USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Topographical and historical description of Boston > Part 42
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The committee appointed to take care for the build- ing of the light-house not having leisure, as the Gen- eral Court Records state on the twenty-fifth of Decem- ber, 1715, to oversee and direct that work, it was " ordered that the oversight of that work be committed to M' William Payne and Capt Zachariah Tuthill, to carry on and finish the same agreeable to the Advice and Direction they shall from Time to Time receive from the said Committee, and that the sum of Sixty Pounds be allowed to them for the whole of that service when it shall be compleated." This order of the House was concurred in by the council, and consented to by Lieutenant-Governor William Tailer, -he who had been appointed the chairman on the part of the council.
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In this stage of affairs it became necessary that a com- petent keeper should be selected and appointed; there- fore, on the twenty-fifth of June, 1716, the commission- ers were empowered to procure a suitable person for the purpose, who was to be allowed fifty pounds a year, his salary to begin "when the lights are set up."
The commissioners charged with the duty of build- ing the light-house undoubtedly attended faithfully to the business; for, on the seventh of November, 1716, the first day of the fall session of the General Court, Mr. William Payne presented to the House an account of the charge of building the same, amounting to £2,385, 17s. 8d. half-penny, whereof £1,900 had been paid, which was referred to a committee, who, on the seventeenth of the same month reported favorably, and the account was allowed and the balance ordered to be paid.
The first light-house keeper was George Worthylake, a husbandman, forty-three years of age, who had been brought up in the harbor; for his father, who bore the same name, had been for many years previous a resident of Pemberton's Island, now called George's Island. He himself appears to have dwelt upon Lovell's Island at the time, where his farm was, and where his son resided after his death. How much was paid him for his ser- vices the first year has been stated already; but for his second year he was allowed seventy pounds, he having petitioned the General Court for an increase of salary on account of the loss of fifty-nine sheep, which were drowned during the winter of 1716 and 1717, they hav- ing been driven into the sea by a storm, through want of his care of them, when obliged to attend the light- house. Mr. Worthylake was unfortunately drowned,
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
together with his wife Ann, and daughter Ruth, on the third of November, 1718. This incident was the origin of the ballad, called the Lighthouse Tragedy, which Frank- lin says he was induced by his brother to write, print and sell about the streets; and which he also says sold prodigiously, though it was "wretched stuff." Not-
withstanding the great sale, and consequently extensive distribution of the ballad, not a copy of it is known to exist, nor has tradition transmitted to us a single line of its verses. The unfortunate Mr. Worthylake had hardly been placed in his grave on Copp's Hill, before several petitions were sent to the General Court, requesting the appointment of persons to the office. That of Mr. John Hayes, a mariner, recommended on the sixth of Novem- ber, 1718, by the merchants of Boston as an experienced mariner and pilot in the harbor, and as an able-bodied and discreet person, prevailed; and he was chosen to office on the eighteenth of the same month.
It is supposed that the light-house went on well under the management of Captain Hayes, for we hear nothing particularly about it until the twenty-second of August, 1733, when Captain Hayes, tired of the posi- tion, resigned his office to take place on the eighth of November; and Mr. Robert Ball, recommended by the Boston merchants, was elected on the twenty-third of August, to fill the place. Captain Ball dwelt upon the island, and appropriations were made frequently during the years of his service for repairing the light-house, and also his dwelling-house.
Nature seems to have provided a most remarkable site for this useful structure. The Light-house Island (or Beacon Island) might well be called a huge island rock; for it contains in surface about two or three acres,
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on three-quarters of an acre only of which is soil, and is only connected with the Great Brewster by means of a narrow bar, which is covered by the ocean at the high tides. The main ship channel, which passes by it, under the name of Light-house Channel, is quite narrow and deep; so that ships have to pass within a very short dis- tance of the island on entering and leaving the harbor.
The old light-house was much injured by fire in 1751, and was repaired with considerable care and expense, so that it answered the purpose for which it was intended until its final destruction, in 1776. It had been struck several times by lightning, and it was with much diffi- culty that prejudices could be overcome so as to allow of its protection by lightning rods.
