USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > Cape Cod, the right arm of Massachusetts : an historical narrative > Part 23
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On the reverse is a copy of the Compact, with the names of the signers .*
June 6, 1894, the bill establishing a normal school in *See page 22.
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CAPE COD.
Barnstable county received the assent of the governor, the place of its location to be determined by the state board of education. After hearings, in which the claims of several towns for the site of the school buildings were set forth, the board decided upon Hyannis. Dec. 26, the town of Barnstable voted to appropriate $20,000 to erect a building for a high school, and for a training school in connection with the normal school, and the structure was at once put under contract, and completed with all reasonable speed. It was ready for occupancy and opened for use the succeeding fall. Jan. 24, 1896, this building was destroyed by fire, which communicated in some mysterions manner. Subse- quently the structure was rebuilt on a somewhat improved plan, and the normal school structure, which was commenced in the summer of 1896, was completed for occupancy Sept. 9, 1897. Mr. W. A. Baldwin is the principal of the school.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, 1866-1897.
1866. May 7, Capt. Timothy Hallet, Yarmouth, died, aged 86 years .- Capt. B. P. Howes of Dennis murdered by pirates on board the brig Lubra, of which he was master, in Chinese waters .- Aug. 25, Paul Crowell, Sandwich, died, aged 88 years .- Sept. 22, Thomas Hall, Esq., Dennis, selectman, died, aged 66.
1867. June 1, Rosanna Howes, the last of 11 children of Isaac Hallet of Yarmouth, whose ages aggregated 827 years, died, at the age of 89. One sister of the family, Mrs. Elizabeth Gorham, attained the age of 97 years.
1838. June 24, Ebenezer Bacon, Esq., of Barnstable, died, aged 73. He was for many years county treasurer, and later, for two terms, or about eight years, collector of customs for the district of Barnstable.
1869. Feb. 26, fire in Sandwich. Several stores and business places burned. Loss, 820,000 to 825,000,-Nov. 3, house of Nathan Downey, in Harwich, burued. His two children, aged 4 and 6 years, perished in the flames .- Dec. 27, dedication of new house of worship of New Church society, Yarmouth.
305
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS.
1870. Nov. 29, First Congregational meeting-house, in Yarmouth, dedicated.
1871. Jan. 26, Capt. Benjamin Dyer of Truro died .- Dec. 6, public meeting in Harwich to take measures to protest against the adoption of the fishery clanse of the Washington treaty .- Dec. 20, dedication of Yarmouth public library.
1870. Dec. 9-10, 767 blackfish, yielding 1020 barrels oil, captured at various points on the inside shore of the Cape.
1871. Dec. 28, opening of railroad to Wellfleet.
1872. Feb. 15, Luther Child, Esq., of West Dennis, died, aged 84 years .- Feb. 21, Nehemiah Crowell, Esq., West Dennis, died, aged 79 .- Extreme cold weather in the months of January and February .- April, consolidation of Cape Cod and Old Colony railroad companies. -July 4, Hon. Cyrus Weekes, South Harwich, died, aged 72 .- July 8, Dr. Franklin Dodge, Harwich, died, aged 62.
1873. March 3, destruction by fire of house of Mrs. Josiah Foster, in Provincetown; the first house burned iu that town for a period of sixty years .- Aug. 9, death of Eben S. Smith, Esq., of Provincetown, for many years underwriters' agent and prominent in business circles. - Aug. 24, destructive gale in Gulf of St. Lawrence; number of Cape citizens lost their lives and much shipping destroyed.
1874. Jan. 24, schooner Franklin Rogers of Chatham, capsized in Boston harbor and three men drowned .- Feb. 16, Capt. John Eldridge, Yarmouth, former Liverpool packet commander, died, aged 75 .--- March 25, Rev. Nathaniel Cogswell, Yarmouth, died, aged 80 .- May 17, opening of public library in Provincetown .- May 30, dedication of new Universalist church in Hyannis .- Sept. 12, great school of black- fish driven ashore at Truro.
1875. Feb. 22, Dr. George Shove, Yarmouth, died, aged 57 .- March 4, Italian barque Giovanni wrecked at Truro Highlands. Fourteen lives lost .- April 1, Rev. Joseph Eldridge, D. D., a native of Yarmouth, died at Norfolk, Coun .- July 5, Capt. Allen H. Knowles of Yarmouth died .- Nov. 27, Capt. Josiah Gorham of Yarmouth died.
