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Page 1


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IN

THE

_^

HEART

i

OF CAPE ANN OR THE

STORY OF DOQTOWN BY

CHARLES

With

Illustrations

E.

MANN

by Catherine M. Follansbee

GLOUCESTER,

:mass.

:

PROCTER BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS I08

MAIN STREET

Vyj' >A/' V-A/'




/;


PREFATORY NOTE. These Dogtown Sketches wholly as the result of an

were written ahiiost

effort to satisfy the curiosity

biography and

tra-

ditions of the deserted village, their continuation

and

of the author

as to the history,

publication being encouraged by the general tion they

commanded.

are complete, but

it is

It

is

not claimed

atten-

that they

believed they contain far

more

information than has yet been published concerning their subject.

The

writer desires to express his deep

sense of obligation to those who, before the publication of

the

matter originally prepared,

and

since,

have assisted by furnishing facts and reminiscences.


PREFATORY NOTE.

4

They have made

possible to get together a mass of

it

authentic history, where at

only a few traditions were ion.

Of course nearly

memories

of

a source

of

those of

to

all

seemed

that at best,

be rescued from oblivmaterial

the

Cape Ann's aged people, and unalloyed pleasure to

listen to their discourses

Among

tirst it

an

it

the

has been

by them and

the days of long ago.

memories

of

this year will

hour spent

in

ancient kitchens,

the precious

many

upon

sit

in

is

be

while sweet-faced old ladies, often with sweeter voices, or

men

with whitened locks and time-furrowed

cheeks, recalled the stories told them by the fireside

by other dear old century.

women and

Xo wonder

noble old

men

of a past

Gloucester has developed into

such an admirable and lovable a communitv, there

still

lingers

among

honored progenitors.

her people so

many

when

of their


CHAPTER WHERE

IS

I.

DOGTOWN

Ever since Goldsmith wrote

?

"Deserted Vil-

his

lage" there has been a weird, poetic and sentimental

charm about abandoned erted itself over

pleasure to

make

settlements, that has so ex-

some minds

that

it

has become a

the investigations incident to a cor-

men found

it

convenient or necessary to build habitations which

it

rect understanding of

what manner

afterwards became advisable to desert.

have given lifetimes, almost, the

modes

of

Arch^ologists

to the investigation of

of life of the cliff dwellers of

Arizona and


;

The Story of

6

New

Mexico.

cities in

Doo-fozvn.

few ruined

Tliere are comparatively

America

and even more rare are the

;

in-

stances of deserted villages wliich were once inhabited

hv wliite men. the progenitors of people ing to-dav.

are liv-

been the pleasm^e of the writer

has

It

who

during the past few months

to

acquaint

manv people

with their ancestors, in a figurative sense, for in the heart of

Cape Ann mav be found

was once inhabited by tant progenitors of

To-day the

the grandparents or

many who

affairs of (jloucestcr onl\-

\illage

a

which

more

dis-

are to-day active in the

and Rockport. inhabitants

of

' '

Do2."town "

are

lowing kine, an occasional decrepit horse turned out

woodchucks, crows and

to pasture as a pensioner, or

migrating birds. its

Its

grass-grown

foot-worn door-stones

place by the occasional

may be summer

streets are there,

used for tourist

a resting-

on

a

tramp

across the cape, a curiosity seeking Appalachian, or by the

more numerous berry

in the

midst of such

a

pickers.

The

waste of rocks, as

Dogtown Commons, always

leads

to

cleared land is

the rule in

speculation

eyen more suggesti\e are the walled yards and the

many

cellars,

both of houses and farm Iniildings.

Concerning these old their

cellars novelists

romances, and poets have sung.

century ago

they

excited

the

have woven

Nearly

interest

of

a half-

Richard


The Story of

Henry Dana and Thomas of rare minds they drew

Long

afterwards,

Col.

Dogtozuii.

7

King and

Starr

the circle

Cape Ann with them.

to

Thomas VVentworth Hig-

ginson, in one of those delightful bits of reminiscence scattered through " Oldport Days," described a to

Dogtown Commons from Pigeon Cove

"What

can

walk

:

Hawthorne mean by saying

in

his

English diary that 'an iVmerican would never understand

passage in Bunyan about Christian and

the

Hopeful going astray along by a by-path

into the

grounds of Giant Despair, from there being no

and by-paths of

in our country'

American pedestrianism

instance, the

Gloucester,

whole

is

So much

?

lies in

of

interior

a continuous

of the

the by-paths

stiles

charm For

:

Cape Ann, beyond

woodland, with granite

ledges everywhere cropping out, around which the

high-road winds, following the curving and indented line of the sea,

and dotted here and there with fishing

hamlets.

This whole interior

work

foot-paths,

and

of

rarely

traversed by a net-

passable for

not always for a horse,

destrian to go from

is

a

wagon,

but enabling the pe-

anv one of the villages

other, in a line almost direct,

By

any

and always under an

agreeable

shade.

ways, one

may go from Pigeon Cove

the

to

longest

these hidden

of

to Gloucester,

ten miles, without seeing a public road.

In the

little


8

T^hc Story

inn at

former

tlie

of

some

of these paths,

wliole forest region,^ giving a cliart of

tliis

first

there used to hansf an old

villao-e

map the

of Dogtoivu.

which were

said to date

One

settlement of the country.

was

instance,

Sandy Bay

Woods'; but

road from

'Squam Meeting-House through

to

the road

is

now

to

of them, for

map 'Old

on the

called

back

the

scarcely eyen a l>ridle-

path, and the most faithful worshipper coultl not seek

'Squam meeting-house woods haye been

knew

it

was

some gap

more than wayfarer

"A

in

tlic

;

good

as

Often we stepped from

forest.

into

lately devastated

the region,

tlie

piney

dell

when

but

I first

any German

as

edge of the sea

woods; there seemed hardly

we met some

a rabbit-track, yet presently

who had

These

the family chaise.

in

crossed the

gave some

;

it.

vista of the

were leaving, and an opening another blue sea-line before

Cape by

in

the

broad sea

we

woods displayed

the encountering breezes

interchanged odors of berry bushes and scent of brine penetrating further

upon some

Spenser drew turned

its

path.

Then

1

hangs

This

is

cottage, quaint

little ;

it

was not

built

vine-clad gable the

and sheltered as any on the high-road, and

away from even

the foot-

ground rose and other breezes came

a reference to the "

at the present

time

;

among oaks and walnuts we came

Mason" map

in tlie office

of Cape Ann.

of the citv clerk.

A

copy of

;

it


TJie Story

perhaps

we climbed

of Dogtown.

trees to look for

landmarks, and

Three miles inland,

found only an unseen quarry. I

9

as

remember, we found the hearthstones

of a vanished

swamp

with cardinal

settlement

then

;

we

passed a

flowers; then a cathedral of noble pines, topped with

crows' nests.

If

we would have

we had

not gone astray, by this time

presently emerged on

Dogtown Com-

mon, an elevated tableland, overspread with great boulders as with houses, and encircled with a girdle of

green woods and another girdle of blue

know is

sea.

I

of nothing like that gray, waste of boulders;

a natural Salisbury Plain, of

it

which icebergs and

ocean currents were the Druidic builders

;

in

that

multitude of couchant monsters there seems a sense of

suspended

answer

life

;

you

feel as

if

they must speak and

each other in the silent nights, but by day

to

only the wandering sea-birds seek them, on their

way

across the Cape, and the sweet-bay and green fern

imbed them

goby.

in a softer

This

foot-path

;

is

and deeper setting as the years

the 'height of ground' of that wild

but as you recede farther from the outer

ocean and approach Gloucester, you come

among

still

wilder ledges, unsafe without a guide, and you find in

one place a cluster of deserted houses, too of access to

remove even

difficult

their materials, so that they

are left to moulder alone.

I

used to wander in those


lo

Story of Dogtoivii.

77/("

woods, summer after summer,

till I

chart of their devious tracks, and

my

eyes in this Oldport

hammer and

the soft Italian

I

the veerv's song

and

;

and the

has a

salt sea

res^al

is

manv

and geographical features of the

of the topographical

The

Heart of Cape Ann.

'Squam

He draws

is

what

the

is

Dogtown Commons or

now known

with as

Raccoon

Dogtown

is

ledge,

it

is

life

liness

spot?

natural

also mentions

Whv

exile themselves

in poverty, in this

and dwell

when

it is

protectors

beneath the ocean.

the evil davs either

in

did

from

in lone-

barren and secluded well understood,

the canines kept bv the so-called "

of the place,

and

villasfe

a pathetic, fascinating place.

The name "Dogtown,"

came from

street.

care as the most

He

of the villages so near them,

and often

Revere

difKcult to say which.

more than one hundred families the

from Sandy Bay as

much

old-timer could wish.

particular

Lamb

old road

between Dosftown

line

nec-

blue."

Col. Higginson hints in the above passage at

to

long

I

for those

promontories of granite where the fresh water tar

for

;

hear the tinkle of the

perfumed and breezv pastures, and

for those

close

I

a vScandinavian vigor

the incessant roll of carriages

quarrvman's

now when

midsummer,

on something of

air takes

mvown

had made

came

their

that

widows " saw

their

graves or buried


The Story of Dogtoivn. There are many approaches

to

1

Dogtown.

have

I

quoted Col. Higghison's description oÂŁ the route from

Pigeon Cove, by way of the old road from Sandy Bay to the

'Squam church, which

ing from 'Squam, one

may

is still

passable.

