USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 2
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 2
USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 2
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Soon after the ancient town of Bridgewater was first settled the first mill in that large township was erected in what is now West Bridge- water, on Town River. This was where the first shovels were made by the noted Ames family of Easton.
One of the first blast furnaces erected in Massachusetts was in Mid- dleborough, upon the dam at Muttock. Iron ore taken from the bot- tom of ponds in Middleborough and vicinity was used but it was not found suitable for all the uses intended, one of which was to provide warlike material for the prosecution of the French and Indian War. Peter Oliver, owner of the mill at that time, wrote a letter under date of March 1, 1756, addressed to "The Honorable Committee of War," say- ing :
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Gentlemen: Your favor of 27th Febr relating to supplying you with two Howbitzers I received on Saturday Night, and now send a Messenger to acquaint you that had I known of your having occasion for them 10 Days ago, I could have supplied you, but I finished my Blast 3 or 4 Days since; which I am sorry for, as I had been at a great Deal of Trouble & Charge to procure Mountain Ore to make warlike Stores, of which ore is of a far better Quality than any we have in these Parts, especially for Guns and Mortars. I have sent for more Mountain Ore & expect to blow again this month, & if you should then want any Stores, I believe I can supply you with those of as good as Quality as can be made, for I am sensible of the Risque of making Guns and Mortars from Bog Ore that I shall not attempt them again with that.
I am, Gentlemen, your very humble servant,
Peter Oliver.
This letter and other correspondence between Peter Oliver and those prosecuting the French and Indian War have been carefully preserved in the office of the Secretary of State in Boston.
There was for many years a successful braided straw bonnet and hat business carried on in Lakeville, then a part of Middleborough, es- tablished in 1828, by Ebeneazer Briggs, Jr.
Cannon and cannon balls were manufactured at various places in Plymouth County during the Revolutionary War, among them at the furnace erected in 1713 in Plympton. Iron ore found in the ponds in the neighborhood was used to a large extent. Plympton had a rolling mill, shovel works, grist-mills, cotton and woolen factories, nail factory and one for the manufacture of shoe strings for many years, as well as taking its part in shoe manufacturing, for which Brockton and the South Shore District are noted. This predominating industry, as well as the agricultural interests of the county, will, of necessity, be given special chapters in this volume.
Coupling the geological and topographical character of the county with a mention of some of the distinguishing industries carried on in different towns is for the purpose of showing that the peculiarities and influences of the barren soil, the extensive swamps and lakes, the rivers and the ocean have determined the choice of livelihood for many of the sons of Plymouth County. Many of them have followed the sea, especially those who lived in the towns immediately on the coast, such as Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, Hingham and Hull. On sea or land, most of them have given a good account of themselves and the memory of their good deeds remains to praise them.
Some Providential Indications-When one harks back to the begin- ning of those things which are commonly accepted as historical facts about Massachusetts, more especially those southeastern counties, Plymouth, Barnstable and. Dukes, the words of William Cowper, familiar
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to most of us in various hymn books, appropriately come to mind :
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.
Each one of the above-mentioned counties in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a claim to the distinction of being first in planting the seeds of English colonization in the New World. The Compact was signed in the cabin of the "Mayflower," November 11th, Old Style; November 21st, New Style, 1620, while that famous ship was riding at anchor in Provincetown Harbor, and Provincetown is in Barnstable County. This was before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth and, it is presumed, they had no intention of landing at Plymouth or anywhere else in what is now Plymouth County when they signed that Compact. The document itself speaks of their desire to plant "the first colonie in the Northerne parts of Virginia." Captain Jones of the "Mayflower," however, had had quite enough of his bargain to land those 102 resolute men and women at the mouth of the Hudson or the Delaware, and it has been intimated by many historical writers that he purposely steered the "Mayflower" away from either of those objective points and into what is known today as Cape Cod Bay.
