History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1630, to the present time, 1855, Part 36

Author: Brooks, Charles, 1795-1872; Whitmore, William Henry, 1836-1900
Publication date: 1855
Publisher: Boston : J.M. Usher
Number of Pages: 640


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1630, to the present time, 1855 > Part 36


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53


P. Curtis


A. T. Hall


Yarmouth .


72


404 1


Ship


Circassian Herbert


J. O. Curtis's . ·


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


Snow & Rich .


Boston .


650


405


Ship Ship Bark


Chasea . Abællino Velocity


Sprague & James's Sprague & James's


J. T. Foster


J. Atkins . .


Chatham


246


406 407 408 409


Bark


Vesta . .


Sprague & James's


J. Taylor .


John Flynn


Boston . .


233


410


Bark Robert Sprague & James's ! J. Taylor .


| Bramhall & Howe


Boston .


800


377


REGISTER OF VESSELS BUILT IN MEDFORD.


393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403


-


Ship Ship


R. C. Winthrop


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . Hayden & Cudworth H. Ewell .


J. Wellsman .


Charleston, S.C.


572


391 ₩ 392


Ship Ship Ship Ship


Georgia


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson


J. Stetson . .


Medford . 160


Boston .


616


T. Magoun's .


H. Ewell


W. W. Goddard .


Yarmouth 75


Marcellus


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth


Bark Ship Sch.


Townsend


J. O. Curtis's . ·


J. O. Curtis .


T. L. Mayo .


J. Thacher & Co


Boston . .


619


J. & A. Tirrell


Boston .


735


J. T. Foster .


J. T. Foster


Medford . 112


Sch. Crescent City


Sprague & James's


J. T. Foster .


R. A. Cook and others W. W. Goddard . . Nathaniel Francis .


Boston . 547


Boston . 430


Sprague & James's Sprague & James's Sprague & James's Sprague & James's Sprague & James's Sprague & Jarues's J. O. Curtis's . J. O. Curtis's .


J. T. Foster . J. T. Foster . J. O. Curtis .


Hussey & Murray


J. H. Pearson J. A. MeGaw


Boston . 385


J. O. Curtis .


Parsons & Hough


Boston . 425


J. O. Curtis's


J. O. Curtis


J. A. McGaw


Boston 590


P. Curtis


George Pratt .


Boston . 712


Boston


864


P. Curtis


A. Hemenway


D. C. Bacon


Boston .


577


Wetmore & Co.


New York 621


Crusader .


T. Magoun's . . . | H. Ewell H. Ewell


150


Bramhall & Howe .


Boston 608


New York 800


Boston . 200


Independence


J. Stetson


P. Curtis's .


Cochituate


Boston . 754


J. O. Curtis.


No.


Date.


Descrip.


Name.


Yard.


Builders.


Owners.


Their Residence.


Ton- nage.


378


HISTORY OF MEDFORD.


444 .


Ship


i Shooting Star


.J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


Reed & Wade


Boston .


900


411


1848


Bark


Home


Sprague & James's


J. Taylor


Minot & Hooper .


Boston .


G80


412


1849


Ship


Josiah Bradlee .


Sprague & James's J. Taylor


Bramhall & Howe .


Boston . 999


413


Ship


Clara Wheeler


Sprague & James's


J. Taylor


William Flynn .


Boston


233


414


Bark


Ella .


Sprague & James's


J. Taylor


Thomas B. Wales & Co


Boston


651


415


Ship


Squantum


Sprague & James's


J. T. Foster


J. & A. Tirrell .


Boston .


967


416


Ship


Tirrell


J. O. Curtis's


J. O. Curtis .


W. F. Weld & Co.


Boston .


385


417


Bark


Fenelon


J. O. Curtis's .


J. O. Curtis .


Snow & Rich . .


Boston .


425


418


Bark


Sarah H. Snow Anna Rich . .


J. O. Curtis's ·


J. O. Curtis .


W. F. Weld & Co.


Boston


700


420


Ship


Wm. Sturgis


Boston


716


421


Ship


Humboldt .


P. Curtis's . .


·


B. Bangs .


Boston .


850


422


Ship


Western Star


P. Curtis's .


P. Curtis


D. P. Parker .


Boston .


808


Ship


Samuel Appleton


P. Curtis's .


P. Curtis


Hayden & Cudworth . .


J. D. Crocker


Salem .


557


Ship


Australia .


T. Magoun's.


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Magoun & Son .


Boston .


701


427


Ship


Revere .


