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FOOTPRINTS

Jiles

^taitjtrisl.

BY THE REV.

/^^^

B. F.

DeCOSTA.

Re-printed from the Church Monthly

for private distribution.
^

18

6 4.

FL>>:
c

1-^13 o7f

/nntpriEts nf

3Hik3 tmlm^.

FOR nearly two centuries and

of

a half the coast

Cape Cod has been celebrated

nals of shipwreck and disaster

in the an-

This point of land

according to the imaginative geographer, con-

arm

the right

stitutes

of Massachusetts; and

thus our ancient Commonwealth comes to be

re-

sponsible for every barbarous salutation extend-

ed

voyager approaching these

to the Atlantic

The Cape pushes

shores.

its

treacherous sands

out into the very heart of ocean navigation.

spreads the dangerous
the

and

tall

stately ship, idling

India, and weaves

its toils for

laborious fisherman.

rowly

It

across the path of

flats

on her way from

the shallop of the

Whoever has once

escaped hydriotaphia on

nar-

the shoals of

Georges, where wind and tide in their furious

collision

sea, is

plough

up the

very floor of

the

perhaps prepared to appreciate the dan-

Footprints

gers that lurk here.

in all

rude

open

grim

fellowship
to

is

a vast syrtis, lavish

yet in the hand of this

goodly harbor,

grasped a

is

the world,

all

water, belted

enough

'T

hospitalities

of

a broad blue sheet of

by the sinuous sands, and large

thousand

for a

sail.

Into this harbor

came the storm-tossed Mayflower, on the eleventh

day of November, sixteen hundred and twenty.

Here the weary Pilgrims

of

New

England,

first

set foot

on the shore

here was born the

of English parentage,

first

child

and here was signed

memorable compact which

the

led to the final suc-

Plymouth Colony.
The emigrants, however, as is well known,
were by no means the first visitors to the shores

cess of

All intelligent antiquarians

of Massachusetts.
are

now ready

to

admit that the Icelandic navi-

gators touched here at different times during the

tenth and eleventh centuries, and that here

" Vinland " of the Sagas. ^

be found the
centuries later,

the Cape

first

in

the year 1602^the

is to

Six

cliffs

rose to the view of Gosnold.

of

The

following year Martin Pring sailed along the

coast in search of sassafras

and

in

1619

the ro-

mantic Founder of Virginia came out from England with two ships to secure a cargo of fish and
furs.

But

at the

time when the Brownists ar-

rived in Provincetown
still ^unoccupied

harbor the ground was

by actual
(1)

settlers,

See Appendix.

and the vast

Miles Standish.

resources of the country remained unimproved,

the wood-crowned shores exhibiting the same
wild luxuriance displayed in the earlier times of

Leif and Eric the Red.

Immediately on their
ished by the

many

arrival,

being admon-

indications of a rapidly ap-

proaching winter, the emigrants lost no time in

fitting

out a shallop in which to coast the shore

in search of a suitable spot for a

In

tlement.

meanwhile,

the

being impatient

to

learn

of the character of this

men was

sixteen

fitted

permanent
the

something

new

set-

colonists
at

once

country, a band of

out, with directions to

proceed southward on a two days' tour of observation,

under the leadership of the renowned

Captain Miles Standish, a man, who though the

bravest soldier and the best linguist in the colony, could not find his tongue in the presence of
a

fair lady.

Here

flower and the

let

us part with the

wayworn company who

main on board, without staying

May-

still re-

to pass a need-

less

judgment upon the principles and policy of

the

Puritan, but leaving the panegyrist to laud

bis virtues,

his vice.

and the

historic vulture to batten

In the meantime

let

on

us trace the

course of this rough soldier in his expedition

among
will

the sand-hills.