The "Mayflower" was not a large ship and, since the Pilgrims were unable to afford the cost of chartering a ship for the expedition, the journey was "financed" by the Merchant Adventurers, who expected to pick up merchandise from the colonists in after years. It was not a profitable company, in the opinion of Captain Jones. The voyage had taken much longer than he expected and life on board a ship about ninety feet long, some twenty-four feet wide, with a crew of fifteen or twenty men occupying the quarters fore, and the 102 passengers aft "in bunks and cabins," with their furniture and other personal belongings, can well be imagined.
It is difficult to understand how existence could have been main- tained in this vessel, described by historians as "broad of beam, short in the waist, low between decks, and not tight in her upper works," during the long voyage from Southampton in England to Cape Cod Bay. It is not difficult to believe that William Bradford recorded the truth when he wrote in the famous Bradford manuscript, concerning the first wash day, on Clark's Island, in Plymouth Harbor, that this service was sorely needed.
The Pilgrims in Cape Cod Harbor wanted to land in the right place and Captain Jones wanted them to land somewhere. The charter under which the settlement was to be made was to be within the domain of
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the Virginia Company, according to the understanding when the "May- flower" left England. An entirely different company had New England under its jurisdiction. Some of the Pilgrims believed that their way to New England had been Providential. Captain Jones seems to have had considerable patience and to have lent commendable cooperation, under the circumstances, as it is recorded that for a month the coast of Cape Cod Bay was explored by the leaders of the Pilgrims, using the shallop of the "Mayflower" and accompanied by members of the "Mayflower's" crew.
Parties from the "Mayflower" had been cruising about the bay, find- ing out what they could about the coves and inlets, and even on Decem- ber 21, 1620, set forth as the day of the "Landing of the Pilgrims," it was not the full body which landed but an exploring party which had cruised about the shores of what is now called Plymouth Harbor. It is recorded in "Mourt's Relation" that this exploring party consisted of Captain Myles Standish, Governor John Carver who had been elected to that position on the day the Compact was signed in Province- town Harbor, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Ed- ward Tilley, John Howland, from Leyden; also two of the Pilgrim sea- men, John Allerton and Thomas English. They were accompanied by six of the crew of the "Mayflower," including a mate, the pilot, a master gunner and three seamen.
The circumstances of this landing are described in "Mourt's Relation," which says they "marched also into the land and found divers corn- fields and little running brooks a place very good for situation. So we returned to our ship again with good news to the rest of the people, which did much comfort their hearts."
It can easily be surmised that the "good news" also "did much com- fort" to the heart of Captain Jones, anxious to return to England. Five days later, December 26, 1620, the exact spot having been agreed upon, the "Mayflower" sailed into Plymouth Harbor, through the narrow passage made by the miles of sandy beach now called Duxbury Beach, on one hand, and the long stretch of what is now called Plymouth Beach on the other. The "Mayflower" dropped anchor not far from the shore, remaining in that position the rest of the winter and until she weighed anchor April 5, Old Style, or April 16, New Style, and the Pilgrims who remained alive watched her leave, bound for England, not one of them yielding to the invitation of Captain Jones to return with him, if such were their choice. The return voyage took until May 6th. In spite of his impatience to return-he was a seafaring man, not a pioneer or colonizer-Captain Jones had been forced to remain through the first winter with his Pilgrim passengers. According to Bradford's "History," contrary to his desire or intentions "to hasten
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the ship away, which tarried so long by reason of the necessity and danger that lay on them, because so many died, both of themselves and the ship's company likewise; by which they became so few that the master durst not put to sea until those that lived recovered of their sickness, and the winter was over."
How important a part was played by Captain Jones and his crew and the "Mayflower" by being forced, through circumstances, to re- main through the first winter, we can only imagine. The name of Captain Jones has been given to the river which flows from Silver Lake (from which Brockton, the only city in Plymouth County, secures its water supply) and empties into Kingston Bay. This river is about five miles long and on its banks, in Kingston, was built the first naval vessel which was launched in the name of "Liberty," at the opening of the Revolutionary War. It is peculiarly fitting that on the river named for the captain of the vessel which brought to these shores the Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers, seeking freedom, should have been con- structed the first formidable instrument to fire a shot in the later quest for that freedom in practically the same watery path through which the "Mayflower" was providentially guided, and in the cabin of which was signed the Compact "which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government."