T. Magoun's .


S. Lapham's .


S. Lapham


William H. Boardman


Boston .


850


Ship


Argonaut


S. Lapham's .


S. Lapham


J. E. Lodge .


Boston .


700


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson


A. Hemenway


Boston . 589


.


1850


Prospero


J. Stetson's .


J. Stetson .


A. Hemenway .


Boston .


682


B. C. White


Boston .


743


Sachem


S. Lapham's


S. Lapham


J. E. Lodge.


Boston .


850


Ship


Gentoo .


S. Lapham's


S. Lapham


Mackay & Coolidge


Boston


New York


940


Ship


Hemisphere


T. Magoun's


Hayden & Cudworth


J. Parsons


Boston .


354


Isabella


T. Magoun's


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Lombard & Hall


Boston .


383


439


Bark Bark Bark Bark


Sumter . G. E. Webster. Kremlin


| P. Curtis's. . .


P. Curtis .


Craft & Co. .


Boston .


487


440 441


Ship Shirley .


| P. Curtis's . . ·


P. Curtis


George Pratt .


Boston . 948


442


Ship Mohawk .


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


J. P. Macy .


Nantucket . 420


443


Ship J. H. Jarvis .


J. O. Curtis's ..


J. O. Curtis .


Snow & Rich


Boston . 680


-


419


Ship


J. O. Curtis's


.


P. Curtis .


W. F. Weld & Co.


423 424 425 426


Ship


Manlius


T. Magoun's. .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Howes & Crowell


Boston .


752


Ship


Beatrice


428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435


Ship


Magellan . George Green


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson


Charles R. Green


Boston


866


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson


Ship


Union


T. Magoun's


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Reed & Wade


Boston . 354


T. Magoun's


Hayden & Cudworth . .


436 437 438


Ship Ship Ship


Fillmore .


Yarmouth


70


Sch.


T. Magoun's .


Silsbee & Stone


Boston


670


Snow & Rich .


J. O. Curtis


Sprague & James's


J. T. Foster


Nathaniel Francis


Boston .


350


850


Lombard & Hall


445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453


1851


Ship Stmr. Ship Ship


Napoleon .


Caroline .


Polar Star


Sprague & James's J. T. Foster


J. H. Pearson


Boston .


242


Bark


Chester . . Telegraph


J. O. Curtis's ..


J. O. Curtis.


P. Sprague & Co.


Snow & Rich . .


William Lincoln


Boston .


460


458


Stmr.


City of Boston


J. O. Curtis's


J. O. Curtis.


459


Ship


Courser .


P. Curtis's . .


P. Curtis's .


P. Curtis


A. T. Hall .


C. Darling .


W. B. Reynolds


Boston .


230


S. Lapham's


S. Lapham


N. & B. Goddard


Boston .


737


Ship


Coringa


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson .


B. F. Delano .


W. W. Goddard . W. W. Goddard .


Boston . 400


Bark


Roeket .


T. Magoun's .


B. F. Delano


Howes & Crowell


Boston . .


783


Ship


Hamlet


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Lombard & Hall


Boston .


350


Bark


Edisto


Yarmouth


S5


Seh.


Olive Branch


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . . Hayden & Cudworth . .


E. Bangs & Son


Boston .


627


Ship


Ocean Eagle


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


William Lincoln .


Baxter & Brothers


William Lincoln .


Boston .


1109


Ship


Champion .


J. Stetson's


J. Stetson .


William Perkins J. E. Lodge


William Perkins


Boston .


682


476


Ship


Beverly


P. Curtis's .


J. O. Curtis's .


J. O. Curtis .


Clark, Jones, & Co.


Boston .


700


477


Ship


Onward


J. O. Curtis's . ·


J. O. Curtis .


Reed & Wade .


Boston .


872


478 479


Ship Star of the Union


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


Reed & Wade


Boston . 1079


480


Ship Whirlwind . ..


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


W. & F. H. Whittemore & Co. W. F. Weld & Co ...


Boston .


850


379


481


Ship | Competitor . .


J. O. Curtis's . . J. O. Curtis.


Train & Wing .


Nantucket .. 350 380


Bark Ship Ship


Beerings . Trimountain


J. T. Foster Sprague & James's |J. T. Foster . Sprague & James's Sprague & James's| J. Taylor . Sprague & James's J. Taylor


W. H. Boardman John H. Pearson . Bramhall & Howe


Boston . .


Boston . 1020


Boston . 1020


President.