The

stern old sectarian

be companionable enough to-day, and

shall hear

we

no jaundiced complaints of his Mother

Footprints

6
the

New

Church.

with the exhilarating

tang of the pure autumnal

recollections of the past

The account
what

in

tion,"

C-

scribes

is

banish the

air, will

and open the way

to a

life.

of this expedition

known

popularly

be found

is to

as " Mourt's Kela-

written, at least that portion which dethis Episode,

cumstantial,

book

by Bradford, who was one

The account is

of the party.

go,

and unlooked-

scenes, fresh

for experience, together

fresh chapter of

of

even

that

in

minute and

so

at this late

cir-

day we may

hand, as Freeman has done, and

identify every locality.

The

which they traversed

embraced within the

is

country

tract of

present limits of the towns of Provincetown and

Truro.

But

before

we commence

the account of the

expedition let us glance at the general condition

of the country.
ferent times

The accounts given

by various

sential agreement.

as

ny.

The

of

Plymouth Colo-

Thorwald Ericsson

the coast of Yinland, that

ful

old Icelandic Saga is

correct as the Chronicles of

The Saga

at the dif-

writers possess a very es-

it is

says of

a country "beauti-

and well-wooded, the distance small between

the forest and sea, and the strand full of white

sand."

Bradford,

guide, writes, "

forted us,

whose account

The appearance

of

is
it

to

be our

much com-

especially seeing so goodly

a land,

Miles Standish.

The harto the brink of the sea."

bor was " compassed about to the very sea with

and wooded
oaks,

pines, juniper,^ sassafras,

wood."

and other sweet

Specimens of those may

still

be found,

though generally in a dwarfed and decayed con-

The tongue

dition.

of land forming the south-

ern breakwater of the harbor was at that time

covered with a dense growth of timber, as

not only from

parent,

its

name,

is

ap-

Woodend,-^

but from the fact that a few years ago the stumps
of large trees were to be seen on

the beach,

naw studded with the ribs of stranded

ships.
The soil they found " much like the
downs of Holland." Here also the Pilgrims
found an abundance of game of all descriptions,
which

is

"we

and every day

Their eager

us."
**

great mussels,

saw whales playing near

search

and very

was
fat

rewarded

and

by

full of sea-

pearls."*

Such, in

brief,

were the resources and ap-

pearance of this new country into which these

colonists
still

to

had come.

The productions

of the sea

remain unchanged, except so far as relates

abundance

but the land has undergone a

The woodman's axe

made great havoc among the forest-trees,
and in 1790 it was found necessary to prohibit
further ravages by an express statute.
The
remedy, however, came too late, and the greater
complete transformation.

early

Footprints of

portion of the remaining

whelmed by
posed

in turn

hills

woods were soon over-

the drifting sand, leaving the ex-

The waves now

to

browsed and the Indian

chase.

The band

sixteen

in

suffer

severe

atrophy.

where formerly the deer

roll

stealthily

pursued the

of explorers selected

were

number, every man having "his

musket, sword, and corselet."

To these were
" adjoined for counsel and advice," William
Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Tilley.
It

was on Wednesday, the

fifteenth of

Novem-

ber that they were set ashore (probably near the

western extremity of the harbor), where they

formed in single

file,

Captain at the head.

with their doughty

little

strange-looking band,

no doubt, cased as they were

in their antique

armor and shouldering their cumbersome match-

The expedition was at once put in mowhen they marched along the shore for a

locks.
tion,

mile, which brought

centre of

them

to a point

the present town

Here " they

near the

of Provincetown.

espied five or six people with a

coming towards them, who were savages

when they saw them, ran

into the

whistled the dog after them."

dog

who,

wood and

Standish at once

followed, but could not overtake them, though

according
miles.

"^

to

the

The day

journal,
it

they travelled

ten

appears was soon spent, and

they were " constrained to take up their lodg-

Miles

So they

ings.

Standish.

set forth three sentinels

the rest, some kindled a

fire

and of

and others fetched

wood, and there held our rendezvous that night."

