A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 135

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 135

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).

Whaling stations were established at vari- ous points, and in these a new element of pow- er was introduced. The crews of the whale- boats were in many instances composed of In- dians, and in this business their native courage found full play. The state of war 110 longer existed. The pleasing business of killing their enemies and the equally pleasing prospect of being killed in return made a state of things that had passed away, and their courage was

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

now devoted to the far better purpose of kill- ing "whales and other great fish," under the di- rection of the race that owned their lands and controlled their destinies. The records abound in agreements made with the Indians in rela- tion to whaling. Among them the following may serve as an example :

"Know all men that we Towsacon and Phillip, Indians, by these presents have bound and engaged ourselves (God permitting life and limb) unto Josiah Laughton and to his assigns, to goe to sea for them for the full term of three compleate seasons, at Mecox, for ye killing and striking of whales and other great fish. And that in the said time we will attend all opportunities to goe to sea for ye promoting of ye said designe. And in consid- eration he the said Josiah Laughton or his as- signs doe engage unto us, the said Towsacom and Phillip, that for every season they will give unto us three Indian coats, one pair of shoes or a buck neck to make them, one payre of stockings, three pound of shot, halfe a pound of powder, and a bushel of Indian corne. Witness our hands this 15 Nov. 1670."

Whalefishing from Easthampton has been traced back to 1651, and at Southold to the year 1652. In the former township a town meeting in 1651 ordained "if any whale should be cast up within our bounds that every house- holder shall do his part to save the whale ac- cording as his turn shall come;" also, "If any Indian shall find a whale and forthwith bring tidings of it he shall have 5s. If any English- man of this town do accidentally find a whale, and bring first tidings, he shall have a piece of whale three feet broad."

For some years it was evident that whaling was simply confined to lying in wait for the monsters who managed to get stranded on some beach or who allowed themselves to get into positions where they might be attacked from shore. About 1680 the people put off from the coast in their light canoes and at- tacked a solitary whale, and by 1700 the war- fare seems to have been conducted in boats

specially constructed, strong and roomy struc- tures, with broad beam and stout sides, so as to withstand damage from the monster slip- ping under the boat with the object of tossing it in the air or pounding its timbers out of place by the lashing of its tail. It was then that the fishing may be regarded as an indus- try, and a most profitable one it was, for the big fish were around the coast in enormous quantities, and by-and-by whaling stations were to be found dotting its entire line. It was an industry full of excitement and danger, but it brought substantial reward, and until the race died out Long Island's whaleboat men were regarded as among the most substantial of the citizens of each township from Oyster Bay to Montauk, even although many of their "yarns" of the sea were justly regarded with suspicion and showed that they had prolific imaginations as well as comfortable purses.

Writing of the early importance of the in- dustry, Mr. R. M. Bayles said: "Some idea of its magnitude may be gained from the state- ment that about 1690 the following companie ; were engaged in it, forming a picket line for about fifty miles along the eastern end of the island beach: John Gardiner & Co. and Sam- uel Mulford & Co., at Easthampton; Henry Pierson & Co., Robert Norris & Co., James Topping & Co., and Shamgar Hand & Co., at Sagg : John Cook & Co. and Joseph Moore & Co., at Mecox ; Isaac Raynor & Co. and Abra- ham Howell & Co., at Wickapog; Francis Sayre & Co., at Southampton ; Joseph Pier- son & Co. and John Post & Co., at "The Pines," just west of Shinnecock Point ; Thom - as Stephens & Co. and James Cooper & Co., at Quogue ; John Jessup & Co., at Ketchabonack ; Stephen Bailey & Co., at East Moriches; and Col. William Smith, at Mastic. The profits of a season's business were variable. In 1687 the returns varied among the different companies reported from two barrels to twenty-five bar- rels for each man in the company. Ten or twelve barrels to a man was common. Earl Bellamont, in his report to the Lords of Trade,

