li'ir I ^^^:0iS*^^^: l^^l^f^^p^ imam ■OIK A GLOUCESTER SKETCH-BOOK AND SOUVENIR Lou IS C. El-SON. PRINTERS. PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS A^ STATIONERS 108-110 MAIN ST., "old CORNER" GLOUCESTER. MASS. LIBRARY o( CONGRESS Two OiHilM Received MAY 23 1904 Copyright Entry CLASS fitXXo. No. COPY B COPYRIGHTED The Procter Brothers Company (Inc all rights reserved. printed by The Procter Brothers Company (InoJ gloucester. mass. JX^ J)cs]ieatior2. ri ciucrp!ei»'Cer)tuFy aq© Xrjese rocKy sr)OP«s we ipoa. Y9e occar) surge, tr)e sur)sei s qleiuv. ©eerr)ea njeseaaes Irarr) boa. ©till ao we ppi^e our [^opaclise c/u s wr)er) ®up l®ys Leqar). ^rr)acr)ep slill epes r)ep siappy eyes, tJi) jtJpace s I\oclrved the compliment. Sub- sequently, in 1014, that roving bearer of a numer- ous name, John Suiitli, saw these same islands, and desii'ous of giving the world an object lesson in his L-KJ =JXL biography, he called them the "Three Turks' Heads" iu memory of three Mussulmen whom he had shortened by a few inches in single combat. Tlien he named the cape back of them " Tragabig- zanda" to commemorate the fact that he had won the heart of the Princess of Trebizonda, a combi- nation of heads and heart that was not altogether commendable. A few of the settlers fondly be- lieved that "Tragabigzanda" was the Indian name of tlie locality, but it is abundantly proved that the aborigines named the cape " Wingaersheek," a name still perpetuated by the beautiful beach shown in the next to last picture in this book. Then came Prince Chai-les and wiped out the entii-o pro- ceedings, calling the spot "Cape Anne" in honor of his mother, Anne of Denmark, and so it remains to this day. The Indians probably found the place too bleak for comfort, and seem never to have had a permanent settlement here, although vast piles of clam shells still attest that they periodically came to Annisquam (see picture), to Russ' Island and to Wingaersheek Beach. There were other voyagers who came to these shores after Capt. John Smith's day, but I need not dwell upon Gosnold and Pring and Thomas Morton of " Merrymount," and the men from Dorchester who tried to found a fisliing station here and failed, Mr. White at the close of the attempt commenting on the " ill-choice of the place for fishing"! that same place being now the largest fishing port in the world. In 1(142, in the month of May, there came a set of determined men from Plymouth, and the gener- al court granted them " a plantation " here, which, as manv of the men had come from the English iS ut of the way plantation in the 17th century, and one can read in an early account of the jilace that "lions have been seen at Cape Anne," a remarkable fact which I recommend to zooloLjists, who must not for- get, hiuvevi't. that New England rum was sold "at Cape .Vnue " at the same epoch. The names of the localities on the Cape have changed as little as the names of the residents. In the harbor are "Five-pound Island" and "Ten-pound Island," and there they were in liU4, for Wm. Vinson re- ceived a grant of the flrst then, and the second was set ajiart for the i>asturing of ruAns, the ancient Glosterian believing in the poetical injimi-tion — " Butt me no butts "! Thacher's Island was called so from ItiS."., al- though then it received the name of "Thacher's Woe" (see subsequentpoem) for Anthony Thacher's ship went down Aug. 1-1 in that ye.ar on Crack- wood's Ledge, and all his children were drowned, as well as the entire family of Rev. John Avery (commemorated by Avery's Rock ^ and all the crew. Nor was this the onlj' " woe " on tlie cape, for just across Gloucester Harbor (iu the old days this was called part of the cape) is '•Xorman's Woe," a most dangerous reef, whose name puzzles the historian. It is a fact that a certain Richard Xorman dwelt in Essex before 1082, and that ho departed on a voyage from which he never returned, but it is not quite certam that he was shipwrecked on this reef. There have been, however, enough wrecks there to justify Longfel- low's i)oeni. Tlic " cut " or canal, whicli unites Massachusetts and Ipswich bays, is almost as old as the town of Gloucester which was made thereby into what Mrs. Malaprop would call a "dissolute island," a name wliich, unfoitunately, is somewhat applicable in modei-n times. But the antiquarian may find the largest number of relics of the olden