Comwalk

leave the church,

same road, past the Cape Ann

a mile through the

Granite Co.'s quarries, the road passing through the

upper end of one,

house of David Dennison,

to the

an ancient ^ambrel-roofed lean-to, built by Mr. Dennison's first ancestor on Cape Ann, and a fine sample of

the better

class of

here h^ can branch

Jaw, and thence go

the

to the

off

right,

by the Whale's

more probably by

jaws of

a

whale.

Riverdale,

main

frost, to

the

same

by

light-

resemble the open

Gee avenue and Stanwood

street,

of Judith

Ryon

Abraham Wharf, and

thence

lead past

(or Rhines), to that of to the

to

a great boulder split

Whale's Jaw,

ning, or

in

The road

to the deserted village.

by Goose Cove, near Riverdale, leads point, the

the cellar

street of the village.

Persons coming from East Gloucester may, are strong on

their feet,

go up Webster

enter the pastures by crossing

^task, for raines in

From

Dogtown homes.

if

they

street

and

Lamb Ledge — no

small

one of the most wonderful terminal moNew England, the boulders being piled one

it is

upon another

in the

most orderly confusion

until they



The Story of Dogtoxvu. reach into a

tlie

Commons from

level of the

13

the deep valley

which some glacier swept them ages ago.

good hour's

the ledge,

stint to cross

It is

and then one

passes by Railcut Hill, the highest point on the outer

Cape,

Rockport road, another picturesque

to the old

and grass-grown highway of olden times, and enters the Pigeon

Jaw

Cove path which continues by the Whale's once occupied by James Witham,

at the clearing

son of

Thomas and grandson

of

Henry, the

first

of the

line in this countrv.

Witham was born in 1693, and built this house at what is known as Stacy's Pines, the location bearing the suggestive

gaged

in

the "parting path."

tending flocks for the

annually, his son

Only

of

title

Low

family, for $300

Thomas succeeding him

the cellar of the house remains.

Pie en-

in his

It

was

work.

in later

years a great resort for young people for mirth and jollity until its

& Maine

of the tides

on

railroad runs, its

to the

sentinel ledges,

'Squam

river,

."Peter's Pulpit," which a pitch-roofed

Dogtown

showing

that once

Good Harbor

and thence

in

of the Bos-

which bears the marks

they flowed through here from

Beach

continues across

which the Gloucester Branch

the valley in

ton

The path

demolition.

the

or

Long

to the big rock,

distance

looks like

house, which stands directly on

road, markins: the end of the

main

the

settle-


H

The Story of Dogioivn.

The following diagram may

nicnt.

idea of the foreo-oing

give a clearer

:

A

The

c

represent the

straight lines in the triangle

A

general direction of three very crooked roads. the point on of

B

Dogtown

road,

Reynard and Cherry meets

what

From

it.

A

beyond the intersection

streets,

the

where the road from

Dogtown road

Riverdale

old residents of

is

call

continues up

"gravel

hill,''

past the Vivian barn, and on to the rock variously called "Peter's Pulpit," -Pulpit

iVndrew's Rock,"

Whale's Jaw.

Day

Stanwood

B

to

C

is

is

street

the

C.

Opposite

B

house.

at

Tt

A

is

the point

meet.

Rock," and "Uncle

then

to

where Gee avenue and

The grass-grown road from

Common

to

road," that

Dogtown.

is,

A

to

is

paradoxically called the " back road," though

is

the

"Dogtown

road," and that from

nearer civilization than either of the others. a prize of

$50

to

be offered a person

it is

That from

A

C

the

the site of the Nathaniel

"Dogtown Common

the road over the

winds on

to

B

it is

Were

who woidd

start


The Story of from A, go

to

Dog-tozvn.

C

B, thence to

15

and back

to

A

without

getthig off the road, he probably never would receive I

it.

many times, and never failed lost for a few moments at least. Perhaps the of Peg Wesson, who did not live in Dogtown,

have been over

to get

spirit

of

Luce George,

was

or of

Judy Rhines,

me

a witch, has bewitched

sacrilege of writing

Practically

roads by the

road

it

is

also

all

if

Judy

for the contemplated

them up.

the old people agree in

names

I

calling the

The Commons

have given.

sometimes called the " walled-in " road, as

the walls occasionally cross

it.

the cellars on the latter road

Old

— of

j^eople

they are on the

"Commons."

ably be incapable

of

drawing

do not

The

in

"Dogtown,"

reader will prob-

so fine a distinction.

There were obvious reasons why people who

Commons

/

call

Morgan Stanwood,

Judy Rhines, Moll Jacobs and others

the

really

road should have chosen to do

lived so.

on


CHAPTER

II.

THE "(^UEEX OF THE WITCHES. The most approach

natural, because

to the village,

is

by

most

the

interesting^

outpost, the cellar

its

of

"Tammy"

Younger, the "queen

at

Fox

She was more often seen bv the pred-

Hill.

Cape Ann, was

ecessors of this generation on

known, and

far

Perhaps the reader

able to judge whether the ations bestowed on

title

he

for

will

may be

It

be better

two or three gener-

Tammy was deserved,

ful perusal of this chapter. it

better

more respected and feared than any

of her confreres.

reading

of the witches,"

is

after a care-

possible that after

disposed to transfer the

her aunt, the redoubtable

"Luce George."

title

to


The Story of Dogtozvn.

Coming from

the

Harbor

village

17

Gloucester,

of

through Maplcvvood avenue, one reaches Poplar

and at

after turning to the left, soon reaches the bridge

Beneath a

Alewife brook.

tle rise

An

street,

of ground,

is

solitary poplar,

the cellar of

Tammy

The

apple orchard stands near.

on

a

lit-

Younger.

cellar has

been

cleared recently of a growth of sumacs which nearly

obscured

Thomazine Younger was born July

it.

28,

and was the daughter of William Younger, sojourner, and Lucy Foster, who were married on 1753,

March

6,

1750, by Rev.

John White, pastor

of the

First Church.

A recent

Was

writer claims that this liouse

in later

years the resort of buccaneers and lawless men.

tune telling,

card

playing

whiled away their time.

Tammy's denied bv members of

cellar

after

For-

other amusements

and

Money was found

in

the

These assertions are

death.

her family

who

still

remain,

and apparently with good reason.

A

friend

the

of

writer was, a

chasino; a

woodchuck, which went

In

for the

dio-o-ingr

animal

lie

few years into

my's, as she

is

as smoker, but

the cellar.

unearthed a handsomelv

ornamented snuff box, the cover bearing tation of a full rigged ship.

since,

It

a represen-

was probably Tam-

said to have been a snuff taker as well it

has been credited to a possible myth-


..uv.-

,j\Y:cg;;T'A


The Story of ical British

captain

sea

Dog'tozv)i.

19

who was wont

to

the

visit

house.

Mr. John

Low

Babson, one of Gloucester's oldest

residents, recalls that in the early twilight of an

nal evening he

home,

his in

town"

was going from Fresh Water Cove and had

village,

"Who

a grave.

through the bury-

to pass

A

man was

that for?" he asked.

is

Younger," the sexton

"We

young Babson's surprised query. often dig graves for test}^

a

good

of the prevalent impressions concerning a reminiscence of his

"Tammy

He was

boyhood.

the cows, past her dwelling,

when

.^"

was

don't very

folks that aint dead,"

Mr. Babson gives

response.

disfofino;

"Is she dead

replied.

to

"up

standing, near the Green in the

still

srround near the brids^e.

\\\si

autum-

was

the

illustration

Tammy,

In

driving

home

came

to the

she

door and accosted him, begging him, with strong expleti\'es,

of

water.

if

he lo\ed

He

got

behind the cabin.

her

it,

No

life,

to

course,

of

get

her

a

pail

from the brook

one ever refused

Tammy.

Mrs. Elizabeth Day, of Wheeler's Point, says that

Tammy

died Feb. 4, 1S39.

years old.

Mrs. Day's father,

a cabinet maker,

who

the railroad track, on

was

a

child of

was therefore 76 John Hodgkins, was

vShe

lived in the house just

Washington

ten years.

street.

above

Elizabeth

For two or three years


The

20

Tammy, who

often

saw

Hill, as she

l:)utter

and carry

was it

had taken

her,

and would often ask her

Fox

of Dogtoivn.

Stoi'v

to

come and

Harbor

ever she passed along other

would to her

live

Tammy

lonely.

to the

a fancy to her,

to

used to

sell,

members

"Here comes Aunt Tam house with her." The little

with her

make

and when-

of the family

to take

say,

at

you up

girl's heart

was

Tamfeelings may

thus constantly terrorized with the thought that

my would some time

capture her, and her

well be imagined wlien on that stormy winter

word came kins must

that

Tammvwas

make her

Old Mrs.

dead and that Mr. Hodg-

a coffin.

Pulcifer,

at a great age,

dav

whose daughter recently died

had attended her

in

her

last sickness,

and Oliver, Tammv's nephew, who was brought up by her,

liad

deferred to Mrs. Pulcifer's advice as to

the funeral arrangements.

He

wanted

said he

to

do

everything that could be done to have things nice, so

when

advised to have as good a coffin as could be

made, with a pure It

was

of course thougfht the thing:

liave "spirit" to

once ordered

silver plate, he at

ii^

it.

those davs to

on funeral occasions, and

in

deference

Mrs. Pulcifer's opinion, he ordered no rum, or

other cheap liquors, but cordials, wines, and other of

the better

remembered

class to

of

bevxrages.

Mrs. Pulcifer

have said afterward

tiiat

her

is

onlv


The Story of Dogtozvn. reoret

was

that she

Tammy,

tolled for

21

had not ordered the church she

as

was

sure

it

bells

would have

been done.