While, in the harbor of Plymouth, the "Mayflower" was riding at anchor, perhaps representing to the Indians on shore something like a mysterious navy guarding the newcomers, it is recorded "in the morn- ing, after we had called on God for direction, we came to this resolu- tion, to go presently ashore againe; and to take a better view of two places which we thought most fitting for us; for we could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer, and it being now the 19th of December (Old Style). After our landing and visiting the places, so well as we could, we came to a conclusion, by most voices, to set on a high ground where there is a great deal of land cleared, and hath been planted with corn three or four years ago; and there is a very sweet brook round under the hillside, and many delicate springs of as good water as could be drunk, and where we could harbor our shallops and boats exceed- ingly well; and in this brook fish in their season; on the further side of the river also much corn ground cleared. In one field is a great hill on which we point to make a platform, and plant our ordnance, which will command all around about. From there we may see into the bay, and far into the sea, and we may see thence Cape Cod. Our greatest labor will be the fetching of our wood, which is half a quarter of an English mile; but there is enough so far off. What people in- habit here we yet know not, for as yet we have seen none. So there
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we made our rendezvous and a place for some of our people about twenty, resolving in the morning to come all ashore and to build houses."
Plymouth is not so changed in three hundred years that it is difficult to pick out the sites of the Old Fort, the home of Governor Bradford, the Store House, homes of Peter Browne, John Goodman, William Brewster, John Billington, Isaac Allerton, Francis Cooke, Edward Winslow, and many of those worthies whose log cabins were arranged in a row on the slope of the hill, guarded by the Old Fort. Pictures of the landing of the Pilgrims, one by Henry Sargent and given by him in 1834; another given by Robert G. Shaw of Boston, hang in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, a museum for relics of the Pilgrims, and the date is usually given as that on which the exploring party already mentioned came ashore. Many people, believe, however, it was after the "Mayflower" came to her final anchorage in the harbor on De- cember 26, 1620, that some such scene as the artists imagined took place. Mary Chilton has been credited as being the first to step on Plymouth Rock. It seems fair to presume from historical data that John Alden was the first man to use the now famous boulder as a temporary wharf, and, since legend credits him with being the Sir Walter Raleigh of the Pilgrim company, it is related that he then assisted Mary Chilton to plant her foot upon the same substantial foundation. There are those who believe the shallop rubbed its bow against the gray boulder while "The breaking waves dashed high," and they cannot conceive that he would have allowed Mary Chilton to have taken the step unaided. There are other students of the char- acter of John Alden who believe that neither would he have permit- ted Mary Chilton or anyone else to have beaten him to it. Perchance, had he been permitted to make his own selection and with a glance into the future, he would have arranged the honor for the fair Priscilla, whom Longfellow credits with instructing Alden in the desirability of playing a leading hand in a new country.
First Encounter With the Indians On Cape Cod-While we recall the earlier landing of exploring parties on Cape Cod, in the vicinity of Truro; their first encounter with the Indians-although in describ- ing this landing at Plymouth the historian says "What people inhabit here we know not, for as yet we have seen none,"-the election of John Carver as governor to enforce the provisions and the spirit of the Compact signed on the "Mayflower" in Provincetown Harbor; let us also remember that there was a history far anterior to these events. There were landings and efforts at colonization in Dukes County-the county of the small islands belonging to Massachusetts-before the Pil- grims ever saw either Plymouth or Barnstable counties, and the leader
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of one of these efforts at English colonization in Massachusetts had al- ready named Cape Cod.
Recalling the poetic lines by William Cowper, in an early paragraph of this chapter, had it not been for a quarrel among the members of the crew under Bartholomew Gosnold, the first English colony would have been planted on the island of Cuttyhunk and started by those who, according to historical records, did not possess the lofty standards of those who arrived on the "Mayflower." Of this man Gosnold and his contributions to history we shall tell more later. His story can more appropriately be contained within that part of our history re- lating to Dukes County.