Their camp was probably formed near the base

Mount Ararat./ But at the mention of this

name the reader must indulge in no unseason-

of

This

able ideas of towerinor height.

is

not the

eminence so celebrated in history, but a small

conical hill enjoying an elevation of a
It is not

feet.

was

one of the everlasting

hundred
hills,

nor

formed when the mountains were brought

it

It

forth.

was

built

the shifting sands,

brother.

Under

Standish

passed

by the ocean breeze from

with

together

Gilboa,

their sheltering shade.

the

night

open

the

in

its

Miles
air

around the camp-fire fed by the cedar and the

pine.

At

that time the

Indians were reduced in

strength and widely scattered.

arrival of the colonists, as
terrible disease

of the

is

Previous to the

well known, some

had swept away vast numbers

aborigines,

leaving

the

soil

in

some

instances with no occupants save the unburied

dead.

Thomas Morton,

of

" Mare-Mount,"

author of the "New

that " the bones and skulls upon the several

English Canaan," writes

places of their habitation

after

my coming

made such

into those partes,

a spectacle
that

as I

travailed in that forest, nere the Massachusets,

10
it

Footprints of

seemed

to

mee

The

newfound Golgotha."

weakness of the natives may therefore account

for the fact that the slumbers of the explorers

were undisturbed by

When

savage war-whoop.

the

morning dawned, the party once more

took up the march, and followed the

trail

of the

retreating Indians across the neck of land which

connects the two townships.

This neck

is

from

three to four miles in length and of great elevation,

Sev-

being composed of pure white sand.

enty years ago

trees which

was studded with stumps of

it

had been choked by the upward

march of the

but every vestige of these

drift,

long since disappeared.

one of the most

forms
nature.

Viewed

at

This elongated
impressive

early dawn,

hill

objects in

when

the fog

from the Atlantic, purpling in the rising sun,

bathes the vast sand-drift in a soft amethystine
light, the sight is

one capable of exciting the

deepest admiration.

impressed

It

even the

wandering Northman, accustomed as he was

all the

native isle

and

calls the shore

must

to

wild and imposing magnificence of his

Saga of Vinland he
" Wonder-strand." Such

in the old

the

this display

ever appear to

all

impressible

minds, whether viewed in the purpling light of

morning, in the bright effulgence of the sun's

meridian splendor, or at evening when the naked
waste

gloams

fitfully

in

the

weird,

super-

Miles Standish.

Then

natural twilight.

II

the solitary and belated

solemn voice of the surf salutes

tourist, as the

involuntarily

will often start

his

ear,

the

dim forms darkle around him, the

to

grow thick and

tangible,

It

is,

great

all-

however, the fortune of few to witness

moods of nature among the sand-

Still those

ways be rewarded.
must

seems

spirit.

these peculiar
hills.

and as

and he becomes half

conscious of the presence of some

pervading

air

who wait and watch will alThe prospect here, of course,

affect individuals variously.

writer says

"Many

for devotion' sake,

quaint old

pilgrims, going barefoot,

from Joppa

Jerusalem

to

upon the hot sands, often run mad,

oi else are

quite overwhelmed with sand, profundis arenis,

as in

many

pedestrians have gone

reached

mad;

Such a burial

parts of Africk."

doubtless very possible

Joppa

at least not

is

but must not those

mad

long before they

But our Pilgrims are not

They have forgotten
now.

the old grievance, and for the nonce leave the

husks of religion

to theologic

swine

and now

Elder Bradford marches side by side with Miles

Standish,

conversing pleasantly of wood-craft,

eyeing at times the sea-fowl that darken the air

in their flight,

snaphance upon
noble buck.

and anon pausing

the retreating

The route

to train his

form

of

some

selected probably lay

12

Footprints

on the south side of

this

of

neck of land and par-

with the salt marsh which penetrates the

allel

Cape

for a distance of three miles,

to

still

be seen

the

where are

remains of those dense,

tangled, and almost impassable coppices which

Bradford says " tore our very armor in pieces."

