come out according to his deed1 or twice alike4 ,he seemed to have more respect for surveyors of the old school1 which ,i did not wonder at4 8,king ,george the ,third10 said he1 8laid out a road four rods wide and straight the whole length of the ,cape10 but where it was now he could not tell4 ,this story of the surveyors reminded me of a ,long-,islander1 who once1 when ,i had made ready to jump from the bow of his boat to the shore1 and he thought that ,i underrated the distance and would fall short1--though ,i found afterward that he judged of the elasticity of my joints by his own1--told me that when he came to a brook which he wanted to get over1 he held up one leg1 and then1 if his foot appeared to cover any part of the opposite bank1 he knew that he could jump it4 8,why10 ,i told him1 8to say nothing of the ,mississippi1 and other small watery streams1 ,i could blot out a star with my foot1 but ,i would not engage to jump that distance10 and asked how he knew when he had got his leg at the right elevation4 ,but he regarded his legs as no less accurate than a pair of screw dividers or an ordinary quadrant1 and appeared to have a painful recollection of every degree and minute in the arc which they described2 and he would have had me believe that there was a kind of hitch in his hip-joint which answered the purpose4 ,i suggested that he should connect his two ankles by a string of the proper length1 which should be the chord of an arc1 measuring his jumping ability on horizontal surfaces1--assuming one leg to be a perpendicular to the plane of the horizon1 which1 however1 may have been too bold an assumption in this case4 ,nevertheless1 this was a kind of geometry in the legs which it interested me to hear of4 ,our host took pleasure in telling us the names of the ponds1 most of which we could see from his windows1 and making us repeat them after him1 to see if we had got them right4 ,they were ,gull ,pond1 the largest and a very handsome one1 clear and deep1 and more than a mile in circumference1 ,newcomb's1 ,swett's1 ,slough1 ,horse-,leech1 ,round1 and ,herring ,ponds1 all connected at high water1 if ,i do not mistake4 ,the coast-surveyors had come to him for their names1 and he told them of one which they had not detected4 ,he said that they were not so high as formerly4 ,there was an earthquake about four years before he was born1 which cracked the pans of the ponds1 which were of iron1 and caused them to settle4 ,i did not remember to have read of this4 ,innumerable gulls used to resort to them2 but the large gulls were now very scarce1 for1 as he said1 the ,english robbed their nests far in the north1 where they breed4 ,he remembered well when gulls were taken in the gull-house1 and when small birds were killed by means of a frying-pan and fire at night4 ,his father once lost a valuable horse from this cause4 ,a party from ,wellfleet having lighted their fire for this purpose1 one dark night1 on ,billingsgate ,island1 twenty horses which were pastured there1 and this colt among them1 being frightened by it1 and endeavoring in the dark to cross the passage which separated them from the neighboring beach1 and which was then fordable at low tide1 were all swept out to sea and drowned4 ,i ob-served that many horses were still turned out to pasture all summer on the islands and beaches in ,wellfleet1 ,eastham1 and ,orleans1 as a kind of common4 ,he also described the killing of what he called 8wild hens0 here1 after they had gone to roost in the woods1 when he was a boy4 ,perhaps they were 8,prairie hens0 7pinnated grouse74 ,he liked the ,beach-pea 7,lathyrus maritimus71 cooked green1 as well as the cultivated4 ,he had seen it growing very abundantly in ,newfoundland1 where also the inhabitants ate them1 but he had never been able to obtain any ripe for seed4 ,we read1 under the head of ,chatham1 that 8in #aeee1 during a time of great scarcity1 the people about ,orford1 in ,sussex 7,england7 were preserved from perishing by eating the seeds of this plant1 which grew there in great abundance on the sea-coast4 ,cows1 horses1 sheep1 and goats eat it40 ,but the writer who quoted this could not learn that they had ever been used in ,barnstable ,county4 ,he had been a voyager1 then8 ,o1 he had been about the world in his day4 ,he once considered himself a pilot for all our coast2 but now they had changed the names so he might be bothered4 ,he gave us to taste what he called the ,summer ,sweeting1 a pleasant apple which he raised1 and frequently grafted from1 but had never seen growing elsewhere1 except once1--three trees on ,newfoundland1 or at the ,bay of ,chaleur1 ,i forget which1 as he was sailing by4 ,he was sure that he could tell the tree at a distance4 ,at length the fool1 whom my companion called the wizard1 came in1 muttering between his teeth1 8,damn book-pedlers1--all the time talking about books4 ,better do something4 ,damn 'em4 ,i'll shoot 'em4 ,got a doctor down here4 ,damn him1 ,i'll get a gun and shoot him02 never once holding up his head4 ,whereat the old man stood up and said in a loud voice1 as if he was accustomed to command1 and this was not the first time he had been obliged to exert his authority there3 8,john1 go sit down1 mind your business1--we've heard you talk before1--precious little you'll do1--your bark is worse than your bite40 ,but1 without minding1 ,john muttered the same gibberish over again1 and then sat down at the table which the old folks had left4 ,he ate all there was on it1 and then turned to the apples1 which his aged mother was paring1 that she might give her guests some apple-sauce for breakfast1 but she drew them away and sent him off4 ,illustration3 ,welfleet ,when ,i approached this house the next summer1 over the desolate hills between it and the shore1 which are worthy to have been the birthplace of ,ossian1 ,i saw the wizard in the midst of a cornfield on the hillside1 but1 as usual1 he loomed so strangely1 that ,i mistook him for a scarecrow4 ,this was the merriest old man that we had ever seen1 and one of the best preserved4 ,his style of conversation was coarse and plain enough to have suited ,rabelais4 ,he would have made a good ,panurge4 ,or rather he was a sober ,silenus1 and we were the boys ,chromis and ,mnasilus1 who listened to his story4 8,not by ,hmonian hills the ,thracian bard4 ,nor awful ,phbus was on ,pindus heard ,with deeper silence or with more regard40 ,there was a strange mingling of past and present in his conversation1 for he had lived under ,king ,george1 and might have remembered when ,napoleon and the moderns generally were born4 ,he said that one day1 when the troubles between the ,colonies and the mother country first broke out1 as he1 a boy of fifteen1 was pitching hay out of a cart1 one ,doane1 an old ,tory1 who was talking with his father1 a good ,whig1 said to him1 8,why1 ,uncle ,bill1 you might as well undertake to pitch that pond into the ocean with a pitchfork1 as for the ,colonies to undertake to gain their independence40 ,he remembered well ,general ,washington1 and how he rode his horse along the streets of ,boston1 and he stood up to show us how he looked4 8,he was a r--a--ther large and portly-looking man1 a manly and resolute-looking officer1 with a pretty good leg as he sat on his horse40--8,there1 ,i'll tell you1 this was the way with ,washington40 ,then he jumped up again1 and bowed gracefully to right and left1 making show as if he were waving his hat4 ,said he1 8,that was ,washington40 ,he told us many anecdotes of the ,revolution1 and was much pleased when we told him that we had read the same in history1 and that his account agreed with the written4 8,o10 he said1 8,i know1 ,i know6 ,i was a young fellow of sixteen1 with my ears wide open2 and a fellow of that age1 you know1 is pretty wide awake1 and likes to know everything that's going on4 ,o1 ,i know60 ,he told us the story of the wreck of the ,franklin1 which took place there the previous spring3 how a boy came to his house early in the morning to know whose boat that was by the shore1 for there was a vessel in distress1 and he1 being an old man1 first ate his breakfast1 and then walked over to the top of the hill by the shore1 and sat down there1 having found a comfortable seat1 to see the ship wrecked4 ,she was on the bar1 only a quarter of a mile from him1 and still nearer to the men on the beach1 who had got a boat ready1 but could render no assistance on account of the breakers1 for there was a pretty high sea running4 ,there were the passengers all crowded together in the forward part of the ship1 and some were getting out of the cabin windows and were drawn on deck by the others4 8,i saw the captain get out his boat10 said he2 8he had one little one2 and then they jumped into it one after another1 down as straight as an arrow4 ,i counted them4 ,there were nine4 ,one was a woman1 and she jumped as straight as any of them4 ,then they shoved off4 ,the sea took them back1 one wave went over them1 and when they came up there were six still clinging to the boat2 ,i counted them4 ,the next wave turned the boat bottom upward1 and emptied them all out4 ,none of them ever came ashore alive4 ,there were the rest of them all crowded together on the forecastle1 the other parts of the ship being under water4 ,they had seen all that happened to the boat4 ,at length a heavy sea separated the forecastle from the rest of the wreck1 and set it inside of the worst breaker1 and the boat was able to reach them1 and it saved all that were left1 but one woman40 ,he also told us of the steamer ,cambria's getting aground on his shore a few months before we were there1 and of her ,english passengers who roamed over his grounds1 and who1 he said1 thought the prospect from the high hill by the shore 8the most delightsome they had ever seen10 and also of the pranks which the ladies played with his scoop-net in the ponds4 ,he spoke of these travellers with their purses full of guineas1 just as our provincial fathers used to speak of ,british bloods in the time of ,king ,george the ,third4 ,quid loquar8 ,why repeat what he told us8 8,aut ,scyllam ,nisi1 quam fama secuta est1 ,candida succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris1 ,dulichias vexsse rates1 et gurgite in alto ,ah timidos nautas canibus lacersse marinis80 ,in the course of the evening ,i began to feel the potency of the clam which ,i had eaten1 and ,i was obliged to confess to our host that ,i was no tougher than the cat he told of2 but he answered1 that he was a plain-spoken man1 and he could tell me that it was all imagination4 ,at any rate1 it proved an emetic in my case1 and ,i was made quite sick by it for a short time1 while he laughed at my expense4 ,i was pleased to read afterward1 in ,mourt's ,relation of the landing of the ,pilgrims in ,provincetown ,harbor1 these words3 8,we found great muscles 7the old editor says that they were undoubtedly sea-clams7 and very fat and full of sea-pearl2 but we could not eat them1 for they made us all sick that did eat1 as well sailors as passengers1 444 but they were soon well again40 ,it brought me nearer to the ,pilgrims to be thus reminded by a similar experience that ,i was so like them4 ,moreover1 it was a valuable confirmation of their story1 and ,i am prepared now to believe every word of ,mourt's ,relation4 ,i was also pleased to find that man and the clam lay still at the same angle to one another4 ,but ,i did not notice sea-pearl4 ,like ,cleopatra1 ,i must have swallowed it4 ,i have since dug these clams on a flat in the ,bay and observed them4 ,they could squirt full ten feet before the wind1 as appeared by the marks of the drops on the sand4 8,now ,i'm going to ask you a question10 said the old man1 8and ,i don't know as you can tell me2 but you are a learned man1 and ,i never had any learning1 only what ,i got by natur40--,it was in vain that we reminded him that he could quote ,josephus to our confusion4--8,i've thought1 if ,i ever met a learned man ,i should like to ask him this question4 ,can you tell me how ,axy is spelt1 and what it means8 ,axy10 says he2 8there's a girl over here is named ,axy4 ,now what is it8 ,what does it mean8 ,is it ,scripture8 ,i've read my ,bible twenty-five years over and over1 and ,i never came across it40 8,did you read it twenty-five years for this object4'0 ,i asked4 8,well1 how is it spelt8 ,wife1 how is it spelt80 ,she said3 8,it is in the ,bible2 ,i've seen it40 8,well1 how do you spell it80 8,i don't know4 ,a c h1 ach1 s e h1 seh1--,achseh40 8,does that spell ,axy8 ,well1 do you know what it means80 asked he1 turning to me4 8,no10 ,i replied1 8,i never heard the sound before40 8,there was a schoolmaster down here once1 and they asked him what it meant1 and he said it had no more meaning than a bean-pole40 ,i told him that ,i held the same opinion with the schoolmaster4 ,i had been a schoolmaster myself1 and had had strange names to deal with4 ,i also heard of such names as ,zoleth1 ,beriah1 ,amaziah1 ,bethuel1 and ,shearjashub1 hereabouts4 ,at length the little boy1 who had a seat quite in the chimney-corner1 took off his stockings and shoes1 warmed his feet1 and having had his sore leg freshly salved1 went off to bed2 then the fool made bare his knotty-looking feet and legs1 and followed him2 and finally the old man exposed his calves also to our gaze4 ,we had never had the good fortune to see an old man's legs before1 and were surprised to find them fair and plump as an infant's1 and we thought that he took a pride in exhibiting them4 ,he then proceeded to make preparations for retiring1 discoursing meanwhile with ,panurgic plainness of speech on the ills to which old humanity is subject4 ,we were a rare haul for him4 ,he could commonly get none but ministers to talk to1 though sometimes ten of them at once1 and he was glad to meet some of the laity at leisure4 ,the evening was not long enough for him4 ,as ,i had been sick1 the old lady asked if ,i would not go to bed1--it was getting late for old people2 but the old man1 who had not yet done his stories1 said1 8,you ain't particular1 are you80 8,o1 no10 said ,i1 8,i am in no hurry4 ,i believe ,i have weathered the ,clam cape40 8,they are good10 said he2 8,i wish ,i had some of them now40 8,they never hurt me10 said the old lady4 8,but then you took out the part that killed a cat10 said ,i4 ,at last we cut him short in the midst of his stories1 which he promised to resume in the morning4 ,yet1 after all1 one of the old ladies who came into our room in the night to fasten the fire-board1 which rattled1 as she went out took the precaution to fasten us in4 ,old women are by nature more suspicious than old men4 ,however1 the winds howled around the house1 and made the fire-boards as well as the casements rattle well that night4 ,it was probably a windy night for any locality1 but we could not distinguish the roar which was proper to the ocean from that which was due to the wind alone4 ,the sounds which the ocean makes must be very significant and interesting to those who live near it4 ,when ,i was leaving the shore at this place the next summer1 and had got a quarter of a mile distant1 ascending a hill1 ,i was startled by a sudden1 loud sound from the sea1 as if a large steamer were letting off steam by the shore1 so that ,i caught my breath and felt my blood run cold for an instant1 and ,i turned about1 expecting to see one of the ,atlantic steamers thus far out of her course1 but there was nothing unusual to be seen4 ,there was a low bank at the entrance of the ,hollow1 between me and the ocean1 and suspecting that ,i might have risen into another stratum of air in ascending the hill1--which had wafted to me only the ordinary roar of the sea1--,i immediately descended again1 to see if ,i lost hearing of it2 but1 without regard to my ascending or descending1 it died away in a minute or two1 and yet there was scarcely any wind all the while4 ,the old man said that this was what they called the 8rut10 a peculiar roar of the sea before the wind changes1 which1 however1 he could not account for4 ,he thought that he could tell all about the weather from the sounds which the sea made4 ,old ,josselyn1 who came to ,new ,england in #afch1 has it among his weather-signs1 that 8the resounding of the sea from the shore1 and murmuring of the winds in the woods1 without apparent wind1 sheweth wind to follow40 ,being on another part of the coast one night since this1 ,i heard the roar of the surf a mile distant1 and the inhabitants said it was a sign that the wind would work round east1 and we should have rainy weather4 ,the ocean was heaped up somewhere at the eastward1 and this roar was occasioned by its effort to preserve its equilibrium1 the wave reaching the shore before the wind4 ,also the captain of a packet between this country and ,england told me that he sometimes met with a wave on the ,atlantic coming against the wind1 perhaps in a calm sea1 which indicated that at a distance the wind was blowing from an opposite quarter1 but the undulation had travelled faster than it4 ,sailors tell of 8tide-rips0 and 8ground-swells10 which they suppose to have been occasioned by hurricanes and earthquakes1 and to have travelled many hundred1 and sometimes even two or three thousand miles4 ,illustration3 ,hunting for a ,leak ,before sunrise the next morning they let us out again1 and ,i ran over to the beach to see the sun come out of the ocean4 ,the old woman of eighty-four winters was already out in the cold morning wind1 bareheaded1 tripping about like a young girl1 and driving up the cow to milk4 ,she got the breakfast with despatch1 and without noise or bustle2 and meanwhile the old man resumed his stories1 standing before us1 who were sitting1 with his back to the chimney1 and ejecting his tobacco juice right and left into the fire behind him1 without regard to the various dishes which were there preparing4 ,at breakfast we had eels1 buttermilk cake1 cold bread1 green beans1 doughnuts1 and tea4 ,the old man talked a steady stream2 and when his wife told him he had better eat his breakfast1 he said3 8,don't hurry me2 ,i have lived too long to be hurried40 ,i ate of the apple-sauce and the doughnuts1 which ,i thought had sustained the least detriment from the old man's shots1 but my companion refused the apple-sauce1 and ate of the hot cake and green beans1 which had appeared to him to occupy the safest part of the hearth4 ,but on comparing notes afterward1 ,i told him that the buttermilk cake was particularly exposed1 and ,i saw how it suffered repeatedly1 and therefore ,i avoided it2 but he declared that1 however that might be1 he witnessed that the apple-sauce was seriously injured1 and had therefore declined that4 ,after breakfast we looked at his clock1 which was out of order1 and oiled it with some 8hen's grease10 for want of sweet oil1 for he scarcely could believe that we were not tinkers or pedlers2 meanwhile he told a story about visions1 which had reference to a crack in the clock-case made by frost one night4 ,he was curious to know to what religious sect we belonged4 ,he said that he had been to hear thirteen kinds of preaching in one month1 when he was young1 but he did not join any of them1--he stuck to his ,bible4 ,there was nothing like any of them in his ,bible4 ,while ,i was shaving in the next room1 ,i heard him ask my companion to what sect he belonged1 to which he answered3-- 8,o1 ,i belong to the ,universal ,brotherhood40 8,what's that80 he asked1 8,sons o' ,temperance80 ,finally1 filling our pockets with doughnuts1 which he was pleased to find that we called by the same name that he did1 and paying for our entertainment1 we took our departure2 but he followed us out of doors1 and made us tell him the names of the vegetables which he had raised from seeds that came out of the ,franklin4 ,they were cabbage1 broccoli1 and parsley4 ,as ,i had asked him the names of so many things1 he tried me in turn with all the plants which grew in his garden1 both wild and cultivated4 ,it was about half an acre1 which he cultivated wholly himself4 ,besides the common garden vegetables1 there were ,yellow-,dock1 ,lemon ,balm1 ,hyssop1 ,gill-go-over-the-ground4 ,mouse-ear1 ,chick-weed1 ,roman ,wormwood1 ,elecampane1 and other plants4 ,as we stood there1 ,i saw a fish-hawk stoop to pick a fish out of his pond4 8,there10 said ,i1 8he has got a fish40 8,well10 said the old man1 who was looking all the while1 but could see nothing1 8he didn't dive1 he just wet his claws40 ,and1 sure enough1 he did not this time1 though it is said that they often do1 but he merely stooped low enough to pick him out with his talons2 but as he bore his shining prey over the bushes1 it fell to the ground1 and we did not see that he recovered it4 ,that is not their practice4 ,thus1 having had another crack with the old man1 he standing bareheaded under the eaves1 he directed us 8athwart the fields10 and we took to the beach again for another day1 it being now late in the morning4 ,it was but a day or two after this that the safe of the ,provincetown ,bank was broken open and robbed by two men from the interior1 and we learned that our hospitable entertainers did at least transiently harbor the suspicion that we were the men4 ,,vi ,,the ,,beach ,,again ,our way to the high sand-bank1 which ,i have described as extending all along the coast1 led1 as usual1 through patches of ,bayberry bushes which straggled into the sand4 ,this1 next to the ,shrub-oak1 was perhaps the most common shrub thereabouts4 ,i was much attracted by its odoriferous leaves and small gray berries which are clustered about the short twigs1 just below the last year's growth4 ,i know of but two bushes in ,concord1 and they1 being staminate plants1 do not bear fruit4 ,the berries gave it a venerable appearance1 and they smelled quite spicy1 like small confectionery4 ,robert ,beverley1 in his 8,history of ,virginia10 published in #agje1 states that 8at the mouth of their rivers1 and all along upon the sea and bay1 and near many of their creeks and swamps1 grows the myrtle1 bearing a berry1 of which they make a hard brittle wax1 of a curious green color1 which by refining becomes almost transparent4 ,of this they make candles1 which are never greasy to the touch nor melt with lying in the hottest weather2 neither does the snuff of these ever offend the smell1 like that of a tallow candle2 but1 instead of being disagreeable1 if an accident puts a candle out1 it yields a pleasant fragrancy to all that are in the room2 insomuch that nice people often put them out on purpose to have the incense of the expiring snuff4 ,the melting of these berries is said to have been first found out by a surgeon in ,new ,england1 who performed wonderful things with a salve made of them40 ,from the abundance of berries still hanging on the bushes1 we judged that the inhabitants did not generally collect them for tallow1 though we had seen a piece in the house we had just left4 ,i have since made some tallow myself4 ,holding a basket beneath the bare twigs in ,april1 ,i rubbed them together between my hands and thus gathered about a quart in twenty minutes1 to which were added enough to make three pints1 and ,i might have gathered them much faster with a suitable rake and a large shallow basket4 ,they have little prominences like those of an orange all creased in tallow1 which also fills the interstices down to the stone4 ,the oily part rose to the top1 making it look like a savory black broth1 which smelled much like balm or other herb tea4 ,you let it cool1 then skim off the tallow from the surface1 melt this again and strain it4 ,i got about a quarter of a pound weight from my three pints1 and more yet remained within the berries4 ,a small portion cooled in the form of small flattish hemispheres1 like crystallizations1 the size of a kernel of corn 7nuggets ,i called them as ,i picked them out from amid the berries71 ,loudon says1 that 8cultivated trees are said to yield more wax than those that are found wild40 7,see ,duplessy1 ,vgetaux ,rsineux1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #fj47 ,if you get any pitch on your hands in the pine-woods you have only to rub some of these berries between your hands to start it off4 ,but the ocean was the grand fact there1 which made us forget both bay berries and men4 ,to-day the air was beautifully clear1 and the sea no longer dark and stormy1 though the waves still broke with foam along the beach1 but sparkling and full of life4 ,already that morning ,i had seen the day break over the sea as if it came out of its bosom3-- 8,the saffron-robed ,dawn rose in haste from the streams ,of ,ocean1 that she might bring light to immortals and to mortals40 ,the sun rose visibly at such a distance over the sea that the cloud-bank in the horizon1 which at first concealed him1 was not perceptible until he had risen high behind it1 and plainly broke and dispersed it1 like an arrow4 ,but as yet ,i looked at him as rising over land1 and could not1 without an effort1 realize that he was rising over the sea4 ,already ,i saw some vessels on the horizon1 which had rounded the ,cape in the night1 and were now well on their watery way to other lands4 ,we struck the beach again in the south part of ,truro4 ,in the early part of the day1 while it was flood tide and the beach was narrow and soft1 we walked on the bank1 which was very high here1 but not so level as the day before1 being more interrupted by slight hollows4 ,the author of the ,description of the ,eastern ,coast says of this part1 that 8the bank is very high and steep4 ,from the edge of it west1 there is a strip of sand a hundred yards in breadth4 ,then succeeds low brushwood1 a quarter of a mile wide1 and almost impassable4 ,after which comes a thick1 perplexing forest1 in which not a house is to be discovered4 ,seamen1 therefore1 though the distance between these two hollows 7,newcomb's and ,brush ,hollows7 is great1 must not attempt to enter the wood1 as in a snowstorm they must undoubtedly perish40 ,this is still a true description of the country1 except that there is not much high wood left4 ,illustration3 ,truro--,starting on a voyage ,there were many vessels1 like gulls1 skimming over the surface of the sea1 now half concealed in its troughs1 their dolphin-strikers ploughing the water1 now tossed on the top of the billows4 ,one1 a bark standing down parallel with the coast1 suddenly furled her sails1 came to anchor1 and swung round in the wind1 near us1 only half a mile from the shore4 ,at first we thought that her captain wished to communicate with us1 and perhaps we did not regard the signal of distress1 which a mariner would have understood1 and he cursed us for cold-hearted wreckers who turned our backs on him4 ,for hours we could still see her anchored there behind us1 and we wondered how she could afford to loiter so long in her course4 ,or was she a smuggler who had chosen that wild beach to land her cargo on8 ,or did they wish to catch fish1 or paint their vessel8 ,erelong other barks1 and brigs1 and schooners1 which had in the mean while doubled the ,cape1 sailed by her in the smacking breeze1 and our consciences were relieved4 ,some of these vessels lagged behind1 while others steadily went ahead4 ,we narrowly watched their rig1 and the cut of their jibs1 and how they walked the water1 for there was all the difference between them that there is between living creatures4 ,but we wondered that they should be remembering ,boston and ,new ,york and ,liverpool1 steering for them1 out there2 as if the sailor might forget his peddling business on such a grand highway4 ,they had perchance brought oranges from the ,western ,isles2 and were they carrying back the peel8 ,we might as well transport our old traps across the ocean of eternity4 ,is that but another 8trading-flood10 with its blessed isles8 ,is ,heaven such a harbor as the ,liverpool docks8 ,still held on without a break1 the inland barrens and shrubbery1 the desert and the high sand bank with its even slope1 the broad white beach1 the breakers1 the green water on the bar1 and the ,atlantic ,ocean2 and we traversed with delight new reaches of the shore2 we took another lesson in sea-horses' manes and sea-cows' tails1 in sea-jellies and sea-clams1 with our new-gained experience4 ,the sea ran hardly less than the day before4 ,it seemed with every wave to be subsiding1 because such was our expectation1 and yet when hours had elapsed we could see no difference4 ,but there it was1 balancing itself1 the restless ocean by our side1 lurching in its gait4 ,each wave left the sand all braided or woven1 as it were1 with a coarse woof and warp1 and a distinct raised edge to its rapid work4 ,we made no haste1 since we wished to see the ocean at our leisure2 and indeed that soft sand was no place in which to be in a hurry1 for one mile there was as good as two elsewhere4 ,besides1 we were obliged frequently to empty our shoes of the sand which one took in in climbing or descending the bank4 ,as we were walking close to the water's edge this morning we turned round1 by chance1 and saw a large black object which the waves had just cast up on the beach behind us1 yet too far off for us to distinguish what it was2 and when we were about to return to it1 two men came running from the bank1 where no human beings had appeared before1 as if they had come out of the sand1 in order to save it before another wave took it4 ,as we approached1 it took successively the form of a huge fish1 a drowned man1 a sail or a net1 and finally of a mass of tow-cloth1 part of the cargo of the ,franklin1 which the men loaded into a cart4 ,objects on the beach1 whether men or inanimate things1 look not only exceedingly grotesque1 but much larger and more wonderful than they actually are4 ,lately1 when approaching the seashore several degrees south of this1 ,i saw before me1 seemingly half a mile distant1 what appeared like bold and rugged cliffs on the beach1 fifteen feet high1 and whitened by the sun and waves2 but after a few steps it proved to be low heaps of rags1--part of the cargo of a wrecked vessel1--scarcely more than a foot in height4 ,once also it was my business to go in search of the relics of a human body1 mangled by sharks1 which had just been cast up1 a week after a wreck1 having got the direction from a light-house3 ,i should find it a mile or two distant over the sand1 a dozen rods from the water1 covered with a cloth1 by a stick stuck up4 ,i expected that ,i must look very narrowly to find so small an object1 but the sandy beach1 half a mile wide1 and stretching farther than the eye could reach1 was so perfectly smooth and bare1 and the mirage toward the sea so magnifying1 that when ,i was half a mile distant the insignificant sliver which marked the spot looked like a bleached spar1 and the relics were as conspicuous as if they lay in state on that sandy plain1 or a generation had labored to pile up their cairn there4 ,close at hand they were simply some bones with a little flesh adhering to them1 in fact1 only a slight inequality in the sweep of the shore4 ,there was nothing at all remarkable about them1 and they were singularly inoffensive both to the senses and the imagination4 ,but as ,i stood there they grew more and more imposing4 ,they were alone with the beach and the sea1 whose hollow roar seemed addressed to them1 and ,i was impressed as if there was an understanding between them and the ocean which necessarily left me out1 with my snivelling sympathies4 ,that dead body had taken possession of the shore1 and reigned over it as no living one1 could1 in the name of a certain majesty which belonged to it4 ,we afterward saw many small pieces of tow-cloth washed up1 and ,i learn that it continued to be found in good condition1 even as late as ,november in that year1 half a dozen bolts at a time4 ,we eagerly filled our pockets with the smooth round pebbles which in some places1 even here1 were thinly sprinkled over the sand1 together with flat circular shells 7,scutell872 but1 as we had read1 when they were dry they had lost their beauty1 and at each sitting we emptied our pockets again of the least remarkable1 until our collection was well culled4 ,every material was rolled into the pebble form by the waves2 not only stones of various kinds1 but the hard coal which some vessel had dropped1 bits of glass1 and in one instance a mass of peat three feet long1 where there was nothing like it to be seen for many miles4 ,all the great rivers of the globe are annually1 if not constantly1 discharging great quantities of lumber1 which drifts to distant shores4 ,i have also seen very perfect pebbles of brick1 and bars of ,castile soap from a wreck rolled into perfect cylinders1 and still spirally streaked with red1 like a barber's pole4 ,when a cargo of rags is washed ashore1 every old pocket and bag-like recess will be filled to bursting with sand by being rolled on the beach2 and on one occasion1 the pockets in the clothing of the wrecked being thus puffed up1 even after they had been ripped open by wreckers1 deluded me into the hope of identifying them by the contents4 ,a pair of gloves looked exactly as if filled by a hand4 ,the water in such clothing is soon wrung out and evaporated1 but the sand1 which works itself into every seam1 is not so easily got rid of4 ,sponges1 which are picked up on the shore1 as is well known1 retain some of the sand of the beach to the latest day1 in spite of every effort to extract it4 ,i found one stone on the top of the bank1 of a dark gray color1 shaped exactly like a giant clam 7,mactra solidissima71 and of the same size2 and1 what was more remarkable1 one-half of the outside had shelled off and lay near it1 of the same form and depth with one of the valves of this clam1 while the other half was loose1 leaving a solid core of a darker color within it4 ,i afterward saw a stone resembling a razor clam1 but it was a solid one4 ,it appeared as if the stone1 in the process of formation1 had filled the mould which a clam-shell furnished2 or the same law that shaped the clam had made a clam of stone4 ,dead clams1 with shells full of sand1 are called sand clams4 ,there were many of the large clamshells filled with sand2 and sometimes one valve was separately filled exactly even1 as if it had been heaped and then scraped4 ,even among the many small stones on the top of the bank1 ,i found one arrow-head4 ,beside the giant clam and barnacles1 we found on the shore a small clam 7,mesodesma arctata71 which ,i dug with my hands in numbers on the bars1 and which is sometimes eaten by the inhabitants1 in the absence of the ,mya arenaria1 on this side4 ,most of their empty shells had been perforated by some foe4--,also1 the ,astarte castanea4 ,the ,edible ,mussel 7,mytilus edulis7 on the few rocks1 and washed up in curious bunches of forty or fifty1 held together by its rope-like byssus4 ,the ,scollop ,shell 7,pecten concentricus71 used for card-racks and pin-cushions4 ,cockles1 or ,cuckoos 7,natica heros71 and their remarkable nidus1 called 8sand-circle10 looking like the top of a stone jug without the stopple1 and broken on one side1 or like a flaring dickey made of sand-paper4 ,also1 ,cancellaria ,couthouyi 7871 and ,periwinkles 787 7,fusus decemcostatus74 ,we afterward saw some other kinds on the ,bay-side4 ,gould states that this ,cape 8has hitherto proved a barrier to the migrations of many species of ,mollusca40--8,of the one hundred and ninety-seven species which he described in #ahdj as belonging to ,massachusetts1 eighty-three do not pass to the ,south shore1 and fifty are not found on the ,north shore of the ,cape40 ,among ,crustacea1 there were the shells of ,crabs and ,lobsters1 often bleached quite white high up the beach2 ,sea or ,beach ,fleas 7,amphipoda72 and the cases of the ,horse-shoe ,crab1 or ,saucepan ,fish 7,limulus ,polyphemus71 of which we saw many alive on the ,bay side1 where they feed pigs on them4 ,their tails were used as arrow-heads by the ,indians4 ,of ,radiata1 there were the ,sea ,chestnut or ,egg 7,echinus granulatus71 commonly divested of its spines2 flat circular shells 7,scutella parma87 covered with chocolate-colored spines1 but becoming smooth and white1 with five petal-like figures2 a few ,star-fishes or ,five-fingers 7,asterias rubens72 and ,sun-fishes or ,sea-jellies 7,aureli74 ,there was also at least one species of ,sponge4 ,the plants which ,i noticed here and there on the pure sandy shelf1 between the ordinary high-water mark and the foot of the bank1 were ,sea ,rocket 7,cakile ,americana71 ,saltwort 7,salsola kali71 ,sea ,sandwort 7,honkenya peploides71 ,sea ,burdock 7,xanthium echinatum71 ,sea-side ,spurge 7,euphorbia poylgonifolia72 also1 ,beach ,grass 7,arundo1 ,psamma1 or ,calamagrostis arenaria71 ,sea-side ,golden-rod 7,solidago sempervirens71 and the ,beach ,pea 7,lathyrus maritimus74 ,sometimes we helped a wrecker turn over a larger log than usual1 or we amused ourselves with rolling stones down the bank1 but we rarely could make one reach the water1 the beach was so soft and wide2 or we bathed in some shallow within a bar1 where the sea covered us with sand at every flux1 though it was quite cold and windy4 ,the ocean there is commonly but a tantalizing prospect