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THE STORY OF CUTTYHUNK
Gc 974.401 D88ha 1934234
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL TENEN ANY COLLECTION
M. L.
TOWN OF GOSNOLD MASSACHUSETTS
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UZZARD'S
BAY
WASH POND
First English Settlement in New England in 1602
CUTTYHUNK LIGHT
EWEST END POND
STANDS
BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD MONUMENT
BASS
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STA
BASS
BASS STANDS
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01100 7819
COPICUT NECK
W:
UTTYHUNK
POND
S
CANAPITSIT CHANNEL
MARTHA'S VINEYARD 7 MILES
UTTYHUNK 1. 111111
ISLAND
SWORDFISH
5 TO 25 MILES
NEYARD
SOUND
REYNOLDS PRINTING 1953
...
COAST GUARD STATION
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THE STORY OF CUTTYHUNK
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LOUISE T. HASKELL
Copyright 1953 First Printing 1953 Second Printing 1956
Published by REYNOLDS PRINTING, Inc. New Bedford, Mass.
1934234
Por 6761-12-3-76 - Tien Week. Es .. 5.00
Dedicated to All my Cuttyhunk Pupils For whom this research was first undertaken
Introduction
After twenty-six years of life on Cuttyhunk, twenty- three of which were spent as teacher of the Cutty- hunk School, I was asked by the school committee : Mrs. Sarah J. Tilton, Mrs. Doris Bosworth, and Mrs. Ellen Veeder to write the history, geography, and legends of the island for use in the schools and for sale to those who are interested.
Such a project has been one of my pet dreams ever since I first became interested in the subject and began research on it for the purpose of teaching home geo- graphy and history to my pupils back in 1926.
Since the present year is the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of Captain Barthol- omew Gosnold and his expedition on Cuttyhunk, this pamphlet might be considered a slight memento of that event.
If there are any errors or omissions in the account, it is because of the dearth of early records and the dif- ficulty of obtaining facts from other sources, as well as the universal proclivity of mankind to error. How- ever, I have checked the subject matter herein as care- fully as possible and cite my sources in the bibliogra- phy at the end of the account.
Much of personal history is of necessity omitted from a document of this kind which is not concerned with that phase of island life. However, like any other spot on earth, much of the color of Cuttyhunk is due to the personalities of its inhabitants and their ancestors.
I hope those who read these pages may obtain from them as much pleasure as I have enjoyed in the writing of them.
Louise T. Haskell
1952
What and Where is Cuttyhunk?
Cuttyhunk is the westernmost of the Elizabeth Is- lands which stretch from Woods Hole westward, and separate Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. The chief Elizabeth Islands are these :
Cuttyhunk, Penikese,
Nashawena, Pasque (nese)
Naushon, Nonameset,
Uncatena and Weepeckets.
The chart shows sixteen islands in the Elizabeth group as follows :
Nonamesset-11/4 miles long, 1/4 mile wide
Uncatena-3/4 miles long, 1/2 mile wide
Veckatimest
West Buck Island-not named on the chart but known thus to Naushon owners and residents
Bull Island
Weepeckets-three small islands
Cedar
Naushon-7 miles long, 13/4, miles wide
Pasque-13/4 miles long, 1 mile wide
Nashawena-3 miles long, 1 mile wide
Penikese-3/4 miles long, 1/2 mile wide
Gull Island-11/4 miles long - really a ledge of rocks
Cuttyhunk-21/2 miles long, 3/4 miles wide
The Elizabeth Islands together with Martha's Vine- yard, Chappequiddick and No-Man's Land form Dukes County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dukes
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County gets its name from the Duke of York, who in 1664 received from his brother, Charles II King of England, a grant of New York including Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the adjacent is- lands.
Cuttyhunk is a shortened form of the Indian name Poocutohhunkunnoh. This Indian name has received many translations and may be a compound of Pohau- etahun-kunnoh, which in Algonquin means an open, cleared, broken up field, or a planting field. How- ever, it seems more probable from the description of the island as given by Gosnold's expedition that it may be from another Algonquin word series which means, "Point of Departure" or "Land's End." It is difficult to trace the meaning of the early Algonquin place names.
One writer has said that "Cuttyhunk is an exper- ience entirely surrounded by water"; another has called it the "True Treasure Island". To those of us who live on it, or return to it each year for vacation it seems more like the Irishman's song about Ireland, "a little bit of heaven."