But
ing

the prospect nevertheless appeared promis;

and

as they trampled

down

the underwood,

the bruised sassafras, quoted then at three

perfumed the

lings a pound,

cious

with

air

Sweet incense indeed

aroma.

trained nostrils of the thrifty

But though

with

well-pleased

the

shil-

deli-

the

in

Elder.

constantly

need
Bradford says, " we brought

widening view, they soon began

of refreshment

Puritan

its

for

to feel the

neither beer nor water with us, and our victuals

was only
little

athirst."

and Holland cheese, and a

biscuit

bottle of

aqua

vitce,

They pressed

we were

so

sore

on, however, and reach"^

ed the head of the creek where the life-boat

now housed but ready

tor

is

be launched at a

moment's warning, and turning southward, still

among the woo^is, they came about ten o'clock
to a valley full of

deer.

This valley

brush and long grass, with

is

somewhat memorable from

the fact that here the Pilgrims found the

spring of water, " of which," in

of the journal, "

us down and

we were

drunk our

heartily glad,
first

first

the language

and

sat

New England

Miles
water, with as

much

delight as

This place

our lives."

in

Standish.

is

13

we ever drunk
now known as

East Harbor, a deserted village which the black-

swamp
From this point
Mayflower, modeled^ke

birds hold in fee simple, and where in a

they sing

among

the alders.

they could discern the

a Chinese junk, lying at anchor in the distant

harbor, and here they built a
position to the

fire to

signal their

company on board.

Passing on from thence due south, they soon

to another valley, where was found "a
pond of fresh water, where grew also many

came
fine

small vines, and fowl and deer haunted there."

This

is

the second time the vine

is

Mr. Laing, the translator of the

gla," thinks the

*'

alluded

to.

Heimskrin-

Northmen did not come

so far

south as the Cape, because the productions of

this part of the country,

particularly the vine,

do not agree with those of Vinland.^

Speaking of Eastern Massachusetts, he asks

"

Do

vines, or wheat, or corn of

spontaneously in any part of these countries?

adding,

' *

this is a question

factorily ascertained."

by no means

A very

any kind grow

trifling

"^

satis-

amount

of knowledge would have prevented this mis-

As

take.

for

the vines, the boys hereabouts

who
" Know each wildwood
The bayberry and the fern/'

;^

/L.

Jur.

smell,

Jiy>^aL f^U-C-^

LkJ^^

14

Footprints

could

of

him where they grow

tell

while

the

Sagas by no means furnish the sole testimony

Sabine Baring-

in regard to self-sown grain.

Grould speaks in his book of Icelandic travel of

wild corn growing in that island on the sand-

which

flats,

The

is

used by the inhabitants

for food.

valley where Standish found the vines

the deer

most

now

is

Pond

called

pleasant

villages

and

Village, one of the

Turning

Truro.

in

thence down the north side of the pond, which

in the

of

summer

green

is

flag,

filled

with a luxuriant growth

they travelled along the beach

on the inner side of the bay

the

men

*'

but as some of

were tired and lagged behind," they

soon struck into the

again

land

opening in the bank which

through

an

still

pointed out,

one mile south of Pond Village.

Continuing

the

is

march over a somewhat

rolling

tract

of

country, they came to a heap of sand, and, dig-

ging into
full

it,

they discovered " a fine new basket

of very fair corn, with some six-and-thirty

goodly years of corn, some yellow and some

red, and others

mixed with blue, which was a

very goodly sight."

The basket was of curious

and near by they discovered a

palisade which had been constructed by some

workmanship
Englishmen
vance

visiting

the coast.

Here

the ad-

terminated, as the time allotted to the

expedition was brief.

They had now reached

15

Miles Standish.
spot

known

kins'

Cliff,"

Pamet "

mouth

near the

"Little

of the

Truro Centre.

river, at

Hop-

**

present inhabitants as

to the

Of this

there

can be no doubt whatever, as whoever stands

upon

that cliff with the journal before

him

will

see that Bradford has given an exact photograph

of the locality.