in hot weather1 for with all that water before you1 there is1 as we were afterward told1 no bathing on the ,atlantic side1 on account of the undertow and the rumor of sharks4 ,at the lighthouse both in ,eastham and ,truro1 the only houses quite on the shore1 they declared1 the next year1 that they would not bathe there 8for any sum10 for they sometimes saw the sharks tossed up and quiver for a moment on the sand4 ,others laughed at these stories1 but perhaps they could afford to because they never bathed anywhere4 ,one old wrecker told us that he killed a regular man-eating shark fourteen feet long1 and hauled him out with his oxen1 where we had bathed2 and another1 that his father caught a smaller one of the same kind that was stranded there1 by standing him up on his snout so that the waves could not take him4 ,they will tell you tough stories of sharks all over the ,cape1 which ,i do not presume to doubt utterly1--how they will sometimes upset a boat1 or tear it in pieces1 to get at the man in it4 ,i can easily believe in the undertow1 but ,i have no doubt that one shark in a dozen years is enough to keep up the reputation of a beach a hundred miles long4 ,i should add1 however1 that in ,july we walked on the bank here a quarter of a mile parallel with a fish about six feet in length1 possibly a shark1 which was prowling slowly along within two rods of the shore4 ,it was of a pale brown color1 singularly film-like and indistinct in the water1 as if all nature abetted this child of ocean1 and showed many darker transverse bars or rings whenever it came to the surface4 ,it is well known that different fishes even of the same species are colored by the water they inhabit4 ,we saw it go into a little cove or bathing-tub1 where we had just been bathing1 where the water was only four or five feet deep at that time1 and after exploring it go slowly out again2 but we continued to bathe there1 only observing first from the bank if the cove was preoccupied4 ,we thought that the water was fuller of life1 more aerated perhaps than that of the ,bay1 like soda-water1 for we were as particular as young salmon1 and the expectation of encountering a shark did not subtract anything from its life-giving qualities4 ,sometimes we sat on the wet beach and watched the beach birds1 sand-pipers1 and others1 trotting along close to each wave1 and waiting for the sea to cast up their breakfast4 ,the former 7,charadrius melodus7 ran with great rapidity and then stood stock still remarkably erect and hardly to be distinguished from the beach4 ,the wet sand was covered with small skipping ,sea ,fleas1 which apparently make a part of their food4 ,these last are the little scavengers of the beach1 and are so numerous that they will devour large fishes1 which have been cast up1 in a very short time4 ,one little bird not larger than a sparrow1--it may have been a ,phalarope1--would alight on the turbulent surface where the breakers were five or six feet high1 and float buoyantly there like a duck1 cunningly taking to its wings and lifting itself a few feet through the air over the foaming crest of each breaker1 but sometimes outriding safely a considerable billow which hid it some seconds1 when its instinct told it that it would not break4 ,it was a little creature thus to sport with the ocean1 but it was as perfect a success in its way as the breakers in theirs4 ,there was also an almost uninterrupted line of coots rising and falling with the waves1 a few rods from the shore1 the whole length of the ,cape4 ,they made as constant a part of the ocean's border as the pads or pickerel-weed do of that of a pond4 ,we read the following as to the ,storm ,petrel 7,thalassidroma ,wilsonii71 which is seen in the ,bay as well as on the outside4 8,the feathers on the breast of the ,storm ,petrel are1 like those of all swimming birds1 water-proof2 but substances not susceptible of being wetted with water are1 for that very reason1 the best fitted for collecting oil from its surface4 ,that function is performed by the feathers on the breast of the ,storm ,petrels as they touch on the surface2 and though that may not be the only way in which they procure their food1 it is certainly that in which they obtain great part of it4 ,they dash along till they have loaded their feathers and then they pause upon the wave and remove the oil with their bills40 ,thus we kept on along the gently curving shore1 seeing two or three miles ahead at once1--along this ocean side-walk1 where there was none to turn out for1 with the middle of the road the highway of nations on our right1 and the sand cliffs of the ,cape on our left4 ,we saw this forenoon a part of the wreck of a vessel1 probably the ,franklin1 a large piece fifteen feet square1 and still freshly painted4 ,with a grapple and a line we could have saved it1 for the waves repeatedly washed it within cast1 but they as often took it back4 ,it would have been a lucky haul for some poor wrecker1 for ,i have been told that one man who paid three or four dollars for a part of the wreck of that vessel1 sold fifty or sixty dollars' worth of iron out of it4 ,another1 the same who picked up the ,captain's valise with the memorable letter in it1 showed me1 growing in his garden1 many pear and plum trees which washed ashore from her1 all nicely tied up and labelled1 and he said that he might have got five hundred dollars' worth2 for a ,mr4 ,bell was importing the nucleus of a nursery to be established near ,boston4 ,his turnip-seed came from the same source4 ,also valuable spars from the same vessel and from the ,cactus lay in his yard4 ,in short the inhabitants visit the beach to see what they have caught as regularly as a fisherman his weir or a lumberer his boom2 the ,cape is their boom4 ,i heard of one who had recently picked up twenty barrels of apples in good condition1 probably a part of a deck load thrown over in a storm4 ,though there are wreck-masters appointed to look after valuable property which must be advertised1 yet undoubtedly a great deal of value is secretly carried off4 ,but are we not all wreckers contriving that some treasure may be washed up on our beach1 that we may secure it1 and do we not infer the habits of these ,nauset and ,barnegat wreckers from the common modes of getting a living8 ,the sea1 vast and wild as it is1 bears thus the waste and wrecks of human art to its remotest shore4 ,there is no telling what it may not vomit up4 ,it lets nothing lie2 not even the giant clams which cling to its bottom4 ,it is still heaving up the tow-cloth of the ,franklin1 and perhaps a piece of some old pirate's ship1 wrecked more than a hundred years ago1 comes ashore to-day4 ,some years since1 when a vessel was wrecked here which had nutmegs in her cargo1 they were strewn all along the beach1 and for a considerable time were not spoiled by the salt water4 ,soon afterward1 a fisherman caught a cod which was full of them4 ,why1 then1 might not the ,spice-,islanders shake their nutmeg trees into the ocean1 and let all nations who stand in need of them pick them up8 ,however1 after a year1 ,i found that the nutmegs from the ,franklin had become soft4 ,you might make a curious list of articles which fishes have swallowed1--sailors' open clasp-knives1 and bright tin snuff-boxes1 not knowing what was in them1--and jugs1 and jewels1 and ,jonah4 ,the other day ,i came across the following scrap in a newspaper4 8,a ,religious ,fish4--,a short time ago1 mine host ,stewart1 of the ,denton ,hotel1 purchased a rock-fish1 weighing about sixty pounds4 ,on opening it he found in it a certificate of membership of the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 which we read as follows3-- ,member ,methodist ,e4 ,church4 ,founded ,a4 ,d4 #aghd4 ,quarterly ,ticket4 #ah ,minister4 #8,for our light affliction1 which is but for a moment1 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory4'--#b ,cor4 iv4 #ag4 #8,o what are all my sufferings here1 ,if1 ,lord1 thou count me meet ,with that enraptured host t' appear1 ,and worship at thy feet6' 8,the paper was of course in a crumpled and wet condition1 but on exposing it to the sun1 and ironing the kinks out of it1 it became quite legible4--,denton 7,md47 ,journal40 ,from time to time we saved a wreck ourselves1 a box or barrel1 and set it on its end1 and appropriated it with crossed sticks2 and it will lie there perhaps1 respected by brother wreckers1 until some more violent storm shall take it1 really lost to man until wrecked again4 ,we also saved1 at the cost of wet feet only1 a valuable cord and buoy1 part of a seine1 with which the sea was playing1 for it seemed ungracious to refuse the least gift which so great a personage offered you4 ,we brought this home and still use it for a garden line4 ,i picked up a bottle half buried in the wet sand1 covered with barnacles1 but stoppled tight1 and half full of red ale1 which still smacked of juniper1--all that remained ,i fancied from the wreck of a rowdy world1--that great salt sea on the one hand1 and this little sea of ale on the other1 preserving their separate characters4 ,what if it could tell us its adventures over countless ocean waves6 ,man would not be man through such ordeals as it had passed4 ,but as ,i poured it slowly out on to the sand1 it seemed to me that man himself was like a half-emptied bottle of pale ale1 which ,time had drunk so far1 yet stoppled tight for a while1 and drifting about in the ocean of circumstances2 but destined erelong to mingle with the surrounding waves1 or be spilled amid the sands of a distant shore4 ,in the summer ,i saw two men fishing for ,bass hereabouts4 ,their bait was a bullfrog1 or several small frogs in a bunch1 for want of squid4 ,they followed a retiring wave and whirling their lines round and round their heads with increasing rapidity1 threw them as far as they could into the sea2 then retreating1 sat down1 flat on the sand1 and waited for a bite4 ,it was literally 7or littorally7 walking down to the shore1 and throwing your line into the ,atlantic4 ,i should not have known what might take hold of the other end1 whether ,proteus or another4 ,at any rate1 if you could not pull him in1 why1 you might let him go without being pulled in yourself4 ,and they knew by experience that it would be a ,striped ,bass1 or perhaps a ,cod1 for these fishes play along near the shore4 ,from time to time we sat under the lee of a sand-hill on the bank1 thinly covered with coarse ,beach-grass1 and steadily gazed on the sea1 or watched the vessels going south1 all ,blessings of the ,bay of course4 ,we could see a little more than half a circle of ocean1 besides the glimpses of the ,bay which we got behind us2 the sea there was not wild and dreary in all respects1 for there were frequently a hundred sail in sight at once on the ,atlantic4 ,you can commonly count about eighty in a favorable summer day and pilots sometimes land and ascend the bank to look out for these which require their services4 ,these had been waiting for fair weather1 and had come out of ,boston ,harbor together4 ,the same is the case when they have been assembled in the ,vineyard ,sound1 so that you may see but few one day1 and a large fleet the next4 ,schooners with many jibs and stay-sails crowded all the sea road2 square-rigged vessels with their great height and breadth of canvas were ever and anon appearing out of the far horizon1 or disappearing and sinking into it2 here and there a pilot-boat was towing its little boat astern toward some distant foreigner who had just fired a gun1 the echo of which along the shore sounded like the caving of the bank4 ,we could see the pilot looking through his glass toward the distant ship which was putting back to speak with him4 ,he sails many a mile to meet her2 and now she puts her sails aback1 and communicates with him alongside1--sends some important message to the owners1 and then bids farewell to these shores for good and all2 or1 perchance a propeller passed and made fast to some disabled craft1 or one that had been becalmed1 whose cargo of fruit might spoil4 ,though silently1 and for the most part incommunicatively1 going about their business1 they were1 no doubt1 a source of cheerfulness and a kind of society to one another4 ,illustration3 ,unloading the day's catch ,to-day it was the ,purple ,sea1 an epithet which ,i should not before have accepted4 ,there were distinct patches of the color of a purple grape with the bloom rubbed off4 ,but first and last the sea is of all colors4 ,well writes ,gilpin concerning 8the brilliant hues which are continually playing on the surface of a quiet ocean10 and this was not too turbulent at a distance from the shore4 8,beautiful10 says he1 8no doubt in a high degree are those glimmering tints which often invest the tops of mountains2 but they are mere coruscations compared with these marine colors1 which are continually varying and shifting into each other in all the vivid splendor of the rainbow1 through the space often of several leagues40 ,commonly1 in calm weather1 for half a mile from the shore1 where the bottom tinges it1 the sea is green1 or greenish1 as are some ponds2 then blue for many miles1 often with purple tinges1 bounded in the distance by a light almost silvery stripe2 beyond which there is generally a dark-blue rim1 like a mountain-ridge in the horizon1 as if1 like that1 it owed its color to the intervening atmosphere4 ,on another day it will be marked with long streaks1 alternately smooth and rippled1 light-colored and dark1 even like our inland meadows in a freshet1 and showing which way the wind sets4 ,thus we sat on the foaming shore1 looking on the wine-colored ocean1-- ' ' 1 4 ,here and there was a darker spot on its surface1 the shadow of a cloud1 though the sky was so clear that no cloud would have been noticed otherwise1 and no shadow would have been seen on the land1 where a much smaller surface is visible at once4 ,so1 distant clouds and showers may be seen on all sides by a sailor in the course of a day1 which do not necessarily portend rain where he is4 ,in ,july we saw similar dark-blue patches where schools of ,menhaden rippled the surface1 scarcely to be distinguished from the shadows of clouds4 ,sometimes the sea was spotted with them far and wide1 such is its inexhaustible fertility4 ,close at hand you see their back fin1 which is very long and sharp1 projecting two or three inches above water4 ,from time to time also we saw the white bellies of the ,bass playing along the shore4 ,it was a poetic recreation to watch those distant sails steering for half-fabulous ports1 whose very names are a mysterious music to our ears3 ,fayal1 and ,babelmandel1 ay1 and ,chagres1 and ,panama1--bound to the famous ,bay of ,san ,francisco1 and the golden streams of ,sacramento and ,san ,joaquin1 to ,feather ,river and the ,american ,fork1 where ,sutter's ,fort presides1 and inland stands the ,city de los ,angeles4 ,it is remarkable that men do not sail the sea with more expectation4 ,nothing remarkable was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood4 ,the heroes and discoverers have found true more than was previously believed1 only when they were expecting and dreaming of something more than their contemporaries dreamed of1 or even themselves discovered1 that is1 when they were in a frame of mind fitted to behold the truth4 ,referred to the world's standard1 they are always insane4 ,even savages have indirectly surmised as much4 ,humboldt1 speaking of ,columbus approaching the ,new ,world1 says3 8,the grateful coolness of the evening air1 the ethereal purity of the starry firmament1 the balmy fragrance of flowers1 wafted to him by the land breeze1 all led him to suppose 7as we are told by ,herrara1 in the ,decades7 that he was approaching the garden of ,eden1 the sacred abode of our first parents4 ,the ,orinoco seemed to him one of the four rivers which1 according to the venerable tradition of the ancient world1 flowed from ,paradise1 to water and divide the surface of the earth1 newly adorned with plants40 ,so even the expeditions for the discovery of ,el ,dorado1 and of the ,fountain of ,youth1 led to real1 if not compensatory discoveries4 ,we discerned vessels so far off1 when once we began to look1 that only the tops of their masts in the horizon were visible1 and it took a strong intention of the eye1 and its most favorable side1 to see them at all1 and sometimes we doubted if we were not counting our eyelashes4 ,charles ,darwin states that he saw1 from the base of the ,andes1 8the masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of ,valparaiso1 although not less than twenty-six geographical miles distant10 and that ,anson had been surprised at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from the coast1 without knowing the reason1 namely1 the great height of the land and the transparency of the air4 ,steamers may be detected much farther than sailing vessels1 for1 as one says1 when their hulls and masts of wood and iron are down1 their smoky masts and streamers still betray them2 and the same writer1 speaking of the comparative advantages of bituminous and anthracite coal for war-steamers1 states that1 8from the ascent of the columns of smoke above the horizon1 the motions of the steamers in ,calais ,harbor on the coast of ,france are at all times observable at ,ramsgate on the ,english coast1 from the first lighting of the fires to the putting out at sea2 and that in ,america the steamers burning the fat bituminous coal can be tracked at sea at least seventy miles before the hulls become visible1 by the dense columns of black smoke pouring out of their chimneys1 and trailing along the horizon40 ,though there were numerous vessels at this great distance in the horizon on every side1 yet the vast spaces between them1 like the spaces between the stars1 far as they were distant from us1 so were they from one another1--nay1 some were twice as far from each other as from us1--impressed us with a sense of the immensity of the ocean1 the 8unfruitful ocean10 as it has been called1 and we could see what proportion man and his works bear to the globe4 ,as we looked off1 and saw the water growing darker and darker and deeper and deeper the farther we looked1 till it was awful to consider1 and it appeared to have no relation to the friendly land1 either as shore or bottom1--of what use is a bottom if it is out of sight1 if it is two or three miles from the surface1 and you are to be drowned so long before you get to it1 though it were made of the same stuff with your native soil8--over that ocean1 where1 as the ,veda says1 8there is nothing to give support1 nothing to rest upon1 nothing to cling to10 ,i felt that ,i was a land animal4 ,the man in a balloon even may commonly alight on the earth in a few moments1 but the sailor's only hope is that he may reach the distant shore4 ,i could then appreciate the heroism of the old navigator4 ,sir ,humphrey ,gilbert1 of whom it is related that1 being overtaken by a storm when on his return from ,america1 in the year #aehc1 far northeastward from where we were1 sitting abaft with a book in his hand1 just before he was swallowed up in the deep1 he cried out to his comrades in the ,hind1 as they came within hearing1 8,we are as near to ,heaven by sea as by land40 ,i saw that it would not be easy to realize4 ,on ,cape ,cod1 the next most eastern land you hear of is ,st4 ,george's ,bank 7the fishermen tell of 8,georges10 8,cashus10 and other sunken lands which they frequent74 ,every ,cape man has a theory about ,george's ,bank having been an island once1 and in their accounts they gradually reduce the shallowness from six1 five1 four1 two fathoms1 to somebody's confident assertion that he has seen a mackerel-gull sitting on a piece of dry land there4 ,it reminded me1 when ,i thought of the shipwrecks which had taken place there1 of the ,isle of ,demons1 laid down off this coast in old charts of the ,new ,world4 ,there must be something monstrous1 methinks1 in a vision of the sea bottom from over some bank a thousand miles from the shore1 more awful than its imagined bottomlessness2 a drowned continent1 all livid and frothing at the nostrils1 like the body of a drowned man1 which is better sunk deep than near the surface4 ,i have been surprised to discover from a steamer the shallowness of ,massachusetts ,bay itself4 ,off ,billingsgate ,point ,i could have touched the bottom with a pole1 and ,i plainly saw it variously shaded with sea-weed1 at five or six miles from the shore4 ,this is 8,the ,shoal-ground of the ,cape10 it is true1 but elsewhere the bay is not much deeper than a country pond4 ,we are told that the deepest water in the ,english ,channel between ,shakespeare's ,cliff and ,cape ,grinz1 in ,france1 is one hundred and eighty feet2 and ,guyot says that 8the ,baltic ,sea has a depth of only one hundred and twenty feet between the coasts of ,germany and those of ,sweden10 and 8the ,adriatic between ,venice and ,trieste has a depth of only one hundred and thirty feet40 ,a pond in my native town1 only half a mile long1 is more than one hundred feet deep4 ,the ocean is but a larger lake4 ,at midsummer you may sometimes see a strip of glassy smoothness on it1 a few rods in width and many miles long1 as if the surface there were covered with a thin pellicle of oil1 just as on a country pond2 a sort of stand-still1 you would say1 at the meeting or parting of two currents of air 7if it does not rather mark the unrippled steadiness of a current of water beneath71 for sailors tell of the ocean and land breeze meeting between the fore and aft sails of a vessel1 while the latter are full1 the former being suddenly taken aback4 ,daniel ,webster1 in one of his letters describing blue-fishing off ,martha's ,vineyard1 referring to those smooth places1 which fishermen and sailors call 8slicks10 says3 8,we met with them yesterday1 and our boatman made for them1 whenever discovered4 ,he said they were caused by the blue-fish chopping up their prey4 ,that is to say1 those voracious fellows get into a school of menhaden1 which are too large to swallow whole1 and they bite them into pieces to suit their tastes4 ,and the oil from this butchery1 rising to the surface1 makes the #8slick4'0 ,yet this same placid ,ocean1 as civil now as a city's harbor1 a place for ships and commerce1 will erelong be lashed into sudden fury1 and all its caves and cliffs will resound with tumult4 ,it will ruthlessly heave these vessels to and fro1 break them in pieces in its sandy or stony jaws1 and deliver their crews to sea-monsters4 ,it will play with them like sea-weed1 distend them like dead frogs1 and carry them about1 now high1 now low1 to show to the fishes1 giving them a nibble4 ,this gentle ,ocean will toss and tear the rag of a man's body like the father of mad bulls1 and his relatives may be seen seeking the remnants for weeks along the strand4 ,from some quiet inland hamlet they have rushed weeping to the unheard-of shore1 and now stand uncertain where a sailor has recently been buried amid the sandhills4 ,it is generally supposed that they who have long been conversant with the ,ocean can foretell by certain indications1 such as its roar and the notes of sea-fowl1 when it will change from calm to storm2 but probably no such ancient mariner as we dream of exists2 they know no more1 at least1 than the older sailors do about this voyage of life on which we are all embarked4 ,nevertheless1 we love to hear the sayings of old sailors1 and their accounts of natural phenomena1 which totally ignore1 and are ignored by1 science2 and possibly they have not always looked over the gunwale so long in vain4 ,kalm repeats a story which was told him in ,philadelphia by a ,mr4 ,cock1 who was one day sailing to the ,west ,indies in a small yacht1 with an old man on board who was well acquainted with those seas4 8,the old man sounding the depth1 called to the mate to tell ,mr4 ,cock to launch the boats immediately1 and to put a sufficient number of men into them1 in order to tow the yacht during the calm1 that they might reach the island before them as soon as possible1 as within twenty-four hours there would be a strong hurricane4 ,mr4 ,cock asked him what reasons he had to think so2 the old man replied that1 on sounding1 he saw the lead in the water at a distance of many fathoms more than he had seen it before2 that therefore the water was become clear all of a sudden1 which he looked upon as a certain sign of an impending hurricane in the sea40 ,the sequel of the story is that1 by good fortune and by dint of rowing they managed to gain a safe harbor before the hurricane had reached its height2 but it finally raged with so much violence that not only many ships were lost and houses unroofed1 but even their own vessel in harbor was washed so far on shore that several weeks elapsed before it could be got off4 ,the ,greeks would not have called the ocean 1 or unfruitful1 though it does not produce wheat1 if they had viewed it by the light of modern science2 for naturalists now assert that 8the sea1 and not the land1 is the principal seat of life10--though not of vegetable life4 ,darwin affirms that 8our most thickly inhabited forests appear almost as deserts when we come to compare them with the corresponding regions of the ocean40 ,agassiz and ,gould tell us that 8the sea teems with animals of all classes1 far beyond the extreme point of flowering plants02 but they add that 8experiments of dredging in very deep water have also taught us that the abyss of the ocean is nearly a desert02--8so that modern investigations10 to quote the words of ,desor1 8merely go to confirm the great idea which was vaguely anticipated by the ancient poets and philosophers1 that the ,ocean is the origin of all things40 ,yet marine animals and plants hold a lower rank in the scale of being than land animals and plants4 8,there is no instance known10 says ,desor1 8of an animal becoming aquatic in its perfect state1 after having lived in its lower stage on dry land40 but as in the case of the tadpole1 8the progress invariably points towards the dry land40 ,in short1 the dry land itself came through and out of the water in its way to the heavens1 for1 8in going back through the geological ages1 we come to an epoch when1 according to all appearances1 the dry land did not exist1 and when the surface of our globe was entirely covered with water40 ,we looked on the sea1 then1 once more1 not as 1 or unfruitful1 but as it has been more truly called1 the 8laboratory of continents40 ,though we have indulged in some placid reflections of late1 the reader must not forget that the dash and roar of the waves were incessant4 ,indeed1 it would be well if he were to read with a large conch-shell at his ear4 ,but notwithstanding that it was very cold and windy to-day1 it was such a cold as we thought would not cause one to take cold who was exposed to it1 owing to the saltness of the air and the dryness of the soil4 ,yet the author of the old ,description of ,wellfleet says3 8,the atmosphere is very much impregnated with saline particles1 which1 perhaps1 with the great use of fish1 and the neglect of cider and spruce-beer1 may be a reason why the people are more subject to sore mouths and throats than in other places40 ,,vii ,,across ,,the ,,cape ,when we have returned from the seaside1 we sometimes ask ourselves why we did not spend more time in gazing at the sea2 but very soon the traveller does not look as the sea more than at the heavens4 ,as for the interior1 if the elevated sand-bar in the midst of the ocean can be said to have any interior1 it was an exceedingly desolate landscape1 with rarely a cultivated or cultivable field in sight4 ,we saw no villages1 and seldom a house1 for these are generally on the ,bay side4 ,it was a succession of shrubby hills and valleys1 now wearing an autumnal tint4 ,you would frequently think1 from the character of the surface1 the dwarfish trees1 and the bearberries around1 that you were on the top of a mountain4 ,the only wood in ,eastham was on the edge of ,wellfleet4 ,the pitch-pines were not commonly more than fifteen or eighteen feet high4 ,the larger ones covered with lichens1--often hung with the long gray ,usnea4 ,there is scarcely a white-pine on the forearm of the ,cape4 ,yet in the northwest part of ,eastham1 near the ,camp ,ground1 we saw1 the next summer1 some quite rural1 and even sylvan retreats1 for the ,cape1 where small rustling groves of oaks and locusts and whispering pines1 on perfectly level ground1 made a little paradise4 ,the locusts1 both transplanted and growing naturally about the houses there1 appeared to flourish better than any other tree4 ,there were thin belts of wood in ,wellfleet and ,truro1 a mile or more from the ,atlantic1 but1 for the most part1 we could see the horizon through them1 or1 if extensive1 the trees were not large4 ,both oaks and pines had often the same flat look with the apple-trees4 ,commonly1 the oak woods twenty-five years old were a mere scraggy shrubbery nine or ten feet high1 and we could frequently reach to their topmost leaf4 ,much that is called 8woods0 was about half as high as this1--only patches of shrub-oak1 bayberry1 beach-plum1 and wild roses1 overrun with woodbine4 ,when the roses were in bloom1 these patches in the midst of the sand displayed such a profusion of blossoms1 mingled with the aroma of the bayberry1 that no ,italian or other artificial rose-garden could equal them4 ,they were perfectly ,elysian1 and realized my idea of an oasis in the desert4 ,huckleberry-bushes were very abundant1 and the next summer they bore a remarkable quantity of that kind of gall called ,huckleberry-apple1 forming quite handsome though monstrous blossoms4 ,but it must be added1 that this shrubbery swarmed with wood-ticks1 sometimes very troublesome parasites1 and which it takes very horny fingers to crack4 ,illustration3 ,a ,truro footpath ,the inhabitants of these towns have a great regard for a tree1 though their standard for one is necessarily neither large nor high2 and when they tell you of the large trees that once grew here1 you must think of them1 not as absolutely large1 but large compared with the present generation4 ,their 8brave old oaks10 of which they speak with so much respect1 and which they will point out to you as relics of the primitive forest1 one hundred or one hundred and fifty1 ay1 for aught they know1 two hundred years old1 have a ridiculously dwarfish appearance1 which excites a smile in the beholder4 ,the largest and most venerable which they will show you in such a case are1 perhaps1 not more than twenty or twenty-five feet high4 ,i was especially amused by the ,liliputian old oaks in the south part of ,truro4 ,to the inexperienced eye1 which appreciated their proportions only1 they might appear vast as the tree which saved his royal majesty1 but measured1 they were dwarfed at once almost into lichens which a deer might eat up in a morning4 ,yet they will tell you that large schooners were once built of timber which grew in ,wellfleet4 ,the old houses also are built of the timber of the ,cape2 but instead of the forests in the midst of which they originally stood1 barren heaths1 with poverty-grass for heather1 now stretch away on every side4 ,the modern houses are built of what is called 8dimension timber10 imported from ,maine1 all ready to be set up1 so that commonly they do not touch it again with an axe4 ,almost all the wood used for fuel is imported by vessels or currents1 and of course all the coal4 ,i was told that probably a quarter of the fuel and a considerable part of the lumber used in ,north ,truro was drift-wood4 ,many get all their fuel from the beach4 ,of birds not found in the interior of the ,state1--at least in my neighborhood1--,i heard1 in the summer1 the ,black-throated ,bunting 7,fringilla ,americana7 amid the shrubbery1 and in the open land the ,upland ,plover 7,totanus ,bartramius71 whose quivering notes were ever and anon prolonged into a clear1 somewhat plaintive1 yet hawk-like scream1 which sounded at a very indefinite distance4 ,the bird may have been in the next field1 though it sounded a mile off4 ,to-day we were walking through ,truro1 a town of about eighteen hundred inhabitants4 ,we had already come to ,pamet ,river1 which empties into the ,bay4 ,this was the limit of the ,pilgrims' journey up the ,cape from ,provincetown1 when seeking a place for settlement4 ,it rises in a hollow within a few rods of the ,atlantic1 and one who lives near its source told us that in high tides the sea leaked through1 yet the wind and waves preserve intact the barrier between them1 and thus the whole river is steadily driven westward butt-end foremost1--fountain-head1 channel1 and light-house at the mouth1 all together4 ,early in the afternoon we reached the ,highland ,light1 whose white tower we had seen rising out of the bank in front of us for the last mile or two4 ,it is fourteen miles from the ,nauset ,lights1 on what is called the ,clay ,pounds1 an immense bed of clay abutting on the ,atlantic1 and1 as the keeper told us1 stretching quite across the ,cape1 which is here only about two miles wide4 ,we perceived at once a difference in the soil1 for there was an interruption of the desert1 and a slight appearance of a sod under our feet1 such as we had not seen for the last two days4 ,after arranging to lodge at the light-house1 we rambled across the ,cape to the ,bay1 over a singularly bleak and barren-looking country1 consisting of rounded hills and hollows1 called by geologists diluvial elevations and depressions1--a kind of scenery which has been compared to a chopped sea1 though this suggests too sudden a transition4 ,there is a delineation of this very landscape in ,hitchcock's ,report on the ,geology of ,massachusetts1 a work which1 by its size at least1 reminds one of a diluvial elevation itself4 ,looking southward from the light-house1 the ,cape appeared like an elevated plateau1 sloping very regularly1 though slightly1 downward from the edge of the bank on the ,atlantic side1 about one hundred and fifty feet above the ocean1 to that on the ,bay side4 ,on traversing this we found it to be interrupted by broad valleys or gullies1 which become the hollows in the bank when the sea has worn up to them4 ,they are commonly at right angles with the shore1 and often extend quite across the ,cape4 ,some of the valleys1 however1 are circular1 a hundred feet deep without any outlet1 as if the ,cape had sunk in those places1 or its sands had run out4 ,the few scattered houses which we passed1 being placed at the bottom of the hollows for shelter and fertility1 were1 for the most part1 concealed entirely1 as much as if they had been swallowed up in the earth4 ,even a village with its meeting-house1 which we had left little more than a stone's throw behind1 had sunk into the earth1 spire and all1 and we saw only the surface of the upland and the sea on either hand4 ,when approaching it1 we had mistaken the belfry for a summer-house on the plain4 ,we began to think that we might tumble into a village before we were aware of it1 as into an ant-lion's hole1 and be drawn into the sand irrecoverably4 ,the most conspicuous objects on the land were a distant windmill1 or a meeting-house standing alone1 for only they could afford to occupy an exposed place4 ,a great part of the township1 however1 is a barren1 heath-like plain1 and perhaps one third of it lies in common1 though the property of individuals4 ,the author of the old 8,description of ,truro10 speaking of the soil1 says3 8,the snow1 which would be of essential service to it provided it lay level and covered the ground1 is blown into drifts and into the sea40 ,this peculiar open country1 with here and there a patch of shrubbery1 extends as much as seven miles1 or from ,pamet ,river on the south to ,high ,head on the north1 and from ,ocean to ,bay4 ,to walk over it makes on a stranger such an impression as being at sea1 and he finds it impossible to estimate distances in any weather4 ,a windmill or a herd of cows may seem to be far away in the horizon1 yet1 after going a few rods1 he will be close upon them4 ,he is also deluded by other kinds of mirage4 ,when1 in the summer1 ,i saw a family a-blueberrying a mile off1 walking about amid the dwarfish bushes which did not come up higher than their ankles1 they seemed to me to be a race of giants1 twenty feet high at least4 ,the highest and sandiest portion next the ,atlantic was thinly covered with ,beach-grass and ,indigo-weed4 ,next to this the surface of the upland generally consisted of white sand and gravel1 like coarse salt1 through which a scanty vegetation found its way up4 ,it will give an ornithologist some idea of its barrenness if ,i mention that the next ,june1 the month of grass1 ,i found a night-hawk's eggs there1 and that almost any square rod thereabouts1 taken at random1 would be an eligible site for such a deposit4 ,the kildeer-plover1 which loves a similar locality1 also drops its eggs there1 and fills the air above with its din4 ,this upland also produced ,cladonia lichens1 poverty-grass1 savory-leaved aster 7,diplopappus linariifolius71 mouse-ear1 bear-berry1 c4 ,on a few hillsides the savory-leaved aster