1876. Jan. 13, David Suow of Boston, a native of Orleans, died in Boston, aged 77 .- Jau. 20, a fire occurred in Harwich, which destroyed Cape Cod Exchange, Brett's block; dwelling house and several stores injured. Loss estimated at $35,000 .- Jan, 27, Nathan Freeman, Esq., president of Provincetown bank, died, aged 78 .- Jan. 28, Ezra H. Baker, native of Dennis, died in Boston. He was a well-known capitalist, and one of the promoters of the Union Pacific railroad .- May 2, Rev. Asahel Cobb of Sandwich died, aged 83 .- May 15, Dr. Thomas N. Stone of Wellfleet, poet, orator, legislator, died, aged 58 .- May 25, Capt. Franklin Hallet, a native of Yarmouth, died in Liverpool, Eng. He had commanded steamers in the Boston & Liverpool line.
1877. Feb. 16, the Town hall and High school house on High Pole hill, in
30G
CAPE COD.
Provincetown, destroyed by fire .- May 9, Francis Bacon, Barnstable, died, aged 72 .- Dec. 10, Rev. James Barnaby of West Harwich died, aged 91 years. He had been identified with the Baptist society there at different times, for nearly fifty years.
1878. Jan 22, E. K. Collins, a native of Truro, and founder of the line of steamers bearing his name, died in New York .- Feb. 4, Frederick Scudder, many years county treasurer and register of deeds, died in Hyannis .- April 20, 600 acres woodland burned over in Truro woods .- May 24, Hon. Freeman Cobb of Brewster died in South Africa .- Oct. 11-12, severe storm, by which trees were uprooted, spires blown over, great damage done to shipping on the coast.
1879. Jan. 12, Capt. Frederick Nickerson of Brewster died in Boston. -Jan. 28, Thomas Gray, merchant, a native of Yarmouth, died in Boston .- Feb. 25, Deacon John Munroe, many years treasurer of Barnstable institution for savings, died in Cambridge, aged 94 years .- May 1, Wm. E. Boyden, Sandwich, stage proprietor and business man, died .- May 1, Edith Freeman murdered by her father, Chas. F. Freeman, at Pocasset, in a period of fanatical frenzy .- May 16, new Barnstable county jail occupied for the first time .- Aug. 18, great storm and destruction of vessel and harbor property in Provincetown, Harwich, Dennisport, Chatham, Hyannis and other places .- Sept. 2, Capt. Peter Harding, shipping agent, a native of Dennis, died in Baltimore .- Sept. 11, Capt. B. S. Young of Wellfleet died .- Nov. 7, Hon. Levi L. Goodspeed died in West Barnstable. He had been a member of the executive conncil and sheriff of Barnstable county .- Nov. 16, French Atlantic cable laid in North Eastham. Terminus afterwards removed to Orleans.
1880. Feb. 28, Joseph Nickerson, railroad projector and capitalist, a native of Brewster, died in Boston .- March 14, Franklin Snow, merchant, a native of Orleans, died in Boston .- March 29, Henry V. Spurr, Esq., died in Sandwich .- June 17, Heman B. Chase, Esq., died in West Yarmouth .- July 5, Jacob S. Howes, keeper of Sandy Neck light- house, died .- Nov. 30, Capt. Atkins and two of Provincetown life- saving crew, No. 7, lost their lives while rescuing crew of a wrecked vessel .- Dec. 5, E. N. Winslow, many years superintendent of Cape Cod railroad, died at U. S. Hotel, Boston .- Dec. 22, Village hall, Yarmouth, destroyed by fire.
1881. Jan. 6, Hon. Erasmus Gould, ex-senator and president of Falmouth Bank, died .- March 23, Hon. John Doane of Orleans died. He was three years senator from this county, and county commis- sioner for six years. He had attained nearly 90 years of age .- April 26, Hon. John G. Palfrey died in Cambridge, aged 86 .- Nov. 4, Capt. Prince S. Crowell of East Dennis died. He was an enterprising and successful ship-owner and general business manager, and a friend of liberal and progressive movements of the day.