From

Pamet Harbor,

into

this point

seen

along whose sandy banks and sedge-

empties,

grown shores may be found

tion,

may be

which the Great Pamet

consisting

a scattered popula-

fishermen,

of

chiefly

whose

quaint and picturesque dwellings seem an integral part of

the sombre but

This

scape.

Indian village
that lugs

impressive land-

spot formed quite

and

away

the

an extensive
south-wind

thievish

the fragrant odors of the bay-

berry and eglantine frequently reveals the

mains of Indian graves,

skeletons
dost thou

in

appear ranged side

deem

it

re-

which the crumbled

by

And

side.

kind, old ^olus, thus to lay

bare the bones of a chief?

and crack thy cheeks

Ah, thou

to give

wilt

blow

them decent

sep-

ulture again, presently? y-

From
menced

this point

their

Standish and his

men com-

return, loaded with the spoils, as

the twelve spies of Israel returned from Canaan

forced

march brought them back by evening

to the

bearing the rich

**

fruits

of Eschol.

fresb-water pond," where they formed a camp,

^^^K,^r<^ ^itx^rryi^

'

^^

Footprints

16

of

established a guard, and passed a rainy night.

The returning light found them once more on

way through the woods, but soon they unThe conclusion may
fortunately lost the trail.
their

be given in their own words

" As we wandered, we came to a tree where a young

sprit was bowed down over a bow, and some acorns
strewed underneath. Stephen Hopkins said it had
been to catch some deer. So as we were loolving at
it, William Bradford being in the rear, when he came
also upon it, and as he went about it gave a sudden
jerk up, and he was immediately caught by the leg.
It

was a very pretty

own making.

device^

In the end

made with a rope of their

we got out of the wood,

about a mile too high above the

three buck, but we would rathSo we marched some while
er have had one of them.
on the sands, and other while in the water up to the

and were

fallen

creek ;9 where

we saw

knees; till at length we came near the ship, and then

we shot off our pieces and the long-boat came to fetch
Master Jones and Master Carver being on the
us.

many of our people, came to meet

we came both weary and welcome home."

shore, with

And

so

Thus

us.

the expedition ended with success, and

a good report was brought concerning the land,

encouraging the Pilgrims to make larger

to discover a suitable

of their colony.

It

was therefore not without

an important bearing upon

formed a link

efforts

spot for the establishment

all

that followed,

in the chain of providences

and

which

led to the permanent occupation of the country.

Few

persons ever consider

how

largely

Plymouth

Miles

Rock

is

Standish.

IT

indebted to the sands of Cape Cod.

was here that the Pilgrims received

It

their first

favorable impressions of the Western world.

was here,

It

Provincetown, that

in the harbor of

they found such seasonable relief from the storm

which threatened their destruction.

of

New

England's noblest sons

sider the condition

of

Says one

""When I con-

Mayflower, utterly

the

incapable as she was of living through another

gale, I dare not call

tune, that

the shore of

by

it

mere piece of good

for-

the general north and south wall of

New England

should be broken

this extraordinary projection

of

the Cape,

running out into the ocean a hundred miles,

as if on purpose to receive

and

encircle

this

precious vessel."

And whoever

is

interested in these episodes

of colonial history, whoever

as

it

were by the side of

is

fond of walking

historic personages

and

sharing their very thoughts and actions, and

is

very desirous at the same time of studying nature in all her various moods, can hardly spend

a short vacation better than by a ramble, book in

hand, over the unique region traversed by Captain Miles Standish

But

if

and

his party of observation.

one feels that this

light at

noon-day, he

volume,

born

of the

is

indulging in candle-

may close the little dingy

London press, in Pater-

Noster Row, more than two hundred years ago,

18

Footprints

of

and read only the great outspread volume of

Nature, which is new every morning and fresh
every

When you

evening.

shores,

upon these

step

you leave behind all the

artificial

and sickening conventionalities of

become conscious

that

you are moving

and healthier atmosphere.