Syren John Taylor


J. Taylor .


Nathaniel Francis


Boston . 230


Thomas Lamb


Boston . 670


Charleston, S.C. 740


J. Wellsman .


J. H. Pearson


Boston .


690


454 455 456 457


Ship


Susan Hinks .


J. O. Curtis's ..


J. O. Curtis .


Ship


Ship


Antelope . .


J. O. Curtis's .


J. O. Curtis .


P. Sprague & Co.


Boston . .


600


P. Curtis


A. Richardson . ·


Boston .


1080


Ship Stmr. Bark


Samuel Lawrence Rajah Walla .


S. Lapham's


S. Lapham


460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475


1852


Ship Ship Ship


Alexander Golden Eagle


T. Magoun's. T. Magoun's . T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Boston .


1061


Boston .


1300


Ship


Phantom .


S. Lapham's .


S. Lapham


P. Curtis


Reed & Wade .


Boston . 678


Ship


John Wade


T. Magoun's.


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Yarmouth . 601


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Boston . 730


Gem of the Ocean


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


J. P. Crocker . .


Boston .


800


Ship


Dauntless


T. Magoun's .


Sprague & James's Sprague & James's J. T. Foster Sprague & James's J. T. Foster .


Silsbee & Pickman


Salem . 1050


Ship


Sprague & James's J. T. Foster


Boston . 1040


Boston . 700


Boston . 1000


Batavia, E.I. 700


Georgiana


REGISTER OF VESSELS BUILT IN MEDFORD.


Bark | Paragon .


J. O. Curtis's . J. O. Curtis.


Stmr. Sir John Harvey .


990


Boston . .


380


No.


Date.


Descrip.


Name.


Yard.


Builders.


Owners.


Their Residence.


Ton- nage.


482


1852


Ship


Ellen Foster .


J. T. Foster's . .


J. T. Foster .


J. T. Foster .


J. & A. Tirrell .


Boston . 1080


484


1853


Ship


Edward Everett


J. T. Foster's . .


J. T. Foster .


John H. Pearson & Co.


Boston . 245


485


Bark


Morning Star


J. T. Foster's . ·


J. T. Foster .


T. B. Wales & Co. .


Boston .


1103


487


Ship


Hortensia .


J. T. Foster's . .


J. T. Foster .


Perritt & Co. . .


New Orleans


700


488


Ship


Wild Ranger


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


Theo. Chase . .


Boston .


1200


489


Ship


Eagle Wing .


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


W. F. Weld & Co.


Boston .


1400


490


Ship


George Peabody .


S. Lapham's


S. Lapham


J. E. Lodge.


Boston . 1500


491


Ship Ship


Sea Flower .


J. Stetson's


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Howes & Crowell


Boston . 1060


493


Ship


Climax . .


T. Magoun's . .


T. Magoun's . · .


Hayden & Cudworth . . Hayden & Cudworth . .


William Lincoln


Boston . 1200


495


Ship


Boston 1150


496


Ship


King Fisher . ·


T. Magoun's . .


Hayden & Cudworth . . Hayden & Cudworth .


Crowell, Brooks, & Co.


Boston . 500


497


Ship


Edith Rose.


·


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Crowell, Brooks, & Co.


Boston .


850


498


Ship


Fleet Wing


T. Magoun's . T. Magoun's . T. Magoun's . T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . Hayden & Cudworth . .


Howes & Crowell


Boston .


1150


500 501


Ship Bark


Lamplighter .


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Lombard & Co.


Boston .


360


502


Ship


Osborn Howes


T. Magoun's .


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Crowell, Brooks, & Co


Boston .


1050


503


Ship


Rambler . .


T. Magoun's . ·


Hayden & Cudworth . .


Baxter & Brothers


Yarmouth .


1080


504


Bark


Elmwood


J. Stetson's


T. Turner .


E. Bartlett


Boston .


387


505


Plt-bt William H. Starkey .


J. O. Curtis's .


B. F. Delano


M. Hunt .


Boston .


78


506


Ship


Ocean Telegraph


J. O. Curtis's .


J. O. Curtis.


Reed & Wade


Boston .


1500


507


Ship


Ocean Express .


J. O. Curtis's . .


J. O. Curtis .


Reed & Wade


Boston .


2000


508


Stmr. Enoch Train .


J. O. Curtis's . ·


J. O. Curtis .


Tow-boat Co.


Boston .


350


509


Ship


Good Hope


J. O. Curtis's .


·


510


Ship


Nor'wester


S. Lapham's · .


S. Lapham


J. S. Coolidge & Co


Boston .