and mouse-ear alone made quite a dense sward1 said to be very pretty when the aster is in bloom4 ,in some parts the two species of poverty-grass 7,hudsonia tomentosa and ericoides71 which deserve a better name1 reign for miles in littli hemispherical tufts or islets1 like moss1 scattered over the waste4 ,they linger in bloom there till the middle of ,july4 ,occasionally near the beach these rounded beds1 as also those of the sea-sandwort 7,honkenya peploides71 were filled with sand within an inch of their tops1 and were hard1 like large ant-hills1 while the surrounding sand was soft4 ,in summer1 if the poverty-grass grows at the head of a ,hollow looking toward the sea1 in a bleak position where the wind rushes up1 the northern or exposed half of the tuft is sometimes all black and dead like an oven-broom1 while the opposite half is yellow with blossoms1 the whole hillside thus presenting a remarkable contrast when seen from the poverty-stricken and the flourishing side4 ,this plant1 which in many places would be esteemed an ornament1 is here despised by many on account of its being associated with barrenness4 ,it might well be adopted for the ,barnstable coat-of-arms1 in a field sableux4 ,i should be proud of it4 ,here and there were tracts of ,beach-grass mingled with the ,sea-side ,goldenrod and ,beach-pea1 which reminded us still more forcibly of the ocean4 ,illustration3 ,truro meeting-house on the hill ,we read that there was not a brook in ,truro4 ,yet there were deer here once1 which must often have panted in vain2 but ,i am pretty sure that ,i afterward saw a small fresh-water brook emptying into the south side of ,pamet ,river1 though ,i was so heedless as not to taste it4 ,at any rate1 a little boy near by told me that he drank at it4 ,there was not a tree as far as we could see1 and that was many miles each way1 the general level of the upland being about the same everywhere4 ,even from the ,atlantic side we overlooked the ,bay1 and saw to ,manomet ,point in ,plymouth1 and better from that side because it was the highest4 ,the almost universal bareness and smoothness of the landscape were as agreeable as novel1 making it so much the more like the deck of a vessel4 ,we saw vessels sailing south into the ,bay1 on the one hand1 and north along the ,atlantic shore1 on the other1 all with an aft wind4 ,the single road which runs lengthwise the ,cape1 now winding over the plain1 now through the shrubbery which scrapes the wheels of the stage1 was a mere cart-track in the sand1 commonly without any fences to confine it1 and continually changing from this side to that1 to harder ground1 or sometimes to avoid the tide4 ,but the inhabitants travel the waste here and there pilgrim-wise and staff in hand1 by narrow footpaths1 through which the sand flows out and reveals the nakedness of the land4 ,we shuddered at the thought of living there and taking our afternoon walks over those barren swells1 where we could overlook every step of our walk before taking it1 and would have to pray for a fog or a snow-storm to conceal our destiny4 ,the walker there must soon eat his heart4 ,in the north part of the town there is no house from shore to shore for several miles1 and it is as wild and solitary as the ,western ,prairies--used to be4 ,indeed1 one who has seen every house in ,truro will be surprised to hear of the number of the inhabitants1 but perhaps five hundred of the men and boys of this small town were then abroad on their fishing grounds4 ,only a few men stay at home to till the sand or watch for blackfish4 ,the farmers are fishermen-farmers and understand better ploughing the sea than the land4 ,they do not disturb their sands much1 though there is a plenty of sea-weed in the creeks1 to say nothing of blackfish occasionally rotting the shore4 ,between the ,pond and ,east ,harbor ,village there was an interesting plantation of pitch-pines1 twenty or thirty acres in extent1 like those which we had already seen from the stage4 ,one who lived near said that the land was purchased by two men for a shilling or twenty-five cents an acre4 ,some is not considered worth writing a deed for4 ,this soil or sand1 which was partially covered with poverty and beach grass1 sorrel1 c41 was furrowed at intervals of about four feet and the seed dropped by a machine4 ,the pines had come up admirably and grown the first year three or four inches1 and the second six inches and more4 ,where the seed had been lately planted the white sand was freshly exposed in an endless furrow winding round and round the sides of the deep hollows1 in a vertical spiral manner1 which produced a very singular effect1 as if you were looking into the reverse side of a vast banded shield4 ,this experiment1 so important to the ,cape1 appeared very successful1 and perhaps the time will come when the greater part of this kind of land in ,barnstable ,county will be thus covered with an artificial pine forest1 as has been done in some parts of ,france4 ,in that country #ab1ejj acres of downs had been thus covered in #ahaa near ,bayonne4 ,they are called pignadas1 and according to ,loudon 8constitute the principal riches of the inhabitants1 where there was a drifting desert before40 ,it seemed a nobler kind of grain to raise than corn even4 ,illustration3 ,a herd of cows ,a few years ago ,truro was remarkable among the ,cape towns for the number of sheep raised in it2 but ,i was told that at this time only two men kept sheep in the town1 and in #ahee1 a ,truro boy ten years old told me that he had never seen one4 ,they were formerly pastured on the unfenced lands or general fields1 but now the owners were more particular to assert their rights1 and it cost too much for fencing4 ,the rails are cedar from ,maine1 and two rails will answer for ordinary purposes1 but four are required for sheep4 ,this was the reason assigned by one who had formerly kept them for not keeping them any longer4 ,fencing stuff is so expensive that ,i saw fences made with only one rail1 and very often the rail when split was carefully tied with a string4 ,in one of the villages ,i saw the next summer a cow tethered by a rope six rods long1 the rope long in proportion as the feed was short and thin4 ,sixty rods1 ay1 all the cables of the ,cape1 would have been no more than fair4 ,tethered in the desert for fear that she would get into ,arabia ,felix6 ,i helped a man weigh a bundle of hay which he was selling to his neighbor1 holding one end of a pole from which it swung by a steel-yard hook1 and this was just half his whole crop4 ,in short1 the country looked so barren that ,i several times refrained from asking the inhabitants for a string or a piece of wrapping-paper1 for fear ,i should rob them1 for they plainly were obliged to import these things as well as rails1 and where there were no newsboys1 ,i did not see what they would do for waste paper4 ,the objects around us1 the make-shifts of fishermen ashore1 often made us look down to see if we were standing on terra firma4 ,in the wells everywhere a block and tackle were used to raise the bucket1 instead of a windlass1 and by almost every house was laid up a spar or a plank or two full of auger-holes1 saved from a wreck4 ,the windmills were partly built of these1 and they were worked into the public bridges4 ,the light-house keeper1 who was having his barn shingled1 told me casually that he had made three thousand good shingles for that purpose out of a mast4 ,you would sometimes see an old oar used for a rail4 ,frequently also some fair-weather finery ripped off a vessel by a storm near the coast was nailed up against an outhouse4 ,i saw fastened to a shed near the lighthouse a long new sign with the words 8,,anglo ,,saxon0 on it in large gilt letters1 as if it were a useless part which the ship could afford to lose1 or which the sailors had discharged at the same time with the pilot4 ,but it interested somewhat as if it had been a part of the ,argo1 clipped off in passing through the ,symplegades4 ,to the fisherman1 the ,cape itself is a sort of store-ship laden with supplies1--a safer and larger craft which carries the women and children1 the old men and the sick2 and indeed sea-phrases are as common on it as on board a vessel4 ,thus is it ever with a sea-going people4 ,the old ,northmen used to speak of the 8keel-ridge0 of the country1 that is1 the ridge of the ,doffrafield ,mountains1 as if the land were a boat turned bottom up4 ,i was frequently reminded of the ,northmen here4 ,the inhabitants of the ,cape are often at once farmers and sea-rovers2 they are more than vikings or kings of the bays1 for their sway extends over the open sea also4 ,a farmer in ,wellfleet1 at whose house ,i afterward spent a night1 who had raised fifty bushels of potatoes the previous year1 which is a large crop for the ,cape1 and had extensive salt-works1 pointed to his schooner1 which lay in sight1 in which he and his man and boy occasionally ran down the coast a-trading as far as the ,capes of ,virginia4 ,this was his market-cart1 and his hired man knew how to steer her4 ,thus he drove two teams a-field1 8ere the high seas appeared ,under the opening eyelids of the morn40 ,though probably he would not hear much of the 8gray fly0 on his way to ,virginia4 ,a great proportion of the inhabitants of the ,cape are always thus abroad about their teaming on some ocean highway or other1 and the history of one of their ordinary trips would cast the ,argonautic expedition into the shade4 ,i have just heard of a ,cape ,cod captain who was expected home in the beginning of the winter from the ,west ,indies1 but was long since given up for lost1 till his relations at length have heard with joy1 that1 after getting within forty miles of ,cape ,cod light1 he was driven back by nine successive gales to ,key ,west1 between ,florida and ,cuba1 and was once again shaping his course for home4 ,thus he spent his winter4 ,in ancient times the adventures of these two or three men and boys would have been made the basis of a myth1 but now such tales are crowded into a line of shorthand signs1 like an algebraic formula in the shipping news4 8,wherever over the world10 said ,palfrey in his oration at ,barnstable1 8you see the stars and stripes floating1 you may have good hope that beneath them some one will be found who can tell you the soundings of ,barnstable1 or ,wellfleet1 or ,chatham ,harbor40 ,i passed by the home of somebody's 7or everybody's7 ,uncle ,bill1 one day over on the ,plymouth shore4 ,it was a schooner half keeled-up on the mud3 we aroused the master out of a sound sleep at noonday1 by thumping on the bottom of his vessel till he presented himself at the hatchway1 for we wanted to borrow his clam-digger4 ,meaning to make him a call1 ,i looked out the next morning1 and lo6 he had run over to 8the ,pines0 the evening before1 fearing an easterly storm4 ,he outrode the great gale in the spring of #ahea1 dashing about alone in ,plymouth ,bay4 ,he goes after rockweed1 lighters vessels1 and saves wrecks4 ,i still saw him lying in the mud over at 8the ,pines0 in the horizon1 which place he could not leave if he would till flood tide4 ,but he would not then probably4 ,this waiting for the tide is a singular feature in life by the sea-shore4 ,a frequent answer is1 8,well6 you can't start for two hours yet40 ,it is something new to a landsman1 and at first he is not disposed to wait4 ,history says that 8two inhabitants of ,truro were the first who adventured to the ,falkland ,isles in pursuit of whales4 ,this voyage was undertaken in the year #aggd1 by the advice of ,admiral ,montague of the ,british navy1 and was crowned with success40 ,at the ,pond ,village we saw a pond three eighths of a mile long densely filled with cat-tail flags1 seven feet high1--enough for all the coopers in ,new ,england4 ,illustration3 ,pond ,village ,the western shore was nearly as sandy as the eastern1 but the water was much smoother1 and the bottom was partially covered with the slender grass-like seaweed 7,zostera71 which we had not seen on the ,atlantic side2 there were also a few rude sheds for trying fish on the beach there1 which made it appear less wild4 ,in the few marshes on this side we afterward saw ,samphire1 ,rosemary1 and other plants new to us inlanders4 ,in the summer and fall sometimes1 hundreds of blackfish 7the ,social ,whale1 ,globicephalus ,melas of ,de ,kay2 called also ,black ,whale-fish1 ,howling ,whale1 ,bottlehead1 etc471 fifteen feet or more in length1 are driven ashore in a single school here4 ,i witnessed such a scene in ,july1 #ahee4 ,a carpenter who was working at the lighthouse arriving early in the morning remarked that he did not know but he had lost fifty dollars by coming to his work2 for as he came along the ,bay side he heard them driving a school of blackfish ashore1 and he had debated with himself whether he should not go and join them and take his share1 but had concluded to come to his work4 ,after breakfast ,i came over to this place1 about two miles distant1 and near the beach met some of the fishermen returning from their chase4 ,looking up and down the shore1 ,i could see about a mile south some large black masses on the sand1 which ,i knew must be blackfish1 and a man or two about them4 ,as ,i walked along towards them ,i soon came to a huge carcass whose head was gone and whose blubber had been stripped off some weeks before2 the tide was just beginning to move it1 and the stench compelled me to go a long way round4 ,when ,i came to ,great ,hollow ,i found a fisherman and some boys on the watch1 and counted about thirty blackfish1 just killed1 with many lance wounds1 and the water was more or less bloody around4 ,they were partly on shore and partly in the water1 held by a rope round their tails till the tide should leave them4 ,a boat had been somewhat stove by the tail of one4 ,they were a smooth shining black1 like ,india-rubber1 and had remarkably simple and lumpish forms for animated creatures1 with a blunt round snout or head1 whale-like1 and simple stiff-looking flippers4 ,the largest were about fifteen feet long1 but one or two were only five feet long1 and still without teeth4 ,the fisherman slashed one with his jackknife1 to show me how thick the blubber was1--about three inches2 and as ,i passed my finger through the cut it was covered thick with oil4 ,the blubber looked like pork1 and this man said that when they were trying it the boys would sometimes come round with a piece of bread in one hand1 and take a piece of blubber in the other to eat with it1 preferring it to pork scraps4 ,he also cut into the flesh beneath1 which was firm and red like beef1 and he said that for his part he preferred it when fresh to beef4 ,it is stated that in #ahab blackfish were used as food by the poor of ,bretagne4 ,they were waiting for the tide to leave these fishes high and dry1 that they might strip off the blubber and carry it to their try-works in their boats1 where they try it on the beach4 ,they get commonly a barrel of oil1 worth fifteen or twenty dollars1 to a fish4 ,there were many lances and harpoons in the boats1--much slenderer instruments than ,i had expected4 ,an old man came along the beach with a horse and wagon distributing the dinners of the fishermen1 which their wives had put up in little pails and jugs1 and which he had collected in the ,pond ,village1 and for this service1 ,i suppose1 he received a share of the oil4 ,if one could not tell his own pail1 he took the first he came to4 ,as ,i stood there they raised the cry of 8another school10 and we could see their black backs and their blowing about a mile northward1 as they went leaping over the sea like horses4 ,some boats were already in pursuit there1 driving them toward the beach4 ,other fishermen and boys running up began to jump into the boats and push them off from where ,i stood1 and ,i might have gone too had ,i chosen4 ,soon there were twenty-five or thirty boats in pursuit1 some large ones under sail1 and others rowing with might and main1 keeping outside of the school1 those nearest to the fishes striking on the sides of their boats and blowing horns to drive them on to the beach4 ,it was an exciting race4 ,if they succeed in driving them ashore each boat takes one share1 and then each man1 but if they are compelled to strike them off shore each boat's company take what they strike4 ,i walked rapidly along the shore toward the north1 while the fishermen were rowing still more swiftly to join their companions1 and a little boy who walked by my side was congratulating himself that his father's boat was beating another one4 ,an old blind fisherman whom we met1 inquired1 8,where are they8 ,i can't see4 ,have they got them80 ,in the mean while the fishes had turned and were escaping northward toward ,provincetown1 only occasionally the back of one being seen4 ,so the nearest crews were compelled to strike them1 and we saw several boats soon made fast1 each to its fish1 which1 four or five rods ahead1 was drawing it like a race-horse straight toward the beach1 leaping half out of water1 blowing blood and water from its hole1 and leaving a streak of foam behind4 ,but they went ashore too far north for us1 though we could see the fishermen leap out and lance them on the sand4 ,it was just like pictures of whaling which ,i have seen1 and a fisherman told me that it was nearly as dangerous4 ,in his first trial he had been much excited1 and in his haste had used a lance with its scabbard on1 but nevertheless had thrust it quite through his fish4 ,i learned that a few days before this one hundred and eighty blackfish had been driven ashore in one school at ,eastham1 a little farther south1 and that the keeper of ,billingsgate ,point light went out one morning about the same time and cut his initials on the backs of a large school which had run ashore in the night1 and sold his right to them to ,provincetown for one thousand dollars1 and probably ,provincetown made as much more4 ,another fisherman told me that nineteen years ago three hundred and eighty were driven ashore in one school at ,great ,hollow4 ,in the ,naturalists' ,library1 it is said that1 in the winter of #ahji-aj1 one thousand one hundred and ten 8approached the shore of ,hralfiord1 ,iceland1 and were captured40 ,de ,kay says it is not known why they are stranded4 ,but one fisherman declared to me that they ran ashore in pursuit of squid1 and that they generally came on the coast about the last of ,july4 ,about a week afterward1 when ,i came to this shore1 it was strewn1 as far as ,i could see with a glass1 with the carcasses of blackfish stripped of their blubber and their heads cut off2 the latter lying higher up4 ,walking on the beach was out of the question on account of the stench4 ,between ,provincetown and ,truro they lay in the very path of the stage4 ,yet no steps were taken to abate the nuisance1 and men were catching lobsters as usual just off the shore4 ,i was told that they did sometimes tow them out and sink them2 yet ,i wondered where they got the stones to sink them with4 ,of course they might be made into guano1 and ,cape ,cod is not so fertile that her inhabitants can afford to do without this manure1--to say nothing of the diseases they may produce4 ,after my return home1 wishing to learn what was known about the ,blackfish1 ,i had recourse to the reports of the zoological surveys of the ,state1 and ,i found that ,storer had rightfully omitted it in his ,report on the ,fishes1 since it is not a fish2 so ,i turned to ,emmons's ,report of the ,mammalia1 but was surprised to find that the seals and whales were omitted by him1 because he had had no opportunity to observe them4 ,considering how this ,state has risen and thriven by its fisheries1--that the legislature which authorized the ,zoological ,survey sat under the emblem of a codfish1--that ,nantucket and ,new ,bedford are within our limits1--that an early riser may find a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars' worth of blackfish on the shore in a morning1--that the ,pilgrims saw the ,indians cutting up a blackfish on the shore at ,eastham1 and called a part of that shore 8,grampus ,bay10 from the number of blackfish they found there1 before they got to ,plymouth1--and that from that time to this these fishes have continued to enrich one or two counties almost annually1 and that their decaying carcasses were now poisoning the air of one county for more than thirty miles1--,i thought it remarkable that neither the popular nor scientific name was to be found in a report on our mammalia1--a catalogue of the productions of our land and water4 ,we had here1 as well as all across the ,cape1 a fair view of ,provincetown1 five or six miles distant over the water toward the west1 under its shrubby sand-hills1 with its harbor now full of vessels whose masts mingled with the spires of its churches1 and gave it the appearance of a quite large seaport town4 ,the inhabitants of all the lower ,cape towns enjoy thus the prospect of two seas4 ,standing on the western or larboard shore1 and looking across to where the distant mainland looms1 they can say1 ,this is ,massachusetts ,bay2 and then1 after an hour's sauntering walk1 they may stand on the starboard side1 beyond which no land is seen to loom1 and say1 ,this is the ,atlantic ,ocean4 ,on our way back to the lighthouse1 by whose white-washed tower we steered as securely as the mariner by its light at night1 we passed through a graveyard1 which apparently was saved from being blown away by its slates1 for they had enabled a thick bed of huckleberry-bushes to root themselves amid the graves4 ,we thought it would be worth the while to read the epitaphs where so many were lost at sea2 however1 as not only their lives1 but commonly their bodies also1 were lost or not identified1 there were fewer epitaphs of this sort than we expected1 though there were not a few4 ,their graveyard is the ocean4 ,near the eastern side we started up a fox in a hollow1 the only kind of wild quadruped1 if ,i except a skunk in a salt-marsh1 that we saw in all our walk 7unless painted and box tortoises may be called quadrupeds74 ,he was a large1 plump1 shaggy fellow1 like a yellow dog1 with1 as usual1 a white tip to his tail1 and looked as if he fared well on the ,cape4 ,he cantered away into the shrub-oaks and bayberry-bushes which chanced to grow there1 but were hardly high enough to conceal him4 ,i saw another the next summer leaping over the top of a beach-plum a little farther north1 a small arc of his course 7which ,i trust is not yet run71 from which ,i endeavored in vain to calculate his whole orbit3 there were too many unknown attractions to be allowed for4 ,i also saw the exuviae of a third fast sinking into the sand1 and added the skull to my collection4 ,hence ,i concluded that they must be plenty thereabouts2 but a traveller may meet with more than an inhabitant1 since he is more likely to take an unfrequented route across the country4 ,they told me that in some years they died off in great numbers by a kind of madness1 under the effect of which they were seen whirling round and round as if in pursuit of their tails4 ,in ,crantz's account of ,greenland1 he says3 8,they 7the foxes7 live upon birds and their eggs1 and1 when they can't get them1 upon crowberries1 mussels1 crabs1 and what the sea casts out40 ,just before reaching the light-house1 we saw the sun set in the ,bay1--for standing on that narrow ,cape was1 as ,i have said1 like being on the deck of a vessel1 or rather at the masthead of a man-of-war1 thirty miles at sea1 though we knew that at the same moment the sun was setting behind our native hills1 which were just below the horizon in that direction4 ,this sight drove everything else quite out of our heads1 and ,homer and the ,ocean came in again with a rush1-- ' ' 1 the shining torch of the sun fell into the ocean4 ,,viii ,,the ,,highland ,,light ,this light-house1 known to mariners as the ,cape ,cod or ,highland ,light1 is one of our 8primary sea-coast lights10 and is usually the first seen by those approaching the entrance of ,massachusetts ,bay from ,europe4 ,it is forty-three miles from ,cape ,ann ,light1 and forty-one from ,boston ,light4 ,it stands about twenty rods from the edge of the bank1 which is here formed of clay4 ,i borrowed the plane and square1 level and dividers1 of a carpenter who was shingling a barn near by1 and using one of those shingles made of a mast1 contrived a rude sort of quadrant1 with pins for sights and pivots1 and got the angle of elevation of the ,bank opposite the light-house1 and with a couple of cod-lines the length of its slope1 and so measured its height on the shingle4 ,it rises one hundred and ten feet above its immediate base1 or about one hundred and twenty-three feet above mean low water4 ,graham1 who has carefully surveyed the extremity of the ,cape1 makes it one hundred and thirty feet4 ,the mixed sand and clay lay at an angle of forty degrees with the horizon1 where ,i measured it1 but the clay is generally much steeper4 ,no cow nor hen ever gets down it4 ,half a mile farther south the bank is fifteen or twenty-five feet higher1 and that appeared to be the highest land in ,north ,truro4 ,even this vast clay bank is fast wearing away4 ,small streams of water trickling down it at intervals of two or three rods1 have left the intermediate clay in the form of steep ,gothic roofs fifty feet high or more1 the ridges as sharp and rugged-looking as rocks2 and in one place the bank is curiously eaten out in the form of a large semicircular crater4 ,illustration3 ,dragging a dory up on the beach ,according to the light-house keeper1 the ,cape is wasting here on both sides1 though most on the eastern4 ,in some places it had lost many rods within the last year1 and1 erelong1 the light-house must be moved4 ,we calculated1 from his data1 how soon the ,cape would be quite worn away at this point1 8for10 said he1 8,i can remember sixty years back40 ,we were even more surprised at this last announcement1--that is1 at the slow waste of life and energy in our informant1 for we had taken him to be not more than forty1--than at the rapid wasting of the ,cape1 and we thought that he stood a fair chance to outlive the former4 ,between this ,october and ,june of the next year ,i found that the bank had lost about forty feet in one place1 opposite the light-house1 and it was cracked more than forty feet farther from the edge at the last date1 the shore being strewn with the recent rubbish4 ,but ,i judged that generally it was not wearing away here at the rate of more than six feet annually4 ,any conclusions drawn from the observations of a few years or one generation only are likely to prove false1 and the ,cape may balk expectation by its durability4 ,in some places even a wrecker's foot-path down the bank lasts several years4 ,one old inhabitant told us that when the light-house was built1 in #agih1 it was calculated that it would stand forty-five years1 allowing the bank to waste one length of fence each year1 8but10 said he1 8there it is0 7or rather another near the same site1 about twenty rods from the edge of the bank74 ,the sea is not gaining on the ,cape everywhere1 for one man told me of a vessel wrecked long ago on the north of ,provincetown whose 8bones0 7this was his word7 are still visible many rods within the present line of the beach1 half buried in sand4 ,perchance they lie alongside the timbers of a whale4 ,the general statement of the inhabitants is that the ,cape is wasting on both sides1 but extending itself on particular points on the south and west1 as at ,chatham and ,monomoy ,beaches1 and at ,billingsgate1 ,long1 and ,race ,points4 ,james ,freeman stated in his day that above three miles had been added to ,monomoy ,beach during the previous fifty years1 and it is said to be still extending as fast as ever4 ,a writer in the ,massachusetts ,magazine1 in the last century1 tells us that 8when the ,english first settled upon the ,cape1 there was an island off ,chatham1 at three leagues' distance1 called ,webbs' ,island1 containing twenty acres1 covered with red-cedar or savin4 ,the inhabitants of ,nantucket used to carry wood from it02 but he adds that in his day a large rock alone marked the spot1 and the water was six fathoms deep there4 ,the entrance to ,nauset ,harbor1 which was once in ,eastham1 has now travelled south into ,orleans4 ,the islands in ,wellfleet ,harbor once formed a continuous beach1 though now small vessels pass between them4 ,and so of many other parts of this coast4 ,perhaps what the ,ocean takes from one part of the ,cape it gives to another1--robs ,peter to pay ,paul4 ,on the eastern side the sea appears to be everywhere encroaching on the land4 ,not only the land is undermined1 and its ruins carried off by currents1 but the sand is blown from the beach directly up the steep bank where it is one hundred and fifty feet high1 and covers the original surface there many feet deep4 ,if you sit on the edge you will have ocular demonstration of this by soon getting your eyes full4 ,thus the bank preserves its height as fast as it is worn away4 ,this sand is steadily travelling westward at a rapid rate1 8more than a hundred yards10 says one writer1 within the memory of inhabitants now living2 so that in some places peat-meadows are buried deep under the sand1 and the peat is cut through it2 and in one place a large peat-meadow has made its appearance on the shore in the bank covered many feet deep1 and peat has been cut there4 ,this accounts for that great pebble of peat which we saw in the surf4 ,the old oysterman had told us that many years ago he lost a 8crittur0 by her being mired in a swamp near the ,atlantic side east of his house1 and twenty years ago he lost the swamp itself entirely1 but has since seen signs of it appearing on the beach4 ,he also said that he had seen cedar stumps 8as big as cart-wheels0767 on the bottom of the ,bay1 three miles off ,billingsate ,point1 when leaning over the side of his boat in pleasant weather1 and that that was dry land not long ago4 ,another told us that a log canoe known to have been buried many years before on the ,bay side at ,east ,harbor in ,truro1 where the ,cape is extremely narrow1 appeared at length on the ,atlantic side1 the ,cape having rolled over it1 and an old woman said1--8,now1 you see1 it is true what ,i told you1 that the ,cape is moving40 ,the bars along the coast shift with every storm1 and in many places there is occasionally none at all4 ,we ourselves observed the effect of a single storm with a high tide in the night1 in ,july1 #ahee4 ,it moved the sand on the beach opposite the light-house to the depth of six feet1 and three rods in width as far as we could see north and south1 and carried it bodily off no one knows exactly where1 laying bare in one place a large rock five feet high which was invisible before1 and narrowing the beach to that extent4 ,there is usually1 as ,i have said1 no bathing on the back-side of the ,cape1 on account of the undertow1 but when we were there last1 the sea had1 three months before1 cast up a bar near this lighthouse1 two miles long and ten rods wide1 over which the tide did not flow1 leaving a narrow cove1 then a quarter of a mile long1 between it and the shore1 which afforded excellent bathing4 ,this cove had from time to time been closed up as the bar travelled northward1 in one instance imprisoning four or five hundred whiting and cod1 which died there1 and the water as often turned fresh1 and finally gave place to sand4 ,this bar1 the inhabitants assured us1 might be wholly removed1 and the water six feet deep there in two or three days4 ,the light-house keeper said that when the wind blowed strong on to the shore1 the waves ate fast into the bank1 but when it blowed off they took no sand away2 for in the former case the wind heaped up the surface of the water next to the beach1 and to preserve its equilibrium a strong undertow immediately set back again into the sea which carried with it the sand and whatever else was in the way1 and left the beach hard to walk on2 but in the latter case the undertow set on and carried the sand with it1 so that it was particularly difficult for shipwrecked men to get to land when the wind blowed on to the shore1 but easier when it blowed off4 ,this undertow1 meeting the next surface wave on the bar which itself has made1 forms part of the dam over which the latter breaks1 as over an upright wall4 ,the sea thus plays with the land holding a sand-bar in its mouth awhile before it swallows it1 as a cat plays with a mouse2 but the fatal gripe is sure to come at last4 ,the sea sends its rapacious east wind to rob the land1 but before the former has got far with its prey1 the land sends its honest west wind to recover some of its own4 ,but1 according to ,lieutenant ,davis1 the forms1 extent1 and distribution of sand-bars and banks are principally determined1 not by winds and waves but by tides4 ,our host said that you would be surprised if you were on the beach when the wind blew a hurricane directly on to it1 to see that none of the drift-wood came ashore1 but all was carried directly northward and parallel with the shore as fast as a man can walk1 by the inshore current1 which sets strongly in that direction at flood tide4 ,the strongest swimmers also are carried along with it1 and never gain an inch toward the beach4 ,even a large rock has been moved half a mile northward along-the beach4 ,he assured us that the sea was never still on the back-side of the ,cape1 but ran commonly as high as your head1 so that a great part of the time you could not launch a boat there1 and even in the calmest weather the waves run six or eight feet up the beach1 though then you could get off on a plank4 ,champlain and ,pourtrincourt could not land here in #afjf1 on account of the swell 7la houlle71 yet the savages came off to them in a canoe4 ,in the ,sieur de la ,borde's 8,relation des ,caraibes10 my edition of which was published at ,amsterdam in #agaa1 at page #ecj he says3-- 8,couroumon a ,caraibe1 also a star i4e4 a god1 makes the great lames la mer1 and overturns canoes4 ,lames la mer are the long vagues which are not broken 7entrecoupes71 and such as one sees come to land all in one piece1 from one end of a beach to another1 so that1 however little wind there may be1 a shallop or a canoe could hardly land 7aborder terre7 without turning over1 or being filled with water40 ,but on the ,bay side the water even at its edge is often as smooth and still as in a pond4 ,commonly there are no boats used along this beach4 ,there was a boat belonging to the ,highland ,light which the next keeper after he had been there a year had not launched1 though he said that there was good fishing just off the shore4 ,generally the ,life ,boats cannot be used when needed4 ,when the waves run very high it is impossible to get a boat off1 however skilfully you steer it1 for it will often be completely covered by the curving edge of the approaching breaker as by an arch1 and so filled with water1 or it will be lifted up by its bows1 turned directly over backwards1 and all the contents spilled out4 ,a spar thirty feet long is served in the same way4 ,i heard of a party who went off fishing back of ,wellfleet some years ago1 in two boats1 in calm weather1 who1 when they had laden their boats with fish1 and approached the land again1 found such a swell breaking on it1 though there was no wind1 that they were afraid to enter it4 ,at first they thought to pull for ,provincetown1 but night was coming on1 and that was many miles distant4 ,their case seemed a desperate one4 ,as often as they approached the shore and saw the terrible breakers that intervened1 they were deterred4 ,in short1 they were thoroughly frightened4 ,finally1 having thrown their fish overboard1 those in one boat chose a favorable opportunity1 and succeeded1 by skill and good luck1 in reaching the land1 but they were unwilling to take the responsibility of telling the others when to come in1 and as the other helmsman was inexperienced1 their boat was swamped at once1 yet all managed to save themselves4 ,much smaller waves soon make a boat 8nail-sick10 as the phrase is4 ,the keeper said that after a long and strong blow there would be three large waves1 each successively larger than the last1 and then no large ones for some time1 and that1 when they wished to land in a boat1 they came in on the last and largest wave4 ,sir ,thomas ,browne 7as quoted in ,brand's ,popular ,antiquities1 p4 #cgb71 on the subject of the tenth wave being 8greater or more dangerous than any other10 after quoting ,ovid1-- 8,qui venit hic fluctus1 fluctus supereminet omnes ,posterior nono est1 undecimo que prior10-- says1 8,which1 notwithstanding1 is evidently false2 nor can it be made out either by observation either upon the shore or the ocean1 as we have with diligence explored in both4 ,and surely in vain we expect regularity in the waves of the sea1 or in the particular motions thereof1 as we may in its general reciprocations1 whose causes are constant1 and effects therefore correspondent2 whereas its fluctuations are but motions subservient1 which winds1 storms1 shores1 shelves1 and every interjacency1 