days towards Annisquam, and onRuss' Island he may discern re- mains of the old colonial road to Boston. The late Mr. E. M. Chamberlain often took me to the traces of this road and we even discovei-ed the cellar hole of the old tavern which at one time furnished the weary colonial traveller with spirituous comfort. One odd relic of this road is a gate in a fence, far away from any house; this gate is required to be " kept open forever," for the convenience of trav- ellers to the city; the -road is gone, but the gate and the legal restriction remains. I fancy that the old cellar could tell many tales of revelry if it could speak, for those were the days of hard drinking, when the Gloucester citizens were obliged to curb the expenses of their selectmen in the matter of punches and grog, the days when :ff0y^^^^- GLOUCESTER FROM STAGE FORT. SHOWING PAVILION BEA_H. JXL every schooner was baptized by breakiiij; a bottle of rum over t!ie bows at the launching. And this city was the birthplace of the scliooner, too, for . ^ when the new-rigged craft, which Capt. Andrew ^1 Eobinson had built in 1713, was launched, a by- stander cried, "Oh! how she schoona! " (schooning being to skip along as a flat stone skimnied on the surface of the water) and the captain accepted the name of "schooner" as a good omen for his new boat, and by this name all of her successors have gone. Of course the old plantation was a Puritan strung- hold at first, and Rev. Dr. Blynman. who came the first year from Plymouth, was of the orthodox faith, but there seem to have been dissensions enough, as indeed there were throughout the whole reli- gious world of Xew England in tli'> early days. The Puritans, while fighting Rome with cordial and united animosity, reserved the divine right of quar- relling among themselves, and jioor Dr. Blynman had but a sorry time of it. His successor's salary was i;(>0 a year, but this was to be paid in food and articles of produce, such as "Indian corn, pease, barley, tish, mackerel, beef or pork," and the jia- rishioners at times took sucli advantage of the trade that a conmiission was apiiointed to see tliat tlic articles given were not unlit "to pass from man to man." At a later period (in 1767) Rev. John Wyeth had a still more unpleasant experience, for the op- ponents to his pastorate occasionally firetl nuisket balls into his house because he had not the prim dignity which they associated with clerical com- portment in those formal days. A little later there Ijcgan here a new rreed, which was destined to .iXL: spread over a large part of the country. Rev. John Murray came to Gloucester in 1774, at the invita- tion of the Sargent family, and in their house, in that year, was planted the first seed of Universal- ism in America (see picture of oldest Universalist church in America— No. 5 in this book). Of course, in spite of a blameless and charitable life, the ran- cor of religious hatred reached him, and even per- sonal violence and mob lav? were threatened. The preacher who first taught the Methodist creed in Gloucester received a like welcome, and the tangle of religious quarrelling and ecclesiastical law suits extends from the advent of Dr. Blynnian, at the foundation of the town, to very recent times. Gloucestei', however, was not so badly tainted with the persecution of witches as its neighbor, Salem, a little further down the coast. Yet it did not escape the madness altogether. Abigail Somes, a daughter of one the early settlers, was taken to Boston on the awful charge, but was finally allowed to go. Ann Dolliver, wife of Capt. William Dolli- ver of Gloucester, was accused, but also escaped death. Witch-flnders were called to Gloucester, and sent four women to prison, but none of them were hanged. Ghosts of Frenchmen and Indians were sent to this city by witches, as Cotton Mather tells in his " Magnalia," but the most peculiar case of all was connected with the siege of Louisburg. There were several Gloucester soldiers in the victo- rious army of the Xorth and some of these had aroused the anger of old Peg Wesson before their departure. Just before they left this city, the old witch (so the story goes) told them she would have her vengeance on thera when they got to Louis- 8 y IS =ixr o burg. While they were iu camp there they ob- served a huge crow flying around them ; many at- tempts to shoot or to capture it were