Cove and hut, is Stewart's Knoll, an elevated part of the beach. The distance of the hut from the commencement of the beach is six miles, and from its termination four. Great Hill in Chatham bears north by west, distant six miles; and the south end of Morris's island, which is on the west side of the beach, north by east, distant four miles. Richard Sears, Esq. of Chatham, has engaged to visit the two last mentioned huts.

An

Two miles below the sixth hut is a fishing house, built of thatch, in the form of a wigwam. It stands on the west side of the beach, a quarter of a mile from the ocean. nually in September it is renewed; and generally remains in tolerable preservation during the winter.

Another spot, a few rods from the sea, four miles south from the commencement of the beach, and a half of a mile north of the head of Wreck Cove, would be a proper situation for a hut. A little south of this spot, in storms and very high tides, the sea breaks over from the ocean into Wreck Cove.

Cape Malebarre beach may be distinguished from the two beaches before described, not only by its greater breadth, but also by its being of a less regular form. It is not so well covered with grass as Chatham beach. From Stewart's Knoll, south, to the extremity, it is lowest in the middle. In this valley, and in other low places, fresh water may be obtained by digging two feet into the sand. The same thing is true of Nauset and Chatham beaches.

The six huts, the situation of which has thus been pointed out, are all of one size and shape. Each hut stands on piles, is eight feet long, eight feet wide, and seven feet high; a sliding door is on the south, a sliding shutter on the west, and a pole, rising fifteen feet above the top of the building, on the east. Within, it is supplied either with straw or hay; and is farther accommodated with a bench.

The whole of the coast, from Cape Cod to Cape Malebarre, is sandy, and free from rocks. Along the shore, at the distance of a half of a mile, is a bar; which is called the Outer Bar, because there are smaller bars within it, perpetually varying. This outer bar is separated into many parts by guzzles, or small channels. It extends to Chatham; and as it proceeds southward, gradually approaches

the

the shore and grows more shallow. Its general depth at high water is two fathoms, and three fathoms over the guzzles; and its least distance from the shore is about a furlong. Off the mouth of Chatham harbour there are bars which reach three quarters of a mile; and off the entrance of Nauset harbour the bars extend a half of a mile. Large, heavy ships strike on the outer bar, even at high water; and their fragments only reach the shore. But smaller vessels pass over it at full sea; and when they touch at low water, they beat over it, as the tide rises, and soon come to the land. If a vesel be cast away at low water, it ought to be left with as much expedition as possible; because the fury of the waves is then checked, in some measure, by the bar; and because the vessel is generally broken to pieces with the rising flood. But seamen, shipwrecked at full sea, ought to remain on board till near low water; for the vessel does not then break to pieces; and by attempting to reach the land before the tide ebbs away, they are in great danger of being drowned. On this subject there is one opinion only among judicious mariners. It may be necessary however to remind them of a truth, of which they have full conviction, but which, amidst the agitation and terrour of a storm, they too frequently forget.

r. s.

DESCRIPTION OF SANDWICH, IN THE COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE. 1802. BY WENDELL DAVIS, ESQUIRE.

ANDWICH is a post town, situate on the westerly

SAN

part of Cape Cod. The original grant of the township was from the Old Colony of Plymouth, in the year

1639.

The court of assistants having assembled at Plymouth in the year 1685, and it being then represented to said court, that Mr. William Bradford and his associates had previously granted liberty to Mr. Edmund Freeman, Henry Feak, Thomas Dexter, and others, to establish a plantation, since called Sandwich, in this government, the same grant was then confirmed, under the signature of Governour Hinckley, to the above-named grantees, their heirs and assigns forever.

The

The boundaries of the township are described in that instrument in the following manner: "Beginning, westerly, by the dividing line between the town of Plymouth and the said town of Sandwich, and on the east by the line which divides the town last mentioned from the town of Barnstable, which runs north-east to the sea; and southwest into the woods; and is bounded northerly by the sea; southerly partly by the dividing line between them and Suckanussett and partly by the Indians' land, according to the known and accustomed boundaries." It appears that the persons, employed in running these lines, were Capt. Miles Standish and Mr. John Alden, characters well known in the early history of this country.

The quality of the soil in the extreme parts of this township is generally light and unproductive; yielding however a large quantity of pine wood, interspersed with oak, which of late years have assumed considerable value from the growing scarcity of that article in other towns distant, where it frequently is vended. One of the first natural advantages of this township consists in the extensive tracts of wood land, which are found within its limits.