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NASSAU COUNTY.

in 1699, declared that Col. Smith admitted to him that he had in a single year cleared five hundred pounds sterling, by the whales taken along the beach claimed by him. The Hamp- ton stations obtained in 1687 about two and a quarter thousand barrels of oil. The oil was generally shipped to England. Whales were so frequent along the coast in those days that on one occasion, in 1702, as many as thirteen were sighted in riding the seven miles from Easthampton to Bridgehampton. During the season of 1726 eleven whales were killed at Southampton, six of which yielded 220 barrels of oil and 1,500 pounds of bone. An ordinary yearling whale would then make about forty barrels of oil. Older ones produced fifty or sixty barrels. In 1707 it was reported to the English Lords of Trade that Long Island pro- duced 4,000 barrels of oil. The whaling sea- son began about the middle of October and continued until March."

Naturally, after being hunted for years, and being hunted without much regard to any- thing but capture, the whales began to forsake the shores of Long Island. Then the adven- turous whalers concluded to try their fortunes on the high seas and built craft for the pur- pose, fitted by their stanchiness to brave an ocean voyage and by their size to carry a good cargo of oil. This branch of the industry commenced about 1750, but the Revolution caused a suspension of its operations before it gained much headway. With the return of peace, however, it was resumed with Sag Har- bor as its centre. In 1785 Capt. Stephen How- ell, whose montiment still stands over his grave in the cemetery of Sag Harbor, in part- nership with Col. Benjamin Huntting, fitted out a large vessel which brought in a splendid cargo, and so, as the inscription on his tomb claims, became "one of the founders of that extensive and successful business which for a long period characterized and distinguished his native town. ' Mr. Bayles, already quoted, says :

"In 1790 there was one vessel, a brig of 150

tons, engaged in whaling from this port. In 1807 there were four; in 1820 there were six; in 1832 there were twenty; in 1838 there were twenty-nine; in 1841 there were forty-four; in 1843 there were fifty-two; in 1845 there were sixty-one, and in 1847 there were sixty-three. During the year last mentioned there were thirty-two arrivals, the returns of their work being 3,919 barrels of sperm, 63,712 barrels of whale oil, and 605,340 pounds of whalebone. During the thirty years, from 1820 to 1850, the four hundred and ninety returning vessels brought into Sag Harbor oil and whalebone to the value of fifteen million dollars. From about the year 1847 the business began to de- cline. While the whale fishery in deep seas and on distant oceans was enjoying its season of prosperity, the village of Greenport felt something of its impulse. The first ship sent out from that port was purchased in 1830, and at the high tide of its prosperity twenty ves- sels hailed from that port. New Suffolk, on Peconic Bay, had in 1843 two or three whaling ships at sea, and Jamesport a like number. At Cold Spring Harbor, on the north side of the island, the impulse of this business was felt. About 1843 that port had nine or ten ships en- gaged in whaling. But in all these places the business declined about the same time, and the last vessel was withdrawn from the business nearly twenty years ago. In the height of its success at Sag Harbor it employed a capital of nearly two million dollars and furnished oc- cupation to eight hundred men and boys. The cooper shops of that village manufactured 25,- 000 oil barrels a year.

"In 1844 the American whaling fleet com- prised about 650 vessels, the fleet of Long Island amounting to one-seventh of this num- ber. As to prowess, Long Island ships and sailors were not left in the shade by their asso- ciates. In 1849 Capt. Roys, of the bark "Su- perior," of Sag Harbor, entered the Arctic Ocean at Behring Straits in July and cruised from continent to continent, going as high as latitude 70 degrees, and saw whales wherever

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

he went. He "cut in" his last whale on the 23d of August, and returned through the straits on the 28th of the same month. On account of powerful currents, thick fogs, the vicinity of land and ice, and imperfect knowl- edge of the region, he found it difficult and dangerous to continue, although there were plenty of whales. During his cruise no ice was seen, and the weather was pleasant, so that the men could work in light clothing. In most

170 barrels of oil; the second was a polar whale; and the third was a small whale, pe- culiar to that ocean. The last three yielded over 600 barrels."