GLACIAL ORIGIN
Thousands of years ago a great ice sheet or glacier covered all the northern part of the world, and like a great river slowly worked its way south. When it reached Cape Cod it began to melt, and as it came into contact with the Gulf Stream or the North Atlantic Drift, which is a current of warm water flowing north eastward about one hundred miles from Cuttyhunk, it melted quickly and dropped the earth, sand, rocks and other material which it had scraped up as it ground along.
Our island and the other Elizabeth Islands which form our town of Gosnold was formed by these glacial droppings. Geologists, men who have made a study
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of the formation of the earth, think that at one time these islands may have been a part of Cape Cod.
We know that our island was made by the ice sheet because it is covered with rocks and stones which are like those found only in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. We also find pudding stone which must have come from around Boston. Besides, just look at the rounded topped, oval shaped, long hills on Cuttyhunk. Such hills are called drumlins and are formed of glacial drift.
The shape of our island is almost that of a lobster with one claw broken off. It is about two and a half miles long by three-fourths of a mile wide. It has a narrow strip of sandy or rocky beach which ends abruptly in steep, rocky, sandy or clay cliffs on the north, south, and west sides. The East end of the island is formed by two long narrow peninsulas. The southern peninsula is washed by Vineyard Sound and at its east end stands the Old Coast Guard Station (or perhaps I should say, stood, for it is to be removed to Menemsha Bight in the near future). This peninsula has a sharp bend toward the north and in the shallow waters of this bend surf bathing and fishing may be enjoyed. The northern peninsula forms a hook which is connected with the main island by a narrow beach which is sandy or rocky depending upon the material washed up by the storms and tides. This peninsula is shown on the maps and charts as Copicut Neck but is usually called The Neck by those who live on the island. These two peninsulas enclose the harbor call- ed The Pond which forms a sheltered anchorage for the fishermen and for visiting yachts.
At the West End of the island is a large pond known as the West End Pond. For years this was a fresh water pond, but some years ago the sea broke through the beach on the north side and the pond has
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became an arm of the sea. In this pond stands Gos- nold's Island with its monument.
Just east of the West End Pond is a small fresh water pond which is a home for turtles and frogs. In the old days this pond was used for cutting ice and washing sheep, thus it has become known as The Wash Pond.
Cuttyhunk is made up of rolling hills with deep grassy valleys in between. The highest point on the island is The Lookout where the United States Coast Guard maintains a Watch House. This hill is one hun- dred and fifty four feet above sea level. The Wig- wam, so called from its conical shape, is slightly south of the center of the island and from its shape might be an Indian burying mound, but it is surely a drum- lin. There are several low grassy meadows on the is- land which would make excellent pasturage for cows and where mushrooms grow wild. In the old days cows and sheep did graze in these meadows.
Between Cuttyhunk and its neighboring island, Nash- awena, is a harbor which is capable of sheltering large vessels. Between Nashawena and Cuttyhunk is a strait known as Canapitsit. A strong tide rip runs through here and makes it a dangerous passage for amateur mariners. This strait is full of huge boulders where lurk the striped bass for which Cutty- hunk has become famous. From the accounts of Gos- nold's voyage it seems probable that at the time of their visit this strait may have been an isthmus and Nashawena and Cuttyhunk may have been one is- land.
To the west of Cuttyhunk stretches Sow and Pigs Reef where the Vineyard Sound Lightship is station- ed. On this reef many a vessel has been wrecked and here cod fishing and tautoging are carried on. Northwest of Cuttyhunk, farther away than the Vine-
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yard Sound ship is Hens and Chickens Lightship which guards a reef at the entrance to Buzzards Bay.
Most of the New England wildflowers are found on Cuttyhunk. Many birds make their homes on the is- land in spite of the lack of trees. Many kinds of warblers, swallows, meadow larks, red-winged black- birds, thrush and numberless gulls, terns and sand- pipers. Many other varieties stop over here while in migration.
EARLY HISTORY
About the year 1000 certain Norsemen left Green- land and landed somewhere on the coast of America between New York City and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The exact spots of their landings cannot be determined from the accounts given in the Flatey Books or The Saga of Eric The Red, which are the only Norwegian accounts available. However, many scholars believe that the land and islands described in these accounts are Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. So it is probable that the first white men to land on Cuttyhunk were these Norsemen. Certainly their description of the bay which they called Straum- fiord (Bay of Currents) with its many islands separat- ing it from the open ocean is an excellent description of Buzzards Bay.