During the American Revolutionary War this build- ing fared hard. While it was in the possession of the British, the Provincials frequently burnt its combustible parts, the tower built of brick being allowed to stand. Major Benjamin Tupper, with a party, went from Milton on the nineteenth of July, 1775, and destroyed all its woodwork and the glass lantern; and after it was repaired by order of the British Admiral Graves, he destroyed it again on the thirty-first of July of the same year. The British were compelled to evacuate the town of Boston on the seventeenth of March, 1776; they did not, however, immediately leave the harbor, but for a short time did all the mischief they could to the Castle and to the buildings upon the several islands within their reach. On the thirteenth of June, 1776, nearly three months after the British were obliged to take refuge on board their vessels, the Continentals began to bring their guns to bear on their enemy, and on the fourteenth, Mr. Ezekiel Price narrates, "about six
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
o'clock (by some accident or mistake the cannon could not be fired before), the cannon began from Long Island to play upon the shipping which obliged them to weigh their anchors, and make the best of their way out of their harbor. As they passed Nantasket and the Light- house, our artillery gave them some shot from Nantas- ket Hill. The enemy sent their boats on shore at the Light-house Island, and brought from thence a party, there placed, of Regulars; after which they destroyed the Light-house, and then the whole fleet made all the sail they could, and went to sea, steering their course eastward." The commander of this ship, the Renown, of fifty guns, Captain Bangs, after taking off his men from the island, left a quantity of gunpowder so ar- ranged that it took fire in about an hour afterwards, and blew up the brick tower.
On the eighth of November, 1780, Governor Han- cock sent a message to the legislature, recommending that a light-house should be erected at the entrance of the harbor upon the site of the old one, which had been in ruins more than four years. In due time the legis- lature acted upon the recommendation, by appointing a committee, from which, after much urging, they obtained a report on the eighth of October, 1783. From this re- sulted the building of the light-house, and the passage of an act relating to light-houses. This building was erected of stone, and was sixty feet high, or seventy-five with the lantern. The diameter of the base of the tower was about twenty-five feet, and that of the top fifteen feet. The wall at the bottom was seven and a half feet thick, and the top two and a half feet; making the outside conical, with a cylindrical opening in the centre of ten feet, for stairs, etc. The lantern, octago-
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nal in shape, was fifteen feet high, and about eight and a half in diameter. It was illuminated by four lamps holding each a gallon of oil, and having four burners to each. Until the United States took jurisdiction of the light-houses on the coast, it was under the control of the Governor and Council, and its expenses defrayed by the duty upon vessels, called "light money," which was a shilling a ton on all foreign vessels, and two pence half- penny on American vessels' clearance. Light-house Island was ceded to the United States on the tenth of June, 1790.
The present light-house has been refitted several times since its erection in 1783. In 1856 the apparatus was renewed by H. N. Hooper & Co., of Boston, and consisted of fourteen twenty-one inch reflectors, ar- ranged to show two faces of illumination of seven reflectors each, the whole made and fitted in the most perfect manner, and, when lighted, each face displayed during a revolution (for the lights revolved) an area of about sixteen square feet. It was considered by ship- masters as the best on the American coast. In Janu- ary, 1860, the old tower was raised in height, now measuring in altitude about ninety-eight feet above the sea level, and new illuminating apparatus adopted. The white tower with its black lantern and revolving light, which can be seen at a distance of sixteen nautical miles, if the weather be fair and the sky clear, is an im- posing object, with its neighbor, the fog bell, when viewed from vessels entering or leaving the harbor. The wharf conveniences to the Light-house Island are amply sufficient for their intended purposes.
Northeast of the Great Brewster is the Middle Brewster, composed almost entirely of rocks; but it has
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
upon it about ten acres of fair soil fit for cultivation. This island has several rudely-constructed houses upon it, which mostly are sustained by props, to prevent their being blown down by the wind, which at some seasons of the year rages violently at the mouth of the harbor. In these tenements reside the families of fishermen and other seafaring men.