Still keeping in mind the lines by Cowper let us recall that history did not begin with Gosnold. Pilgrim history seems to present a well authenticated story that there was an Indian named Squanto who was friendly to the Pilgrims and that he greeted them in English when he first came in contact with them, and his knowledge of English had been obtained from a previous experience with white men. This is also another story and is told in its rightful place.
But before Squanto, before Captain John Smith had established in 1617 certain fishing and fur interests and drawn a map of this section, nearer to the time when, according to Winthrop Packard in his de- lightful "Old Plymouth Trails," "Plymouth Rock itself came joy- riding from some ledge up Boston way, alighting from this first and greatest New England Transportation System only a few hundred thousand years before Mary Chilton arrived to set foot upon it," there was history in the making, preparing the way for the experiment of democracy, "a church without a bishop and a state without a king," onward and upward forever, approaching the recognition, through America, the melting pot, of "the Fatherhood of God and the brother- hood of man."
Off the shores of Plymouth and Barnstable counties the peculiar construction of Cape Cod stretches like a protecting arm, within the shelter of which the "Mayflower" sailed from off its intended course, finding a haven in which to repose while the Pilgrims were inspired to compose and ratify that Compact which expressed the principle which is "the foundation of all the democratic institutions of America and is the basis of the republic."
Fortified by that "big idea," and buffeted by the elements and hard- ships which nature had forced upon them, they refused the invitation to return in the "Mayflower," although half their number had perished the first winter, and found, in that inner shelter made by the over- lapping stretches of Duxbury and Plymouth beaches, a shelter which saved the "Mayflower" from being dashed to pieces on an unfriendly
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coast, within the protection of which the little shallop was able to find the obvious spot for the "first house for common use, to receive them and their goods." It is interesting to trace, in the history of the Forefathers, the apparent providential leadership and how earlier history had laid the foundation for the first step in freedom.
CHAPTER II SNORRI OR PEREGRINE?
First Child of European Parentage Born on New England Soil May Have Been the Son of Gudrida, Mentioned in the Sagas of the Norse- men-Stirring Story of a Battling Amazon Six Hundred Years Before the Pilgrims-Freydisa the First Woman Commander of Armed Forces in America-Early Adventurers and Discoverers-Captain John Smith-Bartholomew Gosnold-Pring, Weymouth, Dermer, Hudson and Others-Attempt to Plant English Colony on Cuttyhunk Before Virginia.
Tradition has it that the arena in which was enacted the drama of the Pilgrims and early settlers of Plymouth and Barnstable counties was 2 part of the stage set centuries before for scenes and activities as important and compelling in their day as those governing those more intimate ancestors of ours. We recall that an exploring party from the "Mayflower," of which the pilot, Robert Coppin, was one, was on December 9, 1620, forced by bad weather to take refuge on Clark's Island; on returning to the "Mayflower," they found in their absence, Peregrine White had been added to the number on the ship, and was the first child born of English parents in New England; and we call that going back to the beginning of things. But, if we trace back to the first person of European parentage born on American soil of whom history makes mention, we learn of Snorri, child of Gudrida, and, concerning Snorri, history relates the possibility that we are still dealing with events in Plymouth County, at least with persons whose adventures and valors were staged in the location of which we are writing.
A wealth of books have been written about the forefathers and their immediate descendants and much less about the events in the same territory within the present century. Comparatively little has com- monly been taught concerning the history before the Pilgrims which was enacted on the same ground and, to a certain extent, prepared the way for what was to follow. Since much of this history is well authen- ticated and that of it which is legendary is interesting and obviously contains much truth, a chapter given to it is not out of place in this volume. We cannot deal fairly with American history and ig- nore certain picturesque and romantic legends, even when not credited as exact histories. They have a standing as epics, founded on facts, some of them are written in the sagas, or Scandinavian legends, and "it was considered a grave offense to public morality to tell a saga untruthfully."