1882. March 31, Capt. Samuel Matthews, Yarmouth, died, aged 80,- Nov. 18, Obed Brooks, Esq., died in llarwich .- Nov. 21, Nathan Crosby,
307
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS.
Esq., died in Brewster .- Nov., the largest single fare of codfish ever brought into the county was that of schooner Willie Mckay, Capt. Angus McKay, consisting of 4062 quintals, valued at upwards of $22,000.
1883. Jan. 21, Capt. Oliver Matthews of Yarmouth died .- Jan. 25, Sandwich tack factory destroyed by fire. Loss, $15,000 to $17,000 .-- Feb. 5, Isaac Thacher, merchant, a native of Yarmouth, died in Boston, aged 75 .- March 7, Capt. Winthrop Sears of Yarmouth died .- April 21, Hon. Albert Alden, a native of Yarmouth, died in Cambridge. -Luther Hinckley, Esq., ex-deputy sheriff, died in Marston's Mills, aged 94 .- May 16, Capt. Isaac Crosby died in Brewster .- May 28, Hon. James B. Crocker died in Yarmouth, aged 79. He was two years senator and several terms clerk of courts .- May 30, Capt. Obed B Whelden of South Dennis died in Pensacola, Fla .- Aug. 11, Rev. Nathan Chapman died in East Dennis, aged 85 years .- Sept. 25, Mr. Timothy Phinney died in Newburyport, aged 99 years. He was a native of Barnstable .- Oct. 20, Hon. Henry Crocker, a native of Barnstable, died, aged 79. Mr. Crocker was several years sheriff of Suffolk county .- Nov. 29, Josiah Hinckley, Esq., Barnstable, died, aged 89. Mr. Hinckley had filled the offices of representative, county treasurer and collector of customs .- Dec. 5, a special term of the supreme court tried Charles F. Freeman for the murder of his young daughter, and the verdict was, "Not guilty, by reason of insanity." He was committed to Danvers asylum.
1884. Jan. 11, Mrs. Paul Sherman and Henry Holmes drowned while crossing in a boat from Sandy Neck to Barnstable .- Feb. 7, ex-Sheriff David Bursley died in Barnstable .- March 8, Capt. Joshua Baker died in Hyannis .- April 4, Col. George W. Hallet, of Providence, died in Yarmouth .- Nov. 18, great blackfish chase; from 1200 to 1500 driven ashore from Provincetown to Dennis, valued at from $12,000 to $15,000. - Dec. 27-28, another successful blackfish chase, 500 to 600 captured hack of Sandy Neck, Barnstable.
1885. May 16, Capt. Nathaniel Matthews, Yarmouth, died, aged 79. He was a former commander of the missionary brig Morning Star, in the Pacific waters .- April 4, opening of new Exchange building in Harwich .- April 8, Hon. E. C. Howard of Bourne died in Watertown, aged 54. He was representative from Sandwich, and senator from the Island district, two years each.
1886. Jan. 29, Capt. Moses Howes of Dennis died .- May 10, Capt. Zeuas E. Crowell, of Hyannis, died .- May 28, Col. Henry C. Brooks, a native of Harwich, died in Boston .- June 25, Capt. Isaiah Chase, Harwich, died .- Nov. 29, Capt. R. R. Freeman, Wellfleet, died .- Dec. 18, Asa E. Lovell, register of deeds, died in Osterville.
1887. March 6, Loring Crocker, Esq., of Barnstable, died .- May 11, great fire in the woods of Bourne, which burned nearly a week; 33,000 acres burned over .- June 18, Nathaniel S, Simpkins died in Yarmouth- port, aged 89. He was the founder of the Barnstable Journal and
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Yarmouth Register, newspapers .- Aug. 21, Rev. E. E. Chase, WestYar- mouth, died, aged 83 .- Aug. 23, David K. Akin died in South Yarmouth, aged 88. He was several years county commissioner, and president of First National Bank of Yarmouth .- Sept. 24, Capt. Owen Bearse, Hyannis, died.
1888. March 7, Rev. W. H. Ryder of Chicago, a native of Province- town, died .- Sept. 13, Nathan D. Freeman, county commissioner, died in Boston .- Sept. 27, Charles Tobey of Chicago, a native of Dennis, died in New York .- Oct. 13, two persons killed at railroad crossing in West Barnstable, while attempting to cross the track in a carriage .- Nov. 14, Capt. Solomon B. Bourne, Falmouth, died, aged 91 .- Dec. 3, I. H. Loveland of Chatham, president of Cape Cod National Bank, died.