Between the year 1000 and 1602 many European mariners and fishermen crossed the Atlantic but few of their voyages were written about. In the few cases where old letters and manuscripts are still found it would seem probable that a number of early voyagers touched our island, but nothing can be known for cer- tain until Gosnold made his voyage.
On March 6th, 1602, with a company of thirty-two men, Bartholomew Gosnold sailed from Falmouth, Eng- land intending to plant a colony in the new world of America. His voyage was described by two of the
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men of his company, Gabriel Archer and John Brere- ton and in a letter which Gosnold himself wrote to his father. This voyage was made with the supposed permission of Sir Walter Raleigh, who at that time was high in the favor of Queen Elizabeth and had been given all rights of colonization in the new land. How- ever, in letters from Raleigh some doubt is cast on whether Gosnold's voyage was under Raleigh or was an independent undertaking.
The descriptions given in the accounts of Gabriel Archer and John Brereton and in Gosnold's letter show beyond a doubt that Gosnold's men landed on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk, after touch- ing land in the vicinity of Kennebunkport, Maine.
THE VOYAGE AND LANDING OF BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD
In March 1602, in a small bark, The Concord, with thirty-two men, among whom was Sir Humphrey Gil- bert's son, Bartholomew Gilbert, Gosnold sailed from Falmouth, England. The first land sighted in the New World was in southern Maine, near Portland. They sailed southward and came upon the shores of New Hampshire, where they met some Indians who had evidently been in contact with European fishermen for they had some "Christian words" and "one of them wore waistcoat, breeches, stockings, shoes and hat made by Christians."
The following is from the account of Gabriel Ar- cher, "a gentleman in the said voyage".
"Finding ourselves short of our purposed place, we sailed westward. About sixteen leagues from thence we perceived two small islands" (probably Boone Is- land and the Isle of Shoals.) "About three of the clocke the same day in the afternoon we weighed and stand- ing southerly off into the sea the rest of that day and
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night following, with a fresh gale of wind, in the morn- ing we found ourselves imbayed with a mighty head- land; but coming to anker about nine of the clocke the same day, within a league of the shore, we hoisted out the one half of our shallop and Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, myself and three others went ashore, being a white sandie and very bolde shore; and marching all that afternoon with our muskets on our necks, on the highest hills which we saw at length we perceived this headland to be parsell of the maine, and sundrie is- lands lying almost around it and returned to our ship where in five or six hours absence we had pestered our ship so with cod fish that we threw numbers of them overboard againe." They named this peninsula Cape Cod.
The next day the Concord proceeded "round about this headland almost all the points of the compasse" and came upon the two easterly points of Cape Cod which have eroded away in the years since, but which are remembered by men still living.
Gosnold sailed around Cape Cod and came upon No- Man's Land which he named "Martha's Vineyard". "The island is five miles and hath 41 degrees and one quarter latitude. The place most pleasant; for the two-and-twentieth, we went ashore, and found it full of wood, vines, gooseberry bushes, whortleberries, raspberries, eglantines, etc. Here we had cranes, stearnes, shoulers, geese, and divers other birds which there at that time upon the cliffs being sandy with some rocky stones, did breed and had young. In this place we saw deer : here we rode in eight fathoms near the shore where we took great store of cod,-as be- fore at Cape Cod, but much better."
"The four and twentieth, we set sail and doubled the Cape of another island next unto it, which we called Dover Cliff, and then came into a fair sound, whence we rode all night; the next morning we sent off one
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boat to discover another cape, that lay between us and the main, from which were a ledge of rocks a mile into the sea, but all above water, and without danger; we went about them and came to anchor in eight fathoms, a quarter of a mile from the shore, in one of the stateliest sounds that ever I was in. This we called Gosnold's Hope; the north bank whereof is the main, which stretcheth east and west. This island Captain Gosnold called Elizabeth's Isle, where we de- termined our abode; the distance between every of these islands is from Martha's Vineyard to Dover Cliff half a league, over the sound, thence to Elizabeth's Isle one league distant. From Elizabeth's Isle unto the main is four leagues. On the north side, near adjoining unto the island, Elizabeth, is an islet in compass half a mile, full of Cedars, by me called Hill's Hap, to the northward of which, in the mouth of an opening on the main, appeareth another the like, that I called Hap's Hill, for that I hope much hap may be expected from it.
