was carried without any opposition. Thereupon one of them, Joshua Winsor, arose and accepted the offer of the town, rather to its surprise. On the following day preparations were commenced for the immediate erection of the bridge, by the contractor and his associates. Yet some of the opposition threatened to call another meeting to reconsider their vote; but the work proceeded so rapidly, that before this threat could be executed, it was quite too late to think of retracting. The work, which was begun in April, was finished on the 3d of July following, to the satisfaction of the Committee of the town (Samuel A. Frazar, Ezra Weston and Isaiah Alden), who had been appointed to oversee and inspect the work of construction. The next day, being the Fourth of July, was one of uncommon interest to the inhabitants of Duxbury. The bridge was in some measure decorated, and a temporary arch erected over it, on which was perched a broad spread eagle of wood, bore this motto from Jefferson's inaugural address - "Peace, Friendship, and Commerce with all Nations; entangling Alliances with none." And on the reverse, "Commerce, Agriculture, Fishery." The two military companies of the town, under Captains Dingley and Alden, paraded, and after escorting a large party of ladies and gentlemen to the bridge, they formed in a line on each side, while the procession passed between, and then proceeding a short distance they turned, and recrossing the bridge marched to the hill on the southerly side of the River, where the projectors had prepared a bountiful entertainment. Mr. Sprague presided at the tables, and in the devoration of the sumptuous viands before them, many of the opposition received a check to their feelings of animosity, (if they had any,) and amid the scenes of mirth and rejoicings, many were the thanks expressed for the final completion of that much opposed, yet ably vindicated scheme. The day was remarkably pleasant, and everything that transpired seemed to pass off in happiness, and it is still remembered by the aged yet amongst us, as one of peculiar gratification and enjoyment. The contractors were losers to some extent by their undertaking; but the ultimate cost of the work to the town was only $400, the mill privilege, created by the dam, having been disposed of for $1100*.- Sprague Memorial. There is an amusing account of some of the incidents con This was bought by Jedediah Holmes, of Kingston, who sold it to Samuel A. Frazar, Reuben Drew, Dea. George Loring and others, and the mill was soon afterwards built. It next passed into Mr. Edward Winslow's hands. neeted with the erection of this bridge, which has once before been in print, yet still will bear it again. The authorship has been attributed by some to Dr. Rufus Hathaway, and by others to Major Judah Alden. One short paragraph is omitted, as it seems "to mar the unity of the subject by irrelevant matters." "And it came to pass in the days of Cæsar, the King, that he commanded his servant Joshua, saying, get thee up a journey into the land of the Hanoverites, to Benjamin, the Scribe, and say unto him, I, Cæsar, the King, have sent forth my decree, and commanded that the people in the land of Sodom shall no longer be separated from the Westonites, the Drewites, and the Cushmanites, that dwell on the north side of the great river Blue-fish. And also command Benjamin, the Scribe, that he forth with make out a petition and convey it to the judges and magistrates of our land, commanding that they straightway direct the Sodomites, the Westonites, and all the other Ites, within our borders, to build a bridge over the great river Blue-fish. So the Judges and Magistrates, fearing Cæsar, the King, and Joshua, his servant, commanded that the bridge be built according to Cæsar's decree. But it came to pass that there arose up certain of the tribes of Judah and Levi and of Samuel, and of the Chandlerites, and others most learned in the law, and showed unto the Judges and Magistrates, that Cæsar, the King, had done wickedly, in commanding what was unlawful to be done, and so by the voice of the multitude the decree was set aside. And it came to pass that Cæsar and the Sodomites wrought the minds of the people, and cast such delusions before their eyes, that they had fear before Cæsar, the King, and at length resolved to build the bridge, and connect Cæsar's dominions to the land of Sodom. And now behold Cæsar, the King, has erected an arch fifty cubits high, on that bridge, which the people, in their folly, have built, and set up an image over on the top of the arch, and commanded all the people from the land of Sodom on the south, the Westonites and all the other tribes in the north to assemble on the fourth day of the seventh month, and bow their heads to the image which the King has set up. And behold the people assembled according to the King's decree, and did as he had commanded." EARLY SURVEYORS OF HIGHWAYS. There appear to have been none appointed before 1640, when the bounds of Duxbury were first fixed. 1640. Experience Mitchell, Constant Southworth. 1641. Joseph Bidle, Samuel Nash. 1642. Edmund Hawes. 1644. John Rogers, William Sherman. 1648. Francis Sprague, Abraham Sampson. 1656. Henry Howland, John Tracy, Thomas Ensign. 1662. Christopher Wadsworth, Moses Simmons. 1672. Robert Barker, John Soule, Joseph Howland. 1675. John Rogers, Sen., Joseph Wadsworth, Joseph Rogers. 1676. John Rogers, Jr., Thomas Delano. 1677. George Partridge, Peter West, Robt. Barker, Sen. 1678. John Rogers, Abraham Sampson, William Tubbs. 1679. Robt. Barker, Sen., John Tracy, Wrestling Brewster. 1680. John Wadsworth, Peter West, John Hudson. 1681. George Partridge, Joseph Wadsworth, Josiah Holmes. 1682. John Rogers, Edmund Weston, Abraham Peirce. 1685. John Simmons, Joseph Howland, William Tubbs. 1687. Wrestling Brewster, R. Barker, Jr., Elnathan Weston. 1689. Joseph Wadsworth, John Russell, John Simmons. 1690. James Partridge, James Bishop, John Tracy. 1691. Philip Delano, John Boney, James Partridge. 1692. Elnathan Weston, John Russell. 