iu vain, wlien suddenly one of the men remembered the propliecy and decided tliat it must be Peg Wesson. He knew tlien that only a bullet of precious metal could harm the witch. He therefore took his silver sleeve buttons and fired tliem at the bird, which fell to the ground wounded. Now follows the marvel of it all : Peg Wesson at the same moment fell down in Gloucester with a broken leg, and when the doctors examined the wound, the identical sleeve buttons which had been fired in Louisburg dropped out. But why poor Peg should have acted so foolishly, or what she expect- ed to gain by flying around the soldiers in her bird- shape, the history does not tell, yet Mr. Babson (the historian of (Jloucester) assures us that there were many who firmly believed in the story even recently, and to that statement I can add tlie fact tliat I have known CHoucestor fishermen wlio tlior- ouglily believed in witches and nailed a horseshoe on the masts of their vessels as a protection against them. l!ut if I were to tell of the present super- stitions of the Clouci'ster fishermen that I have known, I should rcciuirc almost a volume : liere are a few, hiiwt'Ver: If you accidentally drop a rake of ice overboanl when preparing fur the lishing trii), you will Iiave good luck and a full fare. If you turn a hatch bottom up, or drop it into the hold, you will meet the direst misfortune through the trip, and may be glad if you see land again. ^X? JXL If you watch a ship out of sight you will never see it again. If a man comes on the vessel with a black valise, he is a "Jonah "; have nothing to do with him, and don't let him ship with you. " Sunday sail, never fail, Friday sail, ill lucl« and gale." Yet the competition between the fishermen has now grown so keen that I have seen many a schoon- er start out on Friday, particularly if it happened to be a fair day after a long storm. The belief in "Jonahs," that is, unlucky people, is ineradicable from the fishennan's mind, and there are the strangest instances of ships "losing their luck" when certain men sailed on them, and regaining it when they left. One man "hoodooed" three schooners in this manner one year. Most glorious and brilliant was Gloucester's share in the Revolution. Before it began the people here were as excited as those of Boston. There was not a " tea-party " or a Crispus Attucks riot here, but the agitation had its earnest and its comical sides, too. Gloucester was an admirable place for smug- gling in those days, and of course, the inhabitants sympathized with any attempt to evade the pay- ment of duties to the crown. A schooner had ar- rived from abroad and had half unloaded, when the English authorities sent the customs officer to ap- praise the cargo. There was at the " Cut " a small watch-house which had been erected in the time of a smallpox scare to detain any strangers at quar- antine. The old watchman, John McKean, started at once for this station, and when the official came in sight he at once took him in custody, in pursu- ^ U SURF AND ROCKS. NEAR BASS ROCKS. IXL n/ aiice of liis aneient orders, and, although (here had been no smallpox for a number of years, he gave liim a 10 hours' fumigatiou, and when he let him go there were as few foreign goods in sight as there were smallpox germs upon his person. Soon after came Bunker Hill, and two compa- nies of Gloucester men were in the battle, Capt. Warner's comjaany coming up at a nui, just in time to participate. But more characteristic was the adventure of the British sloop of war Falcon, which, endeavoring to land a boat at Collin's Beach to capture some sheep, was so tired upon by a few men from an ambushed position that they made a hasty retreat, thinking that there were 100 soldiers in am- bush instead of five fishermen. When, finally the Falcon entered Gloucester Bay and began to bom- bard the town, the citizens nave them so warm a reception that they were glad to give over the at- tempt. Dearon Kinsman's hog was killed in the bc>mbar. Kipling as a Jonah! ] Anyone moving much among Gloucester citizens i will be struck by their independence and fearless ways; there is a definite type of Gloucestrian, which ^i)Cr JXL is more tbaa can be said of many otiier cities. After tlie visitor lias visited tlie beautiful natural scenes illustrated in this book, it would be of interest to study the busy and very characteristic life of the place. A stroll on the wharves, a look on board of a fishing schooner, a visit to Main St. at about 8.30 Saturday night, and a look at the same locality on the eve of the Fourth of July, will connnce him that Gloucester Ls one of the most characteristic cities of America. Louis C. Elson. --; OUl.'sl riii\.