Here you

command, while

Every view here

of

mountain

rock and sandy holm,

the

common

sight,

they meet

until

Beauty.

all

sea

seasons unite

and

the wildest ex-

moorland,

all these,

rugged

so opposite to

trend away in their course

and

There

Indeed, there

beautiful.

is

are no asymptotes in nature

tremes

find noth-

alms of their respective pleasures.

giving

in

and

new

in a

The land and

ing hackneyed or common.

are equally at

customs

society,

the Line of

mingle in

something that

is

common

is

wonder-

objects here

fully pleasing

even in

the sea-side.

The low bank waving with

green beach-grass
drift wood-pile

the overhanging cliff

garnered in a cove

rib planted for a

by

pale

the

the whale's

landmark, and the hulk of

last

winter's wreck half buried in the sand, finding

as they do their appropriate adjuncts, form so

many

simple yet effective pictures, admirably

adapted

to please the artist's eye.

Nevertheless certain seasons and localities are

calculated above others to afford pleasure.

the

spring-time

the

In

brown and sombre earth

19

Miles Standish.
breaks
spots,

and there

here

out

bright green

in

and the beach-grass and the oaks revive

and emulate the verdure of the evergreen

pine.

Then comes the season to walk in the woods.

But go there always on a sunny day, after the
land-tortoise has commenced his summer rambles,
and revel

in the

sweet spicery and listen to the

Here you

songs of the birds.

Mayflower

find the

will

repens) growing in the

(^EjngcEa

shade, and half-buried in last autumn's leaves

a flower which

many suppose

Plymouth woods,

as if

the foot of the colonist

Autumn, however,

is

be peculiar to

sprang up when

touched

the

strand.

perhaps best suited to the

genius of these shores.

acter of the scenery

it first

to

Then

becomes

the natural char-

intensified,

and the

general brownness of the landscape kindles to a

golden flame, in which every object

in a

warm,

must give

rich light.
to

is

immersed

The autumnal day we

the moorlands, which occupy no

inconsiderable tract of country here, beginning

near the head of land which juts out into East

Harbor, and sweeping southward several miles

in the form of a

somewhat regular

plain, until

up and loses
known to geolo-

the level ground gradually breaks

itself

among

gists as

the rolling hills

moraines}^

Loiter here on a hazy afternoon, and observe

the

magic of light as

it

plays on the russet

20

Footprints

How

heath.

delicious the crisp of the

spoils of the

How the

gold.

to

whortleberry flames

blazing bramble-bush,

all

on

fire

See that

from the

slant-

now

looks

ing rays of the declining sun, which

"With

moss

The haycocks, the sameadow, gleam like hives of

our metropolitau feet

line

of

the eye of love through golden vapors around

him,"

and transfigures every

Here

object.

may wunder and

recluse

the true

meditate, and learn

Jesus went out into a " desert-place."

why

The

ef-

fect is soothing in an

eminent degree, and sug-

calm

experienced by Frithiof

of

gestive

when
fane

the

came repentant,

he

to

Balder's

sacred

"Yes, 't was as if he felt the heart of nature beat

Responsive to his own; as if, deep-mov'd he'd press
In brotherly embrace Heimskringla's Orb, and Peace
Straight make with all the world."

On

such days occurs the mirage, than which

nothing

is

Cape here

more frequent
is

or

beautiful.

extremely narrow, and

The

hemmed

in

by two atmospheres, varying greatly in clearHence the variable temperaness and density.
ture will often play the most extravagant pranks

with laws of light, and

stranger

almost

to

sometimes

doubt his

own

leads the
identity.

Hitchcock says that during his geological tour

along the Cape he witnessed a must remarkable
illusion near Orleans.

He

tells

us that as he

21

Standish.