Mr. Hodgkins and Tammy's cofAll that rainy day he toiled upon it, and toward lin. He had a large night it was ready for polishing. But

to return to

kitchen, and

it

was

his

custom when polishing

coffins

bring them into that room, where he had a better chance to work. The children were therefore used to

to

was

this particular night the

But on

such sights.

so severe that he did not care to risk spoiling his

work by taking it back to it down with beeswax he blew out

his candle

comfortable open

warned by

their

fire

it

adjoining room, were

It

to

go

to

bed."

John,

it's

John took

the door, the light of his candle fell on

Tammy

was

was sure she was both whimper, "

Younger's

"Come

was necessary to go through reach the chambers above. Other people might

the shinv coffin in the corner.

to

in the corner,

the

to retire:

the kitchen in order to

not believe

up

children, sitting by the

time for you and Elizabeth

As he opened

stood

The in

mother

a candle, and started.

the shop, so after rubbing

said nothing.

and

Soon bedtime came.

gan

storm

I

a

witch

a witch

won't go

coffin in the

;

on that night John

and a ghost.

to

He

bed with Aunt

house," said he.

As

be-

Tam

he drew


The Storv of Dogtown.

23

back, Elizabeth l^ravely stepped into the breach,

one sight of the

was

coffin

came panicky, and dechiied her

if

was

that coffin

to

enoiigli,

and she

too, \mi-

was no

sleep for

that there

Mother impatiently

remain.

got np, and boldly threw the door wide open.

was never known unnerved her

and

said she

She

be afraid of anvthing-, but a look

to

and she joined with the children

also,

would never ^o

to

bed with that

thins"

In vain the father said the rain would spoil

there.

was three against one.

''Spoil

it;

it

the

good housewife, "I won't stav

it."

Ijut

So "pa" gave

and bore

through the storm

it

Tammy

had

house, with a

a

square

wooden

Tammy

could open

crossing the bridge signal for

Tammy

it

window

would

it

up,

in the rear of her

This was kept shut,

at will.

it,

The sound

bv which of a

team

brook was usuallv

a

swing open the shutter and

boldly communicate with the driver. the bridge

wrapped

attached to

over the to

house with

to the shop.

door.

there being a long string

or not," said

in the

got a quilt,

in,

it

also serve to

A footstep

open the window.

on If


The Story of Dogtozvii.

23

Tammy

asked for a mackerel or any other thing she

saw

the

in

nsuallv got Irer

hand or the team

or the nnhick\' tra\ eller got a piece of

it,

On

mind.

passer-by, she

of a

ing noticed a

one autumn day

Crossing the

the rear of the house.

youth pass-

pumpkins sunning against

of

liig pile

a hickless

lot

to

avoid the

many do to-day, he thoughtlessly pulled The effect was unexout one, low down in the pile. pected, for at once the whole collection coasted down Tammy's window Hew open. the hill into the brook. steep

A

hill,

as

torrent

pyrotechnics

vocal

of

hours of labor that followed, as

pumpkins, and

fished out the

the hill until they

As

is

well

family.

up by

I

that

unhappy boy

back and forth up

were piled up again.

known,

town Commons

toiled

accompanied the

is

good deal of the land on Dog-

a

the

in

hands of

the

Younger

have said that Oliver Younger was brought

his aunt,

and

it

seems that he was unaware of

the fact that the. land belonged to his father to her.

Many

remarking

to

years after his father's death, he was

one of the

care his aunt's land

''Well,

it's all

to you, for

I

and not

was

i\llens, a neighbor,

to

what

a

him, and Allen responded,

yours, anyway.

Your

father willed

it

signed the will as one of the wdtnesses."

This was news

to Oliver,

but acting on the hint given

he waited an opportunity

when Tammy was away,


The Story of

24

DogtovjJi.

and then ransacked the house. of a small table, he

circumstances

was

this

ence,

the

it

first

found the

While tion as a

knowledge anyone had

Tammv woman

min

as

P.

ordinar\-

of

its

exist-

Voiuiger

won

for herself a reputa-

with a very choice vocabulary, she evidently

Kidder of Rockport

remembers her

savs,

well,

as

well

Riggs, but recentlv deceased.

Tammv

was

and

his testimony

lived in the

is

who

bv Mrs. Almira

as

The

truth

seems

to

be

had an aunt, known bv the name of

"Luce (Lucv) George." at the

es-

bad as she has been painted," as Mr. Benja-

confirmed by aged Betsey Elwell of Maiden,

that

as

to probate.

pecially in the line of invective,

"not

Under

will.

would have been outlawed, but

was admitted

it

In the secret drawer

Fox

She

it

Hill House, and

was who

who

originallv

used to stand

door of her cabin and bewitch the oxen so that


25

The Story of Dogtown.

with their tongues run out, but of the corn they could not come up the hill until some Wesson, drew was contributed to her. She, like Peg

they would

is

said to

wood

stand

have had the

that

it

art of so

bewitching a load of

stay on the ox

would not

team

until a

It is said door. portion had been unloaded at her the fishing vessels she would go to the wltarves; when Of course came in, and exact her tribute of fish. for what they are these are traditions, but I give them

worth

to susceptible

Hence

with her aunt.

Tammy

was not

alleged, but short

At one time two rather long upper jaw.

Tammy

minds.

tall

Younger

lived

confusion of the two.

the

and raw-boned,

and inclined

to

in her life, she

as

some have

plumpness. decided to part with

her teeth that decorated each side of

They were

not as long as Black Nell's,

an inch

in

which one old lady

insists

were

length, nor as long as

-Judy

Rhines'," but they were

fully

Stannard" troublesome, so she sent for "Granther to act in the capacity of

dentist.

This must have

convinced that been before the old gentleman became and refused to use them, his legs were made of glass, for he

way."

went over from

Tammy

Stanwood took

his

house on the ''walled-in

seated herself in a chair, and Capt.

a firm hold

a tooth gave way.

Being

with his nippers and soon a

joker, he only

drew

it


The Story of

26 partly

down, where

He

it

Dogtoiv7t.

rested in

plain sight, against

drew down

her under

lip.

exactly the

same length, and immediately afterwards

then

announced, that owdng

to the

he could do no more for her. record

the

torrent

history alleges

obstinacy of the teeth,

The pen

refuses to

language which

picturesque

was poured upon "Johnny Morgan's"

luckless head.

were taken

of

the other to

After worrying her awhile, the teeth

out.

AN ANCIENT MANTLE PIECE

.


-;5^;.s

CHAPTER FRO:\I

III.

FOX HILL OVER THE BxVCK ROAD.

Nothwithstanding the various theories which have peopling ])een brought forward to explain the original of

Dogtown, and

believes

it

may

all

its

mysterious decline, the writer

be traced

to a

circumstance which

no sense mysterious, but on the contrary, just what might have been expected. This circumstance the was the building of the bridge at Riverdale and

is

in

Goose Cove Dam, each making struct the road

it

possible to con-

on the easterly side of the mill pond,

and making what had been the road

to

Annisquam

to

the harbor a ''back road."

The of affairs

reader

when

can

easily

the road

imagine

the

condition

from the Green northerly led


The Story of Dogtoivn.

38

Then

only to Wheeler's Point.

now Poplar street, turn up and wind down to Gravel Hill and

Green through what

the

Fox

over

across the

thence

Hill,

moor

make

he must start from

his

is

to the

vicinity

way over

the

hill

the

of

and

Castle,

by the Riggs house

and around Goose Cove.

town was but road, while a

a

now Riverdale village is quite As old people tell us, it was then

is

it.

"•going up into thecitv" to go to Dogtown. nothing: sinofular at

tions

main

verv short distance from the

what

distance from

was

Dog-

will thus be seen that the central village of

It

that

all

There

under those condi-

Dooftown should have thriven, and that when

the building of the bridge

and dam occurred, and the

whole

this

tide of travel

the other

It

when

was the

home

of

road and went around

way, Dogtown languished and died.

was something perishes

left

like a

boom

city

in

the West,

facts that

have been stated that gave the

Luce George and

Just beyond the cellar of the turn in the road is

Tamm\ Younger

the cellar

Tammy

which brings one of the

first

Here stood

such

it.

Younger,

after

in sight of

Riv-

blacksmith

lying beside the travelled road, but

way.

which

the raihoad goes elsewhere.

importance, for almost everybody had to pass

erdale,

It

still

the shop of Joseph

in

town,

in the road-

Allen,

who


29

The Story of Dogtown.

came tle

to Gloucester In 1674,

being encouraged to

set-

He

had

common right. One of children.

by grants of land and a

two wives and seventeen dren, also

named Joseph, became

home being on Poplar

street,

the chil-

very wealthy, his

near the house occupied

by Mr. Joseph A. Procter. I

have stood by think the blacksmith shop must house, cellar have been that of the

the cellar, and the built

known within the memory Nothe -Noble" house, the

perhaps by Allen, but

of persons

now

living as

numerous Riverdale people.

bles being ancestors of

The white beyond

is

immediately cottage facing up the road

on the

site of

another old mansion which

the back road

was standing before

Aunt Pamelia Allen being

its

became disused,

occupant.

Where

the

opposite, was Tracy greenhouses are now located, When he died it became the home of John Wharf. Polly Boynhis daughter "Poll," or

the property of ton.

Her son

down.

sold

it

to the elder

Mrs. Boynton

later

She was thus the ancestor and Youngers

Tracy,

who

tore

it

married Oliver Younger.

of

many

of the

Boyntons

of to-day.

was the Immediately adjoining the Wharf house by many old Tristram Coffin house, remembered people.