1889. Jan. 20, Ginn's block, in Dennisport, was destroyed by fire; loss, §20,000 .- Feb. 24, Charles C. Bearse, ex-Sheriff of Barnstable county, died at Cotuit .- March 27, ex-sheriff Thomas Harris died in Barnstable, aged 86 years .- May 20, schooner Nelson Harvey, New Bedford, was run down and sunk off Whale Rock, near Provincetown, and crew of six men lost .- June 1, Obed Baker, 2d, Esq., of Dennis, ex-county treasurer, died.
1890. May 14, James S. Howes of East Dennis died. He was for 24 years a county commissioner, and for a large portion of that time chairman of the board, a longer term of service than that of any other incumbent. His brother, Freeman Howes, of Yarmouth, who deceased Oct. 8, 1895, held the position of special commissioner for nine years, also longer than any other incumbent, and had been nominated for re-election .- Sept. 15, Capt. Rodolphus H. Atwood and Samuel Stan- ley were instantly killed by a stroke of lightning, while in a store in Provincetown .- Sept. 30, Paul Wing of Spring Hill, teacher of a private school of wide reputation, and an ex-representative, died at the age of 79 years .- Nov. 11, collision of trains on Hyannis branch railroad, by which Henry H. Howes was fatally injured, and others were hurt .- Dec. 12, Joseph Hoxie of East Sandwich died, aged 92 years.
1891. Feb. 28, great electrical disturbances throughout the county. The Methodist church in Wellfleet was burued, and many buildings in different towns were more or less injured .- March 2, Elijah E. Knowles, for several years representative and afterwards county commissioner, died in Orleans, aged 80 .- Heman Doane, 3d, of Eastham, a local poet, died. He was the subject of a remarkable cure of a physical disability, which is recorded in medical books,-April 28, Hon. Joseph P. Johnson of Provincetown died, aged 77 years,-Col. Augustus T. Perkins, of Cotuit, died in Boston .- May 18, Mr. James L. Sparrow died in East Orleans, aged 00 years .- July 15, Jonathan Young, the first treasurer of Cape Cod Central railroad, died in Orleans, aged 83 .- Oct. 8, Charles Thacher, 2d, for several years register of probate for this county, died in Yarmouthport.
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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS.
1892. Jan. 2, Mr. George T. Thacher of Yarmouth died at Wellesley Hills, Mass .- 14, Hon. David Fisk, ex-senator, representative and selectman, died in West Dennis .- Feb. 28, Eben S. Whittemore, ex-county commissioner, special justice First district court, died in Sandwich .- March 4, "Boston Storc," in Hyannis, destroyed by fire; loss, $35,000 to $40,000 .- March 8, Capt. Barnabas C. Howes, of South Yarmouth, died in San Francisco, from the effects of a street railway accident .- March 22, Frank J. C. Swift, selectman, etc., died in Fal- mouth .- April 24, Capt. Lemuel B. Simmons of Hyannis, ex- representative, etc., died in Portland, Me., aged 90 .- June 28, Capt. Bailey Foster died in Brewster, aged 82 .- June 24, Thomas Nickerson, a native of Brewster, prominent as a railroad constructor, died in Newton.
1893. March 25, six men of sch. Ada K. Daman, of Provincetown, were lost in a gale on Grand Banks .- April 1, "Crows' Nest," residence of Joseph Jefferson, actor, destroyed by fire, together with valuable works of art, relics and library; loss, about $250,000 .- Sept. 17, half- centennial observance of foundation of the New Jerusalem church, Yarmouth .- Dec., Capt. Richard Matthews died in Medford. He was a native of Yarmouth, and for several years was the efficient com- mander of the Massachusetts School Ship.
1894. April 11, Nathaniel Hinckley died at Marston's Mills, aged 88. Mr. Hinckley represented Barnstable in the legislature at different periods, was sheriff of the county, and a writer on political topics .- Sept. 14, art gallery and contents, stable and outhouses of C. B. Cory on Point Gammon, Yarmouth, destroyed by fire; loss, $18,000 to $20,000.
