HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. Vol II.] INTRODUCTION. February, 1860. recog The original plan of this serial publication, was to issue numbers of thirty pages each, as circumstances should permit, without nizing the obligation for their appearance at definite and stated periods of time. In this manner five consecutive numbers have been printed, constituting a volume of two hundred pages of local historical information, which, it is hoped, will prove a valuable addition to the history of this section of the State. The encouragement that has been extended to our undertaking, authorizes some alteration in our plans, which, we trust, will add greatly to its value and importance as a medium of communication with the public, on all subjects consistent with the objects that may come into our possession. The various records of the public offices of the County, together with those of the several towns, parishes and churches within its limits, are replete with valuable historic materials. These should be rendered more generally accessible, and should receive a greater degree of attention in our common school education. To this end our efforts will be directed by the selection and arrangement for publication, of such portions and extracts from said records as will interest our readers and elucidate our local history. VOL. II. 1 No. 1. Attention will also be directed to the many interesting items found among old family papere, already in possession of the Institute, or which may be loaned for the purpose. We feel confident that many important facts are locked up in such private repoɛitories, and that publications like this may be the humble instruments of preserving them for the gratification and instruction of the curious reader, and of furnishing material for elaboration by the future historian. This County, being one of the earliest of the great historical centres of our country, must ever be a place of resort by the historian and genealogist, and by every lover of antiquarian and historic lore. The increasing interest in relation to all matters connected with our early history, unequalled since the settlement of the country by the present generation, leads us to infer that the continuation of these Collections in a more permanent form, and issued at stated intervals, will be favorably received. Acknowledgements are due to those friends, who, approving of the plan, have liberally aided in extending its circulation; as well as to those who have from time to time contributed to its columns interesting articles; from these, and from others in our immediate vicinity, known to be deeply interested in similar pursuits, we hope for a continuance of favors; and trust that our efforts will not be unavailing, but will receive a merited degree of pub-lic patronage. harbor of Salem, they caught with a few hooks, in two hours, no less than 76 codfish, HISTORICAL NOTICES OF SALEM SCENERY. "some a yard and a half long and a yard in BY G. L. STREETER. Read at a Meeting of the Fssex Institute, Thursday, April 8, 1858. Nearly two hundred and thirty years ago, on Saturday, June 12, 1630, as the worthy Gov. John Winthrop and his companions, on board the Arbella-and with the noble lady Arbella on board-approached Salem Harbor, they stood in (so the Governor's account tells us) "and passed through the narrow strait between Baker's Isle and Little Isle [the Misery] and came to an anchor a little within the Islands." And in the afternoon, Gov. John Endicott having visited the ship, the chief gentlemen and some of the women of the company returned with him to Nahumkeak, where they "supped with good venizon, pastry and good beer." Meanwhile the common people of the company went ashore on Beverly side - then called "Cape Ann side"-where they "gathered store of fine strawberries," which were very abundant there and very sweet. Having thus regaled themselves with the good things of the earth, and being warmly welcomed, not only by the townsfolk, but also by Masconomo, chief of the Agawams, who came aboard and spent the Sabbath with them in a friendly way, the first impressions of their new home must have been pleasing and satisfactory.. And we have evidence that these first im pressions were subsequently confirmed, notwithstanding the many sad trials and hard experiences to which they were called. After a short sojourn, Gov. Winthrop wrote home to his wife, who remained in England: "We are here in a paradise. Though we have not beef and mutton, &c., yet (God be praised) we need them not; our Indian corn answers for all. Yet here is fowl and fish in abundance." They had had early proof of the abundance of fish, for Gov. Winthrop's journal informs compass." All the accounts returned to England by the pioneer emigrants concurred in extravagant praise of the new country, and we now read their quaint and highly-colored narratives as amusing curiosities of literature. Turn for instance to Wood's New England Prospect, or the New England's Plantation, by Higginson, the worthy pastor of the Salem church. A perusal of these and other writings in a similar strain would almost persuade us that this is indeed a land "where every prospect pleases, and only man is vile." Mr. Higginson wrote that "the fertility of the soil is to be admired at," and "the abundant increase of corn proves this country to be a wonderment." Also that "it abounds naturally with store of roots of great varietie and good to eat," and with "divers excellent pot-herbs." "The abundance of sea-fish, (he says) is almost beyond believing, and sure I should scarce have believed it, except I had seen it with mine own eyes." He had seen hundreds of bass seined at one time in our own waters, and mentions lobsters as being so abundant that even boys could catch them. But of the lobsters, he ays, "as for myself I was soon cloyed with them, they were so great, and fat, and luscious." For wood, there was no better country in the world. Let us As for the trees; the author of the N. E. Prospect cannot contain his delight