The dangers as well as the beauties of Long Island Sound have been duly appreciated by mariners since its discovery. As early as 1657 the ship "Prins Mauritz," with emigrants from New Amsterdam, went ashore in a gale off Fire Island and was completely wrecked,

ON THE COAST LINE.

parts of the cruising ground there was anchor- age, in fourteen to thirty-five fathoms of water, and part of the time the vessel lay at anchor. The first whale was taken at twelve o'clock at night. It was not difficult to whale during the whole twenty-four hours, for it was so light that one could read at midnight. The whales were tame, but different from any Capt. Roys had ever before taken. He cap- tured three species, one of the largest yield- ing 200 barrels of oil. The first species re- sembled the Greenland whale, affording nearly

although the passengers and crew were saved. This is the earliest disaster of importance on record. During a storm on the night of Jan. 22, 1781, the British frigate, "Culloden," was wrecked off Montauk, and the spot where it went down has since been known as "Culloden Point." A pitiful disaster was the wreck of the British sloop of war, "Sylph," which went ashore near Southampton in a snowstorm on Jan. 15, 1815, and out of 117 men on board only six were saved. The Savannah, the first steamboat to cross the ocean, was wrecked,

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NASSAU COUNTY.

October 27, 1822, on a voyage from Liverpool, on the beach opposite Fire Island, and her cap- tain, John Coles, of Glen Cove, and crew of eleven drowned. She had been launched as a steamboat in 1818, but for some years before her wreck her career as a steamer was over and she had been transformed into a sailing ship. On Oct. 21 the Atlantic ship Bristol, with sixteen men in her crew and over one hundred passengers, was driven in a gale on the beach at Rockaway and eighty-four of those on board perished. Another most har- rowing catastrophe was that which, on Jan. 2, 1837, wrecked the bark Mexico which, with 112 steerage passengers, and a crew of 12 men, had left Liverpool on Oct. 23, 1836. She weathered the dangers of the Atlantic all right and arrived off Sandy Hook on December 31. A gale, however, threw her ashore on Hemp- stead beach and she rapidly went to pieces. In all, 116 persons perished.

One record says: "The Sound steamer Lexington took fire on the evening of Jan. 13, 1840, when off Eaton's Neck. In a few mo- ments she was enveloped in flames and burned to the water's edge. One hundred and eighteen persons perished either by the flames or the waters, only four of all those on board surviv- ing." On July 19, 1850, the ship Elizabeth was wrecked off Fire Island, and among the pas- sengers lost was Margaret Fuller, the famous American writer, her husband and their child. A bronze tablet commemorative of this dis- aster was unveiled at Point o' Woods, Fire Island Beach, July 19, 1901. The tablet de- scribes Margaret Fuller as "author, editor, poet and orator." She was a power in her day, and her influence and example are yet potent in the cause of the advancement of her sex. The ship John Milton, of New Bedford, re- turning from the Chicha Islands, Feb. 20, 1858, went ashore on Montauk, in a snow- storm. She was a vessel of nearly fifteen hun- dred tons burden and was loaded with guano. The entire crew, composed of the captain, three mates and twenty-two seamen, were

drowned. In September, 1858, the brig Hai- dee, of New York, was scuttled and sunk by her crew when off Montauk. The brig had been to the coast of Africa, whence she had taken a cargo of 960 slaves to Cuba. After landing the slave; the captain and owners sent the brig in charge of the mate north to be sunk. The entire crew of twenty-two men came ashore in boats and scattered, some going to New York and others to New London. The mate was arrested near New Bedford and three of the men in New York. The schooner Helen J. Holway was wrecked on Flat Beach, opposite Sayville, April 4, 1876, with a loss of six lives. The ship Circassian was stranded on the beach opposite Bridgehampton, Dec. 30, 1876. In her destruction by the waves twenty- eight lives were lost; many of them being Shinnecock Indians, who were at work on the wreck trying to rescue the cargo from the waves."