1895. Feb. 19, Nathan Edson, ex-representative and ex-selectman, died in Barnstable, aged 79 .- John L. Swift, a native of Falmouth, died in Boston .- April 10, Charles B. H. Fessenden, a native of Sandwich, died in Brooklyn, N. Y. He had been collector of enstoms for New Bedford, sheriff of Bristol county, and was the senior member of the Barnstable bar .- Aug. 2, Obed Baker, 3d, a prominent captain of Philadelphia steamship line, died in West Dennis .- Oct. 13, Capt. Coleman Nickerson died in West Dennis, aged 93.
1896. Jan. 5, Capt. Silas Jones died in Falmouth. He had been a celebrated whaling captain, and had once been the central figure in an attempted massacre by the natives of the Marshall Islands, which was averted by his skill and coolness. At time of his death he was president of the First National Bank of Falmouth .- Jan. 13, fishing sch. Fortuna collided with str. Barnstable and sunk off Highland light, and nine of the crew drowned .- Jan. 17, Hon. Alfred Keurick died in Orleans, aged 95. A long time shipmaster, and state senator in 1856 .- March 4, sch. Jonathan Bourne, with a crew, of 16 men, lost near Pollock Rip .- March 12, death of Hon. Chester Snow, ex-senator, Harwich .- April 15, fire in the woods of Sandwich and Bourne, covered
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10,000 acres .- April 16, Capt. Lot Higgins of East Orleans died, aged 86. -April 20, occurred the bell celebration in Falmouth, it being the 100th anniversary of the purchase of the bell of the Congregational society, from Paul Revere .- May 2, six cottages at Yarmouth camp grove destroyed by fire .- May 10, Capt. Albert Chase, Hyannis, died, aged 89. - August 8, Valentine Doane, Esq., long connected with shipping and fishing, died in Harwichport, aged 92 years .- August 16, accidental death by burning of Mrs. Charles Colburn and daughter iu East Brewster .- August 17, Capt. Luther Crowell, a prominent steamboat captain of Boston aud Philadelphia line, died in West Dennis .- Sept. 5, death of Judge James Hughes Hopkius of Second district court, at Provincetown .- Dec. 13, Rev. Henry P. Cutting, pastor of Pilgrim church, Harwichport, died, aged 75 years .- During 1896, 9 1-4 miles of macadamized road had been constructed in the county of Barnstable, a portion of the system of state highways inaugurated by the state of Massachusetts, the following being the sections completed in the several towns: Brewster, 1 1-2 miles; Dennis, 2 miles; Yarmouth, 3 3-4 miles north side: 2 miles south side.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE FISHERIES AND WHALING.
Testimony to their value by Brereton and Archer, Capt. John Smith, Edward Winslow-Cape Fisheries and the Common Schools- Fisheries and the Wars-Statistics of the Cod and Mackerel products-Other Fisheries on our coast-Devices for catching Fish -United States Fishery Commission and Marine Biological Labo- ratory in Wood's Hole-Early Shore Whaling-Cape Whalemen in Foreign Waters-The business in Truro, Wellfleet, Falmouth and Provincetown.
HERE is abundant evidence that one of the inducements for the settlement of Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies was the prosecution of the fisheries on the coasts, with which the English people had become familiar through the writings of the first navigators to these shores. The chronicles of Cabot's voyage, in 1497, made known that here were "great seals, and those which we commonly call salmons ; and also soles above a yard in length; but especially there is a great abundance of that kind which the savages call baccalos or codfish." Brereton and Archer, who wrote narratives of Gosnold's voyage in 1602, and speak of catching "a great store of codfish" on the coast, called the peninsula since known by that name, Cape Cod, "where," says Brereton, "I am persuaded that in the months of March, April and May there is better fishing and in as great plenty as in Newfoundland." Capt. John Smith and other writers also
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CAPE COD.
enlarge upon the value and abundance of these fisheries, which must have been familiar to those seeking knowledge of the country. Edward Winslow, in a narrative of his experience as one of the agents of the Pilgrims who went over to England from Leyden in 1618, to solicit of King James consent to their going to America, records that when the monarch asked them, "What profit might arise ?" he was answered in a single word, "Fishing." Whereupon James replied : "So God have my soul, 'tis an honest trade, 'twas the Apostle's own calling."