Becky Rich

foot of gravel hill,

is

lived

now

where the piggery,

at the

She, like

many

located.


TJic Story

30

of Dogtoivn.

others, of the fraternity of Dogtovvn, told fortunes b\-

means

ried, she recalls i^'oing

over to

Aunt Rich's and having

beau "clear across the water."

her

tell

says

Aunt Becky was

of her

reliance

Day was mar-

After Mrs.

of coffee s^rounds.

was placed

a nice old

woman,

hut that

She little

in her forecasts.

Opposite Becky Rich was the house of Nathaniel

He was

Day.

Mary

among them

was

Isaac

up

Eben Day, was born

of

been

in

Revnard

in their

the barn, which filled

is

frigate Constitution,

well as his brother,

street, as

and

all

boyhood.

now

there.

played about the streets It

stood just bevond

The

cellar has long

Plain, half

way over

the

toward the Castle, lived Molly Miller. lived at the

Harbor on Back

recalls seeing her after she

street,

the house of a

At one time ter

of

in

her

Beckv Rich,

back road Later she

where Mr. Dav

had become insane,

tened in her room with a clothes-stick.

was

now

up.

At Brown's

left

His son

man named Liscomb at one side of this old Day house.

in this house,

Dogtown

of

seventeen

of

A

Portsmouth.

one time lived

father

the

three pairs of twins.

gunner on the

a

at

Anthony Day, and married

He became

Davis.

children,

laid

the son of

fas-

Next on the

man named Emmons.

life

Aunt Rachel Smith, daugh-

lived in the Castle.

Later she


3^

The Story of Dogtoum. lived in the liouse a

from Molly

little

It

Miller's.

further on the back road

was up on

cellar remains.

Then with

Dogtown

and

street,

the

hill,

and the

her mother she went to

house. lived in the Easter Carter

house on the hill. Here After that she returned to the killed himself, and Aunt her son. Jack Bishop Smith, Rachel's^sorrow over her loss

make

used to

"Aunt Smith"

is still

vividly recalled. a

"dire drink,"

tops, and other brewed from foxberry leaves, spruce was wont to peddle in botanical specimens, which she

the

ducky, I've come I

know you

of

the

entered a house,

village, saying as she

down

to

"Now,

bring a dire drink, for

feel springish."

this There were never many houses along Between the point where the back road.

Dogtown Commons road and

portion it

met

the Castle stood the

Tucker, whose daughter house of old Uncle Daniel Tucker," as she was called-nursed

Dorcas-" Dark Judith Ryon in her It

more of

last sickness.

has always seemed to

me

that this

back road

moors, as closely resembles the Scottish

we

read

Commons. About them, than any portion of the formerly stood to the Dogtown road

half

way

across

another stood on the three houses in a row, while the These houses were located where opposite side. as it is called. plav ball, "Brown's Plain,"

bovs

now


CHAPTER

IV.

IX DOrrTO\\'X VILLAGE. It is

quite a

little

walk from the house of Becky

Rich, ou the back road, up

This barn

barn.

this point

he

is

is

a

o^ra\el hill, to the

landmark.

When

Vivian

one reaches

quite ready to enjoy the historic spots

that lie before him.

A

few rods beyond the barn the

road makes an al)rupt turn and almost winds back

upon ledge,

itself.

making

the road. since, a

nuity

Just at this turn, on the right, a

break

a split

in the stone wall that outlines

Into this crack in the ledge, a few years

misguided cow wandered.

was

is

No human

capalile of getting her out alive.

inge-

Directlv


The Story of Dogtown. opposite

is

the site of the

The cellar on the so much like a of

home of

rocks in a hollow,

pile of It

man named

a

Clark.

beyond the barn, which looks

left,

Henry Davis.

33

is

that

directly in the road, the yard

is

not being walled.

The barn

road,

which has descended from the Vivian

to this place, here

begins to

rise,

and when

it

reaches a point a few rods further, where a fine view

Newburyport

of Ipswich Bay, the

Gloucester cellar of

hills

and the West

obtainable, the most

is

Dogtown

shore,

is

This

seen.

is

celebrated

the reputed

home

John Morgan Stanwood, who was many years ago made immortal by the muse of Hiram Rich in the

of

pages of the Atlantic.

It

may be

well for one to seat

himself on the moss-covered door-stone and recall the lines

:

"

Morgan Stanwood, patriot Little more is known Nothing of his home is left ;

But the door-step stone.

"Morgan Stanwood, to our thought You return once more :

Once again

the

meadows

lift

Daisies to your door. "

morn is sweet. is down — Hark! what means that sudden clang

Once again

the

Half the hay

From

the distant

:

town

t


;

:

'J^^ic

34 "

Story of Dogtoxvji.

Larum bell and rolling drum Answer sea-borne guns La ni lie 11 and rolling drum :

I'll

Summon "And

the

mower

Crv both '

bell

th'

I

him

thinks to

and drum,

Morgan Stanwood. where Here

"

Freedom's sons

art

thou?

in\aders come."

Morgan Stanwood needs no more Bell and drum beat call

He

one who. hearing once, Answers once for all.

is

" Xe'er the

mower murmured then. grass is mown, Homespun isn't soldier wear. Each may sa\e his own.' Half

''

my

Fallen scythe and aftermath

Lie forgotten

now

:

Winter needs may come and But a barren mow. '•

Down

the musket comes.

•

tind

Good

"

Wife, a quicker flint the face that questions face I

And

1

lath no color in

" 'Wife,

if I

am

't.

late to-night.

Milk the heifer first Ruth, if Fm not home at

Worst has come '

all.

to worst

I

Morgan Stanwood sped along. Not the common road Over wall and hill-top straight. :

Straight for death, he strode:

wife


The Story of Dogtoxvu. Leaving her to hear at night Tread of burdened men, Bv the gate and through the At the door, and then Ever

35

gate,

after that to hear,

When

the grass

is

sweet,

Through the gate and through the night. Slowly coming feet.

Morgan Stanwood's

roof

Here the door-step

One may

gone

;

;

stand and think and think,

For the thought "

is

lies

will rise,

the meadow was, Mowing grass alone. Would we go the way he went, From this vejw stone?

Were we where

"Were we on

the door-step here.

Parting for a day,

Would we

utter

words as though

Parting were for aye? Heart, the hearth Meadow-math is sweet

"Would we?

Parting be as parting may, After all, we meet.

is

dear.


Tlic Sfojy

3^

of Dogtozvn.

John Morgan Stanwood was

the son of Nehcniiah

and Ruth (Morgan) Stanwood.

show

poem

was baptized August

he

that

The

parish records

The

1774.

7,

evidently (Hd not refer to a Revohitionarv expe-

rience.

He

died October 30, 1852, aged

These

']'$).

dates so perplexed me, notwithstanding the tradition that vStanwood

came back from

the further fact that

tlie

a resident of the village,

of the exploits of

Mr. Rich

the

war

a cripple,

and

children of Mrs. Dade, once

had handed down her

"Morgan

Stannard," that

He

poem.

his authorit}- for the

I

stories

asked

candidly

confessed that although he wrote the lines with the full

belief that

^Morgan Stanwood was the hero of

Rowe's Bank, Mr. Babson,

the historian, later con-

Dogtown Commons, man who should ha\e

vinced him that Peter Lurvev, of

and not vStanwood, was the been immortalized. It

is

quite evident, also, that

live in the is

house with the "door-step stone," for

the cellar of

the

memorv

of

John Clark, who resided

men now

most of those remaining century,

Stanwood did not

was

living. in

the

a small structure,

this

there within

This house, like earlv part of

perhaps 1^x35,

the

^^t'^iid-

ing side to the road, with a door in the middle, and

with an ordinarv pitched roof. are generally 15 feet square,

The

cellars,

which

were under only one end


The Story of Dogtoxvu.

The Clark house became

of the houses. that

it

was torn down

to the

The next

His wife and children

Harbor.

cellar

on the

who

of Philip Priestly,

man

the road

left of

remembered

is

of 70, climbing a locust tree to

the Harrison hard cider

ities of

who

Nathaniel Babson, house,

so decrepit

Chirk must have died

in 1820.

a short time before this date.

removed

37

was formerly engaged

as a hearty old

view the

campaign

down

helped tear

house,

I

am

27, 1845,

i)i

was

One

of children.

remembered

who

quite a family

was Philip

Priestly, well

another was Mrs.

Hannah ;

Ann,

Philip's wife

and Jane.

;

Nov.

age of 75.

married Joseph Greenleaf

who married a Smith Naomi Clark.

in this

Priestly died

the father of

in Gloucester,

Curtis; Eliza,

at the

of these

was one

who were born

told, are still living.

Philip Priestly

1S40.

in

in the freighting busi-

vSeveral persons

consumption,

festiv-

the Clark

ness from Gloucester to Boston, and Priestly of his crew.

that

is

was

Opposite John Clark's house, already mentioned,

was the home and Philip

of

William Pulcifer.

Priestly's

are

two

Between Clark's

cellars,

which some

have incorrectly assumed were of farm buildings. If

the house with the doorstone

deny of

it

— one

of

these

is

his.

is

not Clark's

The

other

— some is

Arthur Wharf, son of Abraham, the suicide.

that


The Story of Dogtoivu.

38

A

Here

of the next house.

site

marks the

large yard, enclosed by a stone wall, lived

Joseph Stevens,

one of the most enterprising of the farmers of the village.

I

judge him

from the record of is

to

be the son of another Joseph,

his baptism,

Aug.