Every winter adds a new chapter to the story of disaster and death. On the north side the battle between the waves and the rock- bound coast is often a terrific one, and woe to any unfortunate vessel which at such times gets into the power of the sea through any ac- cident or miscalculation. On the south side the storms beat with awful fury on the great sand bar, sometimes seemingly lifting it up and tossing it about, changing its appearance, closing up one inlet and opening another, cov- ering one stretch entirely over and raising a temporary sandhill of considerable propor- tions on another. There, again danger lurks for every passing vessel. The lighthouses, with their beacons and whistles and bells of course do much to lessen the number of such disasters, while the life-saving stations save many lives each winter. These stations vir- tually cover the whole of the island and are as follows :

Amangasett, Amagansett.

Bellport, four miles south of Bellport.

Blue Point, four miles and a half scuth of Patchogue.

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Ditch Plain, three and a half miles south- west of Montauk light.

Eaton's Neck, east side of entrance to Huntington Bay.

Forge River, three and a half miles south of Moriches.

Fire Island, half a mile west of Fire Island light.

Georgica, one mile south of the village of East Hampton.

Gilgo, west end of Oak Island.

Hitcher Plain, half mile southwest of Fort Pond.

Jones Beach, east end of Jones Beach.

Lone Hill, eight miles east of Fire Island light.

Long Beach, near west end, Long Beach. Mecox, two miles south of the village of Bridgehampton.

Moriches, two and a half miles southwest of Speonk.

Napeague, Napeague Harbor.

Oak Island, east end of Oak Island.

Potunk, one and a half miles southwest of Potunk.

Point of Woods, four miles east of Fire Island light.

Point Lookout, two miles west of New Inlet.

Quogue, half a mile south of Quogue.

Rockaway, near the village of Rockaway.

Rockaway Point, west end of Rockaway Beach.

Rocky Point, about four miles northerly from Greenport.

Southampton, three-fourths of a mile south of Southampton.

Shinnecock, two miles east-southeast of Shinnecock light.

Smith's Point, abreast of Smith's Point.

Short Beach, half mile east of Jones Inlet.

Tiana, two miles southwest of Shinnecock light.

Zach's Inlet, west end of Jones Beach.

Tales of piracy in connection with Long Island used to be plentiful and some of these are elsewhere related in these pages. Coney Island and Rockaway in particular were hot- beds of pirates, principally the small fry wlio ought to be more properly classed as smugglers, but who were equally as ready to murder and to rob as to cheat the revenue of what the rev- entie claimed to be its just due. There is the

story of Captain Kidd, who is claimed to have hidden treasures in so many places along 'the coast that if he had only dropped one strong box in all the places alleged to be his "hiding places" he must have had enough of such boxes to have burdened an entire fleet. The legends of the pirates are too vague to be of much use in history. But the record closes with a veritable story. On Nov. 9. 1830, the brig Vineyard left New Orleans with a valu- able cargo and $54,000 in specie. Had this last detail not been known to the crew all might have gone well, but the fact that it was on board aroused the cupidity of the fo'csle and the apparently innate desire of ignorant, lawless men to get rich quickly. A mutiny was determined upon so as to gain possession of the money and the plans arranged were put in effect when the brig was off Cape Hat- teras. The Captain and mate were murdered and the crew of seven men took possession of the brig. They determined to proceed to the Long Island shore and there abandon the ship and scatter, each with his share of the plunder. The vessel arrived all right within a few miles of Long Island and was, in ac- cordance with their plans, burned and sunk. They took to the small boats intending to land at different places. Then the troubles of the mutineers began. One boat with three men upset and its occupants were drowned. The other boat had a hard time making shore and much of the money had to be thrown over- board to lighten the little craft. The four pirates landed near Coney Island with some $5,000, and then began quarrelling with the result that their crime became known and their arrest followed. Two of them were hanged on April 22, 1831.