-isali-i ( iiiiicli ill AiiiiTii'ii. riiii'liT l!iiil(iiiis;--(>lil (•iiiiK-r.' I'liitarian Chiinli ami S:i«yir l.ihiai v. Cily Hall. Hi^li Si-liool. ^ UNIVERSALISM IN AMERICA FIRST BEGAN IN GLOUCESTER. In our sketch of the history of Gloucester we have stated tliat tlie Rev. John Murray began preaching Universalism in Gloucester, in 1774. It is generally supposed, and sometimes printed, that Boston had the first church of this denomination, but the statement is an error. The date of Glou- cester's formal beginning in this creed was 1779, when 69 persons drew up "Articles of Association " as an "Independent Christian Church of Christ, resolved by God's grace to meet together, whether blessed with the public preaching of the word or not, to meet together to supplicate the Divine fa- vour, to praise our redeeming God, to hear His most holy word and freely to communicate whatever God shall please to manifest to us for our nnitual edification", and they further agreed to ordain as their minister "their christian brother, John Mur- ray, from a full conviction that the same God that sent the first preachers of Jesus Christ, and that the same gospel they preached, we have from time to time received from him." In 1796 (five years before the church in Boston was purchased according to the claims above men- tioned) they erected a house of worshii> at the cor- ner of Main and Water Streets, which was dedicat- ed Christmas day. The lot of land occupied by the present church, was purchased in 1805, and the present house of worship was erected during that and the .succeed- ing year and was dedicated October 9, 1806. -JXL THACHER'S LIGHTS, BY LOUIS C. ELSON. Wide, wakeful eyes that look out o'er the sea! They note the billows at their treach'rous play, They watch the fishing schooners sail away With sound of careless mirth and revelry. And gaze, foreboding, o'er the tranquil sea. Deep, thoughtful eyes that guard the dang'rous tidel The winter's spume, the summer's lazy swell. Pass in their turn the sleepless sentinel ; " The shore is granite, and the ocean wide! " Unceasing say the eyes that guard the tide. Blank, staring eyes, the vacant eyes of Death! The sailor groping through the swirl of snow. Sees the veil rent, and looks on Thacher's woe. Whispers a half-formed prayer beneath his breath And goes to meet those staring eyes of Death! Soft, tender eyes, the loving eyes of Homel The south-bound skipper, in the length'ning nights Sweeps the horizon line for Thacher's lights. No stars so welcome to him in the dome. As those twin-lights, the loving eyes of Home ! iXf HAWTHORNE INN AND ITS COTTAGES, EAST GLOUCESTER. OLD MOTHER ANN, EAST GLOUCESTER. MOTHER ANN u Before the gate of Gloucester Where spray and surges sweep, Upon the cliffs of granite A woman lies asleep. There has she lain in sliunber While countless seasons ran; A sphinx of endless ages Not carved or thought by man. In summer, briar roses, In autumn, golden-rod, With varied tints embroider Her couch— the scanty sod. She heeds not springtime's fragrance, She notes not summer's balm, But lies beside the ocean In an umuffled calm. Yet when November's storm-wind Begins its maddened chase She has a look of sorrow And tears are on her face. She dreams about her children, Out on the cruel deep, And 'mid the gale's wild howling. She murmurs in her sleep. Her sons, the sta\uich sea-rovers. How swift they homeward ride. Like children seeking safety Close to their mother's side. And in the morning sunlight All tempest-fears are gone. And Gloucester dreads no danger, While Mother Ann sleeps on. -J JXL AMATEUR FISHING vs. PROFESSIONAL. Tlio regular fisherman has bceti described fully enough by Kipling, Connolly and Mrs. Phelps-Ward. The opposite picture may show the style of schoon- er in which he carries on his work and the surround- ings of a "banker" — who has no connection with "Wall Street or State Street I Amateur deep-sea fishing is quite "another story." After repeated expeditions to the nearer fishing grounds I feel competent to advise piscatorial neo- phytes, especially