Farther east lies the Outer Brewster, apparently a huge mass of rocks; yet within its rough exterior is contained an oasis of about five acres of good soil, and a natural pond and spring of fresh water. A small house in this fertile spot is occupied in summer, but not in winter, on account of the unapproachable condition of the island. This island is one of the most romantic places near Boston, far surpassing Nahant in its wild rocks, chasms, caves and overhanging cliffs. An artifi- cial channel, hewn in the rock by the late Mr. Austin, nearly divides it into two islands. This was intended as a haven for small vessels, and, with the gate at its mouth, it furnished a good dock when occasion re- quired. The owners of this property have, from time to time, expected to realize much by the sale of stone for building purposes. This island has its North Point, and formerly had Eastermost Tree at its east head. Between the Outer and Middle Brewster is a small passageway, called Flying Place.
South of the Outer and Middle Brewsters lie the Egg Rocks, frequently called the Shag Rocks. These are dangerous to mariners, and have caused shipwrecks, which a beacon-light would have prevented. The great calamity of November, 1861, when the Maritana was lost, and twenty-six men perished, should be a sufficient warning for the United States authorities to proceed at
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once to the erection of some suitable protection against such dreadful losses.
As the Brewsters make the northern boundary of the mouth of the harbor, so does Point Allerton form the southern. This remarkable headland is fast wearing away; but it is hoped that the stone sea-wall commenced in 1870, under the direction of Major-General Foster, will be competent to prevent this great injury to the harbor.
North of the Brewsters is Calf Island, containing ten acres and three houses, once known as Apthorp's Island, probably in respect to Mr. Charles Apthorp, once the owner of Long Island and other property in immediate connection with the harbor. On this island is a very pretty grove of wild cherries, some pleasant beaches, and wild basaltic rocks. At its easterly point are rocks called Pope's Rocks, and North Rocks. North of it is what is generally called the Little Calf, which is uninhabited.
Just north of the group above described is Green Island, perhaps the least pleasantly situated of all the islands at the mouth of the harbor; yet it is not unin- habited. It was known a hundred years ago as the North Brewster, and contains one apology for a house. At the time of the destruction of the Minot's Ledge Light-house, in 1851, the tide rose so high that its two inhabitants had to be rescued by one of the pilot boats. On this island there resided for many years a strange being, singular in his habits, and possessing a very inde- pendent spirit. Mr. Samuel Choate was not far from seventy years of age, when, in February, 1865, the in- clemency of the season was so great that he was tem- porarily compelled to leave his chosen abode of twenty
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years, and accept the protection of the Harbor Police. It appears that, in his younger days, he was an ordinary seaman, and that, about the year 1845, he established himself upon the island, where he dwelt in a rudely- constructed hut, sustaining himself by fishing, and sub- sisting on fish, lobsters, and muscles. For many years, inducements were offered him to pass his winters where he could be made more comfortable, but to no effect, until the severity of the weather was such that he must necessarily have perished but for his timely rescue. He had been brought up to Boston once before on the eighth of July, 1862, when his boat had been broken to pieces; but preferring his hermit life, returned again to his island. On the eighth of February, 1865, he was sent to the almshouse at Bridgewater, where he subsequently died. This island has what is called its South Point.
West of Green and Calf Islands are Alderidge's Ledge, Half-Tide Rocks, the Devil's Back (dry at low water), Maffit's Ledge, and Barrel Rock. This last named rock, which was a great obstruction to naviga- tion on account of its dangerous position, was entirely removed by Major-General Foster in 1869. It was an immense boulder of Medford granite, and was un- doubtedly carried there by some ancient glacier. East of Shag Rock is Boston Ledge, marked by Red Buoy No. 4. East of the Outer Brewster are Tewksbury Rock and Martin's Ledge, the latter marked by Red Buoy No. 2. Northeast of Green Island are Sunken Rocks, and, still farther to the east, are the Graves, so truly and fearfully named, although they have been supposed to have derived their name from Admiral Graves, who touched them in the days of the Revolution. Farther
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out to sea, easterly, about three miles, and north and south of the main ship channel, are Thieves' Ledge and Harding's Rocks, the most dangerous obstacles to the entrance of the harbor. The Big Harding is four feet high, as seen at low water. About six miles southeast of the Harding's is Minot's Ledge Light-house. The original structure was erected in 1843; this was de- stroyed by the great storm on the sixteenth of April, 1851, and the deposit for the foundation-stone of the new building was made on the second of October, 1858, and its light first exhibited on the fifteenth of Novem- ber, 1860.