There

17, 1763.

a large collection of foundation stones at this point,

showing the location leading to

it

from the house, the big shed

He

and the sheep pen. other

man

barn, with a passage

the

of

in

for

wagons,

kept more stock than any

He

the settlement.

more

laid claim to

land than any of his neighbors, and kept a good team,

which was often

in

highly spoken

however, bv those

I

well

am

told

of,

demand.

His character

who

not

is

recall

him.

by old residents of Riverdale that thev

remember when

the children of Joseph Stevens

used to go to school in

tlie

old schoolhouse bv the

mill.

Directly opposite Stevens' house, on a knoll, stootl the house of perhaps the most celebrated character in

was commonly

the village, Esther (or as she

"Easter") Carter. there

No

was none under

cellar It

it.

marks the

was

in

any person now

living.

It

spot, for

the only two-story

Dogtown, within

house standing

called,

the

memory

was clapboarded, and

of

the

boards were fastened on with wooden pegs.

A

who

he kept

helped pull

down

the structure tells

me

man


The Story of Dogtoivn.

39

a nuniber of the pegs as souvenirs for quite a while.

Easter Carter was living in poor, and

was

it

a

common custom

people of Riverdale and sions

to

Annisquam

in

institutions

for

picnic style, of

is

Cape Ann.

the fortunes of the

make

to

excur-

The " cabbage dinner " still

one of the popular

Easter Carter would

tell

young people, doubtless linking

way

accept-

in the

moon-

their lives together in their forecasts in a

able to the romantic.

The walk home

would be something

light

young

the

house, taking their lunches, and getting

her

her to boil cabbage for them.

partaken

She was very

1833.

remember, as those

to

Appalachians who have crossed the w^eird Dogtown pastures by moonlight in later years can testify. staid old citizen recently

been up there with

informed

me

One

he had "often

a parcel of girls."

Easter Carter was poor, but quite respectable, and

undeserving of the distinction which classes her with other

was

a

Dogtown dames of doubtful reputation. She single woman, and though pinched by poverty,

very aristocratic.

She did not

like to

have people

think she, like some of her neighbors, subsisted on berries in the

remarked

to a

summer

time.

"I

eats

suggestion at one time.

Sunday afternoon

the parents

with their small boy, went on

of a

no trash," she

One

bright

David Dennison,

walk

to the pastures,


The Story of

40 tuniino: in

Dogto-^vn.

He remembers

by Easter Carter's house.

that as they passed, she, divining that they

pkick berries as refreshment, remarked,

seem

to

•'

were

The

to

berries

hide this year."

Easter Carter was noted as a nurse.

by the venerable Eli Morgan

It is

thought

of Lanesville that Easter

and her brother William came here from England,

which accounts records of

for the silence of the

William and Annie, I

He

concerning them.

says

Joseph,

a

son

lived a long time in Lanesville.

have said that Easter Carter was perfectly respect-

able, as well as aristocratic, to

town and parish

and

this character

some have seemed incompatible with other

ments. myself.

I

may state-

have been somewhat mvstified about

The

truth

seems

to

be that

it

when Easter

Carter was dead, and the house of Becky Rich on the

back road had become too dilapidated for occupancy, she

was taken

Easter's house.

up, bag and baggage, and installed in

Becky had

a daughter, Rachel,

widow

Thomas Smith, who went with her. It appears that the woman who told fortunes, boiled cabbage, baked Johnny cake, and made life merry for all the youth who visited her, was not Easter Carter, nor of

am very positive now who as youths used

Becky Rich, but Rachel Smith. that there are old to

go up

to

men

Granny

living

Rich's, but

I

who have confused


The her

name with While

house.

Sto)'y

of Dogtown.

that of Easter Carter because of the it is

admitted that

of festivity connected

with

Rich

insisted

know wont

41

lived there,

it

Is

it

many

of the scenes

when Becky by people who must occurred

because they were there, that Easter, too, was to entertain the

young people

in

it.

At one time

a party of yoiing people collected a lot of wall

paper

—each

— and

bringing any pieces they had on hand

went up and papered Easter's premises, the harlequin effect

being quite pleasing

Dogtown people

to her,

apparently.

had, as a rule,

little

use for but

one story of a dwelling, and perhaps that was the reason that the upper floor of Easter's house was occupied by one of the most singular characters of the villap-e.

This was "Old Ruth."

She was

a mulatto,

and doubtless was one of the manumitted slaves that

abounded

in

Gloucester early in the century.


A

WISHBONE" BONNET.

CHAPTER "old The

old

KUTII

hehind of

it

AND GRANNY DAY."

EUery House,

parsonage of the

V.

first

at the

parish

Green, formerlv the

church, which

on the Green, and one of the

finest

stood

samples

provincial or colonial architectiu'e in existence in

New

England,

at

one time had,

to-day, a slave pen luider

grambrel-roofed mansion across the

another.

its

if

it

roof.

does not have In the fine old

owned bv Gustavus Babson.

highway from

the

EUerv house,

To whom "Old Ruth"

belonsfed

there I

is

cannot


The Story of Dogtoxvu. find out.

went by the name

vShe

of

43

"Tie," and

also

"John Woodman." The masculine cognomen fitted her better than the gentle name of Ruth, for until the closing days of her life she was never known to dress in feminine apparel. Perhaps she was the original "new woman." She was known

as

was accustomed in

to

Building stone walls and such

men's clothing.

heavy

toil

doing a man's work, and dressed

say that she worked out of doors

because she had

to

do

it,

when

When

she

to

was young

and that she wore men's

clothing for the same reason, until she it.

She used

were her chief employments.

came

to prefer

was

she was taken to the poor-house, she

obliged to conform to the customs of civilization and

put on

A

skirts.

ledge

beyond Easter Carter's

still

bears the name, " Ruth's Ledge," in her honor.

In a small hut in the same enclosure with Easter Carter's house lived Molly Stevens, old sister.

No

have made

one keeps her life

unless history

and

a

site,

a pair of bars

find in the

opening

big bowlder standing as a sentinel

Annie Carter, wife

liam, Easter Carter's brother, a record of I

She must

green.

is at fault.

in front, is the cellar of

tism

"

very unhappy for the gentle Easter,

Directly beyond this into the yard,

memory

"Joe Stevens'

Fourth Parish, April

r,

of

Wil-

whose bap1776.

This


The Story of Dogtown.

44

was

the last house taken

some reason

the phice

down

For

the \illaue.

in

was always known

as Annie's.

After her death, William, with the children, moved

Annie was known

away.

said to have

is

One

been

Annie

or two other cellars

that

Carter's,

may

" Granny Carter," and

woman."

a ''little small

with former occupants,

fied

as

which lie

I

have not identi-

across the road from

and two, together with

deceive the uninitiated,

lie

a potato hole

between

it

and

the cellar, on a rise of ground, formerly under the

house,

it is

alleged, of

Moll Jacobs.

disposed to think that this cellar

good Deacon Winslow, who

of

very near

which we

shall

up her abode speak

in the

either here or

mystify the visitor.

died, Sept. lo, 1S92." a bull, his

Lurvev house,

later.

bowlders, marked, " First Attack,"

by

that of the house

lived

In an enclosure at this point are a

to

am somewhat

Nobody can remember where Molly

it.

lived before taking

of

is

I

One

is

number

of small

etc., that are likely

marked, "James Merrv

Mr. Merry was gored

to

death

dead body being found by the rock

bearing the second inscription.

William A. Hodg-

kins of Riverdale once gave the writer and a party of friends a very graphic description of this tragedy,

The marks were placed by Tarr and D. K. Goodwin, about a week

as they stood at the spot.

Raymond

P.

after the death of

Mr. Merry.


The Story of Dogtown,

The

45

"Moley Jakups,

Fifth Parish records say that

daughter of Isack and Molly, was baptized Jan. 31,

Molly and Judy Rhines, with others, seem

1763." to

have done

tation

a great deal to give to

which

also

was

Dogtown

a repu-

undeservedly conferred on

Gloucester as a whole, so that the favored residents of

Rockport were

down

led for a generation to look

No

on a native of the larger place.

traditions, except

those of a rather unsavory reputation, remain of Molly.

Almost opposite the Jacobs the road,

is

a well

marked

on the

cellar,

cellar, said

to

be

remains of the home of Dorcas Foster.

left of

all

that

She was

eight years old at the conuiiencement of the Revolu-

tionary w\ar, having been born at the

Her

Harbor

village.

father left his family in this house for safety from

the British,

whom

town, and went lived with his

he feared might come and sack the

to the

war.

George Wonson, who

grandmother when a boy,

recalls

many

of her stories of life in those troublous times.

Abram Wharf

she always referred to as

"Aunt Wharf."

bor Wharf," and called his wife

The

children used to be sent to the harbor village for

supplies,

a

"Neigh-

pound

portion.

and were accustomed of tea, Little

to

pay one dollar for

and for other necessary things

in pro-

Dorcas naturally feared the British,

sharine: the terror

which

led to the

growth

of

Dog-


The

46

Sto7'y

town, and one day

when

of Dogtoivn.

saw seven

she

started to rnn, without considering

British or Continentals.

who

of them,

whether they were

She was reassined by one be frightened, as they

told her not to

would not hurt

Her experience

her.

the hardships of those

soldiers, she

and even

well illustrates

later davs, suffered

by the brave residents of Cape Ann. Ezekiel VV. Chard times the

women

of

me

that in the

embargo

'Squam would walk

as far as

tells

Ipswich, going across the beach, to get a half bushel of meal, the

days

distance being twelve miles.

was verv

it

In those

rare to get either bread or cake, he

says.

Dorcas Foster was three times married, her

husband being an Oakes, the second

first

and

a Stevens,

who commanded a privateer in the war of 181 2. George Wonson is a son She has many of Louisa Smith, their daughter.

the last Capt. Joseph Smith,

descendants in Gloucester.