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It is claimed that all the sagas relating to discoveries and settlements in America had been put in writing by the beginning of the thirteenth century. The sagas were first told by eye-witnesses of the events narrated, and then passed along from father to son, that the record of every event of interest might be preserved, and handed down faith- fully from generation to generation through the centuries. When writ- ten language was introduced the same care was taken in having them sought and saved.
Professor Rafn took from "Reliques," written between 1385 and 1400, found centuries later in a monastery on the island of Flato, off the western coast of Iceland, sagas filling a large volume called Antiquitates Americanae. This book created a sensation when published as there were detailed accounts of the discovery of America and extracts from eighteen ancient authorities, principally Icelandic and undoubtedly pre- Columbian. The authenticity of the sagas, in the main facts related, have been corroborated by recognized authorities.
The Scandinavian vikings were piratical chieftains. About 982, Thor- wald, a Norwegian jarl, exiled for murder, withdrew to Iceland, with his son, Eric the Red. The latter subsequently went to Greenland, and gave it that inappropriate name to induce others to colonize there. He was accompanied by Herjulf Bardson, who had a son Bjarni or Biarne. Bjarni, on one of his voyages of adventure, sighted the Ameri- can coast and sailed along the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador to Greenland.
King Olaf of Norway accepted the Christian religion near the end of the century and sent word that all the Norsemen inhabiting Iceland must become Christians at once or he would kill every one he could lay his hands upon. Leif Ericson, son of Eric, became one of these sudden converts, returned to Greenland, "made it a Christian land," and, of the churches which were built, the ruins of one of them, known as the Katortok church, still remains.
The land seen by Bjarni was a topic of conversation in Greenland and about the year 1000 Leif Ericson, with thirty-five companions, sailing southward, presumably landed at Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. They then sailed before a northeast wind for two days and landed on an island north of the mainland. According to the "inspired identifiers of localities," they were somewhere on the New England coast. They sailed between the island and the mainland, went up a river that came through a lake, cast anchor, went ashore, pitched their tents, built huts, spent the winter there, the "adventurous pioneers of American discovery."
About 1002, Thorwald, younger brother of Leif, who had succeeded Eric the Red as earl, sailed southward with a crew of thirty men, found
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the huts built by Leif still standing and went into winter quarters. In the spring of 1004, Thorwald and his party were exploring the country in a northward direction, when the ship was driven ashore near a cape, which they called Kjalarness or Keel Cape, as it was there they put a new keel into their damaged ship. They set up the old keel in the sand to mark the spot.
Some historical writers state as a fact, and others surmise, that this Kjarlarness was on the shore of Cape Cod, in the neighborhood of Provincetown or Truro.
Leaving Kjalarness, Thorwald and his men came to "a point of land which stretched out and was covered with wood." Thorwald said : "This place is beautiful and here I would like to raise my dwelling." About that time he came upon a party of nine natives whom he called Skraellings (dwarfs or Eskimos.) He killed all but one and that one became the Paul Revere of his time among his fellow Eskimos. While the Norsemen slept the American aborigines visited swift retribution upon them. Thorwald was mortally wounded and told his men who survived the attack: "Now counsel I ye, that ye get ready instantly to depart. But ye shall bear me to that cape where I thought it best to dwell. There shall ye bury me and set up crosses at my head and feet, and call the place Krossaness forever, in all time to come." If Kjalarness is at the extremity of Cape Cod, so those who locate there aver, Krossaness is off the shore of Plymouth County, and there Thor- wald was buried and all things were done as he said, but no one seems to be sure of the location.
An expedition was fitted out in the summer of 1005 to take Thor- wald's body to Greenland. Thorstein, another son of Eric the Red, was in command. His wife was Gudrida, and she accompanied him, but they were unable to find Krossaness and returned. Thorstein and many of his crew died and there were strange manifestations. Thorstein in- formed his widow after his death-page Conan Doyle-that she would have another husband and a good posterity. As for him he had "come to a good resting place."
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