irregulates40 ,we read that the ,clay ,pounds1 were so called 8because vessels have had the misfortune to be pounded against it in gales of wind10 which we regard as a doubtful derivation4 ,there are small ponds here1 upheld by the clay1 which were formerly called the ,clay ,pits4 ,perhaps this1 or ,clay ,ponds1 is the origin of the name4 ,water is found in the clay quite near the surface2 but we heard of one man who had sunk a well in the sand close by1 8till he could see stars at noonday10 without finding any4 ,over this bare ,highland the wind has full sweep4 ,even in ,july it blows the wings over the heads of the young turkeys1 which do not know enough to head against it2 and in gales the doors and windows are blown in1 and you must hold on to the lighthouse to prevent being blown into the ,atlantic4 ,they who merely keep out on the beach in a storm in the winter are sometimes rewarded by the ,humane ,society4 ,if you would feel the full force of a tempest1 take up your residence on the top of ,mount ,washington1 or at the ,highland ,light1 in ,truro4 ,it was said in #agid that more vessels were cast away on the east shore of ,truro than anywhere in ,barnstable ,county4 ,notwithstanding that this light-house has since been erected1 after almost every storm we read of one or more vessels wrecked here1 and sometimes more than a dozen wrecks are visible from this point at one time4 ,the inhabitants hear the crash of vessels going to pieces as they sit round their hearths1 and they commonly date from some memorable shipwreck4 ,if the history of this beach could be written from beginning to end1 it would be a thrilling page in the history of commerce4 ,truro was settled in the year #agjj as ,dangerfield4 ,this was a very appropriate name1 for ,i afterward read on a monument in the graveyard1 near ,pamet ,river1 the following inscription3-- ,sacred to the memory of #eg citizens of ,truro1 who were lost in seven vessels1 which foundered at sea in the memorable gale of ,oct4 #c;d1 #ahda4 ,their names and ages by families were recorded on different sides of the stone4 ,they are said to have been lost on ,george's ,bank1 and ,i was told that only one vessel drifted ashore on the backside of the ,cape1 with the boys locked into the cabin and drowned4 ,it is said that the homes of all were 8within a circuit of two miles40 ,twenty-eight inhabitants of ,dennis were lost in the same gale2 and ,i read that 8in one day1 immediately after this storm1 nearly or quite one hundred bodies were taken up and buried on ,cape ,cod40 ,the ,truro ,insurance ,company failed for want of skippers to take charge of its vessels4 ,but the surviving inhabitants went a-fishing again the next year as usual4 ,i found that it would not do to speak of shipwrecks there1 for almost every family has lost some of its members at sea4 8,who lives in that house80 ,i inquired4 8,three widows10 was the reply4 ,the stranger and the inhabitant view the shore with very different eyes4 ,the former may have come to see and admire the ocean in a storm2 but the latter looks on it as the scene where his nearest relatives were wrecked4 ,when ,i remarked to an old wrecker partially blind1 who was sitting on the edge of the bank smoking a pipe1 which he had just lit with a match of dried beach-grass1 that ,i supposed he liked to hear the sound of the surf1 he answered3 8,no1 ,i do not like to hear the sound of the surf40 ,he had lost at least one son in 8the memorable gale10 and could tell many a tale of the shipwrecks which he had witnessed there4 ,in the year #agag1 a noted pirate named ,bellamy was led on to the bar off ,wellfleet by the captain of a snow which he had taken1 to whom he had offered his vessel again if he would pilot him into ,provincetown ,harbor4 ,tradition says that the latter threw over a burning tar-barrel in the night1 which drifted ashore1 and the pirates followed it4 ,a storm coming on1 their whole fleet was wrecked1 and more than a hundred dead bodies lay along the shore4 ,six who escaped shipwreck were executed4 8,at times to this day0 7#agic71 says the historian of ,wellfleet1 8there are ,king ,william and ,queen ,mary's coppers picked up1 and pieces of silver called cob-money4 ,the violence of the seas moves the sands on the outer bar1 so that at times the iron caboose of the ship that is1 ,bellamy's at low ebbs has been seen40 ,another tells us that1 8,for many years after this shipwreck1 a man of a very singular and frightful aspect used every spring and autumn to be seen travelling on the ,cape1 who was supposed to have been one of ,bellamy's crew4 ,the presumption is that he went to some place where money had been secreted by the pirates1 to get such a supply as his exigencies required4 ,when he died1 many pieces of gold were found in a girdle which he constantly wore40 ,illustration3 ,an old wrecker at home ,as ,i was walking on the beach here in my last visit1 looking for shells and pebbles1 just after that storm1 which ,i have mentioned as moving the sand to a great depth1 not knowing but ,i might find some cob-money1 ,i did actually pick up a ,french crown piece1 worth about a dollar and six cents1 near high-water mark1 on the still moist sand1 just under the abrupt1 caving base of the bank4 ,it was of a dark slate color1 and looked like a flat pebble1 but still bore a very distinct and handsome head of ,louis ,,xv41 and the usual legend on the reverse4 ,sit ,nomen ,domini ,benedictum 7,blessed be the ,name of the ,lord71 a pleasing sentiment to read in the sands of the sea-shore1 whatever it might be stamped on1 and ,i also made out the date1 #agda4 ,of course1 ,i thought at first that it was that same old button which ,i have found so many times1 but my knife soon showed the silver4 ,afterward1 rambling on the bars at low tide1 ,i cheated my companion by holding up round shells 7,scutell7 between my fingers1 whereupon he quickly stripped and came off to me4 ,in the ,revolution1 a ,british ship of war called the ,somerset was wrecked near the ,clay ,pounds1 and all on board1 some hundreds in number1 were taken prisoners4 ,my informant said that he had never seen any mention of this in the histories1 but that at any rate he knew of a silver watch1 which one of those prisoners by accident left there1 which was still going to tell the story4 ,but this event is noticed by some writers4 ,the next summer ,i saw a sloop from ,chatham dragging for anchors and chains just off this shore4 ,she had her boats out at the work while she shuffled about on various tacks1 and1 when anything was found1 drew up to hoist it on board4 ,it is a singular employment1 at which men are regularly hired and paid for their industry1 to hunt to-day in pleasant weather for anchors which have been lost1--the sunken faith and hope of mariners1 to which they trusted in vain2 now1 perchance1 it is the rusty one of some old pirate's ship or ,norman fisherman1 whose cable parted here two hundred years ago2 and now the best bower anchor of a ,canton or a ,california ship1 which has gone about her business4 ,if the roadsteads of the spiritual ocean could be thus dragged1 what rusty flukes of hope deceived and parted chain-cables of faith might again be windlassed aboard6 enough to sink the finder's craft1 or stock new navies to the end of time4 ,the bottom of the sea is strewn with anchors1 some deeper and some shallower1 and alternately covered and uncovered by the sand1 perchance with a small length of iron cable still attached1--to which where is the other end8 ,so many unconcluded tales to be continued another time4 ,so1 if we had diving-bells adapted to the spiritual deeps1 we should see anchors with their cables attached1 as thick as eels in vinegar1 all wriggling vainly toward their holding-ground4 ,but that is not treasure for us which another man has lost2 rather it is for us to seek what no other man has found or can find1--not be ,chatham men1 dragging for anchors4 ,the annals of this voracious beach6 who could write them1 unless it were a shipwrecked sailor8 ,how many who have seen it have seen it only in the midst of danger and distress1 the last strip of earth which their mortal eyes beheld4 ,think of the amount of suffering which a single strand has witnessed4 ,the ancients would have represented it as a sea-monster with open jaws1 more terrible than ,scylla and ,charybdis4 ,an inhabitant of ,truro told me that about a fortnight after the ,st4 ,john was wrecked at ,cohasset he found two bodies on the shore at the ,clay ,pounds4 ,they were those of a man1 and a corpulent woman4 ,the man had thick boots on1 though his head was off1 but 8it was alongside40 ,it took the finder some weeks to get over the sight4 ,perhaps they were man and wife1 and whom ,god had joined the ocean currents had not put asunder4 ,yet by what slight accidents at first may they have been associated in their drifting4 ,some of the bodies of those passengers were picked up far out at sea1 boxed up and sunk2 some brought ashore and buried4 ,there are more consequences to a shipwreck than the underwriters notice4 ,the ,gulf ,stream may return some to their native shores1 or drop them in some out-of-the-way cave of ,ocean1 where time and the elements will write new riddles with their bones4--,but to return to land again4 ,in this bank1 above the clay1 ,i counted in the summer1 two hundred holes of the ,bank ,swallow within a space six rods long1 and there were at least one thousand old birds within three times that distance1 twittering over the surf4 ,i had never associated them in my thoughts with the beach before4 ,one little boy who had been a-birds-nesting had got eighty swallows' eggs for his share6 ,tell it not to the ,humane ,society4 ,there were many young birds on the clay beneath1 which had tumbled out and died4 ,also there were many ,crow-blackbirds hopping about in the dry fields1 and the ,upland ,plover were breeding close by the light-house4 ,the keeper had once cut off one's wing while mowing1 as she sat on her eggs there4 ,this is also a favorite resort for gunners in the fall to shoot the ,golden ,plover4 ,as around the shores of a pond are seen devil's-needles1 butterflies1 etc41 so here1 to my surprise1 ,i saw at the same season great devil's-needles of a size proportionably larger1 or nearly as big as my finger1 incessantly coasting up and down the edge of the bank1 and butterflies also were hovering over it1 and ,i never saw so many dorr-bugs and beetles of various kinds as strewed the beach4 ,they had apparently flown over the bank in the night1 and could not get up again1 and some had perhaps fallen into the sea and were washed ashore4 ,they may have been in part attracted by the light-house lamps4 ,the ,clay ,pounds are a more fertile tract than usual4 ,we saw some fine patches of roots and corn here4 ,as generally on the ,cape1 the plants had little stalk or leaf1 but ran remarkably to seed4 ,the corn was hardly more than half as high as in the interior1 yet the ears were large and full1 and one farmer told us that he could raise forty bushels on an acre without manure1 and sixty with it4 ,the heads of the rye also were remarkably large4 ,the ,shadbush 7,amelanchier71 ,beach ,plums1 and ,blueberries 7,vaccinium ,pennsylvanicum71 like the apple-trees and oaks1 were very dwarfish1 spreading over the sand1 but at the same time very fruitful4 ,the blueberry was but an inch or two high1 and its fruit often rested on the ground1 so that you did not suspect the presence of the bushes1 even on those bare hills1 until you were treading on them4 ,i thought that this fertility must be owing mainly to the abundance of moisture in the atmosphere1 for ,i observed that what little grass there was was remarkably laden with dew in the morning1 and in summer dense imprisoning fogs frequently last till midday1 turning one's beard into a wet napkin about his throat1 and the oldest inhabitant may lose his way within a stone's throw of his house or be obliged to follow the beach for a guide4 ,the brick house attached to the light-house was exceedingly damp at that season1 and1 writing-paper lost all its stiffness in it4 ,it was impossible to dry your towel after bathing1 or to press flowers without their mildewing4 ,the air was so moist that we rarely wished to drink1 though we could at all times taste the salt on our lips4 ,salt was rarely used at table1 and our host told us that his cattle invariably refused it when it was offered them1 they got so much with their grass and at every breath1 but he said that a sick horse or one just from the country would sometimes take a hearty draught of salt water1 and seemed to like it and be the better for it4 ,it was surprising to see how much water was contained in the terminal bud of the sea-side golden-rod1 standing in the sand early in ,july1 and also how turnips1 beets1 carrots1 etc41 flourished even in pure sand4 ,a man travelling by the shore near there not long before us noticed something green growing in the pure sand of the beach1 just at high-water mark1 and on approaching found it to be a bed of beets flourishing vigorously1 probably from seed washed out of the ,franklin4 ,also beets and turnips came up in the sea-weed used for manure in many parts of the ,cape4 ,this suggests how various plants may have been dispersed over the world to distant islands and continents4 ,vessels1 with seeds in their cargoes1 destined for particular ports1 where perhaps they were not needed1 have been cast away on desolate islands1 and though their crews perished1 some of their seeds have been preserved4 ,out of many kinds a few would find a soil and climate adapted to them1 become naturalized1 and perhaps drive out the native plants at last1 and so fit the land for the habitation of man4 ,it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good1 and for the time lamentable shipwrecks may thus contribute a new vegetable to a continent's stock1 and prove on the whole a lasting blessing to its inhabitants4 ,or winds and currents might effect the same without the intervention of man4 ,what indeed are the various succulent plants which grow on the beach but such beds of beets and turnips1 sprung originally from seeds which perhaps were cast on the waters for this end1 though we do not know the ,franklin which they came out of8 ,in ancient times some ,mr4 ,bell 787 was sailing this way in his ark with seeds of rocket1 salt-wort1 sandwort1 beachgrass1 samphire1 bayberry1 poverty-grass1 etc41 all nicely labelled with directions1 intending to establish a nursery somewhere2 and did not a nursery get established1 though he thought that he had failed8 ,about the light-house ,i observed in the summer the pretty ,polygala polygama1 spreading ray-wise flat on the ground1 white pasture thistles 7,cirsium pumilum71 and amid the shrubbery the ,smilax glauca1 which is commonly said not to grow so far north2 near the edge of the banks about half a mile southward1 the broom crow-berry 7,empetrum ,conradii71 for which ,plymouth is the only locality in ,massachusetts usually named1 forms pretty green mounds four or five feet in diameter by one foot high1--soft1 springy beds for the wayfarer4 ,i saw it afterward in ,provincetown1 but prettiest of all the scarlet pimpernel1 or poor-man's weather-glass 7,anagallis-arvensis71 greets you in fair weather on almost every square yard of sand4 ,from ,yarmouth1 ,i have received the ,chrysopsis falcata 7golden aster71 and ,vaccinium stamineum 7,deerberry or ,squaw ,huckleberry71 with fruit not edible1 sometimes as large as a cranberry 7,sept4 #g74 ,illustration3 ,the ,highland ,light ,the ,highland ,light-house1#a where we were staying1 is a substantial-looking building of brick1 painted white1 and surmounted by an iron cap4 ,attached to it is the dwelling of the keeper1 one story high1 also of brick1 and built by government4 ,as we were going to spend the night in a light-house1 we wished to make the most of so novel an experience1 and therefore told our host that we would like to accompany him when he went to light up4 ,at rather early candle-light he lighted a small ,japan lamp1 allowing it to smoke rather more than we like on ordinary occasions1 and told us to follow him4 ,he led the way first through his bedroom1 which was placed nearest to the light-house1 and then through a long1 narrow1 covered passage-way1 between whitewashed walls like a prison entry1 into the lower part of the light-house1 where many great butts of oil were arranged around2 thence we ascended by a winding and open iron stairway1 with a steadily increasing scent of oil and lamp-smoke1 to a trap-door in an iron floor1 and through this into the lantern4 ,it was a neat building1 with everything in apple-pie order1 and no danger of anything rusting there for want of oil4 ,the light consisted of fifteen argand lamps1 placed within smooth concave reflectors twenty-one inches in diameter1 and arranged in two horizontal circles one above the other1 facing every way excepting directly down the ,cape4 ,these were surrounded1 at a distance of two or three feet1 by large plate-glass windows1 which defied the storms1 with iron sashes1 on which rested the iron cap4 ,all the iron work1 except the floor1 was painted white4 ,and thus the light-house was completed4 ,we walked slowly round in that narrow space as the keeper lighted each lamp in succession1 conversing with him at the same moment that many a sailor on the deep witnessed the lighting of the ,highland ,light4 ,his duty was to fill and trim and light his lamps1 and keep bright the reflectors4 ,he filled them every morning1 and trimmed them commonly once in the course of the night4 ,he complained of the quality of the oil which was furnished4 ,this house consumes about eight hundred gallons in a year1 which cost not far from one dollar a gallon2 but perhaps a few lives would be saved if better oil were provided4 ,another light-house keeper said that the same proportion of winter-strained oil was sent to the southernmost light-house in the ,union as to the most northern4 ,formerly1 when this light-house had windows with small and thin panes1 a severe storm would sometimes break the glass1 and then they were obliged to put up a wooden shutter in haste to save their lights and reflectors1--and sometimes in tempests1 when the mariner stood most in need of their guidance1 they had thus nearly converted the light-house into a dark lantern1 which emitted only a few feeble rays1 and those commonly on the land or lee side4 ,he spoke of the anxiety and sense of responsibility which he felt in cold and stormy nights in the winter2 when he knew that many a poor fellow was depending on him1 and his lamps burned dimly1 the oil being chilled4 ,sometimes he was obliged to warm the oil in a kettle in his house at midnight1 and fill his lamps over again1--for he could not have a fire in the light-house1 it produced such a sweat on the windows4 ,his successor told me that he could not keep too hot a fire in such a case4 ,all this because the oil was poor4 ,the government lighting the mariners on its wintry coast with summer-strained oil1 to save expense6 ,that were surely a summer-strained mercy4 ,this keeper's successor1 who kindly entertained me the next year stated that one extremely cold night1 when this and all the neighboring lights were burning summer oil1 but he had been provident enough to reserve a little winter oil against emergencies1 he was waked up with anxiety1 and found that his oil was congealed1 and his lights almost extinguished2 and when1 after many hours' exertion1 he had succeeded in replenishing his reservoirs with winter oil at the wick end1 and with difficulty had made them burn1 he looked out and found that the other lights in the neighborhood1 which were usually visible to him1 had gone out1 and he heard afterward that the ,pamet ,river and ,billingsgate ,lights also had been extinguished4 ,our host said that the frost1 too1 on the windows caused him much trouble1 and in sultry summer nights the moths covered them and dimmed his lights2 sometimes even small birds flew against the thick plate glass1 and were found on the ground beneath in the morning with their necks broken4 ,in the spring of #ahee he found nineteen small yellow-birds1 perhaps goldfinches or myrtle-birds1 thus lying dead around the light-house2 and sometimes in the fall he had seen where a golden plover had struck the glass in the night1 and left the down and the fatty part of its breast on it4 ,thus he struggled1 by every method1 to keep his light shining before men4 ,surely the light-house keeper has a responsible1 if an easy1 office4 ,when his lamp goes out1 he goes out2 or1 at most1 only one such accident is pardoned4 ,i thought it a pity that some poor student did not live there1 to profit by all that light1 since he would not rob the mariner4 8,well10 he said1 8,i do sometimes come up here and read the newspaper when they are noisy down below40 ,think of fifteen argand lamps to read the newspaper by6 ,government oil6--light1 enough1 perchance1 to read the ,constitution by6 ,i thought that he should read nothing less than his ,bible by that light4 ,i had a classmate who fitted for college by the lamps of a light-house1 which was more light1 we think1 than the ,university afforded4 ,when we had come down and walked a dozen rods from the light-house1 we found that we could not get the full strength of its light on the narrow strip of land between it and the shore1 being too low for the focus1 and we saw only so many feeble and rayless stars2 but at forty rods inland we could see to read1 though we were still indebted to only one lamp4 ,each reflector sent forth a separate 8fan0 of light1--one shone on the windmill1 and one in the hollow1 while the intervening spaces were in shadow4 ,this light is said to be visible twenty nautical miles and more from an observer fifteen feet above the level of the sea4 ,we could see the revolving light at ,race ,point1 the end of the ,cape1 about nine miles distant1 and also the light on ,long ,point1 at the entrance of ,provincetown ,harbor1 and one of the distant ,plymouth ,harbor ,lights1 across the ,bay1 nearly in a range with the last1 like a star in the horizon4 ,the keeper thought that the other ,plymouth ,light was concealed by being exactly in a range with the ,long ,point ,light4 ,he told us that the mariner was sometimes led astray by a mackerel fisher's lantern1 who was afraid of being run down in the night1 or even by a cottager's light1 mistaking them for some well-known light on the coast1 and1 when he discovered his mistake1 was wont to curse the prudent fisher or the wakeful cottager without reason4 ,though it was once declared that ,providence placed this mass of clay here on purpose to erect a light-house on1 the keeper said that the light-house should have been erected half a mile farther south1 where the coast begins to bend1 and where the light could be seen at the same time with the ,nauset ,lights1 and distinguished from them4 ,they now talk of building one there4 ,it happens that the present one is the more useless now1 so near the extremity of the ,cape1 because other light-houses have since been erected there4 ,among the many regulations of the ,light-house ,board1 hanging against the wall here1 many of them excellent1 perhaps1 if there were a regiment stationed here to attend to them1 there is one requiring the keeper to keep an account of the number of vessels which pass his light during the day4 ,but there are a hundred vessels in sight at once1 steering in all directions1 many on the very verge of the horizon1 and he must have more eyes than ,argus1 and be a good deal farther-sighted1 to tell which are passing his light4 ,it is an employment in some respects best suited to the habits of the gulls which coast up and down here1 and circle over the sea4 ,i was told by the next keeper1 that on the #hth of ,june following1 a particularly clear and beautiful morning1 he rose about half an hour before sunrise1 and having a little time to spare1 for his custom was to extinguish his lights at sunrise1 walked down toward the shore to see what he might find4 ,when he got to the edge of the bank he looked up1 and1 to his astonishment1 saw the sun rising1 and already part way above the horizon4 ,thinking that his clock was wrong1 he made haste back1 and though it was still too early by the clock1 extinguished his lamps1 and when he had got through and come down1 he looked out the window1 and1 to his still greater astonishment1 saw the sun just where it was before1 two-thirds above the horizon4 ,he showed me where its rays fell on the wall across the room4 ,he proceeded to make a fire1 and when he had done1 there was the sun still at the same height4 ,whereupon1 not trusting to his own eyes any longer1 he called up his wife to look at it1 and she saw it also4 ,there were vessels in sight on the ocean1 and their crews1 too1 he said1 must have seen it1 for its rays fell on them4 ,it remained at that height for about fifteen minutes by the clock1 and then rose as usual1 and nothing else extraordinary happened during that day4 ,though accustomed to the coast1 he had never witnessed nor heard of such a phenomenon before4 ,i suggested that there might have been a cloud in the horizon invisible to him1 which rose with the sun1 and his clock was only as accurate as the average2 or perhaps1 as he denied the possibility of this1 it was such a looming of the sun as is said to occur at ,lake ,superior and elsewhere4 ,sir ,john ,franklin1 for instance1 says in his ,narrative1 that when he was on the shore of the ,polar ,sea1 the horizontal refraction varied so much one morning that 8the upper limb of the sun twice appeared at the horizon before it finally rose40 ,he certainly must be a son of ,aurora to whom the sun looms1 when there are so many millions to whom it glooms rather1 or who never see it till an hour after it has risen4 ,but it behooves us old stagers to keep our lamps trimmed and burning to the last1 and not trust to the sun's looming4 ,this keeper remarked that the centre of the flame should be exactly opposite the centre of the reflectors1 and that accordingly1 if he was not careful to turn down his wicks in the morning1 the sun falling on the reflectors on the south side of the building would set fire to them1 like a burning-glass1 in the coldest day1 and he would look up at noon and see them all lighted6 ,when your light is ready to give light1 it is readiest to receive it1 and the sun will light it4 ,his successor said that he had never known them to blaze in such a case1 but merely to smoke4 ,i saw that this was a place of wonders4 ,in a sea turn or shallow fog while ,i was there the next summer1 it being clear overhead1 the edge of the bank twenty rods distant1 appeared like a mountain pasture in the horizon4 ,i was completely deceived by it1 and ,i could then understand why mariners sometimes ran ashore in such cases1 especially in the night1 supposing it to be far away1 though they could see the land4 ,once since this1 being in a large oyster boat two or three hundred miles from here1 in a dark night1 when there was a thin veil of mist on land and water1 we came so near to running on to the land before our skipper was aware of it1 that the first warning was my hearing the sound of the surf under my elbow4 ,i could almost have jumped ashore1 and we were obliged to go about very suddenly to prevent striking4 ,the distant light for which we were steering1 supposing it a light-house five or six miles off1 came through the cracks of a fisherman's bunk not more than six rods distant4 ,the keeper entertained us handsomely in his solitary little ocean house4 ,he was a man of singular patience and intelligence1 who1 when our queries struck him1 rung as clear as a bell in response4 ,the light-house lamps a few feet distant shone full into my chamber1 and made it as bright as day1 so ,i knew exactly how the ,highland ,light bore all that night1 and ,i was in no danger of being wrecked4 ,unlike the last1 this was as still as a summer night4 ,i thought1 as ,i lay there1 half awake and half asleep1 looking upward through the window at the lights above my head1 how many sleepless eyes from far out on the ,ocean stream--mariners of all nations spinning their yarns through the various watches of the night--were directed toward my couch4 #a ,the light-house has since been rebuilt1 and shows a ,fresnel light4 ,,ix ,,the ,,sea ,,and ,,the ,,desert ,the light-house lamps were still burning1 though now with a silvery lustre1 when ,i rose to see the sun come out of the ,ocean2 for he still rose eastward of us2 but ,i was convinced that he must have come out of a dry bed beyond that stream1 though he seemed to come out of the water4 8,the sun once more touched the fields1 ,mounting to heaven from the fair flowing ,deep-running ,ocean40 ,now we saw countless sails of mackerel fishers abroad on the deep1 one fleet in the north just pouring round the ,cape1 another standing down toward ,chatham1 and our host's son went off to join some lagging member of the first which had not yet left the ,bay4 ,before we left the light-house we were obliged to anoint our shoes faithfully with tallow1 for walking on the beach1 in the salt water and the sand1 had turned them red and crisp4 ,to counterbalance this1 ,i have remarked that the seashore1 even where muddy1 as it is not here1 is singularly clean2 for notwithstanding the spattering of the water and mud and squirting of the clams while walking to and from the boat1 your best black pants retain no stain nor dirt1 such as they would acquire from walking in the country4 ,we have heard that a few days after this1 when the ,provincetown ,bank was robbed1 speedy emissaries from ,provincetown made particular inquiries concerning us at this light-house4 ,indeed1 they traced us all the way down the ,cape1 and concluded that we came by this unusual route down the back-side and on foot1 in order that we might discover a way to get off with our booty when we had committed the robbery4 ,the ,cape is so long and narrow1 and so bare withal1 that it is wellnigh impossible for a stranger to visit it without the knowledge of its inhabitants generally1 unless he is wrecked on to it in the night4 ,so1 when this robbery occurred1 all their suspicions seem to have at once centred on us two travellers who had just passed down it4 ,if we had not chanced to leave the ,cape so soon1 we should probably have been arrested4 ,the real robbers were two young men from ,worcester ,county who travelled with a centre-bit1 and are said to have done their work very neatly4 ,but the only bank that we pried into was the great ,cape ,cod sand-bank1 and we robbed it only of an old ,french crown piece1 some shells and pebbles1 and the materials of this story4 ,again we took to the beach for another day 7,october #ac71 walking along the shore of the resounding sea1 determined to get it into us4 ,we wished to associate with the ,ocean until it lost the pond-like look which it wears to a country-man4 ,we still thought that we could see the other side4 ,its surface was still more sparkling than the day before1 and we beheld 8the countless smilings of the ocean waves02 though some of them were pretty broad grins1 for still the wind blew and the billows broke in foam along the beach4 ,the nearest beach to us on the other side1 whither we looked1 due east1 was on the coast of ,galicia1 in ,spain1 whose capital is ,santiago1 though by old poets' reckoning it should have been ,atlantis or the ,hesperides2 but heaven is found to be farther west now4 ,at first we were abreast of that part of ,portugal entre ,douro e ,mino1 and then ,galicia and the port of ,pontevedra opened to us as we walked along2 but we did not enter1 the breakers ran so high4 ,the bold headland of ,cape ,finisterre1 a little north of east1 jutted toward us next1 with its vain brag1 for we flung back1--8,here is ,cape ,cod1--,cape ,land's-,beginning40 ,a little indentation toward the north1--for the land loomed to our imaginations by a common mirage1--we knew was the ,bay of ,biscay1 and we sang3-- 8,there we lay1 till next day4 ,in the ,bay of ,biscay ,o60 ,a little south of east was ,palos1 where ,columbus weighed anchor1 and farther yet the pillars which ,hercules set up2 concerning which when we inquired at the top of our voices what was written on them1--for we had the morning sun in our faces1 and could not see distinctly1--the inhabitants shouted ,ne plus ultra 7no more beyond71 but the wind bore to us the truth only1 plus ultra 7more beyond71 and over the ,bay westward was echoed ultra 7beyond74 ,we spoke to them through the surf about the ,far ,west1 the true ,hesperia1 or end of the day1 the ,this ,side ,sundown1 where the sun was extinguished in the ,pacific1 and we advised them to pull up stakes and plant those pillars of theirs on the shore of ,california1 whither all our folks were gone1--the only ne plus ultra now4 ,whereat they looked crestfallen on their cliffs1 for we had taken the wind out of all their sails4 ,we could not perceive that any of their leavings washed up here1 though we picked up a child's toy1 a small dismantled boat1 which may have been lost at ,pontevedra4 ,the ,cape became narrower and narrower as we approached its wrist between ,truro and ,provincetown1 and the shore inclined more decidedly to the west4 ,at the head of ,east ,harbor ,creek1 the ,atlantic is separated but by half a dozen rods of sand from the tide-waters of the ,bay4 ,from the ,clay ,pounds the bank flatted off for the last ten miles to the extremity at ,race ,point1 though the highest parts1 which are called 8islands0 from their appearance at a distance on the sea1 were still seventy or eighty feet above the ,atlantic1 and afforded a good view of the latter1 as well as a constant view of the ,bay1 there being no trees nor a hill sufficient to interrupt it4 ,also the sands began to invade the land more and more1 until finally they had entire possession from sea to sea1 at the narrowest part4 ,for three or four miles between ,truro and ,provincetown there were no inhabitants from shore to shore1 and there were but three or four houses for twice that distance4 ,as we plodded along1 either by the edge of the ocean1 where the sand was rapidly drinking up the last wave that wet it1 or over the sand-hills of the bank1 the mackerel fleet continued to pour round the ,cape north of us1 ten or fifteen miles distant1 in countless numbers1 schooner after schooner1 till they made a city on the water4 ,they were so thick that many appeared to be afoul of one another2 now all standing on this tack1 now on that4 ,we saw how well the ,new-,englanders had followed up ,captain ,john ,smith's suggestions with regard to the fisheries1 made in #afaf1--to what a pitch they had carried 8this contemptible trade of fish10 as he significantly styles it1 and were now equal to the ,hollanders whose example he holds up for the ,english to emulate2 notwithstanding that 8in this faculty10 as he says1 8the former are so naturalized1 and of their vents so certainly acquainted1 as there is no likelihood they will ever be paralleled1 having two or three thousand busses1 flat-bottoms1 sword-pinks1 todes1 and such like1 that breeds them sailors1 mariners1 soldiers1 and merchants1 never to be wrought out of that trade and fit for any other40 ,we thought that it would take all these names and more to describe the numerous craft which we saw4 ,even then1 some years before our 8renowned sires0 with their 8peerless dames0 stepped on ,plymouth ,rock1 he wrote1 8,newfoundland doth yearly freight neir eight hundred sail of ships with a silly1 lean1 skinny1 poor-john1 and cor fish10 though all their supplies must be annually transported from ,europe4 ,why not plant a colony here then1 and raise those supplies on the spot8 8,of all the four parts of the world10 says he1 8that ,i have yet seen1 not inhabited1 could ,i have but means to transport a colony1 ,i would rather live here than anywhere4 ,and if it did not maintain itself1 were we but once indifferently well fitted1 let us starve40 ,then 8fishing before your doors10 you 8may every night sleep quietly ashore1 with good cheer and what fires you will1 or1 when you please1 with your wives and family40 ,already he anticipates 8the new towns in ,new ,england in memory of their old10--and who knows what may be discovered in the 8heart and entrails0 of the land1 8seeing even the very edges10 etc41 etc4 ,illustration3 ,towing along shore ,all this has been accomplished1 and more1 and where is ,holland now8 ,verily the ,dutch have taken it4 ,there was no long interval between the suggestion of ,smith and the eulogy of ,burke4 ,still one after another the mackerel schooners hove in sight round the head of the ,cape1 8whitening all the sea road10 and we watched each one for a moment with an undivided interest4 ,it seemed a pretty sport4 ,here in the country it is only a few idle boys or loafers that go a-fishing on a rainy day2 but there it appeared as if every able-bodied man and helpful boy in the ,bay had gone out on a pleasure excursion in their yachts1 and all would at last land and have a chowder on the ,cape4 ,the gazetteer tells you gravely