1300


511


Ship


Emma .


J. T. Foster's . ·


J. T. Foster


J. Wellsman


Charleston, S.C.


875


512


Ship


Asterion


J. T. Foster's .


J. T. Foster .


David Snow


Boston .


1170


513


Ship


·


J. T. Foster's .


J. T. Foster .


Fisher & Co.


Boston .


1060


483


Ship


West Wind


J. T. Foster's . .


$


Correet Grand Total, at $45 per ton : 232,206 tons, $10,449,270.


HISTORY OF MEDFORD.


Boston . 1050


494


Ship


Ringleader . White Swallow ·


T. Magoun's .


William Lincoln .


Magoun & Son . .


Boston .


1250


499


Ship


Herald of the Morning Robin Hood .


J. Stetson .


B. C. White .


Boston . 1061


492


Don Quixote.


J. O. Curtis's


J. O. Curtis.


Thatcher & Sears .


Boston .


1000


486


Ship


National Eagle


J. T. Foster's . .


J. T. Foster ,


(Not sold)


1300


F. Burritt & Co.


1200


J. O. Curtis.


Howes & Crowell


1854


J. & A. Tirrell


Boston . 1042


OCEAN EXPRESS, 1854.


381


FISHERIES.


FISHERIES.


To Medford belongs the honor of establishing the first fisheries in " London's Plantation of Massachusetts Bay." Careful and costly preparations for this business were made in England, in 1629, by Mr. Cradock, who believed it the most promising investment then offered from the New World. In the company's " first general letter," under date of April 17, 1629, is indicated a course of trade which was to be pursued by the Medford fishermen. It is thus : -


" We have sent five weigh of salt in the ' Whelpe,' and ten weigh in the 'Talbot.' If there be shallops to be had to fish withal, and the season of the year fit, pray let the fishermen (of which we send six from Dorchester), together with some of the ship's company, endeavor to take fish ; and let it be well saved with the said salt, and packed up in hogsheads; and send it home by the 'Talbot' or ' Lion's Whelpe.'"


At the same time they send " a seine, being a net to fish with." May 28, 1629, they say, -


" We send salt, lines, hooks, knives, boots, &c., for the fishermen, desiring our men may be employed in harbor, or upon the Bank. If you send ships to fish on the Bank, and expect them not to return again to the plantation, &c."


By this it appears that those vessels which had caught a cargo of fish " on the Bank " were expected to take them thence to London. Sept. 3, 1635, the General Court chose a committee of six " for setting forward and managing a fish- ing trade." That fishing was profitable, we have the follow- ing early record : "Thirty-five ships sailed this year (1622) from the west of England, and two from London, to fish on the New England coasts ; and made profitable voyages." Through the instrumentality of our fishing interest, the Gene- ral Court passed the following order. May 22, 1639: "For further encouragement of men to set upon fishing, it is or- dered, that such ships and vessels and other stock as shall be properly employed and adventured in taking, making, and transporting of fish according to the course of fishing voy- ages, and the fish itself, shall be exempt, for seven years from henceforth, from all country charges." To show how minute was the fostering care of our fathers on this point, we have the following order of June 2, 1641 : " It is ordered


382


HISTORY OF MEDFORD.


that fishermen shall have their fish for bait at the same rate that others have at the wears, and be first served." "The property of Governor Cradock, invested at Medford for fish- ing and other purposes," was large. Mr. Savage says, " He maintained a small plantation for fishing at Mistick, in the present bounds of Malden, opposite to Winthrop's farm, at Ten Hills." Complaint was made by our fishermen of a law, passed by Plymouth Colony, which laid a tax of five shillings on " every share of fish " caught by strangers " at the Cape." From all that we can gather, we conclude that Mr. Cradoek had invested as much as fifteen thousand dollars, which in various trade here must have made Medford a thriving and populous plantation for an infant settlement. The fishing business continued for fifteen or twenty years, but with less and less profit to Mr. Cradock. It was finally abandoned as a failure ; and afterwards the river-fishing alone claimed attention.


May, 1639 : The price of alewives in Medford, at this time, was five shillings per thousand. This made food incredibly cheap.