Most

of

her

was

life

spent in the ancient house which until lately stood on the rock at the corner of Prospect and

where the home

Not

cellar

It is

M. H. Perkins

bevond the Foster

far

of the road,

rocks.

of

is

cellar,

now

tomb

on the same side

to disturb

of several horses,

streets,

located.

one which has been recently

would be unwise

the

is

Warner

filled

with

them, for

which have

tlie

l)een


The Story of Dogtozvn.

47

shot as a matter of mercy, after having been turned

This

out in the pastures to die. of

home

the

Capt.

of

Dade.

Isaac

that

all

is

He,

remains has

too,

descendants both in Gloucester and Rockport.

Mrs. H. G. Wetherbee, nishes

me

granddaughter, fur-

his

the following particulars of the

life

of Isaac

Dade "Isaac Dade, while a school boy

in or near

Lon-

don, England, was impressed on board an English

During

man-of-war.

the Revolution his vessel

Gloucester, and

anchored

off

row one

of the officers ashore.

it

became

the vessel.

was landed he

She was bound

When

of fish.

lost

duty to

While doing

noticed a fishing vessel ready to the officer

his

sail.

was

so he

As soon

as

no time getting aboard

to

Virginia with a cargo

he reached there he joined the Conti-

nental army, and

was

later in three

memorable engage-

He was at Yorktown when Lord Cornwallis He was wounded in battle, receiving surrendered. ments.

a sabre cut across the

pled him for

back of

his neck,

which

crip-

life.

"After the w^ar he married a Southern lady by the

name

of

Her

Fanny Brundle.

plantation

father's

adjoined that of the mother of Washington.

on intimate terms with the Washingtons. dren were born

to

them

in

Virginia.

She was

Two

chil-

His health


The Story of Dogtoirn.

48

began

to

fail,

and he remembered Gloucester, and

went there hoping beneficial

He

He

market

was paid

mentioned the

to his

preferred

Dur-

in.

to.

when

his

home.

came

fact that in 1775

in the

— the

vessels

I

Isaac

Dade decided

to

have already indicated

Dogtown

the probable site of his

— two

the visit of the Falcon, later

connection with Peter Lurvev's bravery,

in

make America

attack

women

widow."

probable time

ory that he

Glouces-

in

he received no pension, but after his death

life

This story points

to

fish

from the boats as they came

to get the fish

as

kept a

under great disadvantages, as the

ing his

would be

life

did not, however, but spent the rest

of his life there.

it

change of

— intending to return to Virginia the follow-

ing autumn.

ter

that the

Falcon

The

domicile.

strengfthened

is

same year

the-

l>v

the

of Capt. Lindsay's

were dispatched from Gloucester

Virginia for supplies, owing to the poverty of the

people on Cape Ann. It

must have been

high-spirited

maiden

a o-reat deal of a chansre to this to

begin

her

a region so barren, so lonely, as

married

Dogtown

for her

husband must have sweetened the

for she

was never heard

to

for

in

but love

bitterness,

complain.

Directly beyond this cellar on the

which has

;

life

many decades been

left is a

swamp,

a slough of despond


The Story of Dogtown.

49

for cattle

and horses.

of one or

more unfortunates, which have got

could never get out.

Her

cellar

She was

is

It

This

is

is

always the repository in but

"Granny Day's swamp."

covered by water at the corner of

a school teacher,

and one of her pupils was

Nathaniel Day, the patriarch.

Near here

is

Whet-

stone Rock, a natural curiosity, so hollowed out that

Some

served the purpose indicated. split

it

off

and carried

it

it.

away

a

it

curiosity seeker

few years

since.


COUNCIL OF THE CROWS.

CHAPTER

VI.

PETER I.URVEY AND "BLACK NEIL."

The

only resident of Dog^town mentioned in Bab-

son's History of Gloucester,

who

lived in a large gambrel-roofed house near the

junction of the two a mile to

was Abraham Wharf,

the

roads of the village, not

over

from the "Whale's Jaw," and who according historian, lonely

and weary, crawled under

At

a rock near by and committed suicide, in 1814. that time there w^ere at least six other houses in

town occupied.

was

a

colored

The man

Cornelius Finson

last

called

— who

from Gee avenue

in

inhabitant of the

"Neil"

lived

He was

a

man

village

name was

on the road leading

Riverdale to Dogtown,

house of Judith Ryon, called by Rhines."

— his

Dog-

all

old-timers,

in

the

"Judy

of intelligence, evidently,


The Sfoty of for Ezekiel

Dogtozv7t.

51

W. Chard remembers him

as a clerk for

boat fishers of 'Squam.

the

Others recall him as

more prosaic

calling of an

closely acquainted both with

Judy Rhines

principally engaged in the

executioner of hogs.

He was

He was

and Molly Jacobs.

when Molly Jacobs her cellar, and

away from

it

died she

was with

firmly persuaded that left

buried treasure in

difiiculty

he could be kept

Long

the quite uninhabitable hole.

after

Judy Rhines was dead he lingered around her house, until

walls

its

cellar.

From

in,

fell

when he sought

refuge in the

this, cold, dirty, half-starved,

and shak-

ing with the combined infirmity of old age and fright,

he was taken on a bitter day in winter, 1S30, by Constable William Tucker of Riverdale

—the

of that village having

complained of the case

Overseers of the Poor

—and

As

house.

on Washington

and Neil was taken

in for a half

street,

hour

Mr. Babson gave him some tobacco. gone, I'll

iie

Mark

to the

carried off to the alms-

they passed the store of John

son, near the Poles

people

Low

Bab-

they stopped

to get

warm.

After Neil had

Allen, sitting in the store, said, "There,

bet he'll be so comfortable at the poor-house that

won't

live a

week."

He was

right.

Within seven

days Neil was dead. If the

reader will

now

start at either

Gee avenue


The Story of Dogtown.

52

Stanwood

or tlie

Langsford house and

street past the old

" Castle," over the

Commons

Morgan

road to the

brook, just beyond the " Castle," and thence follow the road along until, to

if

It is

comes

another brook crossing the road on higher ground,

he will soon notice at the

tiie

top of which

is

is

On

a cellar.

as in the case of

This

is

famous

Near

many

the houses.

of Peter Lurvey.

in the pasture,

it is

I

hero of the episode

a lilac

cellars, all

a

from

from

bush and

also,

gooseberry bush.

together,

First of

as

Annisquam

this hill, quite a distance

the site of what, taken of

is

known

is

obtained a fine view of

and Ipswich Bay. the road,

what

left

A high hill

" Beech Pasture."

in

the wet season, he

all it

the

is

was

the

most

home

have already said that he was the

commemorated by Hiram Rich

"Morgan Stanwood."

Babson says

father,

his

Peter Lurvey, removed from Ipswich to Gloucester in 1707.

In 17 10 he married Rachel Elwell, and our

Peter was one of eight sons, the elder ancestor of

all

Peter

being

the Lurveys in Gloucester.

Peter Lurvey, the Revolutionary patriot, married a sister of

Abraham Wharf, who

house beyond.

On August

lived

Bunker

Hill, chased a

ester harbor,

the next

8, i775? the British sloop-

of-war Falcon, which had assisted of

in

Salem schooner

where she grounded on the

capture

the

in

into

flats

Glouc-

between


The Story of Dogtown.

Pound

Pearce's wharf and Five

Island.

53 Capt. Lind-

say of the Falcon attempted to board her with several

The people

barge loads of marines.

of Gloucester,

an alarm having been given, hauled two swivel guns to a point opposite

of

Vincent's Cove, and with the aid

Then Lindsay,

muskets prevented a capture.

full

cannonaded the town (one shot hitting the First Parish Church, where it is now suspended in of wrath,

the vestry) village.

and landed men

The

firing party

the boarding party

were

instantly killed

The above

also captured

is

now

Rowe was

the story substantially as told It

is

by

one side of the picture.

give the other, as handed dow^n by his wife

and daughter, and related

On

by the intrepid

and Peter Lurvey mortally wounded.

Babson and Pringle. will

to fire the

were made prisoners, and

In the engagement Benjamin

villagers.

I

Fort Point

at

that fatal

to

me by

morning Lurvey,

his

his descendants. w^ife

and

Mary Millett— afterwards Mary Riggs— were Pearce's Island huckleberrying.

little

over on

Hearing the alarm,

Peter Lurvey bade his wife good-by, hurriedly rowed across to the other shore, ran up to the house, and got his o-un, thence across the fields

Harbor Village, where he met

and pastures

his death.

quite unexplainable reason his face ao-ain

by

his wife

and children.

It

to the

For some

was never seen

was never known


54

The Story of Dogtown.

what became

of

pecLiHar about such

used to

tell

My

things.

were returninof from

as the British

Lexington on April

His body was imme-

19, 1775.

Jason Russell and ten

diately buried, in a grave with

others

— now

great-grandmother

her grandfather, killed at the battle

of

Menotomv,

of

Our progenitors were

body.

his

in the

Arlington cemetery

was

children ever saw^ again

his

old

—and

all his

farmer's hat,

reserved for identification.

Mrs. Lurvev lived

remembered by people her as a sister to

was

mitted

suicide

1S14.

Wharf

yet living.

with him

no person can sat

I

have referred

Abraham Wharf.

who was

the sister

104 vears old, and

be

to

by the

fire

you

heaven?"

"God

forbid,"

out.

was

in

sharpening his razor.

don't

who commit

know;

i)ut I

hope

was

his

solemn response.

the razor into his shoe, unobserved,

Soon he slipped and went

It

do such a thing, brother," was her

will never

answer.