1694. Wrestling Brewster, John Boney, John Soule. NOTE. Those for 1643, 53, 60, 61, 64, 65, 67, 70, 83, 84, 86, 88, and 94, appear not to have been recorded. 23 ANCIENT LANDMARKS. ALLERTON'S HILL. An early mention is made of a hill of this name, which was probably called after Isaac Allerton, one of the first Pilgrims, though I cannot find him mentioned as a resident of Duxbury at any time. NORTH HILL. This name was given to the eminence which now bears it, by the earliest settlers, in whose vicinity were settled some of the principal men of the town, and around which large grants were made. CAPTAIN'S HILL. This hill formed a part of an early grant to Captain Standish, who settled near its base, and whose name it still bears. It is situated on a peninsula, which extends in a southeasterly direction, between the bays of Duxbury and Plymouth, and contains about two or three hundred acres of good soil, little inferior to any in the country in fertility. While in other portions of the town the soil is sandy and unproductive, and a considerable part in no state of cultivation, this peninsula is furnished with a deep and fertile soil. The same may be said of the highland on the Gurnet, Saquish and many other similar spots around the bay, where the soil is in immediate proximity to the sea. Clark's Island in some parts possesses a mould, which if equalled, is scarcely surpassed in the county; and while the northern and western sides offer the most desirable qualities for pasturage and grain, its southern and eastern declivities present a perfect garden, abounding with trees, through whose foliage, even during the summer's hottest months, stir the breezes from the sea.* This Island, called by Hutchinson "one of the best islands in Massachusetts bay," contains 86 acres of land, and was anciently well covered with a fine growth of trees, (as were also the Gurnet and Saquish,) as ap pears by various records, wherein are mentioned "the woods thereupon. Morton erroneously describes it as between the Gurnet and Saquish. Of its original forest of red cedar, only three decayed trunks now remain, and having borne the blasts of many a winter, still stand "silent monitors of the past." It is memorable as being the spot, where that devoted Pilgrim band first landed in their voyage of discovery from Cape Cod. Having come under the lee of the island during the night of Friday, December 9th, they landed on the following day, and here kept the Christian Sabbath, while the dim woods rang to the anthems of the free." Ought not this to cause peculiar attractions hither? Should not a descendant like to witness the scene of his father's rejoicings rejoicings, as it were, on the threshold of eternity? Think of their situation; - in an unknown harbor, separated from their wives and children, did this band of discoverers prolong the strains of anthems and rejoicing chorus, till the woods reechoed their praises, and sent their thanksgiving to a propitious Heaven. 66 It received its name from Clark, the mate of the Mayflower, who, it is said, "first stepped on shore thereon." In early times salt was made on the Island, and it was also reserved for The summit of the hill is about 400 yards from the sea, and 180 feet above its level, and when once attained presents a view to him who communes with nature, and who has pondered over the history of the early Pilgrims, is acquainted with their character, and has conceived the purpose of their exile, to him it presents a spectacle which has in times past, and which, I conceive, must ever cause an impression on his mind, not easily forgotten and scarcely to be eradicated. Full as it is of the most pleasing associations, it calls up in the mind of the beholder those reminiscences, which gladden his heart and arouse his soul into being, and clothe him with all the nobler feelings of mankind, dormant as they may lie within the deep recesses of his heart. Nor is the loveliness of the scene itself any the less an efficient agent of holy influences, - both cause one to tremble, irresistibly, and to offer praise to his Maker. The circumstances, to be sure, add to the attractions of the spot; but its beauty, its simplicity of grandeur, its busy scenes, and its still silent loneliness give to it a power, whose effects need not be mentioned. Select, should you visit it, the closing hours of a summer's day, when the burning heat of the declining sun is dispelled by the cooler shades of approaching evening, and ascend to its height. Now as the retiring rays of day form on the heavens above a gorgeous canopy of variegated hues, so on nature's face below, all brightens into richness, and the verdure of her covering softens into mildness; the shining villages around, and the village spires towering against a background of unfading green, add gladness to the scene. The glassy surface of the bay within, with its gentle ripplings on the shore beneath, the music of the dashing waves on the beach without, give quiet to the mind and peace within. Before you, in the distance at the east, appear the white the poor of the town of Plymouth, who obtained their wood and pastured their cattle there. It was early set apart for the pasturage of sheep, whose increase the colonists much strove for, and as early as July 1, 1633, it was ordered, that " no sheep be sold out of the colony, under penalty of forfeiting their due value." During Philip's war it became an asylum for some of the praying Indians of the colony, and a protection against the attacks of their hostile brothers. In 1675, the Council of War ordered, that the "Namassachusett Indians be speedily removed to Clarkes Iland, and ther to remaine and not to depart from thence without lycence from authoritie upon paine of death." The island was sold in 1690 to Samuel Lucas, Elkanah Watson, and Geo. Morton. A descendant of Watson now resides there. It is often a resort of parties of pleasure in the summer season from the neighboring towns, who find in the cool and shady retreats on its southeastern slope a place to make merry with dance and song, and an appetite to ease their tables of their delicious viands. |