how many of the men and boys of these towns are engaged in the whale1 cod1 and mackerel fishery1 how many go to the banks of ,newfoundland1 or the coast of ,labrador1 the ,straits of ,belle ,isle or the ,bay of ,chaleurs 7,shalore the sailors call it72 as if ,i were to reckon up the number of boys in ,concord who are engaged during the summer in the perch1 pickerel1 bream1 hornpout1 and shiner fishery1 of which no one keeps the statistics1--though ,i think that it is pursued with as much profit to the moral and intellectual man 7or boy71 and certainly with less danger to the physical one4 ,one of my playmates1 who was apprenticed to a printer1 and was somewhat of a wag1 asked his master one afternoon if he might go a-fishing1 and his master consented4 ,he was gone three months4 ,when he came back1 he said that he had been to the ,grand ,banks1 and went to setting type again as if only an afternoon had intervened4 ,i confess ,i was surprised to find that so many men spent their whole day1 ay1 their whole lives almost1 a-fishing4 ,it is remarkable what a serious business men make of getting their dinners1 and how universally shiftlessness and a grovelling taste take refuge in a merely ant-like industry4 ,better go without your dinner1 ,i thought1 than be thus everlastingly fishing for it like a cormorant4 ,of course1 viewed from the shore1 our pursuits in the country appear not a whit less frivolous4 ,i once sailed three miles on a mackerel cruise myself4 ,it was a ,sunday evening after a very warm day in which there had been frequent thunder-showers1 and ,i had walked along the shore from ,cohasset to ,duxbury4 ,i wished to get over from the last place to ,clark's ,island1 but no boat could stir1 they said1 at that stage of the tide1 they being left high on the mud4 ,at length ,i learned that the tavern-keeper1 ,winsor1 was going out mackerelling with seven men that evening1 and would take me4 ,when there had been due delay1 we one after another straggled down to the shore in a leisurely manner1 as if waiting for the tide still1 and in ,india-rubber boots1 or carrying our shoes in our hands1 waded to the boats1 each of the crew bearing an armful of wood1 and one a bucket of new potatoes besides4 ,then they resolved that each should bring one more armful of wood1 and that would be enough4 ,they had already got a barrel of water1 and had some more in the schooner4 ,we shoved the boats a dozen rods over the mud and water till they floated1 then rowing half a mile to the vessel climbed aboard1 and there we were in a mackerel schooner1 a fine stout vessel of forty-three tons1 whose name ,i forget4 ,the baits were not dry on the hooks4 ,there was the mill in which they ground the mackerel1 and the trough to hold it1 and the long-handled dipper to cast it overboard with2 and already in the harbor we saw the surface rippled with schools of small mackerel1 the real ,scomber vernalis4 ,the crew proceeded leisurely to weigh anchor and raise their two sails1 there being a fair but very slight wind2--and the sun now setting clear and shining on the vessel after the thundershowers1 ,i thought that ,i could not have commenced the voyage under more favorable auspices4 ,they had four dories and commonly fished in them1 else they fished on the starboard side aft where their fines hung ready1 two to a man4 ,the boom swung round once or twice1 and ,winsor cast overboard the foul juice of mackerel mixed with rain-water which remained in his trough1 and then we gathered about the helmsman and told stories4 ,i remember that the compass was affected by iron in its neighborhood and varied a few degrees4 ,there was one among us just returned from ,california1 who was now going as passenger for his health and amusement4 ,they expected to be gone about a week1 to begin fishing the next morning1 and to carry their fish fresh to ,boston4 ,they landed me at ,clark's ,island1 where the ,pilgrims landed1 for my companions wished to get some milk for the voyage4 ,but ,i had seen the whole of it4 ,the rest was only going to sea and catching the mackerel4 ,moreover1 it was as well that ,i did not remain with them1 considering the small quantity of supplies they had taken4 ,now ,i saw the mackerel fleet on its fishing-ground1 though ,i was not at first aware of it4 ,so my experience was complete4 ,it was even more cold and windy to-day than before1 and we were frequently glad to take shelter behind a sand-hill4 ,none of the elements were resting4 ,on the beach there is a ceaseless activity1 always something going on1 in storm and in calm1 winter and summer1 night and day4 ,even the sedentary man here enjoys a breadth of view which is almost equivalent to motion4 ,in clear weather the laziest may look across the ,bay as far as ,plymouth at a glance1 or over the ,atlantic as far as human vision reaches1 merely raising his eyelids2 or if he is too lazy to look after all1 he can hardly help hearing the ceaseless dash and roar of the breakers4 ,the restless ocean may at any moment cast up a whale or a wrecked vessel at your feet4 ,all the reporters in the world1 the most rapid stenographers1 could not report the news it brings4 ,no creature could move slowly where there was so much life around4 ,the few wreckers were either going or coming1 and the ships and the sand-pipers1 and the screaming gulls overhead2 nothing stood still but the shore4 ,the little beach-birds trotted past close to the water's edge1 or paused but an instant to swallow their food1 keeping time with the elements4 ,i wondered how they ever got used to the sea1 that they ventured so near the waves4 ,such tiny inhabitants the land brought forth6 except one fox4 ,and what could a fox do1 looking on the ,atlantic from that high bank8 ,what is the sea to a fox8 ,sometimes we met a wrecker with his cart and dog1--and his dog's faint bark at us wayfarers1 heard through the roaring of the surf1 sounded ridiculously faint4 ,to see a little trembling dainty-footed cur stand on the margin of the ocean1 and ineffectually bark at a beach-bird1 amid the roar of the ,atlantic6 ,come with design to bark at a whale1 perchance6 ,that sound will do for farmyards4 ,all the dogs looked out of place there1 naked and as if shuddering at the vastness2 and ,i thought that they would not have been there had it not been for the countenance of their masters4 ,still less could you think of a cat bending her steps that way1 and shaking her wet foot over the ,atlantic2 yet even this happens sometimes1 they tell me4 ,in summer ,i saw the tender young of the ,piping ,plover1 like chickens just hatched1 mere pinches of down on two legs1 running in troops1 with a faint peep1 along the edge of the waves4 ,i used to see packs of half-wild dogs haunting the lonely beach on the south shore of ,staten ,island1 in ,new ,york ,bay1 for the sake of the carrion there cast up2 and ,i remember that once1 when for a long time ,i had heard a furious barking in the tall grass of the marsh1 a pack of half a dozen large dogs burst forth on to the beach1 pursuing a little one which ran straight to me for protection1 and ,i afforded it with some stones1 though at some risk to myself2 but the next day the little one was the first to bark at me4 under these circumstances ,i could not but remember the words of the poet3-- 8,blow1 blow1 thou winter wind1 ,thou art not so unkind ,as his ingratitude2 ,thy tooth is not so keen1 ,because thou art not seen1 ,although thy breath be rude4 8,freeze1 freeze1 thou bitter sky1 ,thou dost not bite so nigh ,as benefits forgot2 ,though thou the waters warp1 ,thy sting is not so sharp ,as friend remembered not40 ,sometimes1 when ,i was approaching the carcass of a horse or ox which lay on the beach there1 where there was no living creature in sight1 a dog would unexpectedly emerge from it and slink away with a mouthful of offal4 ,the sea-shore is a sort of neutral ground1 a most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world4 ,it is even a trivial place4 ,the waves forever rolling to the land are too far-travelled and untamable to be familiar4 ,creeping along the endless beach amid the sun-squall and the foam1 it occurs to us that we1 too1 are the product of sea-slime4 ,it is a wild1 rank place1 and there is no flattery in it4 ,strewn with crabs1 horse-shoes1 and razor-clams1 and whatever the sea casts up1--a vast morgue1 where famished dogs may range in packs1 and crows come daily to glean the pittance which the tide leaves them4 ,the carcasses of men and beasts together lie stately up upon its shelf1 rotting and bleaching in the sun and waves1 and each tide turns them in their beds1 and tucks fresh sand under them4 ,there is naked ,nature1 inhumanly sincere1 wasting no thought on man1 nibbling at the cliffy shore where gulls wheel amid the spray4 ,we saw this forenoon what1 at a distance1 looked like a bleached log with a branch still left on it4 ,it proved to be one of the principal bones of a whale1 whose carcass1 having been stripped of blubber at sea and cut adrift1 had been washed up some months before4 ,it chanced that this was the most conclusive evidence which we met with to prove1 what the ,copenhagen antiquaries assert1 that these shores were the ,furdustrandas which ,thorhall1 the companion of ,thorfinn during his expedition to ,vinland in #ajjg4 sailed past in disgust4 ,it appears that after they had left the ,cape and explored the country about ,straum-,fiordr 7,buzzards' ,bay671 ,thorhall1 who was disappointed at not getting any wine to drink there1 determined to sail north again in search of ,vinland4 ,though the antiquaries have given us the original ,icelandic4 ,i prefer to quote their translation1 since theirs is the only ,latin which ,i know to have been aimed at ,cape ,cod4 8,cum parati erant1 sublato velo1 cecinit ,thorhallus3 ,e redeamus1 ubi conterranei sunt nostri6 faciamus aliter1 expansi arenosi peritum1 lata navis explorare curricula3 dum procellam incitantes gladii mor impatientes1 qui terram collaudant1 ,furdustrandas inhabitant et coquunt balnas40 ,in other words3 8,when they were ready and their sail hoisted1 ,thorhall sang3 ,let us return thither where our fellow-countrymen are4 ,let us make a bird#a skilful to fly through the heaven of sand1#b to explore the broad track of ships2 while warriors who impel to the tempest of swords1#c who praise the land1 inhabit ,wonder-,strands1 and cook whales4'0 ,and so he sailed north past ,cape ,cod1 as the antiquaries say1 8and was shipwrecked on to ,ireland40 ,though once there were more whales cast up here1 ,i think that it was never more wild than now4 ,we do not associate the idea of antiquity with the ocean1 nor wonder how it looked a thousand years ago1 as we do of the land1 for it was equally wild and unfathomable always4 ,the ,indians have left no traces on its surface1 but it is the same to the civilized man and the savage4 ,the aspect of the shore only has changed4 ,the ocean is a wilderness reaching round the globe1 wilder than a ,bengal jungle1 and fuller of monsters1 washing the very wharves of our cities and the gardens of our sea-side residences4 ,serpents1 bears1 hyenas1 tigers1 rapidly vanish as civilization advances1 but the most populous and civilized city cannot scare a shark far from its wharves4 ,it is no further advanced than ,singapore1 with its tigers1 in this respect4 ,the ,boston papers had never told me that there were seals in the harbor4 ,i had always associated these with the ,esquimaux and other outlandish people4 ,yet from the parlor windows all along the coast you may see families of them sporting on the flats4 ,they were as strange to me as the merman would be4 ,ladies who never walk in the woods1 sail over the sea4 ,to go to sea6 ,why1 it is to have the experience of ,noah1--to realize the deluge4 ,every vessel is an ark4 ,we saw no fences as we walked the beach1 no birchen riders1 highest of rails1 projecting into the sea to keep the cows from wading round1 nothing to remind us that man was proprietor of the shore4 ,yet a ,truro man did tell us that owners of land on the east side of that town were regarded as owning the beach1 in order that they might have the control of it so far as to defend themselves against the encroachments of the sand and the beach-grass1--for even this friend is sometimes regarded as a foe2 but he said that this was not the case on the ,bay side4 ,also ,i have seen in sheltered parts of the ,bay temporary fences running to low-water mark1 the posts being set in sills or sleepers placed transversely4 ,after we had been walking many hours1 the mackerel fleet still hovered in the northern horizon nearly in the same direction1 but farther off1 hull down4 ,though their sails were set they never sailed away1 nor yet came to anchor1 but stood on various tacks as close together as vessels in a haven1 and we in our ignorance thought that they were contending patiently with adverse winds1 beating eastward2 but we learned afterward that they were even then on their fishing-ground1 and that they caught mackerel without taking in their mainsails or coming to anchor1 8a smart breeze0 7thence called a mackerel breeze7 8being10 as one says1 8considered most favorable0 for this purpose4 ,we counted about two hundred sail of mackerel fishers within one small arc of the horizon1 and a nearly equal number had disappeared southward4 ,thus they hovered about the extremity of the ,cape1 like moths round a candle2 the lights at ,race ,point and ,long ,point being bright candles for them at night1--and at this distance they looked fair and white1 as if they had not yet flown into the light1 but nearer at hand afterward1 we saw how some had formerly singed their wings and bodies4 ,a village seems thus1 where its able-bodied men are all ploughing the ocean together1 as a common field4 ,in ,north ,truro the women and girls may sit at their doors1 and see where their husbands and brothers are harvesting their mackerel fifteen or twenty miles off1 on the sea1 with hundreds of white harvest wagons1 just as in the country the farmers' wives sometimes see their husbands working in a distant hillside field4 ,but the sound of no dinner-horn can reach the fisher's ear4 ,having passed the narrowest part of the waist of the ,cape1 though still in ,truro1 for this township is about twelve miles long on the shore1 we crossed over to the ,bay side1 not half a mile distant1 in order to spend the noon on the nearest shrubby sand-hill in ,provincetown1 called ,mount ,ararat1 which rises one hundred feet above the ocean4 ,on our way thither we had occasion to admire the various beautiful forms and colors of the sand1 and we noticed an interesting mirage1 which ,i have since found that ,hitchcock also observed on the sands of the ,cape4 ,we were crossing a shallow valley in the ,desert1 where the smooth and spotless sand sloped upward by a small angle to the horizon on every side1 and at the lowest part was a long chain of clear but shallow pools4 ,as we were approaching these for a drink in a diagonal direction across the valley1 they appeared inclined at a slight but decided angle to the horizon1 though they were plainly and broadly connected with one another1 and there was not the least ripple to suggest a current2 so that by the time we had reached a convenient part of one we seemed to have ascended several feet4 ,they appeared to lie by magic on the side of the vale1 like a mirror left in a slanting position4 ,it was a very pretty mirage for a ,provincetown desert1 but not amounting to what1 in ,sanscrit1 is called 8the thirst of the gazelle10 as there was real water here for a base1 and we were able to quench our thirst after all4 ,professor ,rafn1 of ,copenhagen1 thinks that the mirage which ,i noticed1 but which an old inhabitant of ,provincetown1 to whom ,i mentioned it1 had never seen nor heard of1 had something to do with the name 8,furdustrandas10 i4e4 ,wonder-,strands1 given1 as ,i have said1 in the old ,icelandic account of ,thorfinn's expedition to ,vinland in the year #ajjg1 to a part of the coast on which he landed4 ,but these sands are more remarkable for their length than for their mirage1 which is common to all deserts1 and the reason for the name which the ,northmen themselves give1--8because it took a long time to sail by them10--is sufficient and more applicable to these shores4 ,however1 if you should sail all the way from ,greenland to ,buzzards' ,bay along the coast1 you would get sight of a good many sandy beaches4 ,but whether ,thorfinn saw the mirage here or not1 ,thor-eau1 one of the same family1 did2 and perchance it was because ,lief the ,lucky had1 in a previous voyage1 taken ,thor-er and his people off the rock in the middle of the sea1 that ,thor-eau was born to see it4 ,this was not the only mirage which ,i saw on the ,cape4 ,that half of the beach next the bank is commonly level1 or nearly so1 while the other slopes downward to the water4 ,as ,i was walking upon the edge of the bank in ,wellfleet at sundown1 it seemed to me that the inside half of the beach sloped upward toward the water to meet the other1 forming a ridge ten or twelve feet high the whole length of the shore1 but higher always opposite to where ,i stood2 and ,i was not convinced of the contrary till ,i descended the bank1 though the shaded outlines left by the waves of a previous tide but half-way down the apparent declivity might have taught me better4 ,a stranger may easily detect what is strange to the oldest inhabitant1 for the strange is his province4 ,the old oysterman1 speaking of gull-shooting1 had said that you must aim under1 when firing down the bank4 ,a neighbor tells me that one ,august1 looking through a glass from ,naushon to some vessels which were sailing along near ,martha's ,vineyard1 the water about them appeared perfectly smooth1 so that they were reflected in it1 and yet their full sails proved that it must be rippled1 and they who were with him thought that it was mirage1 i4e4 a reflection from a haze4 ,from the above-mentioned sand-hill we over-looked ,provincetown and its harbor1 now emptied of vessels1 and also a wide expanse of ocean4 ,as we did not wish to enter ,provincetown before night1 though it was cold and windy1 we returned across the ,deserts to the ,atlantic side1 and walked along the beach again nearly to ,race ,point1 being still greedy of the sea influence4 ,all the while it was not so calm as the reader may suppose1 but it was blow1 blow1 blow1--roar1 roar1 roar1--tramp1 tramp1 tramp1--without interruption4 ,the shore now trended nearly east and west4 ,before sunset1 having already seen the mackerel fleet returning into the ,bay1 we left the sea-shore on the north of ,provincetown1 and made our way across the ,desert to the eastern extremity of the town4 ,from the first high sand-hill1 covered with beach-grass and bushes to its top1 on the edge of the desert1 we overlooked the shrubby hill and swamp country which surrounds ,provincetown on the north1 and protects it1 in some measure1 from the invading sand4 ,notwithstanding the universal barrenness1 and the contiguity of the desert1 ,i never saw an autumnal landscape so beautifully painted as this was4 ,it was like the richest rug imaginable spread over an uneven surface2 no damask nor velvet1 nor ,tyrian dye or stuffs1 nor the work of any loom1 could ever match it4 ,there was the incredibly bright red of the ,huckleberry1 and the reddish brown of the ,bayberry1 mingled with the bright and living green of small ,pitch-,pines1 and also the duller green of the ,bayberry1 ,boxberry1 and ,plum1 the yellowish green of the ,shrub-oaks1 and the various golden and yellow and fawn-colored tints of the ,birch and ,maple and ,aspen1--each making its own figure1 and1 in the midst1 the few yellow sand-slides on the sides of the hills looked like the white floor seen through rents in the rug4 ,coming from the country as ,i did1 and many autumnal woods as ,i had seen1 this was perhaps the most novel and remarkable sight that ,i saw on the ,cape4 ,probably the brightness of the tints was enhanced by contrast with the sand which surrounded this tract4 ,this was a part of the furniture of ,cape ,cod4 ,we had for days walked up the long and bleak piazza which runs along her ,atlantic side1 then over the sanded floor of her halls1 and now we were being introduced into her boudoir4 ,the hundred white sails crowding round ,long ,point into ,provincetown ,harbor1 seen over the painted hills in front1 looked like toy ships upon a mantel-piece4 ,the peculiarity of this autumnal landscape consisted in the lowness and thickness of the shrubbery1 no less than in the brightness of the tints4 ,it was like a thick stuff of worsted or a fleece1 and looked as if a giant could take it up by the hem1 or rather the tasselled fringe which trailed out on the sand1 and shake it1 though it needed not to be shaken4 ,but no doubt the dust would fly in that case1 for not a little has accumulated underneath it4 ,was it not such an autumnal landscape as this which suggested our high-colored rugs and carpets8 ,hereafter when ,i look on a richer rug than usual1 and study its figures1 ,i shall think1 there are the huckleberry hills1 and there the denser swamps of boxberry and blueberry3 there the shrub-oak patches and the bayberries1 there the maples and the birches and the pines4 ,what other dyes are to be compared to these8 ,they were warmer colors than ,i had associated with the ,new ,england coast4 ,after threading a swamp full of boxberry1 and climbing several hills covered with shrub-oaks1 without a path1 where shipwrecked men would be in danger of perishing in the night1 we came down upon the eastern extremity of the four planks which run the whole length of ,provincetown street4 ,this1 which is the last town on the ,cape1 lies mainly in one street along the curving beach fronting the southeast4 ,the sand-hills1 covered with shrubbery and interposed with swamps and ponds1 rose immediately behind it in the form of a crescent1 which is from half a mile to a mile or more wide in the middle1 and beyond these is the desert1 which is the greater part of its territory1 stretching to the sea on the east and west and north4 ,the town is compactly built in the narrow space1 from ten to fifty rods deep1 between the harbor and the sand-hills1 and contained at that time about twenty-six hundred inhabitants4 ,the houses1 in which a more modern and pretending style has at length prevailed over the fisherman's hut1 stand on the inner or plank side of the street1 and the fish and store houses1 with the picturesque-looking windmills of the ,salt-works1 on the water side4 ,the narrow portion of the beach between1 forming the street1 about eighteen feet wide1 the only one where one carriage could pass another1 if there was more than one carriage in the town1 looked much 8heavier0 than any portion of the beach or the desert which we had walked on1 it being above the reach of the highest tide1 and the sand being kept loose by the occasional passage of a traveller4 ,we learned that the four planks on which we were walking had been bought by the town's share of the ,surplus ,revenue1 the disposition of which was a bone of contention between the inhabitants1 till they wisely resolved thus to put it under foot4 ,yet some1 it was said1 were so provoked because they did not receive their particular share in money1 that they persisted in walking in the sand a long time after the sidewalk was built4 ,this is the only instance which ,i happen to know in which the surplus revenue proved a blessing to any town4 ,a surplus revenue of dollars from the treasury to stem the greater evil of a surplus revenue of sand from the ocean4 ,they expected to make a hard road by the time these planks were worn out4 ,indeed1 they have already done so since we were there1 and have almost forgotten their sandy baptism4 ,as we passed along we observed the inhabitants engaged in curing either fish or the coarse salt hay which they had brought home and spread on the beach before their doors1 looking as yellow as if they had raked it out of the sea4 ,the front-yard plots appeared like what indeed they were1 portions of the beach fenced in1 with ,beach-grass growing in them1 as if they were sometimes covered by the tide4 ,you might still pick up shells and pebbles there4 ,there were a few trees among the houses1 especially silver abeles1 willows1 and balm-of-,gileads2 and one man showed me a young oak which he had transplanted from behind the town1 thinking it an apple-tree4 ,but every man to his trade4 ,though he had little woodcraft1 he was not the less weatherwise1 and gave us one piece of information2 viz41 he had observed that when a thunder-cloud came up with a flood-tide it did not rain4 ,this was the most completely maritime town that we were ever in4 ,it was merely a good harbor1 surrounded by land dry1 if not firm1--an inhabited beach1 whereon fishermen cured and stored their fish1 without any back country4 ,when ashore the inhabitants still walk on planks4 ,a few small patches have been reclaimed from the swamps1 containing commonly half a dozen square rods only each4 ,we saw one which was fenced with four lengths of rail2 also a fence made wholly of hogshead-staves stuck in the ground4 ,these1 and such as these1 were all the cultivated and cultivable land in ,provincetown4 ,we were told that there were thirty or forty acres in all1 but we did not discover a quarter part so much1 and that was well dusted with sand1 and looked as if the desert was claiming it4 ,they are now turning some of their swamps into ,cranberry ,meadows on quite an extensive scale4 ,illustration3 ,a cranberry meadow ,yet far from being out of the way1 ,provincetown is directly in the way of the navigator1 and he is lucky who does not run afoul of it in the dark4 ,it is situated on one of the highways of commerce1 and men from all parts of the globe touch there in the course of a year4 ,the mackerel fleet had nearly all got in before us1 it being ,saturday night1 excepting that division which had stood down towards ,chatham in the morning2 and from a hill where we went to see the sun set in the ,bay we counted two hundred goodly looking schooners at anchor in the harbor at various distances from the shore1 and more were yet coming round the ,cape4 ,as each came to anchor1 it took in sail and swung round in the wind1 and lowered its boat4 ,they belonged chiefly to ,wellfleet1 ,truro1 and ,cape ,ann4 ,this was that city of canvas which we had seen hull down in the horizon4 ,near at hand1 and under bare poles1 they were unexpectedly black-looking vessels1 4 ,a fisherman told us that there were fifteen hundred vessels in the mackerel fleet1 and that he had counted three hundred and fifty in ,provincetown ,harbor at one time4 ,being obliged to anchor at a considerable distance from the shore on account of the shallowness of the water1 they made the impression of a larger fleet than the vessels at the wharves of a large city4 ,as they had been manuvring out there all day seemingly for our entertainment1 while we were walking north-westward along the ,atlantic1 so now we found them flocking into ,provincetown ,harbor at night1 just as we arrived1 as if to meet us1 and exhibit themselves close at hand4 ,standing by ,race ,point and ,long ,point with various speed1 they reminded me of fowls coming home to roost4 ,these were genuine ,new ,england vessels4 ,it is stated in the ,journal of ,moses ,prince1 a brother of the annalist1 under date of #agba1 at which time he visited ,gloucester1 that the first vessel of the class called schooner was built at ,gloucester about eight years before1 by ,andrew ,robinson2 and late in the same century one ,cotton ,tufts gives us the tradition with some particulars1 which he learned on a visit to the same place4 ,according to the latter1 ,robinson having constructed a vessel which he masted and rigged in a peculiar manner1 on her going off the stocks a bystander cried out1 8,o1 how she scoons60 whereat ,robinson replied1 8,a schooner let her be60 8,from which time10 says ,tufts1 8vessels thus masted and rigged have gone by the name of schooners2 before which1 vessels of this description were not known in ,europe40 7,see ,mass4 ,hist4 ,coll41 ,vol4 ,,ix41 #ast ,series1 and ,vol4 ,i41 #dth ,series47 ,yet ,i can hardly believe this1 for a schooner has always seemed to me--the typical vessel4 ,according to ,c4 ,e4 ,potter of ,manchester1 ,new ,hampshire1 the very word schooner is of ,new ,england origin1 being from the ,indian schoon or scoot1 meaning to rush1 as ,schoodic1 from scoot and anke1 a place where water rushes4 ,n4 ,b4 ,somebody of ,gloucester was to read a paper on this matter before a genealogical society1 in ,boston1 ,march #c1 #ahei1 according to the ,boston ,journal1 q4 v4 ,nearly all who come out must walk on the four planks which ,i have mentioned1 so that you are pretty sure to meet all the inhabitants of ,provincetown who come out in the course of a day1 provided you keep out yourself4 ,this evening the planks were crowded with mackerel fishers1 to whom we gave and from whom we took the wall1 as we returned to our hotel4 ,this hotel was kept by a tailor1 his shop on the one side of the door1 his hotel on the other1 and his day seemed to be divided between carving meat and carving broadcloth4 ,the next morning1 though it was still more cold and blustering than the day before1 we took to the ,deserts again1 for we spent our days wholly out of doors1 in the sun when there was any1 and in the wind which never failed4 ,after threading the shrubby hill country at the southwest end of the town1 west of the ,shank-,painter ,swamp1 whose expressive name--for we understood it at first as a landsman naturally would--gave it importance in our eyes1 we crossed the sands to the shore south of ,race ,point and three miles distant1 and thence roamed round eastward through the desert to where we had left the sea the evening before4 ,we travelled five or six miles after we got out there1 on a curving line1 and might have gone nine or ten1 over vast platters of pure sand1 from the midst of which we could not see a particle of vegetation1 excepting the distant thin fields of ,beach-grass1 which crowned and made the ridges toward which the sand sloped upward on each side2--all the while in the face of a cutting wind as cold as ,january2 indeed1 we experienced no weather so cold as this for nearly two months afterward4 ,this desert extends from the extremity of the ,cape1 through ,provincetown into ,truro1 and many a time as we were traversing it we were reminded of 8,riley's ,narrative0 of his captivity in the sands of ,arabia1 notwithstanding the cold4 ,our eyes magnified the patches of ,beach-grass into cornfields in the horizon1 and we probably exaggerated the height of the ridges on account of the mirage4 ,i was pleased to learn afterward1 from ,kalm's ,travels in ,north ,america1 that the inhabitants of the ,lower ,st4 ,lawrence call this grass 7,calamagrostis arenaria71 and also ,sea-lyme grass 7,elymus arenarius71 seigle de me2 and he adds1 8,i have been assured that these plants grow in great plenty in ,newfoundland1 and on other ,north ,american shores2 the places covered with them looking1 at a distance1 like cornfields2 which might explain the passage in our northern accounts he wrote in #agdi of the excellent wine land ,vinland det goda1 ,translator1 which mentions that they had found whole fields of wheat growing wild40 ,the ,beach-grass is 8two to four feet high1 of a seagreen color10 and it is said to be widely diffused over the world4 ,in the ,hebrides it is used for mats1 pack-saddles1 bags1 hats1 etc42 paper has been made of it at ,dorchester in this ,state1 and cattle eat it when tender4 ,it has heads somewhat like rye1 from six inches to a foot in length1 and it is propagated both by roots and seeds4 ,to express its love for sand1 some botanists have called it ,psamma arenaria1 which is the ,greek for sand1 qualified by the ,latin for sandy1--or sandy sand4 ,as it is blown about by the wind1 while it is held fast by its roots1 it describes myriad circles in the sand as accurately as if they were made by compasses4 ,it was the dreariest scenery imaginable4 ,the only animals which we saw on the sand at that time were spiders1 which are to be found almost everywhere whether on snow or ice-water or sand1--and a venomous-looking1 long1 narrow worm1 one of the myriapods1 or thousand-legs4 ,we were surprised to see spider-holes in that flowing sand with an edge as firm as that of a stoned well4 ,in ,june this sand was scored with the tracks of turtles both large and small1 which had been out in the night1 leading to and from the swamps4 ,i was told by a terr filius who has a 8farm0 on the edge of the desert1 and is familiar with the fame of ,provincetown1 that one man had caught twenty-five snapping-turtles there the previous spring4 ,his own method of catching them was to put a toad on a mackerel-hook and cast it into a pond1 tying the line to a stump or stake on shore4 ,invariably the turtle when hooked crawled up the line to the stump1 and was found waiting there by his captor1 however long afterward4 ,he also said that minks1 muskrats1 foxes1 coons1 and wild mice were found there1 but no squirrels4 ,we heard of sea-turtle as large as a barrel being found on the beach and on ,east ,harbor marsh1 but whether they were native there1 or had been lost out of some vessel1 did not appear4 ,perhaps they were the ,salt-water ,terrapin1 or else the ,smooth ,terrapin1 found thus far north4 ,many toads were met with where there was nothing but sand and beach-grass4 ,in ,truro ,i had been surprised at the number of large light-colored toads everywhere hopping over the dry and sandy fields1 their color corresponding to that of the sand4 ,snakes also are common on these pure sand beaches1 and ,i have never been so much troubled by mosquitoes as in such localities4 ,at the same season strawberries grew there abundantly in the little hollows on the edge of the desert standing amid the beach-grass in the sand1 and the fruit of the shadbush or ,amelanchier1 which the inhabitants call ,josh-pears 7some think from juicy871 is very abundant on the hills4 ,i fell in with an obliging man who conducted me to the best locality for strawberries4 ,he said that he would not have shown me the place if he had not seen that ,i was a stranger1 and could not anticipate him another year2 ,i therefore feel bound in honor not to reveal it4 ,when we came to a pond1 he being the native did the honors and carried me over on his shoulders1 like ,sindbad4 ,one good turn deserves another1 and if he ever comes our way ,i will do as much for him4 ,in one place we saw numerous dead tops of trees projecting through the otherwise uninterrupted desert1 where1 as we afterward learned1 thirty or forty years before a flourishing forest had stood1 and now1 as the trees were laid bare from year to year1 the inhabitants cut off their tops for fuel4 ,we saw nobody that day outside of the town2 it was too wintry for such as had seen the ,back-side before1 or for the greater number who never desire to see it1 to venture out2 and we saw hardly a track to show that any had ever crossed this desert4 ,yet ,i was told that some are always out on the ,back-side night and day in severe weather1 looking for wrecks1 in order that they may get the job of discharging the cargo1 or the like1--and thus shipwrecked men are succored4 ,but1 generally speaking1 the inhabitants rarely visit these sands4 ,one who had lived in ,provincetown thirty years told me that he had not been through to the north side within that time4 ,sometimes the natives themselves come near perishing by losing their way in snow-storms behind the town4 ,the wind was not a ,sirocco or ,simoon1 such as we associate with the desert1 but a ,new ,england northeaster1--and we sought shelter in vain under the sand-hills1 for it blew all about them1 rounding them into cones1 and was sure to find us out on whichever side we sat4 ,from time to time we lay down and drank at little pools in the sand1 filled with pure fresh water1 all that was left1 probably1 of a pond or swamp4 ,the air was filled with dust like snow1 and cutting sand which made the face tingle1 and we saw what it must be to face it when the weather was drier1 and1 if possible1 windier still1--to face a migrating sand-bar in the air1 which has picked up its duds and is off1--to be whipped with a cat1 not o' nine-tails1 but of a myriad of tails1 and each one a sting to it4 ,a ,mr4 ,whitman1 a former minister of ,wellfleet1 used to write to his inland friends that the blowing sand scratched the windows so that he was obliged to have one new pane set every week1 that he might see out4 ,on the edge of the shrubby woods the sand had the appearance of an inundation which was overwhelming them1 terminating in an abrupt bank many feet higher than the surface on which they stood1 and having partially buried the outside trees4 ,the moving sand-hills of ,england1 called ,dunes or ,downs1 to which these have been likened1 are either formed of sand cast up by the sea1 or of sand taken from the land itself in the first place by the wind1 and driven still farther