With this chapter, the description of the harbor closes; nevertheless, another chapter will be given, for the purpose of showing the ancient sailing directions for vessels entering the harbor, and for a condensed sketch of the usual route out of the harbor.
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CHAPTER XLVII.
RECAPITULATORY DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOR, AND DISTANCES.
Recapitulatory Description of the Harbor . .. Ancient Sailing Directions for Entering the Harbor . .. Synopsis of Preceding Description . . . Starting Point, Liverpool Wharf . . . Fort Point Channel . . . Objects in View . . . Main Ship Channel, First Course . . . Second Course . . . Courses to Castle Island and Governor's Island . . . Objects in View . . . Several Courses . . . Courses to Thompson's and Spectacle Islands . . . Back Way . . . Third Course . . . Cour- ses to Long Island and Deer Island . . . Courses to Nahant, and over Broad Sound . . . Hypocrite Passage . . . Fifth Course . . . The Narrows . . . Course to Rainsford Island . . . Sixth Course, to the Sea .. . Table of Sailing Distances Table of Linear Distances.
THE reader having been carried out " beyond the Light," it will be proper to pilot him back again to Boston, and for this purpose his attention is called to the following sailing directions, which are those that were in use at the close of the Revolutionary War. They show conclu- sively that the harbor, and its various channels, were as well known to the mariners of the olden time, as they now are to those of the present day. Rev. John Mal- ham, the author of Navigation Made Easy and Familiar, and of other works on naval affairs, says in his Naval Gazetteer, that, "Boston in Massachusetts, N. America, is situated on a peninsula at the bottom of a spacious bay, which is covered with small islands and rocks, and defended by a castle and battery. It forms a crescent about the harbour, and has a beautiful prospect from the sea. The Brewsters Islands are on the N side of the passage. The only safe channel into the harbour is so
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narrow, that 3 ships can scarcely pass in a breast, and it is full of islands; but 500 ships may anchor within, in a good depth of water. There are proper marks to guide ships into the fairway. A light-house, with one lan- thorn, is on Light House Island at the entrance of the bay for that purpose; it is the first island to the N of Point Alderton, and between them is the fair way of the channel in directly W about a mile within the Point, in 9, 8, 7, and even 5 fathoms.
"From this situation, there are two channels to the town, which lies N W. The northernmost is first to N W, by W, about a mile, nearly towards the Middle of the E side of George's Island; then more N for half a mile, keeping nearly parallel with the coast of that island, so as to avoid the rocks on that side of the island on the larboard, and the spit of a sand that runs W from the Great Brewster (which is to N W from Light House Island;) it then turns more westerly to the S W side of Lovel's Island, keeping in 5 fathoms at low water till off that point, where there is a fathom less. Keep up nearly N on the W side of Lovel's Island till abreast of the N end of it, and then veer away N W, and soon after W, in 3 and 4 fathoms alternately round Nick's Mate Island, the northernmost of two small islands on the larboard. The southernmost is called Gallop Island, the N E end of Long Island is nearly W of that about a mile; steer about W, as far as the middle be- tween that and the N end of Spectacle Island, about a mile farther also to the W, and then N N W, till almost close with a small island, called Castle Island on the larboard. Between this and Governor's Island on the starboard, sail about N N W, till abreast of the N end of the Starboard Island; this part of the passage has
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the least depth, not above 2 fathoms at low water; from hence proceed N W, till pretty near the S end of an island on the starboard called Noddle's Island, almost 2 miles, when Boston will lie directly W about a mile.
" The southernmost channel, goes off to the S of W along the S end of George's Island, and then N W, leaving that and Gallop's Island on the starboard. Then the course turns away S W, nearly in the middle way between the S E side of Long Island on the starboard, and some small islands and sands on the larboard. Round the S W point of that island, and turn again N W by N, nearly at an equal distance from the E end of Moon Island on the larboard, which is rocky, and the said point. Here is the shoalest part of this channel. Then run up about N N W till abreast of the E end of Thompson's Island on the larboard, and then N W to clear the W point of Spectacle Island on the starboard. Having cleared this, run up N till Castle Island, before mentioned, bears N W, when the two channels again unite.