The five-and-twentieth, it was that we came from Gosnold's Hope. The six-and-twentieth, we trimmed and lifted up our shallop. The seven-and-twentieth, there came unto us an Indian and two women, the one we supposed to be his wife, the other his daugh- ter, both clean and straight-bodied, with countenance sweet and pleasant.
The eight-and-twentieth we entered counsel about our abode and plantation, which was concluded to be the west part of Elizabeth's island. The north-east thereof running from out our ken. The south and north standeth in an equal parallel. This island in the western side admitteth some in creeks, or sandy coves so girded, as the water in some places of each side meeteth, to which the Indians from the main do often- times resort for fishing of crabs. There is eight fath- oms very near the shore and the latitude here is 41
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degrees 11 minutes, the breadeth from sound to sound in the western part is not passing a mile at most, al- together unpeopled and disinhabited. It is overgrown with wood and rubbish, viz, oaks, ashes, beech, walnut, witch-hazel, sassafras and cedars, with divers other unknown names. The rubbish is wild pease, young sassafras, cherry trees, vines, eglantines, gooseberry bushes, hawthorn, honeysuckles, with others of like quality. The herbs and roots are strawberries, rasp- berries, ground-nuts, alexander, surrin, tansy, etc. without count. Touching the fertility of the soil by our own experience made we found it excellent; for sowing some English pulse ; it sprouted out in one fort- night almost half a foot. In this island is a stage or pond of fresh water, in circuit two miles, on the one side not distant from the sea thirty yards, in the center whereof is a rocky islet, containing near an acre of ground full of wood, on which we began our fort and place of abode, disposing itself so fit for the same.
The nine-and-twentieth, we labored in getting of sassafras, rubbishing our little fort or islet, new keel- ing our shallop and making a punt or flat-bottomed boat to pass to and fro our fort over the fresh water, the powder of sassafras in twelve hours cured one of our company that had taken a great surfeit, by eating the bellies of dog fish, a very delicious meat."
The account goes on to tell how Captain Gosnold and some of the company, on the 30th went in the shallop towards Hill's Hap (Penikese) to view it and the sandy cove and brought back with him a canoe that four Indians had left there, having fled away for fear of the white men. This canoe they took back to Eng- land with them. What a commentary on the supposed Christianity of these first Englishmen! They were the first to take from the Indians what rightfully be- longed to the natives. Small wonder that the Indians later gave them trouble.
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The thirty-first Captain Gosnold and some of the party sailed to the mainland where they were met by Indians who gave them skins, tobacco, turtles, shell chains and treated them "with all courteous kindness."
The first of June, the account says "worked at gath- ering sassafras and building the fort," also on the sec- ond, third and fourth they labored to complete their fort.
On the fifth of June they were visited by fifty sav- ages from the mainland all armed with bows and ar- rows. Captain Gosnold gave the Indian who seemed to be chief a straw hat and a pair of knives.
The sixth of June was rainy and the company spent the day aboard the Concord.
On June seventh the band of Indians came to visit again and ate dinner with the Englishmen.
On June 8th the company divided the food so that some should stay with those who were to remain in the fort and some for those who were to return to England on the Concord. There arose a controversy as to this division and some of those who had expected to re- main now wanted to return to England.
On the ninth the account says that they continued work on the fort.
On the tenth Gosnold took the Concord "to the little islet of Cedars, called Hill's Hap, to take in cedar wood leaving me (Gabriel Archer) and nine more in the fort with only three meals meat, and promised to return the next day."
"The eleventh, he came not, neither sent, whereupon I commanded four of my company to seek out for crabs, lobsters, turtles, etc. for sustaining us till the ship returned, which was gone clean out of sight, and had the wind chopped up at south-west, with much difficulty would she have been able in short time to have made return. The four purveyors, whom I coun-
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selled to keep together for their better safety, divided themselves, two going one way and two another, in search as aforesaid. One of these petty companies was assaulted by four Indians, who with arrows did shoot and hurt one of the two in his side, the other, a lusty and nimble fellow, leaped in and cut their bow strings, whereupon they fled. Being late in the even- ing, they were driven to lie all night in the woods, not knowing the way home through the thick rubbish, as also the weather was somewhat stormy. The want of these sorrowed us much, as not able to conjecture any- thing of them unless very evil."
"The twelfth these two came unto us again, whereat our joy was increased, yet the want of our Captain, that promised to return as aforesaid, struck us in a dumpish terror for that he performed not the same in the space of almost three days. In the mean we sustained our- selves with alexander and sorrel pottage, ground nuts and tobacco, which gave nature a reasonable content."