As Nassau county is the heir to so much, some few particulars regarding the fighting spirit of Long Island may also be presented in this place.

Long Island from the beginning of her history contributed her full share to the fight- ing force of the country. In the old Colonial

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NASSAU COUNTY.

French War, when Britain and France were struggling for the mastery of the continent, Major Nathaniel Woodhull, of Mastic, Suf- folk, Colonel Isaac Corsa, of Flushing, Captain Richard Hewlett and others led Long Island troops in the campaign under Abercrombie, and took part in the capture of Frontenac. A strong militia force was maintained on the island from an early period even for home defense.

In 1693 the enrolled militia of Kings coun- ty numbered 319 commanded by Colonel Stephanus Van Cortlandt, of Queens county ; 580 commanded by Colonel Thomas Willett, and of Suffolk county, 533 commanded by Colonel John Young, a tight little army of 1,432 men, very nearly one-half of the entire force in the province. In 1700 Kings county militia had 280 men, Queens, 601, and Suffolk, 614. In that year the official returns gave the names of the officers of the three regiments and the various companies, as follows :

Of ye Regiment of Militia of ye County of Suffolk on ye Island Nassaw.

FIELD OFFICERS.

Isaac Arnold. Colonel

Henry Pierson. Lieut Col.

Matthew Howel Majr

THE SEVERAL COMPAS IN YE SAID REGT.

The Foot Compa in the town of Brookhaven.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Sam. Smith Captain

Richd Floyd. . Lieut.

Joseph Tucker Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Huntington.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Thos. Wicks .Capt.

Jon Woods. Lieut.

Epenetus Plat. Lieut.

Of ye Foot Compa in ye town of Southampton. COMMON OFFICERS.

Abra. Howell. Capt.

Joseph Fordhanı . Lieut.

Isaac Halsey .Ensigne

Of another Compa in ye said Town.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Capt.

Jon Lupton .

. Lieut.

Joseph Moore.

Ensigne

Of another Compa in ye said Town. COMMON OFFICERS.

Tho. Stephens. . Capt.

Joseph Pierson. Lieut.

Jerem. Scot.

Ensigne

Of ye Foot Compa in ye Town of Southold.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Tho. Young.

. Capt.

Sam. Glover . Lieut.

Rich. Brown.

Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.

Jonathan Harlon Capt.

- Griffin

.Lieut.

Emens

Ensign

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.

Thos. Mapas. Capt.

Joshua Harlow .Lieut.

Jon Booth.

Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye town of East Hampton.

Capt.

Lieut.

Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.

John Wheeler . Capt.

Enoch Fitchen . Lieut.

Corn. Conchling Ensigne-

OF THE REGIMT OF MILITIA IN QUEENS COUNTY ON YE SAID ISLAND.

FIELD OFFICER.

Colonel

John Jackson . Lieut. Col.

Majr

Of the Foot compa in the town of Jamaica.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Hope Carpenter Capt.

Benjamin Thurston Lieut.

Richd Oldfield

Ensigne

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.

COMMON OFFICERS.

Sam. Carpenter Capt.

Joseph Smith. . Leiut.

Dan. Smith Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New Town. COMMON OFFICERS.

Content Titus .Capt.

Sam. Kecham. . Lieut.

Sam. Morrell Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town. COMMON OFFICERS.

Robt Coe . . Capt.

Jon Berian . Leiut.

Johathan Coe Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Hampstead.

Jerem. Smith . Capt.

Richd Hubbs . Leiut.

Isaac Smith. Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town. Joseph Smith. . Capt.

Lieut.

Thos. Gildersleive. Ensigne

Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.