"The N W winds prevail here from October till February; and during that season, as they generally blow very strong, and are excessively cold, ships can make no port on this coast. Regard must also be had to the setting of the tides and currents between the islands; and unless persons are well acquainted, pilots may be considered as necessary."
Notwithstanding the wintry prevalence of the north- west winds, there are others, the northeast, that do great damage to the harbor, by producing the abrasions which wear away the headlands. Fortunately the ingenuity of man, empowered by the fostering care of the general
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government, is in a fair way to protect the harbor from these unwelcome results, and, by deepening and widen- ing its channels, and removing its dangerous obstacles, to make it one of the best, as well as most capacious, of the great ports of America.
Perhaps, before leaving the subject of Boston har- bor, it will be well to review the preceding description, and reduce the whole to a synopsis so brief that it can be easily read during a trip "down the harbor"; and, for this purpose, the reader will proceed on his voyage, leaving the peninsula at Liverpool wharf, the well- known starting-point of the Hingham steamboat.
Taking departure from Liverpool wharf, the reader will find himself in the channel which separates the southeasterly part of the peninsula from the extensive flats of South Boston. This passage proceeds from South Bay (or Roxbury harbor), and is known as Fort Point channel, in consequence of flowing by the site of the ancient fort on Fort Hill, and the South Battery (or Sconce) formerly situated where now are India and Rowe's wharves.
When a little off from land, he can see, on the north, Charlestown Navy Yard (between Charles and Mystic Rivers), the city of Chelsea, and Noddle's Island (now East Boston) ; on the south, over the flats, is South Bos- ton, which was detached from Dorchester in 1803, and annexed to Boston. On the east, he can see, at low tide, Bird Island shoal, with its Beacon and Red Buoy No. 6, near East Boston, and Apple Island (with its tall trees) miles off in the distance. These he will leave on his left hand in proceeding down the harbor; for, just after get- ting into the stream of the Main Ship Channel, he must change his course and take a direction southeast by east.
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On the south side of this channel, at his right hand, he will pass by Slate Ledge in South Boston Flats, marked by Black Buoy No. 11, and the Upper Middle, a shoal in the same flats, marked by Black Buoy No. 9, a noted object in the main channel, a very little short of two statute miles distant in a straight line from the end of Long wharf.
At Black Buoy No. 9, the course is to be changed to southeast by south; and leaving Governor's Island and its fort (named after Governor John Winthrop) on the left, and the Upper Middle Shoal on the right, the reader will pass along about a mile and a quarter before coming to another change of direction. In this course he will pass by Red Buoy No. 11 (at the southerly point of the flats of Governor's Island), and here he can make for Castle Island wharf on his right, and visit Fort Independence; or he can pass on to the end of the course, leaving on his left the Lower Middle Shoal with its Buoys (Nos. 10 and 8 Red), and Buoy No. 7 Black. From this point there can be seen, on the north, Gov- ernor's Island, Apple Island, Snake Island, Point Shir- ley, and Deer Island with its buildings for the city institutions; and on the south Thompson's Island, with its buildings of the Boston Asylum and Farm School for Indigent Boys, and Spectacle and Long Islands.
At this point, between Red Buoy No. 8 and Black Buoy No. 7, three courses may be taken; the westerly one running a little west of south to Thompson's Island wharf, the southerly one in a south-southeast course (through the Back Way, between Thompson's and Moon Islands on the right, and Spectacle and Long Islands on the left), and the easterly one running direct for the mouth of the harbor, leaving President
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Roads on the left, and Spectacle and Long Islands on the right.
The last of these courses is about two miles and three-quarters long, and is the Main Ship Channel. Its direction by the compass is east three-fourths south, and its eastern extremity is near Black Buoy No. 9, three- quarters of a mile northeast of Long Island Light, and close by the north edge of the shoal called Nix's Mate, on which the black pyramidal monument stands. Be- fore reaching this point (by a mile and a half), the reader can approach the wharf of Long Island on his right, or the wharf of Deer Island on his left, the for- mer being about a mile distant, and the latter a mile and a half. In a direct line, these wharves are two miles apart. While in the neighborhood of Nix's Mate, Rainsford Island, with its old hospital and quarantine buildings, can be seen on the south, and Lovell's, Gal- lop's, and George's Island on the southeast, and the new Quarantine Road and the Middle Ground at the north.
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