in plain prose, but launches forth in rhyme. give a specimen of Wood on trees: 'Trees both in hills and plaines, in plenty be, The long liv'd Oake, and mournful Cypris tree, Skie-towering Pines, and Chesnuts coated rough, The lasting Cedar, with the Walnut tough; The rosin-dropping Firre for masts in use; The Boatmen seeke for Oares, light, neate grown Sprewse, The brittle Ash. the ever-trembling Aspes, he broad spread Elme, whose concave harbors waspes; us that just before the Arbella reached the The water-spongie Alder, good for naught, Small Elderne by th' Indian Fletchers sought, The author of N. E. Prospect preferred the soil to that of Surry and Middlesex in England, which, he said, without manure would be less fertile than the meanest ground in New England." The birds and beasts extorted equal admiration from these appreciative writers. There were turkeys, geese, and ducks in abundance, besides the smaller birds in great variety. Of the useful and valuable animals, the deer, beaver, otter, and martin, were most prized, and the bears and wolves most dreaded. Both Wood and Higginson mention reports of Lions at Cape Ann, though neither had had visible evidence thereof. But Wood expresses his confident belief that certain fearful noises the early colonists of Salem found it a fair and goodly place to look upon, and one in which it was pleasant to dwell. It was not merely "the good venizon, pastry, and good beer," or "the virgia milk wita blusaing strawberries strewn" which were the chief delights of this place. On the contrary every aspect of nature seemed to invite settlement and improvement. The harbor was capacious and easy of access. The islands at its entrance, covered with a primitive growth of trees and shrubs, presented, in combination with the densely wooded shore, a picture of beauty, such as is still preserved in the famous scenery of Casco Bay. The several rivers, the North, and South, Forest River, Bass River and the Essex Branch, divided the main land into distinct and prominent peninsulas, whose fertile slopes favored the desires of the planter. The numerous coves, formed by the indentations of the shore, offered shelter to the light shallops in rough weather, and were convenient for the prosecution of the Fisheries. The country around was everywhere clothed with an exuberant vegetation. Trees of various value in the arts crowned the surround Game ing hills and bordered the sea-shore. abounded in the woods, fs' in the sea, and birds in the air. In a word, there seemed to heard in Plymouth, were made either by "lions or devils," "there being," he says, "no other creatures which use to roar saving Beares, which have not such a terrible kind of roar-e provision for every urgent necessity of a ing." new and self-helping people. Even the common spring water in the country was averred to be superior by these zealous historians, whose pens were dipped in rose water. Wood says, "it is farre different from the waters of England, being not so sharp but of a fatter substance, and of a more jettie color; it is thought there can be no better water in the world, yet dare I not prefer it before good Beere, as some have done, but any man will choose it before bad Beere, Whey, or Buttermilk." And Higginson wrote, pursuing a similar comparison, but with more grace, that "a sup of New England's aire is better than a whole draught of Old England's ale." THE NECK. Of the early settlers of Salem proper, those who came with Roger Conant located at "the Planter's Marsh," on the tongue of land where Bridge street is, which, from its proximity to North river on one side and Collins' Covethen called Shallop Cove-on the other, was convenient for the pursuit of the fisheries. Another portion, subsequent settlers, preferred the rocky and sterile Neck, where for many years the fisheries were prosecuted with considerable success. Settlements were early made and houses erected on Cat and Abbott's Coves, the former lying on the South side of the causeway to Winter Island, and the latter Our local pride may well assure itself that on the North side, toward Juripe: Point. Cat Cove was then called Winter Harbor, and the Neck. Though many interesting and not unmain harbor of Salem was Summer Harbor, important incidents have transpired there to The settlement at Cat Cove was on the point, of Rocks just below the latiorne farm, and was so considerable as to receive the distinctive name of Watertown. "The Point," says Dr. Bentley, "was covered with houses, stores, and the shops of artificers." Winter Island was also occupied. Houses were erected there, wharves constructed, vessels built, and a pub lie way established, known as "Fish street." Last, not least, there was a licensed victualler, on the Island. But the subsequent population of the town moved westward, and occupied the peninsula betweeen the North and South rivers, wheno we now are, and which has always contained the chief body of the inhabitants. This was then a low, level, sandy tract, nowhere over twenty feet above the level of the sea. "The form of the earth here," says Higginson, “in the superficies of it it is neither too flat in its plainnesse, or to Ligh in hills, but partakes of both in a medieritie, and is fit for pasture or for plow and meadow Lind." We may presume that its sparse vegetation was cleared off, as necessity required, with little labor and expense; while its frequent swamps were al lowed to remain until the wants of the settlers suggested their removal. A few of the inhabitants took farms in North and South fields, where the soil was better, and passed to and fro in canoes scooped out of the trunks of trees, Wood writes, in 1635, "Although their land be none of the best, yet beyond these rivers is a very good soyle, where they have taken farmes and get theire hay and plant their corne; there they crosse these rivers with small cannowes which are made of whole pine trees 24 ft. over and 20 ft. long; there be more cannowes in this towne than in all the whole patent; every household having