since the average fisherman often misleads the average summer-boarder. The fish bite best in the early morning ; three o'clock a. m. is not too early in the day to set forth. The best bait is small mackerel, herring, alewives or squid; clams are a delusion for deep fishing. All fishers are misogynists; if you take the sum- mer girl fishing each codfish will result in shrieks; a sculpin will cause the lady who catches him to reach G in altissimo with ease; and the party will start three hours late. There is some masculine re- venge possible. For example, when you notice some fair damsel growing a greenish white you can ask her, " Why is your breakfast like a conundrum that cannot bo guessed? " or, if she is from the South, you can inquire whether Texans ever do really eat molasses with their pork! =xxr FlialllNu SlHCCNER on GEORGES. £)Q= ^ There is one charm in Gloucester off-shore fish- ing; you never know what your line is likely to bring up. If you draw up something that feels as if you had caught an open umbrella at the bottom of the sea — that is a skate, which the fishermen throw away, although the best chef in Boston as- sured me that their fins are moi'e excellent than the best green turtle. If it is a fish that comes up blushing rosy red, it is a bream. On one fishing trip recently a sea-mouse was followed by a catfish, and this was succeeded by a dugfish; but a sea- lemon (a strange submarine ball) was not as appro- priately followed by any other ingredients for a sea-punch. The dogfish was of some interest, for he is the wolf of the sea; precisely like the shark in shape, he is much smaller, running fi'om one to about fif- teen pounds. He bites at anything. Sailors have told me of dogfish swallowing the cmders thrown overboard from the cook's galley with avidity, and let one of the pack be wounded never so slightly, his brethren at once devour him. As with wolves, a single one will not attack a man, but a swimmer, in a school of dogfish, would be eaten piecemeal. rJ THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS. At n. meetiug of the Essex Institute and the Man- chester Historical Society held Aug. ISth, 1903, the following points regarding Longfellow's celebra- ted poem were discussed: Hon. Alden P. White of Salem read " The Wreck of the Hesperus," prefacing the reading with some remarks showing Longfellow's inception of the poem, which was first published in "The New World," a periodical published in New York and edited by Park Benjamin, the author being paid $2.5 for it. The origin of the writing of the ballad is shown by the following extracts from Longfel- low's diary: " December 17, 1839 — News of shipwTecks horri- ble on the coast. Twenty bodies washed ashore near Gloucester, one lashed to a piece of the WTeck. There is a reef called Norman's Woe, where many of them took place, among others the schooner Hesperus, also the Sea Flower on Black Rock. I must write a ballad upon.this, also upon two others, "The Skeleton in Armor," and "Sir Hmnphrey Davy." " December 30, 1839—1 wrote last evening a notice of Allston's poem, after which I sat till 12 by my fire smoking, when suddenly it came into my mind to write " The Ballad of the Schooner Hesperus," (J *;^:ti. -%-^ NORMAN'S WOE, MAGNOLIA. rxn^ M r: which I accordingly did. Then I went to bed but not to sleep. Xew thoughts were running in my mind, and I got up to add them to the ballad. It was three by the clock. I then went to bed and fell asleep. I feel pleased with the ballad. It hardly cost me an effort. It did not come into my mind by lines, liut by stanzas." Regarding the claim that no such schooner as the Hesperus ever existed save in the poet's imagina- tiiin, Mr. White read extracts from tlie Gloucester records and the following report from the Boston Daily Advertiser of December 17, 1839, showing that the Hesperus was actually in the storm at Bos- ton, and that the body of a woman was washed ashore, lashed to a mast, at Gloucester, and from these facts the poem was constructed : "Further particulars of the gale.— The gale, of wliich we gave some account yesterday, continued up to midnight, when it suddenly lulled. During the last hour it seemed even more violent than at any previous time. To-day the wind has been high from about N. with snow. It is agreed on all hands that since the gale of September, 181C, we have not had in this