That Mystic River, as a resort for fish, was early known and greatly valued, appears from many testimonies. In Josselyn's account of his two voyages to New England (1638) we have the following record: "The river Mistick runs through the right side of the town (Charlestown), and, by its near approach to Charles River in one place, makes a very narrow neck, where stands most part of the town. The mar- ket-place, not far from the water-side, is surrounded with houses." In Mystic River were "bass, shad, alewives, frost-fish, and smelts." Josselyn says, " We will return to Charlestown again, where the river Mistick runs on the north side of the town (that is, the right side, as before said), where, on the north-west side, is the town of Mistick, three miles from Charlestown, a league and a half by water, - a scattered village. At the head of this river are great and spacious ponds, full of alewives in the spring-time ; the notedest place for this sort of fish." This quotation from Josselyn, while it goes to prove that bass, shad, and alewives were no strangers in our rivers, shows likewise that the population of our town was then settled chiefly between the two brick houses now standing, and that the place was called Mistick. The " Wear " or Fishing Dam in Medford was at the outlet of the Pond ; and, as our river was " the notedest place " for fish in


383


FISHERIES.


the early days of our plantation, we presume that the " seine, being a net sent to fish with," was the first seine ever drawn in its waters, and the first drawn on this continent. This was probably in 1631 ; and the first draught was doubtless an event of liveliest interest, of raw wonder, and exceeding joy. If any web or filament of that pioneer "seine" had come down to us, it would be fitting for the town, in the year 1881, to parade it as the banner, and under it to unite in celebrating the fifth fishermen's jubilee on the river. June 6, 1639 : " It is ordered that all wears shall be set open from the last day of the week, at noon, till the second day in the morning."


Johnson, in his " Wonder-working Providence," says, " The Lord is pleased to provide for them great store of fish in the spring-time, and especially alewives, about the bigness of a herring. Many thousands of these they use to put under their Indian corn."


Had Mr. Cradock's letters to his agents in Medford been preserved, we should certainly have in them a complete his- tory of the fishing establishment he maintained here, and probably a comparative estimate of sea and river fishing. The introduction of the drag-net, in 1631, when Mystic River was full of fish, was an example that would be followed more and more, as proper seines could be knit and easy mar- kets secured. The narrowness of the river, the steepness of its banks, its freedom from rocks, and its many convenient land- ing-places, rendered net-fishing easy and cheap. It settled down into a regular business, and any one had a right to pursue it. We have no account of the intermittent run of. certain fish, as witnesssd in our time; but presume it may not have been so remarkable then, when dams and water- wheels had not impeded or frightened the finny adventurers, or when filth and poisons had not made their highways dan- gerous. We think it will be found that several species of fish will have periodic returns to places which they have left for many years.


Acts of legislation have not been wanting by our town or State; but the fish care nothing about votes. The first men- tion of specific action by the town, as such, is dated Jan. 18, 1768, when it was voted " to petition the General Court concerning the fishery in this town."


March 3, 1768 : Mr. Benjamin Hall and others petition the General Court "for liberty to draw with seines, at two


384


,


HISTORY OF MEDFORD.


different places in Mistick River, three days in a week." This petition was not acted upon for some years.


The next act of the General Court, touching this prolific trade in Medford, was in Feb. 16, 1789, and was as fol- lows : -


" An act to prevent the destruction of fish called shad and ale- wives in Mystic River, so called, within the towns of Cambridge, Charlestown, and Medford, and for repealing all laws heretofore made for that purpose.


" Whereas the fishery in Mystic River, in the county of Middle- sex, if properly regulated, will be of great public utility, as it serves to promote the cod-fishery, and is also of advantage to the particu- lar towns through which the river runs, affording, in some measure, subsistence and support to the inhabitants thereof, and is therefore necessary to be preserved," &c.


The act provides that each of the three towns is empowered to choose a committee for the preservation of fish, whose duty it shall be to keep out of the river all obstructions to the free ingress of the fish. The act grants to Cambridge the right to fish, within the limits of that town, on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday ; and to Charlestown and Medford the right of fishing, within the limits of those towns, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, - from the first of March to the last day of June. Penalty for each violation of the law, three pounds. In this act, the right of each inhabitant to fish is recognized and secured. If persons from other towns should either stop or catch fish in this river, they shall each be fined three pounds for every such offence ; and the committee shall have power to arrest them, and sell their seines, drag- nets, marsh-nets, baskets, or any other implements used by them. "This act to be in use five years, and no longer."