a water-house or two." connect it with the history of our town, it has undergone no essential changes either by the hand of man or the tooth of time. Its rough and rugged aspect seems always to have discouraged settlement and improvement, though there is good land there which would repay more labor than has ever been bestowed upon it. Frequent attempts have been made by the town authorities to induce population hither, but the des late appearance of its granite hills, its remoteness from the general centre, and its bleak exposure, have condemned it to comparative uselessness. Yet it is one of the pleasant portions of our territory, so far as mere sightliness of position is concerned, affording extensive and delightful views of our water and coast scenery. The broad bay, as seen from Fort Lee and Bentley Hill and other heights of land, the Beverly shore with its picturesque outline and background of deep, dense woods, the pleasant 110spect towards Pine Grove and Forest River, the near view of our city and the neighboring towns, and especially the exquisite and charming river-vista towards Danvers, altogether present a scene of beauty, which, observed any where in the world, would leave a pleasing impress upon the memory. But our poor, despised Neck contains, also, some things of material value and interest, after all. It is rich in the very things which make it despised. Those hard, repulsive hills contain a store of fine granite, some of which, carefully dressed, has taken a superior polish. The granites of the Neck are of various colors and densities, and some unusually handsome. Some years since, a fire-frame, highly wrought and finished from a choice block was considered as rivalling marble in its elegance. The geoloof the Neck is a study for the naturalist, and its minerals are also worthy of observaOf all the spots of early habitation probably tion. A noticeable variety of fotiated black mica none preserves its ancient form and features o curs here, associated with feldspar and foliated more perfectly than our rocky and deserted hornblende. Crystals of hornblende also occur. gy A rare and fine blue variety of sodalite was found near the Almshouse, recently, by members of the Institute. There is, in fact, more of interest in this department upon the Neck. and the Islands off our harbor than in all other parts of our territory. NORTH FIELDS. When Lyford, Conant, Endicott, Higginson, and other fathers of the town first settled here, and named the place Salem because of the heavenly peace enjoyed in it, they found but feeble remains of the Indian tribe which had improved the hunting grounds and fishing places. The Naumkeags, once, doubtless, a considerable people, had been reduced by the recent plague to a few unhappy families. And these original Native Americans extended a glad welcome to the Puritan immigrants, who could and did protect them against the hostility of stronger tribes. In 1614, just before the settlement, when the renowned Capt. John Smith coasted along this bay, he found, he said, "a multitude of people" at Agawam, but a less number at Naumkeag; but we are justified in inferring from his language that a large number of Indians resided at this point. And all the probabilities favor this inference. Rev. John Higginson remembered in his old age that when he came to Salem with his father, the Rev. Francis Higginson, of the First Church, in 1629, there was an old Indian woman here named squaw Saclem, and one of her sons named Sagamore George, who also rejoiced in the triplicate names of "Winnapurkitt," "George Rumney Marsh," and "No Nose." These two were interesting personages in our history. Squaw Sachem was relict of Nanepashemet, who had been chief of the Naumkeags in their better days. It is supposed that this chief frequently resided in some part of North Salem, in accordance with the interesting testimony of Higginson, who says that "ye Indian towne of Wigwams was on ye North side of ye North River, not far from Simondes." Nanepashemet was killed about ་་ 1619, in a fort, on the summit of Castle Hill, near the Mill Pond. Two years after his death, (in 1621) Mr. Mourt, a traveller from Plymouth, visited this vicinity, and mentions a fort "seated on top of an hill," and adds, here Nanej ashemet was killed, none dwelling in it since the time of his death." The annalist of Salem surmises that Castle Hill is here referred to, and it is not improbable. Sagamore George, son of the Naumkeag chief, succeeded to his father's position, and claimed all the land between our North River and the Mystic River. It was from his descendants that the Indian deed of our town was obtained in 1686. We have mentioned that North Salem was probably a favorite resort of the Indians of these parts. In 1680, Wm. Dixy, of Beverly, testified that when he came to Salem, in 1629, the new settlers were "kindly entertained [by the natives,] and the English and Indians had a field in common fenced in together." As we know from Wood's statement that the settlers had, at an early date, taken farms in North Salem, we may hence infor that there this pleasant instance of fraternity was exhibited. Indeed we could readily accept the supposition, even were there no evidence to confirm it, that this portion of our territory was the Indian's favorite haunt.. In its wild and native aspect it doubtless presented peculiar attractions to the child of nature. Its diversifed surface of hill and dale, was made picturesque by an exuberant growth of the forest. The woods were alive with game, and the rivers bounding its two sides and by their creeks and inlets cutting the territory into convenient tongues of land, furnished a bountiful supply of fish. This part of our city still preserves in a degree its old rural aspect, and there is still many a quiet woodland scene within its limits, to remind us of its ancient uses, and of the people who roamed over its surface.. That the ancient Towne of Wigwams" was located here, tradition assures us, and we see no reason to doubt that it was |