Tho. Tredwell . Capt.

Jon. Pine. .Leiut.

Jon Foster Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Flushing.

Robert Hinchman . Capt.

- Harrington .Leiut.

Daniel Wright Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Oysterbay.

Robt Coles. Capt.

Josia Latten. . Leiut.

Nath : Coles Junr Ensigne

Of the Troope of Horse in ye said Regimt.

John Lawrence. . Capt.

Jonath : Smith .Leiut.

Daniel Lawrence Cornet

Jon Finne

Quartermaster

OF THE REGIMENT OF MILITIA IN KING'S COUNTY ON YE SAID ISLAND.

FIELD OFFICERS.

Stephen Cortlandt Colonel

Gerrardus Beekman Leiut. Col. Corn: Van Brunt. .Majr

Of the Foot Compa in the town of Amersfort. Jon Terhermon. . Capt.

Peter Mansford. . Leiut.

Corn. Van Voorhuyen. Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Gravesend.

John Lake . Capt.

Chr: Bemoyn. . Leiut.

Albert Coerten. Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in the town of Brookland.

Joris Hansen. . Capt.

Daniel Repalie. .Leiut.

Teunis Repalie. Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New Uytregt.

John Van Dyke. Capt.

Joost Van Brunt Leiut.

Matys Smake. Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Midwout.

Arie Van de Bilt Capt.

Symon Hansen Leiut.

Isaac Hegeman Ensigne

Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Boswick.

Peter Pra

. Capt.

Michill Parmyter. .Leiut.

Jochem Vouchnewen .Ensigne

Of the Troop of Horse in ye said Regiment.

Dan. Polhemius

. Capt.

Roeloft Verkirk. Lieut.

Jerominus Remse

Cornet

Gysbert Bayard.

Quarter Master

This martial spirit was well understood by the leaders on both sides when the Revolu- tionary War broke out and accounts in a great measure for the importance which the island assumed during that struggle. Besides being one of the approaches to New York, the Continental generals knew there was a fight- ing force on the island worth winning, and the British fully realized that if not already won to their side that force should be pre- vented from being of service. This accounts for much of the completeness and severity of the "occupation" from the date of the Battle of Brooklyn until the sun went down on the last British vessel on the day of the evacuation of New York. By the disunion of the Long Islanders when the struggle began, its fighting

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NASSAU COUNTY.

strength was rendered of little avail, and its divided councils practically made the entire island a prey to official or military or thieving Tory or to Whig freebooter alike. So it suf- fered terribly, and the suffering, like the rain, fell alike on the just and the unjust,-the pa- triot and the loyalist. Silas Wood estimated that the loss sustained by the islanders during the occupation at $500,000, a very low esti- mate.

But the hardest blow administered to Long Island came after peace was declared, when the New York Legislature taxed her $195,000 for not having been in a condition to take an "active part in the war against the enemy." Thus, comments Dr. Prime, "their misfortune was interpreted a crime; and because they did not emancipate themselves from a mighty army to whose power the whole Continental force had abandoned them in the very commence- ment of the contest they must be subjected to a very heavy fine; and after being pillaged by a remorseless enemy and tortured by their presence for six gloomy years they must be taxed to repair the losses of those who had been subjected to occasional depredations !"

In Nassau county we begin to see the old mills which are such prominent features of the Long Island landscape. Some of these, notably out by Southampton and East Hamp- ton, are at least a couple of centuries old, and were any of them removed the appearance of their surroundings would change as completely as though a hill had been leveled or a natural landmark destroyed.

On the North Shore, at Port Washington, is the largest tidewater mill ever built on Long Island. It was erected by Adam Mott in 1730, near his home, which is still called the "Mill House." When the troops of Lord Howe had driven the American army across the Harlem River this old mill was seized along with its owner, and thereafter until the war of inde- pendence was over the unwilling miller, who was a Quaker, was forced to grind rations for

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 135

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188