inward4 ,it is here a tide of sand impelled by waves and wind1 slowly flowing from the sea toward the town4 ,the northeast winds are said to be the strongest1 but the northwest to move most sand1 because they are the driest4 ,on the shore of the ,bay of ,biscay many villages were formerly destroyed in this way4 ,some of the ridges of beach-grass which we saw were planted by government many years ago1 to preserve the harbor of ,provincetown and the extremity of the ,cape4 ,i talked with some who had been employed in the planting4 ,in the 8,description of the ,eastern ,coast10 which ,i have already referred to1 it is said3 8,beach-grass during the spring and summer grows about two feet and a half4 ,if surrounded by naked beach1 the storms of autumn and winter heap up the sand on all sides1 and cause it to rise nearly to the top of the plant4 ,in the ensuing spring the grass mounts anew2 is again covered with sand in the winter2 and thus a hill or ridge continues to ascend as long as there is a sufficient base to support it1 or till the circumscribing sand1 being also covered with beach-grass1 will no longer yield to the force of the winds40 ,sand-hills formed in this way are sometimes one hundred feet high and of every variety of form1 like snow-drifts1 or ,arab tents1 and are continually shifting4 ,the grass roots itself very firmly4 ,when ,i endeavored to pull it up1 it usually broke off ten inches or a foot below the surface1 at what had been the surface the year before1 as appeared by the numerous offshoots there1 it being a straight1 hard1 round shoot1 showing by its length how much the sand had accumulated the last year2 and sometimes the dead stubs of a previous season were pulled up with it from still deeper in the sand1 with their own more decayed shoot attached1--so that the age of a sand-hill1 and its rate of increase for several years1 is pretty accurately recorded in this way4 ,illustration3 ,the sand dunes drifting in upon the trees ,old ,gerard1 the ,english herbalist1 says1 p4 #abej3 8,i find mention in ,stowe's ,chronicle1 in ,anno #aeee1 of a certain pulse or pease1 as they term it1 wherewith the poor people at that time1 there being a great dearth1 were miraculously helped3 he thus mentions it4 ,in the month of ,august 7saith he71 in ,suffolke1 at a place by the sea side all of hard stone and pibble1 called in those parts a shelf1 lying between the towns of ,orford and ,aldborough1 where neither grew grass nor any earth was ever seen2 it chanced in this barren place suddenly to spring up without any tillage or sowing1 great abundance of peason1 whereof the poor gathered 7as men judged7 above one hundred quarters1 yet remained some ripe and some blossoming1 as many as ever there were before3 to the which place rode the ,bishop of ,norwich and the ,lord ,willoughby1 with others in great number1 who found nothing but hard1 rocky stone the space of three yards under the roots of these peason1 which roots were great and long1 and very sweet40 ,he tells us also that ,gesner learned from ,dr4 ,cajus that there were enough there to supply thousands of men4 ,he goes on to say that 8they without doubt grew there many years before1 but were not observed till hunger made them take notice of them1 and quickened their invention1 which commonly in our people is very dull1 especially in finding out food of this nature4 ,my worshipful friend ,dr4 ,argent hath told me that many years ago he was in this place1 and caused his man to pull among the beach with his hands1 and follow the roots so long until he got some equal in length unto his height1 yet could come to no ends of them40 ,gerard never saw them1 and is not certain what kind they were4 ,in ,dwight's ,travels in ,new ,england it is stated that the inhabitants of ,truro were formerly regularly warned under the authority of law in the month of ,april yearly1 to plant beachgrass1 as elsewhere they are warned to repair the highways4 ,they dug up the grass in bunches1 which were afterward divided into several smaller ones1 and set about three feet apart1 in rows1 so arranged as to break joints and obstruct the passage of the wind4 ,it spread itself rapidly1 the weight of the seeds when ripe bending the heads of the grass1 and so dropping directly by its side and vegetating there4 ,in this way1 for instance1 they built up again that part of the ,cape between ,truro and ,provincetown where the sea broke over in the last century4 ,they have now a public road near there1 made by laying sods1 which were full of roots1 bottom upward and close together on the sand1 double in the middle of the track1 then spreading brush evenly over the sand on each side for half a dozen feet1 planting beachgrass on the banks in regular rows1 as above described1 and sticking a fence of brush against the hollows4 ,the attention of the general government was first attracted to the danger which threatened ,cape ,cod ,harbor from the inroads of the sand1 about thirty years ago1 and commissioners were at that time appointed by ,massachusetts1 to examine the premises4 ,they reported in ,june1 #ahbe1 that1 owing to 8the trees and brush having been cut down1 and the beach-grass destroyed on the seaward side of the ,cape1 opposite the ,harbor10 the original surface of the ground had been broken up and removed by the wind toward the ,harbor1--during the previous fourteen years1--over an extent of 8one half a mile in breadth1 and about four and a half miles in length40--8,the space where a few years since were some of the highest lands on the ,cape1 covered with trees and bushes10 presenting 8an extensive waste of undulating sand02--and that1 during the previous twelve months1 the sand 8had approached the ,harbor an average distance of fifty rods1 for an extent of four and a half miles60 and unless some measures were adopted to check its progress1 it would in a few years destroy both the harbor and the town4 ,they therefore recommended that beach-grass be set out on a curving line over a space ten rods wide and four and a half miles long1 and that cattle1 horses1 and sheep be prohibited from going abroad1 and the inhabitants from cutting the brush4 ,i was told that about thirty thousand dollars in all had been appropriated to this object1 though it was complained that a great part of this was spent foolishly1 as the public money is wont to be4 ,some say that while the government is planting beach-grass behind the town for the protection of the harbor1 the inhabitants are rolling the sand into the harbor in wheelbarrows1 in order to make house-lots4 ,the ,patent-,office has recently imported the seed of this grass from ,holland1 and distributed it over the country1 but probably we have as much as the ,hollanders4 ,thus ,cape ,cod is anchored to the heavens1 as it were1 by a myriad little cables of beach-grass1 and1 if they should fail1 would become a total wreck1 and erelong go to the bottom4 ,formerly1 the cows were permitted to go at large1 and they ate many strands of the cable by which the ,cape is moored1 and well-nigh set it adrift1 as the bull did the boat which was moored with a grass rope2 but now they are not permitted to wander4 ,a portion of ,truro which has considerable taxable property on it has lately been added to ,provincetown1 and ,i was told by a ,truro man that his townsmen talked of petitioning the legislature to set off the next mile of their territory also to ,provincetown1 in order that she might have her share of the lean as well as the fat1 and take care of the road through it2 for its whole value is literally to hold the ,cape together1 and even this it has not always done4 ,but ,provincetown strenuously declines the gift4 ,the wind blowed so hard from the northeast that1 cold as it was1 we resolved to see the breakers on the ,atlantic side1 whose din we had heard all the morning2 so we kept on eastward through the ,desert1 till we struck the shore again northeast of ,provincetown1 and exposed ourselves to the full force of the piercing blast4 ,there are extensive shoals there over which the sea broke with great force4 ,for half a mile from the shore it was one mass of white breakers1 which1 with the wind1 made such a din that we could hardly hear ourselves speak4 ,of this part of the coast it is said3 8,a northeast storm1 the most violent and fatal to seamen1 as it is frequently accompanied with snow1 blows directly on the land3 a strong current sets along the shore2 add to which that ships1 during the operation of such a storm1 endeavor to work northward1 that they may get into the bay4 ,should they be unable to weather ,race ,point1 the wind drives them on the shore1 and a shipwreck is inevitable4 ,accordingly1 the strand is everywhere covered with the fragments of vessels40 ,but since the ,highland ,light was erected1 this part of the coast is less dangerous1 and it is said that more shipwrecks occur south of that light1 where they were scarcely known before4 ,illustration3 ,the white breakers on the ,atlantic side ,this was the stormiest sea that we witnessed1--more tumultuous1 my companion affirmed1 than the rapids of ,niagara1 and1 of course1 on a far greater scale4 ,it was the ocean in a gale1 a clear1 cold day1 with only one sail in sight1 which labored much1 as if it were anxiously seeking a harbor4 ,it was high tide when we reached the shore1 and in one place1 for a considerable distance1 each wave dashed up so high that it was difficult to pass between it and the bank4 ,further south1 where the bank was higher1 it would have been dangerous to attempt it4 ,a native of the ,cape has told me that1 many years ago1 three boys1 his playmates1 having gone to this beach in ,wellfleet to visit a wreck1 when the sea receded ran down to the wreck1 and when it came in ran before it to the bank1 but the sea following fast at their heels1 caused the bank to cave and bury them alive4 ,it was the roaring sea1 1-- ' 1 4 ,and the summits of the bank ,around resound1 the sea being vomited forth4 ,as we stood looking on this scene we were gradually convinced that fishing here and in a pond were not1 in all respects1 the same1 and that he who waits for fair weather and a calm sea may never see the glancing skin of a mackerel1 and get no nearer to a cod than the wooden emblem in the ,state ,house4 ,having lingered on the shore till we were well-nigh chilled to death by the wind1 and were ready to take shelter in a ,charity-house1 we turned our weather-beaten faces toward ,provincetown and the ,bay again1 having now more than doubled the ,cape4 #a ,i4 e4 a vessel4 #b ,the sea1 which is arched over its sandy bottom like a heaven4 #c ,battle4 ,x ,,provincetown ,early the next morning ,i walked into a fish-house near our hotel1 where three or four men were engaged in trundling out the pickled fish on barrows1 and spreading them to dry4 ,they told me that a vessel had lately come in from the ,banks with forty-four thousand codfish4 ,timothy ,dwight says that1 just before he arrived at ,provincetown1 8a schooner come in from the ,great ,bank with fifty-six thousand fish1 almost one thousand five hundred quintals1 taken in a single voyage2 the main deck being1 on her return1 eight inches under water in calm weather40 ,the cod in this fish-house1 just out of the pickle1 lay packed several feet deep1 and three or four men stood on them in cowhide boots1 pitching them on to the barrows with an instrument which had a single iron point4 ,one young man1 who chewed tobacco1 spat on the fish repeatedly4 ,well1 sir1 thought ,i1 when that older man sees you he will speak to you4 ,but presently ,i saw the older man do the same thing4 ,it reminded me of the figs of ,smyrna4 8,how long does it take to cure these fish80 ,i asked4 8,two good drying days1 sir10 was the answer4 ,i walked across the street again into the hotel to breakfast1 and mine host inquired if ,i would take 8hashed fish or beans40 ,i took beans1 though they never were a favorite dish of mine4 ,i found next summer that this was still the only alternative proposed here1 and the landlord was still ringing the changes on these two words4 ,in the former dish there was a remarkable proportion of fish4 ,as you travel inland the potato predominates4 ,it chanced that ,i did not taste fresh fish of any kind on the ,cape1 and ,i was assured that they were not so much used there as in the country4 ,that is where they are cured1 and where1 sometimes1 travellers are cured of eating them4 ,no fresh meat was slaughtered in ,provincetown1 but the little that was used at the public houses was brought from ,boston by the steamer4 ,illustration3 ,in ,provincetown harbor ,a great many of the houses here were surrounded by fish-flakes close up to the sills on all sides1 with only a narrow passage two or three feet wide1 to the front door2 so that instead of looking out into a flower or grass plot1 you looked on to so many square rods of cod turned wrong side outwards4 ,these parterres were said to be least like a flower-garden in a good drying day in mid-summer4 ,there were flakes of every age and pattern1 and some so rusty and overgrown with lichens that they looked as if they might have served the founders of the fishery here4 ,some had broken down under the weight of successive harvests4 ,the principal employment of the inhabitants at this time seemed to be to trundle out their fish and spread them in the morning1 and bring them in at night4 ,i saw how many a loafer who chanced to be out early enough got a job at wheeling out the fish of his neighbor who was anxious to improve the whole of a fair day4 ,now1 then1 ,i knew where salt fish were caught4 ,they were everywhere lying on their backs1 their collar-bones standing out like the lapels of a man-o'-war-man's jacket1 and inviting all things to come and rest in their bosoms2 and all things1 with a few exceptions1 accepted the invitation4 ,i think1 by the way1 that if you should wrap a large salt fish round a small boy1 he would have a coat of such a fashion as ,i have seen many a one wear to muster4 ,salt fish were stacked up on the wharves1 looking like corded wood1 maple and yellow birch with the bark left on4 ,i mistook them for this at first1 and such in one sense they were1--fuel to maintain our vital fires1--an eastern wood which grew on the ,grand ,banks4 ,some were stacked in the form of huge flower-pots1 being laid in small circles with the tails outwards1 each circle successively larger than the preceding until the pile was three or four feet high1 when the circles rapidly diminished1 so as to form a conical roof4 ,on the shores of ,new ,brunswick this is covered with birch-bark1 and stones are placed upon it1 and being thus rendered impervious to the rain1 it is left to season before being packed for exportation4 ,it is rumored that in the fall the cows here are sometimes fed on cod's-heads6 ,the godlike part of the cod1 which1 like the human head1 is curiously and wonderfully made1 forsooth has but little less brain in it1--coming to such an end ,i to be craunched by cows ,i ,i felt my own skull crack from sympathy4 ,what if the heads of men were to be cut off to feed the cows of a superior order of beings who inhabit the islands in the ether8 ,away goes your fine brain1 the house of thought and instinct1 to swell the cud of a ruminant animal6--,however1 an inhabitant assured me that they did not make a practice of feeding cows on cod's-heads2 the cows merely would eat them sometimes2 but ,i might live there all my days and never see it done4 ,a cow wanting salt would also sometimes lick out all the soft part of a cod on the flakes4 ,this he would have me believe was the foundation of this fish-story4 ,it has been a constant traveller's tale and perhaps slander1 now for thousands of years1 the ,latins and ,greeks have repeated it1 that this or that nation feeds its cattle1 or horses1 or sheep1 on fish1 as may be seen in lian and ,pliny1 but in the ,journal of ,nearchus1 who was ,alexander's admiral1 and made a voyage from the ,indus to the ,euphrates three hundred and twenty-six years before ,christ1 it is said that the inhabitants of a portion of the intermediate coast1 whom he called ,ichthyophagi or ,fish-eaters1 not only ate fishes raw and also dried and pounded in a whale's vertebra for a mortar and made into a paste1 but gave them to their cattle1 there being no grass on the coast2 and several modern travellers--,braybosa1 ,niebuhr1 and others--make the same report4 ,therefore in balancing the evidence ,i am still in doubt about the ,provincetown cows4 ,as for other domestic animals1 ,captain ,king in his continuation of ,captain ,cook's ,journal in #aggi1 says of the dogs of ,kamtschatka1 8,their food in the winter consists entirely of the heads1 entrail1 and backbones of salmon1 which are put aside and dried for that purpose2 and with this diet they are fed but sparingly40 7,cook's ,journal1 ,vol4 ,,vii41 p4 #cae47 ,as we are treating of fishy matters1 let me insert what ,pliny says1 that 8the commanders of the fleets of ,alexander the ,great have related that the ,gedrosi1 who dwell on the banks of the river ,arabis1 are in the habit of making the doors of their houses with the jaw-bones of fishes1 and raftering the roofs with their bones40 ,strabo tells the same of the ,ichthyophagi4 8,hardouin remarks that the ,basques of his day were in the habit of fencing their gardens with the ribs of the whale1 which sometimes exceeded twenty feet in length2 and ,cuvier says that at the present time the jaw-bone of the whale is used in ,norway for the purpose of making beams or posts for buildings40 7,bohn's ed41 trans1 of ,pliny1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #cfa47 ,herodotus says the inhabitants on ,lake ,prasias in ,thrace 7living on piles7 8give fish for fodder to their horses and beasts of burden40 ,provincetown was apparently what is called a flourishing town4 ,some of the inhabitants asked me if ,i did not think that they appeared to be well off generally4 ,i said that ,i did1 and asked how many there were in the almshouse4 8,o1 only one or two1 infirm or idiotic10 answered they4 ,the outward aspect of the houses and shops frequently suggested a poverty which their interior comfort and even richness disproved4 ,you might meet a lady daintily dressed in the ,sabbath morning1 wading in among the sandhills1 from church1 where there appeared no house fit to receive her1 yet no doubt the interior of the house answered to the exterior of the lady4 ,as for the interior of the inhabitants ,i am still in the dark about it4 ,i had a little intercourse with some whom ,i met in the street1 and was often agreeably disappointed by discovering the intelligence of rough1 and what would be considered unpromising specimens4 ,nay1 ,i ventured to call on one citizen the next summer1 by special invitation4 ,i found him sitting in his front doorway1 that ,sabbath evening1 prepared for me to come in unto him2 but unfortunately for his reputation for keeping open house1 there was stretched across his gateway a circular cobweb of the largest kind and quite entire4 ,this looked so ominous that ,i actually turned aside and went in the back way4 ,this ,monday morning was beautifully mild and calm1 both on land and water1 promising us a smooth passage across the ,bay1 and the fishermen feared that it would not be so good a drying day as the cold and windy one which preceded it4 ,there could hardly have been a greater contrast4 ,this was the first of the ,indian summer days1 though at a late hour in the morning we found the wells in the sand behind the town still covered with ice1 which had formed in the night4 ,what with wind and sun my most prominent feature fairly cast its slough4 ,but ,i assure you it will take more than two good drying days to cure me of rambling4 ,after making an excursion among the hills in the neighborhood of the ,shank-,painter ,swamp1 and getting a little work done in its line1 we took our seat upon the highest sand-hill overlooking the town1 in mid-air1 on a long plank stretched across between two hillocks of sand1 where some boys were endeavoring in vain to fly their kite2 and there we remained the rest of that forenoon looking out over the placid harbor1 and watching for the first appearance of the steamer from ,wellfleet1 that we might be in readiness to go on board when we heard the whistle off ,long ,point4 ,we got what we could out of the boys in the meanwhile4 ,provincetown boys are of course all sailors and have sailors' eyes4 ,when we were at the ,highland ,light the last summer1 seven or eight miles from ,provincetown ,harbor1 and wished to know one ,sunday morning if the ,olata1 a well-known yacht1 had got in from ,boston1 so that we could return in her1 a ,provincetown boy about ten years old1 who chanced to be at the table1 remarked that she had4 ,i asked him how he knew4 8,i just saw her come in10 said he4 ,when ,i expressed surprise that he could distinguish her from other vessels so far1 he said that there were not so many of those two-topsail schooners about but that he could tell her4 ,palfrey said1 in his oration at ,barnstable1 the duck does not take to the water with a surer instinct than the ,barnstable boy4 ,he might have said the ,cape ,cod boy as well4 ,he leaps from his leading-strings into the shrouds1 it is but a bound from the mother's lap to the masthead4 ,he boxes the compass in his infant soliloquies4 ,he can hand1 reef1 and steer by the time he flies a kite4 ,this was the very day one would have chosen to sit upon a hill overlooking sea and land1 and muse there4 ,the mackerel fleet was rapidly taking its departure1 one schooner after another1 and standing round the ,cape1 like fowls leaving their roosts in the morning to disperse themselves in distant fields4 ,the turtle-like sheds of the salt-works were crowded into every nook in the hills1 immediately behind the town1 and their now idle windmills lined the shore4 ,it was worth the while to see by what coarse and simple chemistry this almost necessary of life is obtained1 with the sun for journeyman1 and a single apprentice to do the chores for a large establishment4 ,it is a sort of tropical labor1 pursued too in the sunniest season2 more interesting than gold or diamond-washing1 which1 ,i fancy1 it somewhat resembles at a distance4 ,in the production of the necessaries of life ,nature is ready enough to assist man4 ,so at the potash works which ,i have seen at ,hull1 where they burn the stems of the kelp and boil the ashes4 ,verily1 chemistry is not a splitting of hairs when you have got half a dozen raw ,irishmen in the laboratory4 ,it is said1 that owing to the reflection of the sun from the sand-hills1 and there being absolutely no fresh water emptying into the harbor1 the same number of superficial feet yields more salt here than in any other part of the county4 ,a little rain is considered necessary to clear the air1 and make salt fast and good1 for as paint does not dry1 so water does not evaporate in dog-day weather4 ,but they were now1 as elsewhere on the ,cape1 breaking up their salt-works and selling them for lumber4 ,from that elevation we could overlook the operations of the inhabitants almost as completely as if the roofs had been taken off4 ,they were busily covering the wicker-worked flakes about their houses with salted fish1 and we now saw that the back yards were improved for this purpose as much as the front2 where one man's fish ended another's began4 ,in almost every yard we detected some little building from which these treasures were being trundled forth and systematically spread1 and we saw that there was an art as well as a knack even in spreading fish1 and that a division of labor was profitably practised4 ,one man was withdrawing his fishes a few inches beyond the nose of his neighbor's cow which had stretched her neck over a paling to get at them4 ,it seemed a quite domestic employment1 like drying clothes1 and indeed in some parts of the county the women take part in it4 ,i noticed in several places on the ,cape a sort of clothes-flakes4 ,they spread brush on the ground1 and fence it round1 and then lay their clothes on it1 to keep them from the sand4 ,this is a ,cape ,cod clothes-yard4 ,the sand is the great enemy here4 ,the tops of some of the hills were enclosed and a board put up1 forbidding all persons entering the enclosure1 lest their feet should disturb the sand1 and set it a-blowing or a-sliding4 ,the inhabitants are obliged to get leave from the authorities to cut wood behind the town for fish-flakes1 bean-poles1 pea-brush1 and the like1 though1 as we were told1 they may transplant trees from one part of the township to another without leave4 ,the sand drifts like snow1 and sometimes the lower story of a house is concealed by it1 though it is kept off by a wall4 ,the houses were formerly built on piles1 in order that the driving sand might pass under them4 ,we saw a few old ones here still standing on their piles1 but they were boarded up now1 being protected by their younger neighbors4 ,there was a school-house1 just under the hill on which we sat1 filled with sand up to the tops of the desks1 and of course the master and scholars had fled4 ,perhaps they had imprudently left the windows open one day1 or neglected to mend a broken pane4 ,yet in one place was advertised 8,fine sand for sale here10--,i could hardly believe my eyes1--probably some of the street sifted1--a good instance of the fact that a man confers a value on the most worthless thing by mixing himself with it1 according to which rule we must have conferred a value on the whole back-side of ,cape ,cod2--but ,i thought that if they could have advertised 8,fat ,soil10 or perhaps 8,fine sand got rid of10 ay1 and 8,shoes emptied here10 it would have been more alluring4 ,as we looked down on the town1 ,i thought that ,i saw one man1 who probably lived beyond the extremity of the planking1 steering and tacking for it in a sort of snow-shoes1 but ,i may have been mistaken4 ,in some pictures of ,provincetown the persons of the inhabitants are not drawn below the ankles1 so much being supposed to be buried in the sand4 ,nevertheless1 natives of ,provincetown assured me that they could walk in the middle of the road without trouble even in slippers1 for they had learned how to put their feet down and lift them up without taking in any sand4 ,one man said that he should be surprised if he found half a dozen grains of sand in his pumps at night1 and stated1 moreover1 that the young ladies had a dexterous way of emptying their shoes at each step1 which it would take a stranger a long time to learn4 ,the tires of the stage-wheels were about five inches wide2 and the wagon-tires generally on the ,cape are an inch or two wider1 as the sand is an inch or two deeper than elsewhere4 ,i saw a baby's wagon with tires six inches wide to keep it near the surface4 ,the more tired the wheels1 the less tired the horses4 ,yet all the time that we were in ,provincetown1 which was two days and nights1 we saw only one horse and cart1 and they were conveying a coffin4 ,they did not try such experiments there on common occasions4 ,the next summer ,i saw only the two-wheeled horse-cart which conveyed me thirty rods into the harbor on my way to the steamer4 ,yet we read that there were two horses and two yoke of oxen here in #agia1 and we were told that there were several more when we were there1 beside the stage team4 ,in ,barber's ,historical ,collections1 it is said1 8,so rarely are wheel-carriages seen in the place that they are a matter of some curiosity to the younger part of the community4 ,a lad who understood navigating the ocean much better than land travel1 on seeing a man driving a wagon in the street1 expressed his surprise at his being able to drive so straight without the assistance of a rudder40 ,there was no rattle of carts1 and there would have been no rattle if there had been any carts4 ,some saddle-horses that passed the hotel in the evening merely made the sand fly with a rustling sound like a writer sanding his paper copiously1 but there was no sound of their tread4 ,no doubt there are more horses and carts there at present4 ,a sleigh is never seen1 or at least is a great novelty on the ,cape1 the snow being either absorbed by the sand or blown into drifts4 ,nevertheless1 the inhabitants of the ,cape generally do not complain of their 8soil10 but will tell you that it is good enough for them to dry their fish on4 ,notwithstanding all this sand1 we counted three meeting-houses1 and four school-houses nearly as large1 on this street1 though some had a tight board fence about them to preserve the plot within level and hard4 ,similar fences1 even within a foot of many of the houses1 gave the town a less cheerful and hospitable appearance than it would otherwise have had4 ,they told us that1 on the whole1 the sand had made no progress for the last ten years1 the cows being no longer permitted to go at large1 and every means being taken to stop the sandy tide4 ,in #agbg ,provincetown was 8invested with peculiar privileges10 for its encouragement4 ,once or twice it was nearly abandoned2 but now lots on the street fetch a high price1 though titles to them were first obtained by possession and improvement1 and they are still transferred by quitclaim deeds merely1 the township being the property of the ,state4 ,but though lots were so valuable on the street1 you might in many places throw a stone over them to where a man could still obtain land1 or sand1 by squatting on or improving it4 ,illustration3 ,provincetown--,a bit of the village from the wharf ,stones are very rare on the ,cape4 ,i saw a very few small stones used for pavements and for bank walls1 in one or two places in my walk1 but they are so scarce that1 as ,i was informed1 vessels have been forbidden to take them from the beach for ballast1 and therefore their crews used to land at night and steal them4 ,i did not hear of a rod of regular stone wall below ,orleans4 ,yet ,i saw one man underpinning a new house in ,eastham with some 8rocks10 as he called them1 which he said a neighbor had collected with great pains in the course of years1 and finally made over to him4 ,this ,i thought was a gift worthy of being recorded1--equal to a transfer of ,california 8rocks10 almost4 ,another man who was assisting him1 and who seemed to be a close observer of nature1 hinted to me the locality of a rock in that neighborhood which was 8forty-two paces in circumference and fifteen feet high10 for he saw that ,i was a stranger1 and1 probably1 would not carry it off4 ,yet ,i suspect that the locality of the few large rocks on the forearm of the ,cape is well known to the inhabitants generally4 ,i even met with one man who had got a smattering of mineralogy1 but where he picked it up ,i could not guess4 ,i thought that he would meet with some interesting geological nuts for him to crack1 if he should ever visit the mainland1 ,cohasset1 or ,marblehead for instance4 ,the well stones at the ,highland ,light were brought from ,hingham1 but the wells and cellars of the ,cape are generally built of brick1 which also are imported4 ,the cellars1 as well as the wells1 are made in a circular form1 to prevent the sand from pressing in the wall4 ,the former are only from nine to twelve feet in diameter1 and are said to be very cheap1 since a single tier of brick will suffice for a cellar of even larger dimensions4 ,of course1 if you live in the sand1 you will not require a large cellar to hold your roots4 ,in ,provincetown1 when formerly they suffered the sand to drive under their houses1 obliterating all rudiments of a cellar1 they did not raise a vegetable to put into one4 ,one farmer in ,wellfleet1 who raised fifty bushels of potatoes1 showed me his cellar under a corner of his house1 not more than nine feet in diameter1 looking like a cistern3 but he had another of the same size under his barn4 ,you need dig only a few feet almost anywhere near the shore of the ,cape to find fresh water4 ,but that which we tasted was invariably poor4 though the inhabitants called it good1 as if they were comparing it with salt water4 ,in the account of ,truro1 it is said4 8,wells dug near the shore are dry at low water1 or rather at what is called young flood1 but are replenished with the flowing of the tide10--- the salt water1 which is lowest in the sand1 apparently forcing the fresh up4 ,when you express your surprise at the greenness of a ,provincetown garden on the beach1 in a dry season1 they will sometimes tell you that the tide forces the moisture up to them4 ,it is an interesting fact that low sand-bars in the midst of the ocean1 perhaps even those which are laid bare only at low tide1 are reservoirs of fresh water at which the thirsty mariner can supply himself4 ,they appear1 like huge sponges1 to hold the rain and dew which fall on them1 and which1 by capillary attraction1 are prevented from mingling with the surrounding brine4 ,the ,harbor of ,provincetown--which1 as well as the greater part of the ,bay1 and a wide expanse of ocean1 we overlooked from our perch--is deservedly famous4 ,it opens to the south1 is free from rocks1 and is never frozen over4 ,it is said that the only ice seen in it drifts in sometimes from ,barnstable or ,plymouth4 ,dwight remarks that 8,the storms which prevail on the ,american coast generally come from the east2 and there is no other harbor on a windward shore within two hundred miles40 ,j4 ,d4 ,graham1 who has made a very minute and thorough survey of this harbor and the adjacent waters1 states that 8its capacity1 depth of water1 excellent anchorage1 and the complete shelter it affords from all winds1 combine to render it one of the most valuable ship harbors on our coast40 ,it is the harbor of the ,cape and of the fishermen of ,massachusetts generally4 ,it was known to navigators several years at least before the settlement of ,plymouth4 ,in ,captain ,john ,smith's map of ,new ,england1 dated #afad1 it bears the name of ,milford ,haven1 and ,massachusetts ,bay that of ,stuard's ,bay4 ,his ,highness1 ,prince ,charles1 changed the name of ,cape ,cod to ,cape ,james2 but even princes have not always power to change a name for the worse1 and as ,cotton ,mather said1 ,cape ,cod is 8a name which ,i suppose it will never lose till shoals of codfish be seen swimming on its highest hills40 ,many an early voyager was unexpectedly caught by this hook1 and found himself embayed4 ,on successive maps1 ,cape ,cod appears sprinkled over with ,french1 ,dutch1 and ,english names1 as it made part of ,new ,france1 ,new ,holland1 and ,new ,england4 ,on one map ,provincetown ,harbor is called 8,fuic 7bownet87 ,bay10 ,barnstable ,bay 8,staten ,bay10 and the sea north of it 8,mare del ,noort10 or the ,north ,sea4 ,on another1 the extremity of the ,cape is called 8,staten ,hoeck10 or the ,states ,hook4 ,on another1 by ,young1 this has ,noord ,zee1 ,staten hoeck or ,hit hoeck1 but the copy at ,cambridge has no date2 the whole ,cape is called 8,niew ,hollant10 7after ,hudson72 and on another still1 the shore between ,race ,point and ,wood ,end appears to be called 8,bevechier40 ,in ,champlain's admirable ,map of ,new ,france1 including the oldest recognizable map of what is now the ,new ,england coast with which ,i am acquainted1 ,cape ,cod is called ,c4 ,blan 7i4e4 ,cape ,white71 from the color of its sands1 and ,massachusetts ,bay is ,baye ,blanche4 ,it was visited by ,de ,monts and ,champlain in #afje1 and the next year was further explored by ,poitrincourt and ,champlain4 ,the latter has given a particular account of these explorations in his 8,voyages10 together with separate charts and soundings of two of its harbors1--,malle ,barre1 the ,bad ,bar 7,nauset ,harbor871 a name now applied to what the ,french called ,cap ,baturier2 and ,port ,fortune1 apparently ,chatham ,harbor4 ,both these names are copied on the map of 8,novi ,belgii10 in ,ogilvy's ,america4 ,he also describes minutely the manners and customs of the savages1 and represents by a plate the savages surprising the ,french and killing five or six of them4 ,the ,french afterward killed some of the natives1 and wished1 by way of revenge1 to carry off some and make them grind in their hand-mill at ,port ,royal4 ,it is remarkable that there is not in ,english any adequate or correct account of the ,french exploration of what is now the coast of ,new ,england1 between #afjd and #afjh1 though it is conceded that they then made the first permanent ,european settlement on the continent of ,north ,america north of ,st4 ,augustine4 ,if the lions had been the painters it would have been otherwise4 ,this omission is probably to be accounted for partly by the fact that the early edition of ,champlain's 8,voyages0 had not been consulted for this purpose4 ,this contains by far the most particular1 and1 ,i think1 the most interesting chapter of what we may call the ,ante-,pilgrim history of ,new ,england1 extending to one hundred and sixty pages quarto2 but appears to be unknown equally to the historian and the orator on ,plymouth ,rock4 ,bancroft does not mention ,champlain at all among the authorities for ,de ,monts's expedition1 nor does he say that he ever visited the coast of ,new ,england4 ,though he bore the title