"•!

time he com-

tell.

" Sister," said he, do vou think people suicide go to

to

Whether she

at the

now

is

A

little later

he was found with his

throat cut, dead.

The explanation of Mr. Rich's confusing Lurvey and Morgan Stanvvood is that John Morgan Stanwood married Lurvey's daughter.

Lurvev died thev seemed

to

Until the time that Mrs.

have lived with her

in this




The Story of Dogtown.

55

Later they moved to the house by the

house.

brook, where

Morgan

think Ruth Morgan, his mother, and

I

probably Morgan Stanwood himself, were born.

more

of this later.

Stanwoods

After the

But the

left

house, which was by this time getting old and weatherbeaten, Molly Jacobs, with her friends Sarah Phipps

— more often than not called Stanley

left

—and Mrs. living — per-

Sally Jacobs

had been

the house they

in

haps that already indicated on the Dogtown road

and came here, by the invitation nard."

"Grandther Stan-

of

The latter women's grandson, "Sammy

ley," liv^ed with

Almira Riggs

them and took care

of Riverdale, a

gan Stanwood,

told

as a child used to

me

Stan-

Mrs.

of them.

granddaughter of Mor-

before her death that she of ten

go up

to this

Lurvey house

in

winter

with food for the old people, and would find them in bed, the coverlet white with

had

through

sifted

snow where

the

wind

After a time the

in the night.

trio

poor house, where

of old ladies

were taken

they died.

Molly Jacobs was smarter than Sarah

Phipps.

Sarah would get

"I shan't

tell

you where

behind the old chest, but

"Sammy He was

to the

off

I I

mad

at

Molly, and say

hid the keerds. shan't

Stanley's" real

tell

I

hid them

you."

name was Sam Maskey.

always brought up by his grandmother

housework.

He went

:

to

do

about with a handkerchief tied


6

The Story of Dogtozvn.

5

over his head and did woman's work in preference to

any other.

In fact, though he wore men's clothes he

had been brought up a

was taken

After his aged relative

girl.

hands, he moved to Rockport, where

off his

he went out washing for a livelihood, and laid up

money, so

when he

that

died he

was

c^uite a

stock-

holder in the cotton mills.

The

history of the

Just before

Lurvey house

MoUie Jacobs went

nearly finishetl.

is

almshouse,

the

to

"Black Neil" Finson, coming from some other house he had inhabited, moved here.

The

could well stay in was the cellar,

water tight by boarding over the

which he made

first

already said he thought there was the course of time, his friend

onlv place he

money

Tudv Rhines

the next house toward the Castle on the

Common

return for a

or rides

I

through

coming from

have

there. livins:

same

road, took pity on him. and in\ ited

occupy the empty part

To

floor.

In in

side the

him

to

of her dwelling.

moment

to

Lurvey.

Washington

street

As one walks in

the harbor, just after he

Riverdale, crosses the

bridge, he notices on the right, the second house from

Reynard

street,

roof,

in

still

a two-story

structure

with pitched

excellent repair, and looking like anv-

thing but a historic mansion. structed to be sure,

Yet

this house, recon-

was successively the home

of Peter


The Stojy of Dogtown. Lurvey and

Morgan Stanwood, Molly

family,

his

57

Jacobs and her two inifortunate companions, lived in

company with Black Neil and Sammy

in

it

In some

Stanley, as already related.

became

the property of a

in the vicinity,

and

it

who

sold

was found

that the

way

or other

man named Whipple when

it

it

was but

They had

and Reuben Day.

to Isaac

who

it

it*

living

a skeleton,

taken down,

oak frame was perfectly

in-

tact.

The Day

brothers therefore had the material taken

and the house was

to the present site,

rebuilt,

There

the old

frame being used

in

monument

hero and martyr of the Falcon

and there least, for

to the

seems

it

it is

its

entirety.

it

stands,

fight,

remain another centurv

likely to

perfectly sound.

I

a

at

have these facts on

the authority of several of Isaac Day's descendants, as

well as of take l)uilt

it

James Thurston

down, and was one

of the

Mr. Eben Day

it.

of

several days cleaning bricks it

was demolished, he It

tells

who helped mechanics who re-

of Ri\erdale,

Reynard

from

its

street

chimneys when

me.

seems rather mysterious that Black Neil,

lived in

it

who

when Molly and Sarah and Mrs. Stanley

were taken at that

spent

to the

almshouse, was not taken too, for

time the roof had caved in and was in a

wretched condition.

Old people

in

Riverdale have


The Story of Dogtoivji.

58

had

it

pointed out to them for nearly two generations

as the liouse

those

who

identity

house.

where Black Neil once

furnished

me

were surprised

to

the

lived,

information

know

that

it

but even as

to

its

wastheLurvey


CHAPTER

VII.

"jUDY RHINES" AND " JOHNNY MORGAN."

its

The Judy Rhines house, too, was caved in as to roof, it seems, when Black Neil removed thither

from

his

former dwelling.

probably explains

former occupant,

And

this

why "Liz" Tucker, left

circumstance its

owner and

the society of her niece Judy,

and sought a home near the harbor where she died.

The house where she died stood exactly where the entrance to Oak Grove cemetery is now located. Judy's house was a double one.

It

will be noticed

the visitor to the spot that there are

two

cellars.

by It

seems that Lizzie (or "Liz") Tucker, was Judith

Ryon's aunt, and therefore must have been a

sister to


The Story of Dogtoxvn.

6o

either her father Patrick

mother, lived in at the

a dauo^hter of

Ryon, an Irishman, or

William

to

Liz Tucker

Rioters,

one part of the house, but was dead,

doul^tless,

time Judy extended the hospitalities of the place

to Neil

Finson.

How unable

long the two were tenants of the place

The house was one

to say.

of

l)oth

li\ed

woman, who had

the favorite

nearer.

to stand

a

tall,

at the

rawl:)oned

If

she told a person

still,

they would not

great courage.

approaching her house

move anv

Judy was

there.

am

I

haunts of young- people on holidays, and was so time

her

She had manv

friends.

One

of

Benjamin Rowe

the places she visited, according to

Kidder of Rockport, was " Uncle Miah" Knowlton's,

whom

for

Aunt Knowlton used

he worked.

her up with fish and tea.

day refuse

to

The voung people

admit that she was

or so considered.

in

any sense

to

load

of that a witch,

After Judy died, as before related,

Neil lived in the house until the only place he could

was

He was

a big

powerful negro,

with very prominent protruding teeth.

At the time he

stay

in the cellar.

was taken from fidl of ice,

and

the cellar to the poor house,

his toes

"Judy Rhines," Dec. 30, 1771?

was

'it

the

were some

as she

is

of

it

was

them frozen.

called,

was baptized

Sandy Bay parish church.

She

living in 1S30, nine years before the death of her


The Story of Dogtown.

friends Mollie Jacobs, Easter

rious living, like her

and

Tammy

telling fortunes,

and

Younger, by picking

into

some

groceries.

store at the Poles,

on the old United States bank. " only one Mr. Babson had ever seen.

want

this,"

she replied;

"I took

He

Whipple."

"It

he said.

it

finally

at the

Gloucester

was on

a

just

is

for

took

as

pasture

in

Bank found

the

I

bill,

$5

was

the

don't think

good rent

as any,"

from Mr.

and on presentation

it,

she

branch of the bank for the

Years ago,

a

It

a note

I

she

and bought

payment

vShe tendered in

berries,

One day

other ways.

in

Mr. Babson's

went

a preca-

She gained

colored frleiul '^Neil" Finson.

Carter

6i

was

right.

state of

It

Georgia.

Gloucester Telegraphy some

antiquarian told a story of what might have been his

own

the poultry erty, stole

were

He

experience.

and

said

two boys who considered

chattels of a

"witch" public prop-

from Judith Ryon a couple of geese.

safely

away,

as they thought,

Judy coming brandishing

a

hoe,

when

They

they heard

and screeching.


TJic Story

62

"Now, was

of Dogtoivn.

ye hell birds, I've got ye

plump

a goose,

in

The response

I"

her face, and the asseveration,

"No

you haint."

Prostrated by the

Judy

lay

while

senseless,

the

foul assault,

boys again securing

their prey, vanished.

As we seem to have turned back toward the Castle, we may as well continue, and more particularly

examine the

territory

or the "Slough," as

is

it

more

men

used

their

homes being between

go over

in his

to

the Castle

site side of

brook, I

the road

can find

little

couraging place

lots of

about him. to cross.

on the

right,

is

On

the oppo-

just

"Jim" White.

Morgan's brook If

by the

is

a dis-

one confines himself

left,

to

going toward Ri\-er-

proceeding the other way,

can be crossed without stranger

them.

from Judy Rhines',

the stepping stones on the dale, or

many sheep Abraham Wharf,

the cellar of the dwelling of

is

and Dogtown.

either side,

graze a century ago.

palmy days, kept

twenty

sixteen or

road to general training,

this

Over these pastures, on were wont

In the

often called.

some

early days of this century, to

around Morgan's brook,

wetting one's

feet.

likely to attempt the other side,

it

The

and come

to grief.

After crossing the brook, on the same side as

Judy Rhines'

cellar,

one sees a big bowlder, beside


The

of Dogtown.