The traveller on the publick road from Plymouth to Sandwich would probably be often induced, from the sandy condition of the roads, and the unsettled state of the country, to anticipate with some solicitude the close of his pilgrimage. To those, however, who love to cherish the remembrance of "the days of old," the view of the sacrifice rocks in his way, which the untutored Indian, in compliance with a religious usage, has covered with pine knots and broken pieces of wood, may afford some relief to beguile the solitude of his ride. Clam-Pudding Pond, another object of attention to the antiquarian traveller, will also present itself to his view, where our ancestors, in travelling from the Cape to Plymouth, used to sit and regale themselves with clams and pudding, the staple dishes of those primitive times. After riding through a body of wood, twelve miles in extent, interspersed with but few houses, the settlement of Sandwich appears with a more agreeable effect to the eye of the traveller.

The first group of houses, after leaving the woods, is called after the Indian name of Scussett; and the brook

through

through which the traveller must pass, in going through Scussett, is in the course of the long contemplated canal across the isthmus of Cape Cod. The quality of the soil upon the east side of the road, extending to Barnstable line, is good, well cultivated, and productive. On the west side, it is far less so.

About three miles from Scussett is the village of Sandwich. It is embellished with a large and beautiful pond of water in its centre, and a fall of water, on which are situated a grist-mill and fulling-mill that are supplied from an inexhaustible fountain. This stream shapes its course to the sea, fertilizing the lands and meadows through which it passes. Round this pond stand the principal houses of the village, together with a number of shops for the dif ferent mechanick arts. The meeting house of the first precinct and a handsome academy occupy two neighbouring eminences. There are two publick inns in this village, which are excelled by few, if any, in the State.

Proceeding further eastward, the next group of houses is at a place called Spring Hill. Here is situated the meeting house of the Friends, who constitute a considerably numerous and respectable class of the inhabitants.

The employment of the people on this shore is both maritime and agricultural. The town in its general character is more agricultural, however, than otherwise, and more so than any other in the county. The inhabitants in general are substantial livers. From their vicinity to the sea, they are enabled to draw a considerable portion of their subsistence from its bosom. They generally occupy small farms, and till them to the best advantage, and with far less labour than a stubborn soil would require. All sorts of grain are raised with facility, and on spots of ground apparently the most unpromising to the eye of the husbandman; resulting perhaps from the contiguity of the soil to the humid atmosphere of the sea. The great extent and excellence of the meadows and marshes in this place is a great source of wealth and improving husbandry. By means of them, they are enabled to keep large stocks of cattle in the winter, and food for their subsistence through the remainder of the year, if necessary. It is computed that about one hundred loads of salt hay are

annually

annually sold, to supply the wants of neighbouring towns to the westward of Sandwich. The township is excellent for the raising of sheep of the best kind, which run at large in the forests and plains. They average in the month of October, when they are sold to the drovers from the northward and westward, about one dollar and upwards per head. The meat is greatly preferred by con

noisseurs.

The township abounds in ponds and brooks. At the places called Snake Pond, and Hog Pond, in the south-westerly part of the town, better known by the popular name of the Woods, are several small settlements of houses, and a few valuable farms.

Pocassett is an Indian name for the second parish in Sandwich. This precinct is situated on Buzzard's bay, and contains a meeting house for publick worship, with a small number of families. They have had but one settled minister, since their establishment as a precinct. It is now vacant. Here, the oyster beds are found in such excellence and plenty. Wild deer are often taken in the woods of Pocassett and in different parts of the town. Of late, they have much increased, and a recent law of the Commonwealth, forbidding the killing of them but within a certain period of the year, and in a regulated manner, will tend greatly to augment their number.

A little to the northward and eastward of Pocassett is a place called Monumet after the Indian appellation. These aboriginal names probably derived their origin from the circumstance, that the several places which they represent were once favourite resorts of the sachems and natives of this country. Monumet, the last mentioned place, contains a small collection of houses and a publick meeting house. The clergyman of the first precinct officiates therein one sixth part of the time, as it forms a part of his precinct. In Buzzard's and Buttermilk bays and also in Monumet river are found fish of various kinds such as bass, sheep's head, tau taug, &c.

The projected canal, if it ever should be accomplished, will open almost a new creation to this part of the town. Where now are seen a few scattered dwellings, hundreds would then appear. Employment to large numbers of the inhabitants