of pilot to ,de ,monts1 he was1 in another sense1 the leading spirit1 as well as the historian of the expedition4 ,holmes1 ,hildreth1 and ,barry1 and apparently all our historians who mention ,champlain1 refer to the edition of #afcb1 in which all the separate charts of our harbors1 etc41 and about one-half the narrative1 are omitted2 for the author explored so many lands afterward that he could afford to forget a part of what he had done4 ,hildreth1 speaking of ,de ,monts's expedition1 says that 8he looked into the ,penobscot in #afje1 which ,pring had discovered two years before10 saying nothing about ,champlain's extensive exploration of it for ,de ,monts in #afjd 7,holmes says #afjh1 and refers to ,purchas72 also that he followed in the track of ,pring along the coast 8to ,cape ,cod1 which he called ,malabarre40 7,haliburton had made the same statement before him in #ahbi4 ,he called it ,cap ,blanc1 and ,malle ,barre 7the ,bad ,bar7 was the name given to a harbor on the east side of the ,cape74 ,pring says nothing about a river there4 ,belknap says that ,weymouth discovered it in #afje4 ,sir ,f4 ,gorges1 says1 in his narration 7,maine ,hist4 ,coll41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #ai71 #afeh1 that ,pring in #afjf 8made a perfect discovery of all the rivers and harbors40 ,this is the most ,i can find4 ,bancroft makes ,champlain to have discovered more western rivers in ,maine1 not naming the ,penobscot2 he1 however1 must have been the discoverer of distances on this river 7see ,belknap1 p4 #adg74 ,pring was absent from ,england only about six months1 and sailed by this part of ,cape ,cod 7,malabarre7 because it yielded no sassafras1 while the ,french1 who probably had not heard of ,pring1 were patiently for years exploring the coast in search of a place of settlement1 sounding and surveying its harbors4 ,john ,smith's map1 published in #afaf1 from observations in #afad-ae1 is by many regarded as the oldest map of ,new ,england4 ,it is the first that was made after this country was called ,new ,england1 for he so called it2 but in ,champlain's 8,voyages10 edition #afac 7and ,lescarbot1 in #afab1 quotes a still earlier account of his voyage71 there is a map of it made when it was known to ,christendom as ,new ,france1 called ,carte ,gographique de la ,nouvelle ,franse faictte par le ,sieur de ,champlain ,saint ,tongois ,cappitaine ordinaire pour le roi en la ,marine1--faict l'en #afab1 from his observations between #afjd and #afjg2 a map extending from ,labrador to ,cape ,cod and westward to the ,great ,lakes1 and crowded with information1 geographical1 ethnographical1 zological1 and botanical4 ,he even gives the variation of the compass as observed by himself at that date on many parts of the coast4 ,this1 taken together with the many separate charts of harbors and their soundings on a large scale1 which this volume contains1--among the rest4 ,qui ni be quy 7,kennebec71 ,chouacoit ,r4 7,saco ,r471 ,le ,beau port1 ,port ,st4 ,louis 7near ,cape ,ann71 and others on our coast1--but which are not in the edition of #afcb1 makes this a completer map of the ,new ,england and adjacent northern coast than was made for half a century afterward1 almost1 we might be allowed to say1 till another ,frenchman1 ,des ,barres1 made another for us1 which only our late ,coast ,survey has superseded4 ,most of the maps of this coast made for a long time after betray their indebtedness to ,champlain4 ,he was a skilful navigator1 a man of science1 and geographer to the ,king of ,france4 ,he crossed the ,atlantic about twenty times1 and made nothing of it2 often in a small vessel in which few would dare to go to sea today2 and on one occasion making the voyage from ,tadoussac to ,st4 ,malo in eighteen days4 ,he was in this neighborhood1 that is1 between ,annapolis1 ,nova ,scotia1 and ,cape ,cod1 observing the land and its inhabitants1 and making a map of the coast1 from ,may1 #afjd1 to ,september1 #afjg1 or about three and a half years1 and he has described minutely his method of surveying harbors4 ,by his own account1 a part of his map was engraved in #afjd 7874 ,when ,pont-,grav and others returned to ,france in #afjf1 he remained at ,port ,royal with ,poitrincourt1 8in order10 says he1 8by the aid of ,god1 to finish the chart of the coasts which ,i had begun02 and again in his volume1 printed before ,john ,smith visited this part of ,america1 he says3 8,it seems to me that ,i have done my duty as far as ,i could1 if ,i have not forgotten to put in my said chart whatever ,i saw1 and give a particular knowledge to the public of what had never been described nor discovered so particularly as ,i have done it1 although some other may have heretofore written of it2 but it was a very small affair in comparison with what we have discovered within the last ten years40 ,it is not generally remembered1 if known1 by the descendants of the ,pilgrims1 that when their forefathers were spending their first memorable winter in the ,new ,world1 they had for neighbors a colony of ,french no further off than ,port ,royal 7,annapolis1 ,nova ,scotia71 three hundred miles distant 7,prince seems to make it about five hundred miles72 where1 in spite of many vicissitudes1 they had been for fifteen years4 ,they built a grist-mill there as early as #afjf2 also made bricks and turpentine on a stream1 ,williamson says1 in #afjf4 ,de ,monts1 who was a ,protestant1 brought his minister with him1 who came to blows with the ,catholic priest on the subject of religion4 ,though these founders of ,acadie endured no less than the ,pilgrims1 and about the same proportion of them--thirty-five out of seventy-nine 7,williamson's ,maine says thirty-six out of seventy7--died the first winter at ,st4 ,croix1 #afjd-e1 sixteen years earlier1 no orator1 to my knowledge1 has ever celebrated their enterprise 7,williamson's ,history of ,maine does considerably71 while the trials which their successors and descendants endured at the hands of the ,english have furnished a theme for both the historian and poet4 7,see ,bancroft's ,history and ,longfellow's ,evangeline47 ,the remains at their fort at ,st4 ,croix were discovered at the end of the last century1 and helped decide where the true ,st4 ,croix1 our boundary1 was4 ,the very gravestones of those ,frenchmen are probably older than the oldest ,english monument in ,new ,england north of the ,elizabeth ,islands1 or perhaps anywhere in ,new ,england1 for if there are any traces of ,gosnold's storehouse left1 his strong works are gone4 ,bancroft says1 advisedly1 in #ahcd1 8,it requires a believing eye to discern the ruins of the fort02 and that there were no ruins of a fort in #ahcg4 ,dr4 ,charles ,t4 ,jackson tells me that1 in the course of a geological survey in #ahbg1 he discovered a gravestone1 a slab of trap rock1 on ,goat ,island1 opposite ,annapolis 7,port ,royal71 in ,nova ,scotia1 bearing a ,masonic coat-of-arms and the date #afjf1 which is fourteen years earlier than the landing of the ,pilgrims4 ,this was left in the possession of ,judge ,haliburton1 of ,nova ,scotia4 ,there were ,jesuit priests in what has since been called ,new ,england1 converting the savages at ,mount ,desert1 then ,st4 ,savior1 in #afac1--;having come over to ,port ,royal in #afaa1 though they were almost immediately interrupted by the ,english1 years before the ,pilgrims came hither to enjoy their own religion4 ,this according to ,champlain4 ,charlevoix says the same2 and after coming from ,france in #afaa1 went west from ,port ,royal along the coast as far as the ,kennebec in #afab1 and was often carried from ,port ,royal to ,mount ,desert4 ,indeed1 the ,englishman's history of ,new ,england commences only when it ceases to be ,new ,france4 ,though ,cabot was the first to discover the continent of ,north ,america1 ,champlain1 in the edition of his 8,voyages0 printed in #afcb1 after the ,english had for a season got possession of ,quebec and ,port ,royal1 complains with no little justice3 8,the common consent of all ,europe is to represent ,new ,france as extending at least to the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth degrees of latitude1 as appears by the maps of the world printed in ,spain1 ,italy1 ,holland1 ,flanders1 ,germany1 and ,england1 until they possessed themselves of the coasts of ,new ,france1 where are ,acadie1 the ,etchemins 7,maine and ,new ,brunswick71 the ,almouchicois 7,massachusetts871 and the ,great ,river ,st4 ,lawrence1 where they have imposed1 according to their fancy1 such names as ,new ,england1 ,scotland1 and others2 but it is not easy to efface the memory of a thing which is known to all ,christendom40 ,that ,cabot merely landed on the uninhabitable shore of ,labrador1 gave the ,english no just title to ,new ,england1 or to the ,united ,states1 generally1 any more than to ,patagonia4 ,his careful biographer 7,biddle7 is not certain in what voyage he ran down the coast of the ,united ,states as is reported1 and no one tells us what he saw4 ,miller1 in the ,new ,york ,hist4 ,coll41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bh1 says he does not appear to have landed anywhere4 ,contrast with this ,verrazzani's tarrying fifteen days at one place on the ,new ,england coast1 and making frequent excursions into the interior thence4 ,it chances that the latter's letter to ,francis ,i41 in #aebd1 contains 8the earliest original account extant of the ,atlantic coast of the ,united ,states02 and even from that time the northern part of it began to be called ,la ,terra ,francese1 or ,french ,land4 ,a part of it was called ,new ,holland before it was called ,new ,england4 ,the ,english were very backward to explore and settle the continent which they had stumbled upon4 ,the ,french preceded them both in their attempts to colonize the continent of ,north ,america 7,carolina and ,florida1 #aefb-d71 and in their first permanent settlement 7,port ,royal1 #afje72 and the right of possession1 naturally enough1 was the one which ,england mainly respected and recognized in the case of ,spain1 of ,portugal1 and also of ,france1 from the time of ,henry ,,vii4 ,the explorations of the ,french gave to the world the first valuable maps of these coasts4 ,denys of ,honfleur made a map of the ,gulf of ,st4 ,lawrence in #aejf4 ,no sooner had ,cartier explored the ,st4 ,lawrence1 in #aece1 than there began to be published by his countrymen remarkably accurate charts of that river as far up as ,montreal4 ,it is almost all of the continent north of ,florida that you recognize on charts for more than a generation afterward1--though ,verrazzani's rude plot 7made under ,french auspices7 was regarded by ,hackluyt1 more than fifty years after his voyage 7in #aebd71 as the most accurate representation of our coast4 ,the ,french trail is distinct4 ,they went measuring and sounding1 and when they got home had something to show for their voyages and explorations4 ,there was no danger of their charts being lost1 as ,cabot's have been4 ,the most distinguished navigators of that day were ,italians1 or of ,italian descent1 and ,portuguese4 ,the ,french and ,spaniards1 though less advanced in the science of navigation than the former1 possessed more imagination and spirit of adventure than the ,english1 and were better fitted to be the explorers of a new continent even as late as #agea4 ,this spirit it was which so early carried the ,french to the ,great ,lakes and the ,mississippi on the north1 and the ,spaniard to the same river on the south4 ,it was long before our frontiers reached their settlements in the west1 and a voyageur or coureur de bois is still our conductor there4 ,prairie is a ,french word1 as ,sierra is a ,spanish one4 ,augustine in ,florida1 and ,santa ,f in ,new ,mexico #aehb1 both built by the ,spaniards1 are considered the oldest towns in the ,united ,states4 ,within the memory of the oldest man1 the ,anglo-,americans were confined between the ,appalachian ,mountains and the sea1 8a space not two hundred miles broad10 while the ,mississippi was by treaty the eastern boundary of ,new ,france4 7,see the pamphlet on settling the ,ohio1 ,london1 #agfc1 bound up with the travels of ,sir ,john ,bartram47 ,so far as inland discovery was concerned1 the adventurous spirit of the ,english was that of sailors who land but for a day1 and their enterprise the enterprise of traders4 ,cabot spoke like an ,englishman1 as he was1 if he said1 as one reports1 in reference to the discovery of the ,american ,continent1 when he found it running toward the north1 that it was a great disappointment to him1 being in his way to ,india2 but we would rather add to than detract from the fame of so great a discoverer4 ,samuel ,penhallow1 in his history 7,boston1 #agbf71 p4 #ea1 speaking of 8,port ,royal and ,nova ,scotia10 says of the last that its 8first seizure was by ,sir ,sebastian ,cobbet for the crown of ,great ,britain1 in the reign of ,king ,henry ,,vii42 but lay dormant till the year #afba10 when ,sir ,william ,alexander got a patent of it1 and possessed it some years2 and afterward ,sir ,david ,kirk was proprietor of it1 but erelong1 8to the surprise of all thinking men1 it was given up unto the ,french40 ,even as late as #afcc we find ,winthrop1 the first ,governor of the ,massachusetts ,colony1 who was not the most likely to be misinformed1 who1 moreover1 has the fame1 at least1 of having discovered ,wachusett ,mountain 7discerned it forty miles inland71 talking about the 8,great ,lake0 and the 8hideous swamps about it10 near which the ,connecticut and the 8,potomack0 took their rise2 and among the memorable events of the year #afdb he chronicles ,darby ,field1 an ,irishman's expedition to the 8,white hill10 from whose top he saw eastward what he 8judged to be the ,gulf of ,canada10 and westward what he 8judged to be the great lake which ,canada ,river comes out of10 and where he found much 8,muscovy glass10 and 8could rive out pieces of forty feet long and seven or eight broad40 ,while the very inhabitants of ,new ,england were thus fabling about the country a hundred miles inland1 which was a terra incognita to them1--or rather many years before the earliest date referred to1--,champlain1 the first ,governor of ,canada1 not to mention the inland discoveries of ,cartier1#a ,roberval1 and others1 of the preceding century1 and his own earlier voyage1 had already gone to war against the ,iroquois in their forest forts1 and penetrated to the ,great ,lakes and wintered there1 before a ,pilgrim had heard of ,new ,england4 ,in ,champlain's 8,voyages10 printed in #afac1 there is a plate representing a fight in which he aided the ,canada ,indians against the ,iroquois1 near the south end of ,lake ,champlain1 in ,july1 #afji1 eleven years before the settlement of ,plymouth4 ,bancroft says he joined the ,algonquins in an expedition against the ,iroquois1 or ,five ,nations1 in the northwest of ,new ,york4 ,this is that 8,great ,lake10 which the ,english1 hearing some rumor of from the ,french1 long after1 locate in an 8,imaginary ,province called ,laconia1 and spent several years about #afcj in the vain attempt to discover40 7,sir ,ferdinand ,gorges1 in ,maine ,hist4 ,coll41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #fh47 ,thomas ,morton has a chapter on this 8,great ,lake40 ,in the edition of ,champlain's map dated #afcb1 the ,falls of ,niagara appear2 and in a great lake northwest of ,mer ,douce 7,lake ,huron7 there is an island represented1 over which is written1 8,isle ou il y a une mine de cuivre10--8,island where there is a mine of copper40 ,this will do for an offset to our ,governor's 8,muscovy ,glass40 ,of all these adventures and discoveries we have a minute and faithful account1 giving facts and dates as well as charts and soundings1 all scientific and ,frenchman-like1 with scarcely one fable or traveller's story4 ,probably ,cape ,cod was visited by ,europeans long before the seventeenth century4 ,it may be that ,cabot himself beheld it4 ,verrazzani1 in #aebd1 according to his own account1 spent fifteen days on our coast1 in latitude #da #dj minutes 7some suppose in the harbor of ,newport71 and often went five or six leagues into the interior there1 and he says that he sailed thence at once one hundred and fifty leagues northeasterly1 always in sight of the coast4 ,there is a chart in ,hackluyt's 8,divers ,voyages10 made according to ,verrazzani's plot1 which last is praised for its accuracy by ,hackluyt1 but ,i cannot distinguish ,cape ,cod on it1 unless it is the 8,c4 ,arenas10 which is in the right latitude1 though ten degrees west of 8,claudia10 which is thought to be ,block ,island4 ,the 8,biographic ,universelle0 informs us that 8,an ancient manuscript chart drawn in #aebi by ,diego ,ribeiro1 a ,spanish cosmographer1 has preserved the memory of the voyage of ,gomez a ,portuguese sent out by ,charles the ,fifth4 ,one reads in it under 7au dessous7 the place occupied by the ,states of ,new ,york1 ,connecticut1 and ,rhode ,island1 ,terre d',etienne ,gomez1 qu'il dcouvrit en #aebe 7,land of ,etienne ,gomez1 which he discovered in #aebe740 ,this chart1 with a memoir1 was published at ,weimar in the last century4 ,jean ,alphonse1 ,roberval's pilot in ,canada in #afdb1 one of the most skilful navigators of his time1 and who has given remarkably minute and accurate direction for sailing up the ,st4 ,lawrence1 showing that he knows what he is talking about1 says in his 8,routier0 7it is in ,hackluyt71 8,i have been at a bay as far as the forty-second degree1 between ,norimbegue the ,penobscot8 and ,florida1 but ,i have not explored the bottom of it1 and ,i do not know whether it passes from one land to the other10 i4e4 to ,asia4 78 ,j'ai t une ,baye jusques par les #db;e degres entre la ,norimbegue et la ,floride2 mais je n'en ai pas cherch le fond1 et ne sais pas si elle passe d'une terre l'autre407 ,this may refer to ,massachusetts ,bay1 if not possibly to the western inclination of the coast a little farther south4 ,when he says1 8,i have no doubt that the ,norimbegue enters into the river of ,canada10 he is perhaps so interpreting some account which the ,indians had given respecting the route from the ,st4 ,lawrence to the ,atlantic by the ,st4 ,john1 or ,penobscot1 or possibly even the ,hudson ,river4 ,we hear rumors of this country of 8,norumbega0 and its great city from many quarters4 ,in a discourse by a great ,french sea-captain in ,ramusio's third volume 7#aeef-fe71 this is said to be the name given to the land by its inhabitants1 and ,verrazzani is called the discoverer of it2 another in #afjg makes the natives call it1 or the river1 ,aguncia4 ,it is represented as an island on an accompanying chart4 ,it is frequently spoken of by old writers as a country of indefinite extent1 between ,canada and ,florida1 and it appears as a large island with ,cape ,breton at its eastern extremity1 on the map made according to ,verrazzani's plot in ,hackluyt's 8,divers ,voyages40 ,these maps and rumors may have been the origin of the notion1 common among the early settlers1 that ,new ,england was an island4 ,the country and city of ,norumbega appear about where ,maine now is on a map in ,ortelius 78,theatrum ,orbis ,terrarum10 ,antwerp1 #aegj71 and the 8,r4 ,grande0 is drawn where the ,penobscot or ,st4 ,john might be4 ,in #afjd1 ,champlain being sent by the ,sieur de ,monts to explore the coast of ,norumbegue1 sailed up the ,penobscot twenty-two or twenty-three leagues from 8,isle ,haute10 or till he was stopped by the falls4 ,he says3 8,i think that this river is that which many pilots and historians call ,norumbegue1 and which the greater part have described as great and spacious1 with numerous islands2 and its entrance in the forty-third or forty-third and one half or1 according to others1 the forty-fourth degree of latitude1 more or less40 ,he is convinced that 8the greater part0 of those who speak of a great city there have never seen it1 but repeat a mere rumor1 but he thinks that some have seen the mouth of the river since it answers to their description4 ,under date of #afjg ,champlain writes3 8,three or four leagues north of the ,cap de ,poitrincourt near the head of the ,bay of ,fundy in ,nova ,scotia we found a cross1 which was very old1 covered with moss and almost all decayed1 which was an evident sign that there had formerly been ,christians there40 ,also the following passage from ,lescarbot will show how much the neighboring coasts were frequented by ,europeans in the sixteenth century4 ,speaking of his return from ,port ,royal to ,france in #afjg1 he says3 8,at last1 within four leagues of ,campseau the ,gut of ,canso1 we arrived at a harbor in ,nova ,scotia1 where a worthy old gentleman from ,st4 ,john de ,lus1 named ,captain ,savale1 was fishing1 who received us with the utmost courtesy4 ,and as this harbor1 which is small1 but very good1 has no name1 ,i have given it on my geographical chart the name of ,savalet4 ,it is on ,champlain's map also4 ,this worthy man told us that this voyage was the forty-second which he had made to those parts1 and yet the ,newfoundlanders ,terre neuviers make only one a year4 ,he was wonderfully content with his fishery1 and informed us that he made daily fifty crowns' worth of cod1 and that his voyage would be worth ten thousand francs4 ,he had sixteen men in his employ2 and his vessel was of eighty tons1 which could carry a hundred thousand dry cod40 7,histoire de la ,nouvelle ,france1 #afab47 ,they dried their fish on the rocks on shore4 ,the 8,isola della ,rna0 7,sable ,island87 appears on the chart of 8,nuova ,francia0 and ,norumbega1 accompanying the 8,discourse0 above referred to in ,ramusio's third volume1 edition #aeef-fe4 ,champlain speaks of there being at the ,isle of ,sable1 in #afjd1 8grass pastured by oxen 7bufs7 and cows which the ,portuguese carried there more than sixty years ago10 i4e4 sixty years before #afac2 in a later edition he says1 which came out of a ,spanish vessel which was lost in endeavoring to settle on the ,isle of ,sable2 and he states that ,de la ,roche's men1 who were left on this island seven years from #aeih1 lived on the flesh of these cattle which they found 8en quantie710 and built houses out of the wrecks of vessels which came to the island 78perhaps ,gilbert's071 there being no wood or stone4 ,lescarbot says that they lived 8on fish and the milk of cows left there about eighty years before by ,baron de ,leri and ,saint ,just40 ,charlevoix says they ate up the cattle and then lived on fish4 ,haliburton speaks of cattle left there as a rumor4 ,de ,leri and ,saint ,just had suggested plans of colonization on the ,isle of ,sable as early as #aeae 7#aejh87 according to ,bancroft1 referring to ,charlevoix4 ,these are but a few of the instances which ,i might quote4 ,cape ,cod is commonly said to have been discovered in #afjb4 ,we will consider at length under what circumstances1 and with what observation and expectations1 the first ,englishmen whom history clearly discerns approached the coast of ,new ,england4 ,according to the accounts of ,archer and ,brereton 7both of whom accompanied ,gosnold71 on the #bfth of ,march1 #afjb1 old style1 ,captain ,bartholomew ,gosnold set sail from ,falmouth1 ,england1 for the ,north part of ,virginia1 in a small bark called the ,concord1 they being in all1 says one account1 8thirty-two persons1 whereof eight mariners and sailors1 twelve purposing upon the discovery to return with the ship for ,england1 the rest remain there for population40 ,this is regarded as 8the first attempt of the ,english to make a settlement within the limits of ,new ,england40 ,pursuing a new and a shorter course than the usual one by the ,canaries1 8the #adth of ,april following0 they had sight of ,saint ,mary's1 an island of the ,azores4 ,as their sailors were few and 8none of the best0 7,i use their own phrases71 and they were 8going upon an unknown coast10 they were not 8overbold to stand in with the shore but in open weather02 so they made their first discovery of land with the lead4 ,the #bc;d of ,april the ocean appeared yellow1 but on taking up some of the water in a bucket1 8it altered not either in color or taste from the sea azure40 ,the #gth of ,may they saw divers birds whose names they knew1 and many others in their 8,english tongue of no name40 ,the #hth of ,may 8the water changed to a yellowish green1 where at seventy fathoms0 they 8had ground40 ,the #ith1 they had upon their lead 8many glittering stones10--8which might promise some mineral matter in the bottom40 ,the #ajth1 they were over a bank which they thought to be near the western end of ,st4 ,john's ,island1 and saw schools of fish4 ,the #abth1 they say1 8continually passed fleeting by us sea-oare1 which seemed to have their movable course towards the northeast40 ,on the #acth1 they observed 8great beds of weeds1 much wood1 and divers things else floating by10 and 8had smelling of the shore much as from the southern ,cape and ,andalusia in ,spain40 ,on ,friday1 the #adth1 early in the morning they descried land on the north1 in the latitude of forty-three degrees1 apparently some part of the coast of ,maine4 ,williamson 7,history of ,maine7 says it certainly could not have been south of the central ,isle of ,shoals4 ,belknap inclines to think it the south side of ,cape ,ann4 ,standing fair along by the shore1 about twelve o'clock the same day1 they came to anchor and were visited by eight savages1 who came off to them 8in a ,biscay shallop1 with sail and oars10--8an iron grapple1 and a kettle of copper40 ,these they at first mistook for 8,christians distressed40 ,one of them was 8apparelled with a waistcoat and breeches of black serge1 made after our sea-fashion1 hoes and shoes on his feet2 all the rest 7saving one that had a pair of breeches of blue cloth7 were naked40 ,they appeared to have had dealings with 8some ,basques of ,st4 ,john de ,luz1 and to understand much more than we10 say the ,english1 8for want of language1 could comprehend40 ,but they soon 8set sail westward1 leaving them and their coast40 7,this was a remarkable discovery for discoverers47 8,the #aeth day10 writes ,gabriel ,archer1 8we had again sight of the land1 which made ahead1 being as we thought an island1 by reason of a large sound that appeared westward between it and the main1 for coming to the west end thereof1 we did perceive a large opening1 we called it ,shoal ,hope4 ,near this cape we came to anchor in fifteen fathoms1 where we took great store of cod-fish1 for which we altered the name and called it ,cape ,cod4 ,here we saw skulls of herring1 mackerel1 and other small fish1 in great abundance4 ,this is a low sandy shoal1 but without danger2 also we came to anchor again in sixteen fathoms1 fair by the land in the latitude of forty-two degrees4 ,this ,cape is well near a mile broad1 and lieth northeast by east4 ,the captain went here ashore1 and found the ground to be full of peas1 strawberries1 whortleberries1 etc41 as then unripe1 the sand also by the shore somewhat deep2 the firewood there by us taken in was of cypress1 birch1 witch-hazel1 and beach4 ,a young ,indian came here to the captain1 armed with his bow and arrows1 and had certain plates of copper hanging at his ears2 he showed a willingness to help us in our occasions40 8,the #afth we trended the coast southerly1 which was all champaign and full of grass1 but the islands somewhat woody40 ,or1 according to the account of ,john ,brereton1 8riding here10 that is1 where they first communicated with the natives1 8in no very good harbor1 and withal doubting the weather1 about three of the clock the same day in the afternoon we weighed1 and standing southerly off into sea the rest of that day and the night following1 with a fresh gale of wind1 in the morning we found ourselves embayed with a mighty headland2 but coming to an anchor about nine of the clock the same day1 within a league of the shore1 we hoisted out the one half of our shallop1 and ,captain ,bartholomew ,gosnold1 myself and three others1 went ashore1 being a white sandy and very bold shore2 and marching all that afternoon with our muskets on our necks1 on the highest hills which we saw 7the weather very hot71 at length we perceived this headland to be parcel of the main1 and sundry islands lying almost round about it2 so returning towards evening to our shallop 7for by that time the other part was brought ashore and set together71 we espied an ,indian1 a young man of proper stature1 and of a pleasing countenance1 and after some familiarity with him1 we left him at the sea side1 and returned to our ship1 where in five or six hours' absence we had pestered our ship so with codfish1 that we threw numbers of them overboard again2 and surely ,i am persuaded that in the months of ,march1 ,april1 and ,may1 there is upon this coast better fishing1 and in as great plenty1 as in ,newfoundland2 for the skulls of mackerel1 herrings1 cod1 and other fish1 that we daily saw as we went and came from the shore1 were wonderful10 etc4 8,from this place we sailed round about this headland1 almost all the points of the compass1 the shore very bold2 but as no coast is free from dangers1 so ,i am persuaded this is as free as any4 ,the land somewhat low1 full of goodly woods1 but in some places plain40 ,it is not quite clear on which side of the ,cape they landed4 ,if it was inside1 as would appear from ,brereton's words1 8,from this place we sailed round about this headland almost all the points of the compass10 it must have been on the western shore either of ,truro or ,wellfleet4 ,to one sailing south into ,barnstable ,bay along the ,cape1 the only 8white1 sandy1 and very bold shore0 that appears is in these towns1 though the bank is not so high there as on the eastern side4 ,at a distance of four or five miles the sandy cliffs there look like a long fort of yellow sandstone1 they are so level and regular1 especially in ,wellfleet1--the fort of the land defending itself against the encroachments of the ,ocean4 ,they are streaked here and there with a reddish sand as if painted4 ,farther south the shore is more flat1 and less obviously and abruptly sandy1 and a little tinge of green here and there in the marshes appears to the sailor like a rare and precious emerald4 ,but in the ,journal of ,pring's ,voyage the next year 7and ,salterne1 who was with ,pring1 had accompanied ,gosnold7 it is said1 8,departing hence i4e4 from ,savage ,rocks we bore unto that great gulf which ,captain ,gosnold overshot the year before40#b ,so they sailed round the ,cape1 calling the southeasterly extremity 8,point ,cave10 till they came to an island which they named ,martha's ,vineyard 7now called ,no ,man's ,land71 and another on which they dwelt awhile1 which they named ,elizabeth's ,island1 in honor of the ,queen1 one of the group since so called1 now known by its ,indian name ,cuttyhunk4 ,there they built a small storehouse1 the first house built by the ,english in ,new ,england1 whose cellar could recently still be seen1 made partly of stones taken from the beach4 ,bancroft says 7edition of #ahcg71 the ruins of the fort can no longer be discerned4 ,they who were to have remained becoming discontented1 all together set sail for ,england with a load of sassafras and other commodities1 on the #ahth of ,june following4 ,the next year came ,martin ,pring1 looking for sassafras1 and thereafter they began to come thick and fast1 until long after sassafras had lost its reputation4 ,these are the oldest accounts which we have of ,cape ,cod1 unless1 perchance1 ,cape ,cod is1 as some suppose1 the same with that 8,kial-ar-nes0 or ,keel-,cape1 on which1 according to old ,icelandic manuscripts1 ,thorwald1 son of ,eric the ,red1 after sailing many days southwest from ,greenland1 broke his keel in the year #ajjd2 and where1 according to another1 in some respects less trustworthy manuscript1 ,thor-finn ,karlsefue 78that is1 one who promises or is destined to be an able or great man02 he is said to have had a son born in ,new ,england1 from whom ,thorwaldsen the sculptor was descended71 sailing past1 in the year #ajjg1 with his wife ,gudrida1 ,snorre ,thorbrandson1 ,biarne ,grinolfson1 and ,thorhall ,garnlason1 distinguished ,norsemen1 in three ships containing 8one hundred and sixty men and all sorts of live stock0 7probably the first ,norway rats among the rest71 having the land 8on the right side0 of them1 8roved ashore10 and found 8r-fi 7trackless deserts710 and 8,strand-ir lng-ar ok sand-ar 7long narrow beaches and sand-hills710 and 8called the shores ,furdustrand-ir 7,wonder-,strands71 because the sailing by them seemed long40 ,according to the ,icelandic manuscripts1 ,thorwald was the first1 then1--unless possibly one ,biarne ,heriulfson 7i4e4 son of ,heriulf7 who had been seized with a great desire to travel1 sailing from ,iceland to ,greenland in the year #ihf to join his father who had migrated thither1 for he had resolved1 says the manuscript1 8to spend the following winter1 like all the preceding ones1 with his father10--being driven far to the southwest by a storm1 when it cleared up saw the low land of ,cape ,cod looming faintly in the distance2 but this not answering to the description of ,greenland1 he put his vessel about1 and1 sailing northward along the coast1 at length reached ,greenland and his father4 ,at any rate1 he may put forth a strong claim to be regarded as the discoverer of the ,american continent4 ,these ,northmen were a hardy race1 whose younger sons inherited the ocean1 and traversed it without chart or compass1 and they are said to have been 8the first who learned the art of sailing on a wind40 ,moreover1 they had a habit of casting their door-posts overboard and settling wherever they went ashore4 ,but as ,biarne1 and ,thorwald1 and ,thorfinn have not mentioned the latitude and longitude distinctly enough1 though we have great respect for them as skilful and adventurous navigators1 we must for the present remain in doubt as to what capes they did see4 ,we think that they were considerably further north4 ,if time and space permitted1 ,i could present the claims of other several worthy persons4 ,lescarbot1 in #afji1 asserts that the ,french sailors had been accustomed to frequent the ,newfoundland ,banks from time immemorial1 8for the codfish with which they feed almost all ,europe and supply all sea-going vessels10 and accordingly 8the language of the nearest lands is half ,basque02 and he quotes ,postel1 a learned but extravagant ,french author1 born in #aeaj1 only six years after the ,basques1 ,bretons1 and ,normans are said to have discovered the ,grand ,bank and adjacent islands1 as saying1 in his ,charte ,gographique1 which we have not seen3 8,terra haec ob lucrosissimam piscationis utilitatem summa litterarum memoria a ,gallis adiri solita1 et ante mille sexcentos annos frequentari solita est2 sed eo quod sit urbibus inculta et vasta1 spreta est40 8,this land1 on account of its very lucrative fishery1 was accustomed to be visited by the ,gauls from the very dawn of history1 and more than sixteen hundred years ago was accustomed to be frequented2 but because it was unadorned with cities1 and waste1 it was despised40 ,it is the old story4 ,bob ,smith discovered the mine1 but ,i discovered it to the world4 ,and now ,bob ,smith is putting in his claim4 ,but let us not laugh at ,postel and his visions4 ,he was perhaps better posted up than we2 and if he does seem to draw the long bow1 it may be because he had a long way to shoot1--quite across the ,atlantic1 ,if ,america was found and lost again once1 as most of us believe1 then why not twice8 especially as there were likely to be so few records of an earlier discovery4 ,consider what stuff history is made of1--that for the most part it is merely a story agreed on by posterity4 ,who will tell us even how many ,russians were engaged in the battle of the ,chernaya1 the other day8 ,yet no doubt1 ,mr4 ,scriblerus1 the historian1 will fix on a definite number for the schoolboys to commit to their excellent memories4 ,what1 then1 of the number of ,persians at ,salamis8 ,the historian whom ,i read knew as much about the position of the parties and their tactics in the last-mentioned affair1 as they who describe a recent battle in an article for the press now-a-days1 before the particulars have arrived4 ,i believe that1 if ,i were to live the life of mankind over again myself 7which ,i would not be hired to do71 with the ,universal ,history in my hands1 ,i should not be able to tell what was what4 ,earlier than the date ,postel refers to1 at any rate4 ,cape ,cod lay in utter darkness to the civilized world1 though even then the sun rose from eastward out of the sea every day1 and1 rolling over the ,cape1 went down westward into the ,bay4 ,it was even then ,cape and ,bay1--ay1 the ,cape of ,codfish1 and the ,bay of the ,massachusetts1 perchance4 ,quite recently1 on the #aath of ,november1 #afbj1 old style1 as is well known1 the ,pilgrims in the ,mayflower came to anchor in ,cape ,cod harbor4 ,they had loosed from ,plymouth1 ,england1 the #fth of ,september1 and1 in the words of 8,mourts' ,relation10 8after many difficulties in boisterous storms1 at length1 by ,god's providence1 upon the #ith of ,november1 we espied land1 which we deemed