At last on the thirteenth Captain Gosnold returned, but now those who had expected to remain and found a colony refused to do so and the idea was given up. The thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth the company spent in loading the Concord with sassa- fras, and cedar leaving the little fort to itself.
"The seventeenth we set sail, doubling the rocks of Elizabeth's Island, and passing by Dover Cliffs, came to anchor at Martha's Vineyard being five leagues dis- tant from our fort, where we went ashore, and had young cranes, hernes, howes, and geese, which now were grown to pretty bigness."
"The eighteenth we set sail and bore for England. The winds do range most commonly upon this coast in the summertime, westerly. In our homeward course we observed the aforesaid floating weeds to continue till we came within two hundred leagues of Europe. The
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three and twentieth of July we came to anchor before Exmouth."
From the foregoing account of Gabriel Archer it is evident that Gosnold called No-Man's Land, Mar- tha's Vineyard and what we now know as Martha's Vineyard, Dover Cliffs. The latter name was given, no doubt, because of the similarity between Gay Head and the Dover Cliffs of England.
In John Brereton's account of the voyage he says . that the bay which was at first called "Gosnold's Hope" was later renamed "Buzzard's Bay" because of the many seafowl which were there.
INDIAN LIFE ON CUTTYHUNK
As far as can be ascertained no Indians lived on Cuttyhunk, but they used it as a place from which to fish occasionally, or for hunting. From early records some of the Indians of the Pokanawkets, a subdivis- ion of the Wampanoag tribe, which was part of the Algonquin race did live on Naushon, Pasque and Nash- awena. These island Indians were under King Philip of Pokanawket during his lifetime, but there is no record that any of the Elizabeth Islands were involved in King Philip's War.
CUTTYHUNK BETWEEN 1602 AND 1864
The failure of the Gosnold expedition to found a col- ony left Cuttyhunk without permanent inhabitants until 1688 when, as far as can be determined Ralph Earle Jr. became the first permanent settler.
1606-In 1606 the Elizabeth Isles were included in the territorial grant of the king of the Council for New England, but when the corporation dissolved in 1635 and divided the New England coast among themselves they were not assigned by name to either Gorges or Stirling.
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The Council for New England was a corporation of forty members and included Sir Fernando Gorges, who was most active in colonizing schemes, and Alexander, Earl of Sterling. When the Council for New England was broken up in 1635 Sir Fernando Gorges received a grant "of the province of Maine from the Piscataqua to the Sagadahoc and hereunto is added the north half of the Isle of Shoals and also the isles of Capawock and Nautican" (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) Alexander, Earl of Sterling claimed all the islands from Long Island to Cape Cod.
1641-Sterling's agent in 1641 sold Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket to Thomas Mayhew of Watertown and in the deed gave Mayhew the right to "plant" upon the Elizabeth Isles. The agent of Gorges made no claim to the islands. It does not appear from the record that Mayhew made any attempt to colonize the islands until 1688.
1654-In 1654 Mayhew and his son received a deed from the Indian Sachem of Monument for the Elizabeth Isles, first receiving Cataymuck (Naushon) and later Nunamesset (Nonamesset). In this deed it appears that the other islands had been deeded earlier but not recorded.
1663-1665-Meanwhile the proprietorship of these is- lands was transferred from Lord Stirling's heirs to the Duke of York in 1663 although they are not men- tioned by name in the Duke's patent of 1665.
1667-In 1667 Colonel Richard Nicolls, the Duke's representative in New York, wrote to Mayhew that "all the islands except Block Island from Cape Cod to Cape May are included in my Master's patent." This was sufficiently comprehensive to include the Eliz- abeth group.
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1668-In 1668 Thomas Mayhew sold Cuttyhunk to Philip Smith, Peleg Sanford and Thomas Ward all of Newport, Rhode Island.
1670-Colonel Francis Lovelace in his notice of May 16, 1670 addressed it "to all persons concerned who laye clayme or have any pretence of interest in - any of the Elizabeth Isles" among other places enum- erated were under the jurisdiction of New York.
1671-It is known that some of the islands were pur- chased by William Brenton of Newport sometime be- fore 1671 but no record of it has been preserved save an adjudication of his title in that year. In 1671 the Elizabeth Islands were a part of Tisbury Manor which was under control of Thomas Mayhew and his son.
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