Arrived on this coast, their search was to find a spot fit for planting, and which would also afford them the surest rewards for searching the seas. They discussed a place which they called "Cold Harbor," in Truro, some of the company urging that it "seemed to offer advantages both for whale and cod fishery." But the place did not impress all the company favorably. Established at Plymouth, but for the fisheries, the Pilgrims must have starved in the perilous seasons of 1621-22. Continual references to the Cape fisheries in the colonial records show their value and importance. Previous to 1650, the people of Hull were allowed to seine fish at Cape Cod, but, in consequence of some irregularities, the Plymouth court passed another order and limited the fisheries there to "residents of the towns of Plymouth, Duxbury and Nauset, under regulations intended to insure an orderly course, in the management of it." The citizens of Hull again attempted, in 1671, to obtain a participation in the mackerel fishery at Cape Cod, stating that "by beating about by evening and by travelling on the shores at all times and seasons, they had discovered a way of taking them in light as well as in dark nights." The court, however, in 1684, prohibited "the taking of mackerel ashore with seines or nets," and decreed the forfeiture of
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THE FISHERIES AND WHALING.
these implements and the vessels and boats of the persons who violated the decree. The fishery at the Cape was held by the government of Plymouth colony as public property, and its profits were appropriated to the public uses. It was devoted to a purpose which showed the far-sighted intelli- gence of the law-givers of the colony -the establishment and maintenance of free public schools in the jurisdiction. In 1670, the court, as heretofore stated, made a grant "of all such profits as might, or should, actually accrue to the colony, from time to time, for fishing with seines at Cape Cod, for mackerel, bass or herrings, to be improved for, and towards, a free school in some town in this jurisdiction, provided a beginning were made within one year of the grant." The beginning was made at Plymouth, which town, also, as well as some of its inhabitants, contributed to its maintenance ; and, in 1673, the court renewed its grant, and appointed Mr. Thomas Hinckley as steward of the fund raised, or to be raised, for this purpose. This grant was not permanent, as appears from the fact that, in 1678, a part of the fund was granted to another party, and £5 for the schoolmaster at Rehoboth. From this time to 1683, portions of this fishery fund were assigned to various towns, to aid in the support of schools, Barnstable being one of the beneficiaries in the latter-named year. None of the embellishments of rhetoric are necessary to give force to the statement that Cape Cod, which first sheltered the fugitive exiles from Leyden; within whose harbor, in the Mayflower's cabin, was formed the first constitution of free government recognizing the rule of the majority of its members, supported and sustained the first free public school for the education of the children of the people !
The important part played by the fishery question in the controversy between the colonists and the mother country is
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CAPE COD.
a portion of the general history of the nation ; the relation of Cape Cod to this industry was from the first to the last intimate and important. Her fishermen and sailors were an indispensable factor in the wars with the French in Canada ; they were in full force at Louisburg and the other expeditious against the enemy. The business was attended by great fluctuations, because of the enlistment of large numbers of men in the naval service of Great Britain, and by the removal of many others to Nova Scotia and Maine, Provincetown, just prior to the Revolution, being almost depopulated in consequence. From statistics furnished, extending from the years 1765 to 1775, we gain the follow- ing information :*
Vessels annually employed.
Tonnage employed. 900
No. of men.
Yarmouth,
30
180
Wellfleet,
3
90
21
Truro,
10
400
80
Provincetown,
4
160
32
Chatham,
30
900
240
All Massachusetts,
665
25,630
4,405
From 1786 to 1790.
Yarmouth,
30
900
180
Provincetown,
11
550
88
Chatham,
30
300
120
All Massachusetts,
539
19,185
3,292
Probably about the year 1850, the cod fisheries were in their most prosperous condition, more than half the capital and nearly half the product of the business employed in the state belonging to the towns in this county :
*Sabine's Report.
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THE FISHERIES AND WHALING.
Value of
Capital. Men employed. product.
Barnstable county,
$1,230,185 4,719 $1,031,027
All Massachusetts,
2,127,885 7,917 2,188,441
Since that time, owing to the larger size of the vessels employed and the concentration of the business in the centres of commerce, the Cape fisheries have notably declined, and are still declining. The total product of this business in 1896, makes the following lamentable exhibit :
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