to be ,cape ,cod1 and so afterward it proved4 ,upon the #aath of ,november we came to anchor in the bay1 which is a good harbor and pleasant bay1 circled round except in the entrance1 which is about four miles over from land to land1 compassed about to the very sea with oaks1 pines1 juniper1 sassafras1 and other sweet wood4 ,it is a harbor wherein a thousand sail of ships may safely ride4 ,there we relieved ourselves with wood and water1 and refreshed our people1 while our shallop was fitted to coast the bay1 to search for an habitation40 ,there we put up at ,fuller's ,hotel1 passing by the ,pilgrim ,house as too high for us 7we learned afterward that we need not have been so particular71 and we refreshed ourselves with hashed fish and beans1 beside taking in a supply of liquids 7which were not intoxicating71 while our legs were refitted to coast the back-side4 ,further say the ,pilgrims3 8,we could not come near the shore by three quarters of an ,english mile1 because of shallow water2 which was a great prejudice to us2 for our people going on shore were forced to wade a bow-shot or two in going aland1 which caused many to get colds and coughs2 for it was many times freezing cold weather40 ,they afterwards say3 8,it brought much weakness amongst us02 and no doubt it led to the death of some at ,plymouth4 ,the harbor of ,provincetown is very shallow near the shore1 especially about the head1 where the ,pilgrims landed4 ,when ,i left this place the next summer1 the steamer could not get up to the wharf1 but we were carried out to a large boat in a cart as much as thirty rods in shallow water1 while a troop of little boys kept us company1 wading around1 and thence we pulled to the steamer by a rope4 ,the harbor being thus shallow and sandy about the shore1 coasters are accustomed to run in here to paint their vessels1 which are left high and dry when the tide goes down4 ,it chanced that the ,sunday morning that we were there1 ,i had joined a party of men who were smoking and lolling over a pile of boards on one of the wharves 7nihil humanum a me1 etc471 when our landlord1 who was a sort of tithing-man1 went off to stop some sailors who were engaged in painting their vessel4 ,our party was recruited from time to time by other citizens1 who came rubbing their eyes as if they had just got out of bed2 and one old man remarked to me that it was the custom there to lie abed very late on ,sunday1 it being a day of rest4 ,i remarked that1 as ,i thought1 they might as well let the men paint1 for all us4 ,it was not noisy work1 and would not disturb our devotions4 ,but a young man in the company1 taking his pipe out of his mouth1 said that it was a plain contradiction of the law of ,god1 which he quoted1 and if they did not have some such regulation1 vessels would run in there to tar1 and rig1 and paint1 and they would have no ,sabbath at all4 ,this was a good argument enough1 if he had not put it in the name of religion4 ,the next summer1 as ,i sat on a hill there one sultry ,sunday afternoon the meeting-house windows being open1 my meditations were interrupted by the noise of a preacher who shouted like a boatswain1 profaning the quiet atmosphere1 and who1 ,i fancied1 must have taken off his coat4 ,few things could have been more disgusting or disheartening4 ,i wished the tithing-man would stop him4 ,illustration3 ,the day of rest ,the ,pilgrims say3 8,there was the greatest store of fowl that ever we saw40 ,we saw no fowl there1 except gulls of various kinds2 but the greatest store of them that ever we saw was on a flat but slightly covered with water on the east side of the harbor1 and we observed a man who had landed there from a boat creeping along the shore in order to get a shot at them1 but they all rose and flew away in a great scattering flock1 too soon for him1 having apparently got their dinners1 though he did not get his4 ,it is remarkable that the ,pilgrims 7or their reporter7 describe this part of the ,cape1 not only as well wooded1 but as having a deep and excellent soil1 and hardly mention the word sand4 ,now what strikes the voyager is the barrenness and desolation of the land4 ,they found 8the ground or earth sand-hills1 much like the downs in ,holland1 but much better the crust of the earth1 a spit's depth1 excellent black earth40 ,we found that the earth had lost its crust1--if1 in-deed1 it ever had any1--and that there was no soil to speak of4 ,we did not see enough black earth in ,provincetown to fill a flower-pot1 unless in the swamps4 ,they found it 8all wooded with oaks1 pines1 sassafras1 juniper1 birch1 holly1 vines1 some ash1 walnut2 the wood for the most part open and without underwood1 fit either to go or ride in40 ,we saw scarcely anything high enough to be called a tree1 except a little low wood at the east end of the town1 and the few ornamental trees in its yards1--only a few small specimens of some of the above kinds on the sand-hills in the rear2 but it was all thick shrubbery1 without any large wood above it1 very unfit either to go or ride in4 ,the greater part of the land was a perfect desert of yellow sand1 rippled like waves by the wind1 in which only a little ,beach-grass grew here and there4 ,they say that1 just after passing the head of ,east ,harbor ,creek1 the boughs and bushes 8tore0 their 8very armor in pieces0 7the same thing happened to such armor as we wore1 when out of curiosity we took to the bushes72 or they came to deep valleys1 8full of brush1 wood-gaile1 and long grass10 and 8found springs of fresh water40 ,for the most part we saw neither bough nor bush1 not so much as a shrub to tear our clothes against if we would1 and a sheep would lose none of its fleece1 even if it found herbage enough to make fleece grow there4 ,we saw rather beach and poverty-grass1 and merely sorrel enough to color the surface4 ,i suppose1 then1 by ,woodgaile they mean the ,bayberry4 ,all accounts agree in affirming that this part of the ,cape was comparatively well wooded a century ago4 ,but notwithstanding the great changes which have taken place in these respects1 ,i cannot but think that we must make some allowance for the greenness of the ,pilgrims in these matters1 which caused them to see green4 ,we do not believe that the trees were large or the soil was deep here4 ,their account may be true particularly1 but it is generally false4 ,they saw literally1 as well as figuratively1 but one side of the ,cape4 ,they naturally exaggerated the fairness and attractiveness of the land1 for they were glad to get to any land at all after that anxious voyage4 ,everything appeared to them of the color of the rose1 and had the scent of juniper and sassafras4 ,very different is the general and off-hand account given by ,captain ,john ,smith1 who was on this coast six years earlier1 and speaks like an old traveller1 voyager1 and soldier1 who had seen too much of the world to exaggerate1 or even to dwell long1 on a part of it4 ,in his 8,description of ,new ,england10 printed in #afaf1 after speaking of ,accomack1 since called ,plymouth1 he says3 8,cape ,cod is the next presents itself1 which is only a headland of high hills of sand1 overgrown with shrubby pines1 hurts i4e4 whorts1 or whortleberries1 and such trash1 but an excellent harbor for all weathers4 ,this ,cape is made by the main sea on the one side1 and a great bay on the other1 in form of a sickle40 ,champlain had already written1 8,which we named ,cap ,blanc 7,cape ,white71 because they were sands and downs 7sables et dunes7 which appeared thus40 ,when the ,pilgrims get to ,plymouth their reporter says again1 8,the land for the crust of the earth is a spit's depth10--that would seem to be their recipe for an earth's crust1--8excellent black mould and fat in some places40 ,however1 according to ,bradford himself1 whom some consider the author of part of 8,mourt's ,relation10 they who came over in the ,fortune the next year were somewhat daunted when 8they came into the harbor of ,cape ,cod1 and there saw nothing but a naked and barren place40 ,they soon found out their mistake with respect to the goodness of ,plymouth soil4 ,yet when at length1 some years later1 when they were fully satisfied of the poorness of the place which they had chosen1 8the greater part10 says ,bradford1 8consented to a removal to a place called ,nausett10 they agreed to remove all together to ,nauset1 now ,eastham1 which was jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire2 and some of the most respectable of the inhabitants of ,plymouth did actually remove thither accordingly4 ,it must be confessed that the ,pilgrims possessed but few of the qualities of the modern pioneer4 ,they were not the ancestors of the ,american backwoodsmen4 ,they did not go at once into the woods with their axes4 ,they were a family and church1 and were more anxious to keep together1 though it were on the sand1 than to explore and colonize a ,new ,world4 ,when the above-mentioned company removed to ,eastham1 the church at ,plymouth was left1 to use ,bradford's expression1 8like an ancient mother grown old1 and forsaken of her children40 ,though they landed on ,clark's ,island in ,plymouth harbor1 the #ith of ,december 7,o4 ,s471 and the #afth all hands came to ,plymouth1 and the #ahth they rambled about the mainland1 and the #aith decided to settle there1 it was the #hth of ,january before ,francis ,billington went with one of the master's mates to look at the magnificent pond or lake now called 8,billington ,sea10 about two miles distant1 which he had discovered from the top of a tree1 and mistook for a great sea4 ,and the #gth of ,march 8,master ,carver with five others went to the great ponds which seem to be excellent fishing10 both which points are within the compass of an ordinary afternoon's ramble1--however wild the country4 ,it is true they were busy at first about their building1 and were hindered in that by much foul weather2 but a party of emigrants to ,california or ,oregon1 with no less work on their hands1--and more hostile ,indians1--would do as much exploring the first afternoon1 and the ,sieur de ,champlain would have sought an interview with the savages1 and examined the country as far as the ,connecticut1 and made a map of it1 before ,billington had climbed his tree4 ,or contrast them only with the ,french searching for copper about the ,bay of ,fundy in #afjc1 tracing up small streams with ,indian guides4 ,nevertheless1 the ,pilgrims were pioneers and the ancestors of pioneers1 in a far grander enterprise4 ,by this time we saw the little steamer ,naushon entering the harbor1 and heard the sound of her whistle1 and came down from the hills to meet her at the wharf4 ,so we took leave of ,cape ,cod and its inhabitants4 ,we liked the manners of the last1 what little we saw of them1 very much4 ,they were particularly downright and good-humored4 ,the old people appeared remarkably well preserved1 as if by the saltness of the atmosphere1 and after having once mistaken1 we could never be certain whether we were talking to a coeval of our grandparents1 or to one of our own age4 ,they are said to be more purely the descendants of the ,pilgrims than the inhabitants of any other part of the ,state4 ,we were told that 8sometimes1 when the court comes together at ,barnstable1 they have not a single criminal to try1 and the jail is shut up40 ,it was 8to let0 when we were there4 ,until quite recently there was no regular lawyer below ,orleans4 ,who then will complain of a few regular man-eating sharks along the back-side8 ,one of the ministers of ,truro1 when ,i asked what the fishermen did in the winter1 answered that they did nothing but go a-visiting1 sit about and tell stories1--though they worked hard in summer4 ,yet it is not a long vacation they get4 ,i am sorry that ,i have not been there in the winter to hear their yarns4 ,almost every ,cape man is ,captain of some craft or other1--every man at least who is at the head of his own affairs1 though it is not every one that is1 for some heads have the force of ,alpha privative1 negativing all the efforts which ,nature would fain make through them4 ,the greater number of men are merely corporals4 ,it is worth the while to talk with one whom his neighbors address as ,captain1 though his craft may have long been sunk1 and he may be holding by his teeth to the shattered mast of a pipe alone1 and only gets half-seas-over in a figurative sense1 now4 ,he is pretty sure to vindicate his right to the title at last1--can tell one or two good stories at least4 ,for the most part we saw only the back-side of the towns1 but our story is true as far as it goes4 ,we might have made more of the ,bay side1 but we were inclined to open our eyes widest at the ,atlantic4 ,we did not care to see those features of the ,cape in which it is inferior or merely equal to the mainland1 but only those in which it is peculiar or superior4 ,we cannot say how its towns look in front to one who goes to meet them2 we went to see the ocean behind them4 ,they were merely the raft on which we stood1 and we took notice of the barnacles which adhered to it1 and some carvings upon it4 ,before we left the wharf we made the acquaintance of a passenger whom we had seen at the hotel4 ,when we asked him which way he came to ,provincetown1 he answered that he was cast ashore at ,wood ,end1 ,saturday night1 in the same storm in which the ,st4 ,john was wrecked4 ,he had been at work as a carpenter in ,maine1 and took passage for ,boston in a schooner laden with lumber4 ,when the storm came up1 they endeavored to get into ,provincetown harbor4 8,it was dark and misty10 said he1 8and as we were steering for ,long ,point ,light we suddenly saw the land near us1--for our compass was out of order1--varied several degrees a mariner always casts the blame on his compass1--but there being a mist on shore1 we thought it was farther off than it was1 and so held on1 and we immediately struck on the bar4 ,says the ,captain1 #8,we are all lost4' ,says ,i to the ,captain1 #8,now don't let her strike again this way2 head her right on4' ,the ,captain thought a moment1 and then headed her on4 ,the sea washed completely over us1 and wellnigh took the breath out of my body4 ,i held on to the running rigging1 but ,i have learned to hold on to the standing rigging the next time40 8,well1 were there any drowned80 ,i asked4 8,no2 we all got safe to a house at ,wood ,end1 at midnight1 wet to our skins1 and half frozen to death40 ,he had apparently spent the time since playing checkers at the hotel1 and was congratulating himself on having beaten a tall fellow-boarder at that game4 8,the vessel is to be sold at auction to-day10 he added4 7,we had heard the sound of the crier's bell which advertised it47 8,the ,captain is rather down about it1 but ,i tell him to cheer up and he will soon get another vessel40 ,at that moment the ,captain called to him from the wharf4 ,he looked like a man just from the country1 with a cap made of a woodchuck's skin1 and now that ,i had heard a part of his history1 he appeared singularly destitute1--a ,captain without any vessel1 only a greatcoat6 and that perhaps a borrowed one6 ,not even a dog followed him2 only his title stuck to him4 ,i also saw one of the crew4 ,they all had caps of the same pattern1 and wore a subdued look1 in addition to their naturally aquiline features1 as if a breaker--a 8comber0--had washed over them4 ,as we passed ,wood ,end1 we noticed the pile of lumber on the shore which had made the cargo of their vessel4 ,about ,long ,point in the summer you commonly see them catching lobsters for the ,new ,york market1 from small boats just off the shore1 or rather1 the lobsters catch themselves1 for they cling to the netting on which the bait is placed of their own accord1 and thus are drawn up4 ,they sell them fresh for two cents apiece4 ,man needs to know but little more than a lobster in order to catch him in his traps4 ,the mackerel fleet had been getting to sea1 one after another1 ever since midnight1 and as we were leaving the ,cape we passed near to many of them under sail1 and got a nearer view than we had had2--half a dozen red-shirted men and boys1 leaning over the rail to look at us1 the skipper shouting back the number of barrels he had caught1 in answer to our inquiry4 ,all sailors pause to watch a steamer1 and shout in welcome or derision4 ,in one a large ,newfoundland dog put his paws on the rail and stood up as high as any of them1 and looked as wise4 ,but the skipper1 who did not wish to be seen no better employed than a dog1 rapped him on the nose and sent him below4 ,such is human justice6 ,i thought ,i could hear him making an effective appeal down there from human to divine justice4 ,he must have had much the cleanest breast of the two4 ,illustration3 ,a ,provincetown fishing-vessel ,still1 many a mile behind us across the ,bay1 we saw the white sails of the mackerel fishers hovering round ,cape ,cod1 and when they were all hull-down1 and the low extremity of the ,cape was also down1 their white sails still appeared on both sides of it1 around where it had sunk1 like a city on the ocean1 proclaiming the rare qualities of ,cape ,cod ,harbor4 ,but before the extremity of the ,cape had completely sunk1 it appeared like a filmy sliver of land lying flat on the ocean1 and later still a mere reflection of a sand-bar on the haze above4 ,its name suggests a homely truth1 but it would be more poetic if it described the impression which it makes on the beholder4 ,some capes have peculiarly suggestive names4 ,there is ,cape ,wrath1 the northwest point of ,scotland1 for instance2 what a good name for a cape lying far away dark over the water under a lowering sky6 ,mild as it was on shore this morning1 the wind was cold and piercing on the water4 ,though it be the hottest day in ,july on land1 and the voyage is to last but four hours1 take your thickest clothes with you1 for you are about to float over melted icebergs4 ,when ,i left ,boston in the steamboat on the #beth of ,june the next year1 it was a quite warm day on shore4 ,the passengers were dressed in their thinnest clothes1 and at first sat under their umbrellas1 but when we were fairly out on the ,bay1 such as had only their coats were suffering with the cold1 and sought the shelter of the pilot's house and the warmth of the chimney4 ,but when we approached the harbor of ,provincetown1 ,i was surprised to perceive what an influence that low and narrow strip of sand1 only a mile or two in width1 had over the temperature of the air for many miles around4 ,we penetrated into a sultry atmosphere where our thin coats were once more in fashion1 and found the inhabitants sweltering4 ,leaving far on one side ,manomet ,point in ,plymouth and the ,scituate shore1 after being out of sight of land for an hour or two1 for it was rather hazy1 we neared the ,cohasset ,rocks again at ,minot's ,ledge1 and saw the great ,tupelo-tree on the edge of ,scituate1 which lifts its dome1 like an umbelliferous plant1 high over the surrounding forest1 and is conspicuous for many miles over land and water4 ,here was the new iron light-house1 then unfinished1 in the shape of an egg-shell painted red1 and placed high on iron pillars1 like the ovum of a sea monster floating on the waves1--destined to be phosphorescent4 ,as we passed it at half-tide we saw the spray tossed up nearly to the shell4 ,a man was to live in that egg-shell day and night1 a mile from the shore4 ,when ,i passed it the next summer it was finished and two men lived in it1 and a light-house keeper said that they told him that in a recent gale it had rocked so as to shake the plates off the table4 ,think of making your bed thus in the crest of a breaker6 ,to have the waves1 like a pack of hungry wolves1 eying you always1 night and day1 and from time to time making a spring at you1 almost sure to have you at last4 ,and not one of all those voyagers can come to your relief1--but when your light goes out1 it will be a sign that the light of your life has gone out also4 ,what a place to compose a work on breakers6 ,this light-house was the cynosure of all eyes4 ,every passenger watched it for half an hour at least2 yet a colored cook belonging to the boat1 whom ,i had seen come out of his quarters several times to empty his dishes over the side with a flourish1 chancing to come out just as we were abreast of this light1 and not more than forty rods from it1 and were all gazing at it1 as he drew back his arm1 caught sight of it1 and with surprise exclaimed1 8,what's that80 ,he had been employed on this boat for a year1 and passed this light every weekday1 but as he had never chanced to empty his dishes just at that point1 had never seen it before4 ,to look at lights was the pilot's business2 he minded the kitchen fire4 ,it suggested how little some who voyaged round the world could manage to see4 ,you would almost as easily believe that there are men who never yet chanced to come out at the right time to see the sun4 ,what avails it though a light be placed on the top of a hill1 if you spend all your life directly under the hill8 ,it might as well be under a bushel4 ,this light-house1 as is well known1 was swept away in a storm in ,april1 #ahea1 and the two men in it1 and the next morning not a vestige of it was to be seen from the shore4 ,a ,hull man told me that he helped set up a white-oak pole on ,minot's ,ledge some years before4 ,it was fifteen inches in diameter1 forty-one feet high1 sunk four feet in the rock1 and was secured by four guys1--but it stood only one year4 ,stone piled up cob-fashion near the same place stood eight years4 ,when ,i crossed the ,bay in the ,melrose in ,july1 we hugged the ,scituate shore as long as possible1 in order to take advantage of the wind4 ,far out on the ,bay 7off this shore7 we scared up a brood of young ducks1 probably black ones1 bred hereabouts1 which the packet had frequently disturbed in her trips4 ,a townsman1 who was making the voyage for the first time1 walked slowly round into the rear of the helmsman1 when we were in the middle of the ,bay1 and looking out over the sea1 before he sat down there1 remarked with as much originality as was possible for one who used a borrowed expression1 8,this is a great country40 ,he had been a timber merchant1 and ,i afterwards saw him taking the diameter of the mainmast with his stick1 and estimating its height4 ,i returned from the same excursion in the ,olata1 a very handsome and swift-sailing yacht1 which left ,provincetown at the same time with two other packets1 the ,melrose and ,frolic4 ,at first there was scarcely a breath of air stirring1 and we loitered about ,long ,point for an hour in company1--with our heads over the rail watching the great sand-circles and the fishes at the bottom in calm water fifteen feet deep4 ,but after clearing the ,cape we rigged a flying-jib1 and1 as the ,captain had prophesied1 soon showed our consorts our heels4 ,there was a steamer six or eight miles northward1 near the ,cape1 towing a large ship toward ,boston4 ,its smoke stretched perfectly horizontal several miles over the sea1 and by a sudden change in its direction1 warned us of a change in the wind before we felt it4 ,the steamer appeared very far from the ship1 and some young men who had frequently used the ,captain's glass1 but did not suspect that the vessels were connected1 expressed surprise that they kept about the same distance apart for so many hours4 ,at which the ,captain dryly remarked1 that probably they would never get any nearer together4 ,as long as the wind held we kept pace with the steamer1 but at length it died away almost entirely1 and the flying-jib did all the work4 ,when we passed the light-boat at ,minot's ,ledge1 the ,melrose and ,frolic were just visible ten miles astern4 ,consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints1 bristling with forts like chestnuts-burs1 or echinid1 yet the police will not let a couple of ,irishmen have a private sparring-match on one of them1 as it is a government monopoly2 all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude1 and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts4 ,the ,bermudas are said to have been discovered by a ,spanish ship of that name which was wrecked on them1 8which till then10 says ,sir ,john ,smith1 8for six thousand years had been nameless40 ,the ,english did not stumble upon them in their first voyages to ,virginia2 and the first ,englishman who was ever there was wrecked on them in #aeic4 ,smith says1 8,no place known hath better walls nor a broader ditch40 ,yet at the very first planting of them with some sixty persons1 in #afab1 the first ,governor1 the same year1 8built and laid the foundation of eight or nine forts40 ,to be ready1 one would say1 to entertain the first ship's company that should be next shipwrecked on to them4 ,it would have been more sensible to have built as many 8,charity-houses40 ,these are the vexed ,bermoothees4 ,our great sails caught all the air there was1 and our low and narrow hull caused the least possible friction4 ,coming up the harbor against the stream we swept by everything4 ,some young men returning from a fishing excursion came to the side of their smack1 while we were thus steadily drawing by them1 and1 bowing1 observed1 with the best possible grace1 8,we give it up40 ,yet sometimes we were nearly at a standstill4 ,the sailors watched 7two7 objects on the shore to ascertain whether we advanced or receded4 ,in the harbor it was like the evening of a holiday4 ,the ,eastern steamboat passed us with music and a cheer1 as if they were going to a ball1 when they might be going to--,davy's locker4 ,i heard a boy telling the story of ,nix's mate to some girls as we passed that spot4 ,that was the name of a sailor hung there1 he said4--8,if ,i am guilty1 this island will remain2 but if ,i am innocent it will be washed away10 and now it is all washed away6 ,next 787 came the fort on ,george's ,island4 ,these are bungling contrivances3 not our fortes but our foibles4 ,wolfe sailed by the strongest fort in ,north ,america in the dark1 and took it4 ,i admired the skill with which the vessel was at last brought to her place in the dock1 near the end of ,long ,wharf4 ,it was candle-light1 and my eyes could not distinguish the wharves jutting out towards us1 but it appeared like an even line of shore densely crowded with shipping4 ,you could not have guessed within a quarter of a mile of ,long ,wharf4 ,nevertheless1 we were to be blown to a crevice amid them1--steering right into the maze4 ,down goes the mainsail1 and only the jib draws us along4 ,now we are within four rods of the shipping1 having already dodged several outsiders2 but it is still only a maze of spars1 and rigging1 and hulls1--not a crack can be seen4 ,down goes the jib1 but still we advance4 ,the ,captain stands aft with one hand on the tiller1 and the other holding his night-glass1--his son stands on the bowsprit straining his eyes1--the passengers feel their hearts halfway to their mouths1 expecting a crash4 8,do you see any room there80 asks the ,captain1 quietly4 ,he must make up his mind in five seconds1 else he will carry away that vessel's bowsprit1 or lose his own4 8,yes1 sir1 here is a place for us02 and in three minutes more we are fast to the wharf in a little gap between two bigger vessels4 ,and now we were in ,boston4 ,whoever has been down to the end of ,long ,wharf1 and walked through ,quincy ,market1 has seen ,boston4 ,boston1 ,new ,york1 ,philadelphia1 ,charleston1 ,new ,orleans1 and the rest1 are the names of wharves projecting into the sea 7surrounded by the shops and dwellings of the merchants71 good places to take in and to discharge a cargo 7to land the products of other climes and load the exports of our own74 ,i see a great many barrels and fig-drums1--piles of wood for umbrella-sticks1--blocks of granite and ice1--great heaps of goods1 and the means of packing and conveying them1--much wrapping-paper and twine1--many crates and hogsheads and trucks1--and that is ,boston4 ,the more barrels1 the more ,boston4 ,the museums and scientific societies and libraries are accidental4 ,they gather around the sands to save carting4 ,the wharf-rats and customhouse officers1 and broken-down poets1 seeking a fortune amid the barrels4 ,their better or worse lyceums1 and preachings1 and doctorings1 these1 too1 are accidental1 and the malls of commons are always small potatoes4 ,when ,i go to ,boston1 ,i naturally go straight through the city 7taking the ,market in my way71 down to the end of ,long ,wharf1 and look off1 for ,i have no cousins in the back alleys1--and there ,i see a great many countrymen in their shirt-sleeves from ,maine1 and ,pennsylvania1 and all along shore and in shore1 and some foreigners beside1 loading and unloading and steering their teams about1 as at a country fair4 ,when we reached ,boston that ,october1 ,i had a gill of ,provincetown sand in my shoes1 and at ,concord there was still enough left to sand my pages for many a day2 and ,i seemed to hear the sea roar1 as if ,i lived in a shell1 for a week afterward4 ,the places which ,i have described may seem strange and remote to my townsmen1--indeed1 from ,boston to ,provincetown is twice as far as from ,england to ,france2 yet step into the cars1 and in six hours you may stand on those four planks1 and see the ,cape which ,gosnold is said to have discovered1 and which ,i have so poorly described4 ,if you had started when ,i first advised you1 you might have seen our tracks in the sand1 still fresh1 and reaching all the way from the ,nauset ,lights to ,race ,point1 some thirty miles1--for at every step we made an impression on the ,cape1 though we were not aware of it1 and though our account may have made no impression on your minds4 ,but what is our account8 ,in it there is no roar1 no beach-birds1 no tow-cloth4 ,we often love to think now of the life of men on beaches1--at least in midsummer1 when the weather is serene2 their sunny lives on the sand1 amid the beach-grass and the bayberries1 their companion a cow1 their wealth a jag of driftwood or a few beach-plums1 and their music the surf and the peep of the beach-bird4 ,we went to see the ,ocean1 and that is probably the best place of all our coast to go to4 ,if you go by water1 you may experience what it is to leave and to approach these shores2 you may see the ,stormy ,petrel by the way1 1 running over the sea1 and if the weather is but a little thick1 may lose sight of the land in mid-passage4 ,i do not know where there is another beach in the ,atlantic ,states1 attached to the mainland1 so long1 and at the same time so straight1 and completely uninterrupted by creeks or coves or fresh-water rivers or marshes2 for though there may be clear places on the map1 they would probably be found by the foot traveller to be intersected by creeks and marshes2 certainly there is none where there is a double way1 such as ,i have described1 a beach and a bank1 which at the same time shows you the land and the sea1 and part of the time two seas4 ,the ,great ,south ,beach of ,long ,island1 which ,i have since visited1 is longer still without an inlet1 but it is literally a mere sand-bar1 exposed1 several miles from the ,island1 and not the edge of a continent wasting before the assaults of the ,ocean4 ,though wild and desolate1 as it wants the bold bank1 it possesses but half the grandeur of ,cape ,cod in my eyes1 nor is the imagination contented with its southern aspect4 ,the only other beaches of great length on our ,atlantic coast1 which ,i have heard sailors speak of1 are those of ,barnegat on the ,jersey shore1 and ,currituck between ,virginia and ,north ,carolina2 but these1 like the last1 are low and narrow sandbars1 lying off the coast1 and separated from the mainland by lagoons4 ,besides1 as you go farther south1 the tides are feebler1 and cease to add variety and grandeur to the shore4 ,on the ,pacific side of our country also no doubt there is good walking to be found2 a recent writer and dweller there tells us that 8the coast from ,cape ,disappointment 7or the ,columbia ,river7 to ,cape ,flattery 7at the ,strait of ,juan de ,fuca7 is nearly north and south1 and can be travelled almost its entire length on a beautiful sand-beach10 with the exception of two bays1 four or five rivers1 and a few points jutting into the sea4 ,the common shell-fish found there seem to be often of corresponding types1 if not identical species1 with those of ,cape ,cod4 ,the beach which ,i have described1 however1 is not hard enough for carriages1 but must be explored on foot4 ,when one carriage has passed along1 a following one sinks deeper still in its rut4 ,it has at present no name any more than fame4 ,that portion south of ,nauset ,harbor is commonly called ,chatham ,beach4 ,the part in ,eastham is called ,nauset ,beach1 and off ,wellfleet and ,truro the ,back-side1 or sometimes1 perhaps1 ,cape ,cod ,beach4 ,i think that part which extends without interruption from ,nauset ,harbor to ,race ,point should be called ,cape ,cod ,beach1 and do so speak of it4 ,one of the most attractive points for visitors is in the northeast part of ,wellfleet1 where accommodations 7,i mean for men and women of tolerable health and habits7 could probably be had within half a mile of the sea-shore4 ,it best combines the country and the seaside4 ,though the ,ocean is out of sight1 its faintest murmur is audible1 and you have only to climb a hill to find yourself on its brink4 ,it is but a step from the glassy surface of the ,herring ,ponds to the big ,atlantic ,pond where the waves never cease to break4 ,or perhaps the ,highland ,light in ,truro may compete with this locality1 for there1 there is a more uninterrupted view of the ,ocean and the ,bay1 and in the summer there is always some air stirring on the edge of the bank there1 so that the inhabitants know not what hot weather is4 ,as for the view1 the keeper of the light1 with one or more of his family1 walks out to the edge of the bank after every meal to look off1 just as if they had not lived there all their days4 ,in short1 it will wear well4 ,and what picture will you substitute for that1 upon your walls8 ,but ladies cannot get down the bank there at present without the aid of a block and tackle4 ,most persons visit the sea-side in warm weather1 when fogs are frequent1 and the atmosphere is wont to be thick1 and the charm of the sea is to some extent lost4 ,but ,i suspect that the fall is the best season1 for then the atmosphere is more transparent1 and it is a greater pleasure to look out over the sea4 ,the clear and bracing air1 and the storms of autumn and winter even1 are necessary in order that we may get the impression which the sea is calculated to make4 ,in ,october1 when the weather is not intolerably cold1 and the landscape wears its autumnal tints1 such as1 methinks1 only a ,cape ,cod landscape ever wears1 especially if you have a storm during your stay1--that ,i am convinced is the best time to visit this shore4 ,in autumn1 even in ,august1 the thoughtful days begin1 and we can walk anywhere with profit4 ,beside1 an outward cold and dreariness1 which make it necessary to seek shelter at night1 lend a spirit of adventure to a walk4 ,the time must come when this coast will be a place of resort for those ,new-,englanders who really wish to visit the sea-side4 ,at present it is wholly unknown to the fashionable world1 and probably it will never be agreeable to them4 ,if it is merely a ten-pin alley1 or a circular railway1 or an ocean of mint-julep1 that the visitor is in search of1--if he thinks more of the wine than the brine1 as ,i suspect some do at ,newport1--,i trust that for a long time he will be disappointed here4 ,but this shore will never be more attractive than it is now4 ,such beaches as are fashionable are here made and unmade in a day1 ,i may almost say1 by the sea shifting its sands4 ,lynn and ,nantasket6 this bare and bended arm it is that makes the bay in which they lie so snugly4 ,what are springs and waterfalls8 ,here is the spring of springs1 the waterfall of waterfalls4 ,a storm in the fall or winter is the time to visit it2 a light-house or a fisherman's hut the true hotel4 ,a man may stand there and put all ,america behind him4 #a ,it is remarkable that the first1 if not the only1 part of ,new ,england which ,cartier saw was ,vermont 7he also saw the mountains of ,new ,york71 from ,montreal ,mountain1 in #aece1 sixty-seven years before ,gosnold saw ,cape ,cod4 ,if seeing is discovering1--and that is all that it is proved that ,cabot knew of the coast of the ,united ,states1--then ,cartier 7to omit ,verrazani and ,gomez7 was the discoverer of ,new ,england rather than ,gosnold1 who is commonly so styled4 #b 8,savage ,rock10 which some have supposed to be1 from the name1 the ,salvages1 a ledge about two miles off ,rockland1 ,cape ,ann1 was probably the ,nubble1 a large1 high rock near the shore1 on the east side of ,york ,harbor1 ,maine4 ,the first land made by ,gosnold is presumed by experienced navigators to be ,cape ,elizabeth1 on the same coast4 7,see ,babson's ,history of ,gloucester1 ,massachusetts47 ,the ,university ,press1 ,cambridge1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4