Sto)'y

Right against

the road.

it,

on one

63 are the

side,

yard foundations of a small building, while in the a with this, enclosed by a wall, are the remains of

The building by the rock was which John Morgan Stanwood spent his

the

laro-er structure.

hut in

Mr. Rich,

days.

the John,

poem, dropped

in his

last

drop while the custom of his contemporaries was to It is a painful but well-authenticated the Stanwood. fact, that

he was

known

to

some, as long as he lived,

"Johnny Morgan." Of course he was not that Johnny who played the organ, nor the estimable as

gentleman

who

caters to the finer taste of the present

generation of Gloucester people. I

find

many precious hours John Morgan Stanwood was

misspent if

hunting

after,

and second, seeking

trying,

first

man

to

I

was

to find out

who

the

Morgan was who lived by the brook. That this was not strange may be understood, when I say that the

a lady

still

school, his

living told

me

that for years she

went

to

and was intimate with " Nabby Morgan,"

daughter, before

name was

person told her that her

the

really Abigail

Morgan Stanwood.

Morgan Stanwood never went to the wars, so those who knew him as Capt. Morgan Stanwood made a mistake ino-

the

if

they thought the

Revolutionary

title

war,

a military one.

or

a

little

Dur-

later,

he


The Story of Dogtozvn,

64

went on foreign voyages.

He

and had many children.

"Granther Stannard," or

"Johnny

married Mary Lurvey,

Morgan,'-' as you will, seems thoroughly to

have enjoved

on Dogtown

life

a

addition to his house, which

little

spent

This work he did

his later years cobbling shoes. first in

He

Common.

and has ever since borne the name

at

was then

'"The Boo."

of

After his wife died, and his children grew up, the

many in the house, and the fact that many callers among their young acquaint-

confusion of so they had so

ances, so disturbed his mind, that he sought relief by

Many

building the hut under the rock. this cosy corner,

for the

where he peacefully cobbled shoes

On

remainder of his days.

corner he kept a book

in

the interesting matters

a

came

that

chased after such a journal of

found never existed

the existence

of

this,

since gone to decay.

children

Lest

;

but

though

it

I

a record of

his notice.

to

in

life

For

I

a year I

Dogtown,

that

have no doubt of probably has long

Stanwood has

several grand-

livinsr. I

forget

it,

let

me

say here that

wood's old "boo"

—

covered with

Mrs. Rachel

ing

shelf in the

which he made

should like to get hold of that book.

I finally

living recall

when

turf,

the

war

it

of

was

Morgan Stan-

a booth, built of slabs

Day

says

and

— was stand-

the Rebellion begun, but old


u.


The Story of Dogtozvn.

66 soldiers

who

left

it

when

they marched, found

gone

it

on their return.

The

'"Castle"

now owned

is

bv^

Riggs, a sprightly old lady of So,

main road seem

to

came

to

Some

in Riverdale.

have lived

in

whom

it

used

from the old Riggs house from

off

house

near the

is

quite

road near Goose Cove. of

which

it

is

1

66 1.

Ri2!"2"s

The "old

though on another

supposed

that part

tliat

the

built

undoubtedlv the oldest

is

the progenitor of

Mrs.

RiofSfs,

go

Judy

Millett.

to is

to school to

a restored

gambrel

roof,

remain for another century as class of

Dogtown

but of this

I

would

It is

good

in this

like further proof.

sibly she lived in the village.

a

and

dwellings.

seems probable that Hetty Balch lived

\icinity,

]:Âť\-

familv of Gloucester.

castle"

likely to

It

Thomas was

sample of the better It

Castle,

The Riggs

land.

His grandson, George Riggs,

mentioned above, used

seems

own

his

school master and town clerk,

first

house on the Cape. the

Sam.

Riverdale to Rockport

in

It is

gambrel roof portion.

all

lather, Capt.

It

constructed of square logs was built

Thos. Riggs, the in

Lufkin familv

be said that he could walk

to

without getting

on the

lives

earlv history.

its

Mrs. Riggs through her

Riggs, of

who

of the

during;

it

Mrs. Marv A.

but

five

Pos-

minutes

walk from "Johnny Morgan's Boo," and the Castle to the electrics in Riverdale.


CHAPTER

VIII.

CONCLUSION, If

it

hap2)ens that one has not turned off from the

main Dogtown road, will

at

Granny Day's swamp, he

keep on over a slight elevation, past the crossing

of the

Pigeon Cove path, which

distance in the road,

until

really

is

for

some

he reaches the Whale's

Jaw.

Soon

obliterated

by time and changes of ownership

pastures, reaches

Revere

road already referred a

little

Whale's Jaw, the road, almost

after passing

distance

to.

the old

Sandy Bay

the Pigeon

Cove path,

street,

On

in the

beyond the Whale's Jaw, are the

graves of old Mr. Blance and wife, marked by rude

head and foot stones picked out from the rocks which bestrew the Hill,

Jaw.

Commons.

Their

cellar

on the path from Pigeon Cove It

was known

as

"Blance's"

is

near Pigeon

to the

to

Whale's

two genera-


6S

77/6'

The

tions.

Story of Dogtowii.

made

cleared land

go from Lanes ville and

of fifty years since to

l)oy.s

Pigeon Cove on Fast Day

to plav ball.

In Dogtovvn, almost or

rather near

ridge toward Alewife brook, in

a fine place for the

is

the cellar of the house

which Col. William Pearce, one

men

of the wealthiest

of old Gloucester, sous"ht refu""e

ing expeditions in war times.

He

from maraud-

kept great num-

Mr. Chard, almost

sheep.

bers of

over the

it,

centenarian,

a

picturesquely describes a scene of his boyhood, dur-

ing the war of 1S12.

summoned

into the

of Lobster Cove,

Secured

lives. still

to

war

vessel

Annisquam.

boats

a

which he was born, and rock

directly

still

across the co\e,

be seen, were several British barges, belong-

ing to a of

one morning and was

garden of the house on the banks in

to

He woke

was

anchored bv the bar

Coming down

a negro, bearing

on

in the

harbor

the hill towards the his

back

booty

his

in

the shape of one of Col. Pearce's black sheep. I

have speculated somewhat concerning the reason

for Babson's reticence in his history concerning

town and years ago.

its

people.

The

His historv was published forty

village degenerated as

the Dosftown familiar to

him

less

it

grew

in his youn^'er

not a place to inspire great enthusiasm.

wrote

Dog-

old,

and

days was

At the time he

than twenty years had passed since "Black


The Story of Dogtown. Nell," Molly Jacobs,

Many

died.

and

Annie Carter and others had were

of their connections

still

living,

speak as freely as one can to-day of the village

to

would have caused more

Dogtown

cluded the story of history,

or

strife.

less

Had my

had more time, he might have

friend Pringle

nial

69

in-

in his interesting centen-

was

but the omission

wlien the mao:nitude of the task he

quite excusable

set

himself

is

con-

sidered. I

find that

from

have omitted the story of Peg Wesson

I

though her name has been men-

this narrative,

tioned.

She

Prospect

street,

lived

opposite Dale avenue.

She

on Maplewood avenue. of

Cape Ann

"Garrison House" on

the

in

of

whom

is

now

stands

the only reputed witch

can be alleged, with history

it

to endorse the allegation, that she stick.

It

rode on a broomfor the siege

departing

Shortly before

of

Louisburg, Babson says, several of Capt. Byles' com-

and

visited Peg,

pany

threatened

to visit

so exasperated her that

them

in

wrath

at

While camping before Louisburg, the

Gloucester

men was

performances of

-them.

it

crow which

Several unsuccessful

shoot the bird of that

a

attracted

ill

omen.

Cape Breton.

the attention of

by the peculiar

circled just

efforts

she

al:>ove

were made

to

Finally a soldier suggested

must be Peg supernaturally transformed

into a


The Story of Dogtown.

70

crow.

from

If

it

was

\

puncture her.

On

bullet

and

was rammed

silver sleeve button

with a hurt leg.

fired, the bird falling

were

their return to Gloucester, the soldiers

ested to learn that at the precise time the

wounded. Peg

wound, extracted

from.

Much more

leg,

and the doctor, on dressing

the identical silver button there-

tale.

of a descriptive nature

might be writ-

ten concerning the old, deserted village.

more extant

which can be found

the writer has identified

in

it.

he can express

at

that has been

awakened by

the

made two

if

a person

tubs, they called

much foundation

witches of Dogtown.

sawed

him

these

He

is

more

the general interest first

As aged Mr. Thurston

old times

Of

than he believed

the work.

gratified than

these notes.

Dogtown.

many more

was possible wdien he began

be as

to find

best authorities claim that there are at present

41 cellars

to

If there is

an historical nature, the writer has

of

been unable, by persistent searching,

"In

crow was

jMany of the inhabitants of Gloucester of those

days believed this

The

inter-

course from her broomstick),

fell (of

with a fracture of her the

cast

gold would be sufficiently potent to

silver or

into a gun,

the witch, nothing but a

publication of

quaintly remarks,

a barrel in

a witch."

as there

is

in

two and

This seems

many

of the

Gloucester should cherish this


The

Sto)'y

ancient spot for what

it

of Dogtown. has been.

the only ruined city in America.

sketches better

I

take

\x\\

is

practically

cannot close these

by following the example of

than

Babson, and quoting Goldsmith " Here, as

I

It

71

:

solitary rounds.

Amidst thy tangled walks and ruined grounds, And, many a year elapsed, return to view Where once the cottage stood, the hawthorne grew.

Remembrance wakes, with

my

all her busv and turns the past

train,

*******){.

Swells at

breast,

But now the sounds of population

No No

cheerful

murmurs

bus3' steps the

F'or all the

fail,

fluctuate in the gale,

grass-grown footwav tread,

blooming

[Copyright 1S96 by

to pain.

flush of life

is

Procter Brothers,

fled."

Gloucester, Mass.]




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