Immediately on the passage of this act, the town pro- ceeded, April 2, 1798, to a new step, indicated in the follow- ing vote : " Voted that the town will let out their fishing- grounds to the highest bidder the present year." While this vote was based upon the original right of the town to the fisheries within its borders, some minor questions arose, which led the inhabitants, at the same meeting, to choose a committee to inquire into the rights of the town to the fish- ing-grounds. The result was, that, Jan. 21, 1803, the town " voted that a petition be presented to the General Court, at their present session, to enable the town to let out the right of taking fish in Mystic River, within the limits of the town."


385


FISHERIES.


The Legislature granted the petition ; and Medford then divided the fishing districts thus : "First, from Charlestown and Malden line to Medford Bridge; second, from the bridge to the beach opposite James Tufts's barn ; third, from the above-named beach to the Charlestown line west- erly."


Among the earliest fishermen were John Cutter, Jonathan Tufts, and Benjamin Teel. In 1803, Cutter paid sixty-five dollars, Tufts thirteen dollars, and Teel thirteen dollars, for the right of fishing.


John Cutter fished near the " Dike," or "Labor in Vain ; " Isaac Tufts fished from the Bridge to Rock Hill ; and Captain Samuel Teel and his nephew, from Rock Hill to the Pond. The names of the fishermen are seldom given in the records. Charles, Simon, and Seth Tufts are there. In 1812, the fishermen paid one hundred dollars for the right. The ave- rage, for twenty years, has been two hundred and fifty dollars.


In accordance with the decision of the Legislature, the town voted, March 14, 1803, to sell their right of fishing in Mystic River. It was sold for ninety-one dollars, at public . auction. The next year it was sold, in the same manner, for one hundred and six dollars : and this equitable mode of disposing of it became established ; and the premium offered continued for several years to increase.


The vote of the town was generally thus, as in March 1, 1824: " Voted that the selectmen be appointed a committee to dispose of the privilege of taking shad and alewives within the limits of said town the ensuing season." In 1855, Joseph L. Wheeler bought the " upper reach," from Marble Brook to the Pond, for $27.50 per annum ; and James Rogers bought the " lower reach," from Marble Brook to the eastern border of the town, for $122.50 per annum. The annual sales have lately been less than $200.


The shad and alewives were abundant till 1815 or 1820, when they began gradually to withhold their visits. A writer says, that, about the year 1800, it was common to take fifteen hundred shad annually at " Little River " (near Fresh Pond) ; but that, in 1852, there was not one taken ; and that, proportionally, a similar statement might be made concerning alewives.


Nothing can frighten alewives ; but the shad is an exceed- ingly shy and timid fish. Its disappearance from our river


49


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386


HISTORY OF MEDFORD.


is therefore attributed to the terrific noises made by railroad cars, as they cross the Mystic at Charlestown. The largest number of alewives taken by one draught from Mystic River was in 1844; and they counted some few more than fifty- eight thousand ! We once saw taken, by one draught from this river, shad sufficient to fill six horse-carts. In Mystic River the bass have wholly disappeared ; though there are those living who remember to have seen them plenty, and some of them weighing more than thirty pounds.


In 1776, a negro, named Prince, was at work on the bank of the river, opposite the shallow where the ford was, a few rods above the bridge, when he saw an enormous bass swim- ming very slowly up the river. The tide was inconveniently low for the bass, but conveniently low for the negro. Plunge went Prince for the fish, and caught him! No sooner was he out of water than a desperate spring, such as fishes can give, released him from his captor ; and back he falls into his native element. Quick as a steel-trap, Prince springs upon him again, and again clutches him and lifts him up. The fish struggles ; and Prince and fish fall together. Again Prince rises, with his prize in his arms, and then brings him ashore. It weighed sixty-five pounds. Prince thought that such a wonderful fish should be presented to the commander of the American forces then stationed on Winter Hill. His master thought so too. Accordingly, Prince dressed himself in his best clothes, and, taking the fish in a cart, presented it to the commander, and told the history of its capture ; and the commander gave him six cents !


The shad, of late years, have not been abundant ; only forty or fifty taken during a season. The number of alewives has also greatly diminished ; and the town receives about one hundred and fifty dollars by selling its right of fishing through the year. Smelts continue to make their annual spring visit in undiminished numbers ; and when, for noblest ends, they stealthily enter our creeks and little streams, they are watched by the hungry boys, who, for sport or profit, drive them into their scoop-nets by dozens. In this town, they do not let enough escape to keep the race alive ; and if, in all other towns, they were so destroyed, this beautiful and delicious fish would become extinct among us. The greatest draught - by a certain nameless boy, fifty years ago - numbered sixty-three. They were taken from Marble, or Meeting- house, Brook.




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