Miles

seemed

travelled over the level road he

ascending a

hill,

be

to

and could not persuade himself

of the contrary without turning and walking in

wben even then

the opposite direction,

was not

sion

as I have described,

bathed

in a hazy,

rise

ligbt, the

and

you,

around

all

Sea-

every object assume the strangest phase.

ward and landward the

illu-

earth and sky are

when

dreamy, undulating

glowing heath will

the

Often, on such a day

dissipated.

eflfect is

On

the same.

the ocean phantom ships are seen crowding on

while in the distant bay
sail for phantom ports
;

spectral shapes that appear suf-

distorted

are

ficiently grotesque for the wraith of the

ish

and

Miles Stand-

his mail-clad retinue issue

from out the

neighboring woods.
the earth
floating

May-

to see

and we almost expect

flower,

seems

to

Frequently

at

such times

be nothing but an island,

in a vast sea of shining haze,

sion which only a change of the

an

wind can

illu-

effec-

tually dispel.^^

Near
Light,

view

this heath are the

Cliffs

of Highland

delightful situation from

both land and sea.

whence

to

Standing upon the

cliffs, which rose to Grosnold's view

"
headland," and possibly the identimighty
a
of the old Saga, we
cal " Wonder-strand "

precipitous

peer far out over the blue Atlantic.

Land's

End

of Massachusetts

This

is

the

and the waves

22

Footprints,

roll,

S^c,

unbroken by reef or skerry, between the

beach down
Cornwall.
forgetful of

with
softly

at

our

and the Land's End of

wonted mood,

their

a musical

feet

calm to-day, and the waves,

It is

rise

and

fall

cadence, and, breaking, sink

down upon

the

sandy shore.

And

would. Old England, that the words which reach

us from thy distant strand, in this our
trial,

'*^^''"*^

gentle lapse of the

abrupt

This

day of

soothingly iiiem our hearts like the

fell

summer

sea.

overhanging the shore

cliflf

deeply suggestive, and here we leave the

band

'of

Pilgrims to join in

is

little

imagination that

great company yet to assemble at the Land's

End

of Time.

Alvord

In the language of the Dean

"And so one day,

Will the Lord's flock, close on time's limit stand
On the last headland of the travelled world,
And watch, like sun's streak on the ocean waste,
His advent drawing nigh.
"Thus shall the Church
Her Land's End reach and thus must you and me
Look out upon the glorious realms of hope,
And find the last of Earth, the first of God."
:

APPENDIX.

1 The first child born hefff-of foreign parentage was

Snorre, son of Gudrid, the wife of Thorfin, one of
the Icelandic navigators. This child attained to manhood; and his grandson, Thorlak, was advanced to
the Episcopate, and compiled a code of ecclesiastical
laws for the Church in Iceland. The learned Icelander,

Prof. Finn Magnusson and Thorwaldsonthe sculptor,

were among the descendants of Snorre. No person
who is aware of the amount of attention paid to genealogy by the Icelanders will entertain a doubt on the
subject. This child was born, it is thought, near
Mount Hope.

2 Gurnet Point, near Plymouth, is probably the

"Krossaness" of the Icelandic history. Thorwald
Ericsson, dying, said: There shall ye bury me, and
plant a cross at my head, and also at my feet, and
call the place Krossaness in all coming time."
It is
equally certain that "Kialarness," Keel-Cape, where
they fitted a new keel to their vessel and setup the old
one as a landmark, is identical with Cape Cod.

3 This Saga was committed to manuscript prior to

the year 1395, and is unquestionably a genuine historiColumbus visited Iceland in the year
cal document.
1477, and possibly found there the confirmation of his
theory of a Western World.

his notes to Chronicles of the Pilgrims,

4 Young,
says that what was taken for juniper was "the red cedar," and states there is "no juniper.^' Is he not in
error ?TMIe probably never spent a day picking juniper berries among the sand hills. If he had, he would
never had forgotten the circumstance. Evelyn, in
his Sylva Sylvarum, says, "I wonder Virgil should
condemn its shade^'j^/nperi gravis umbra I suspect
him misreported." So do I.
J^

-f 1>i^i4:^Uj

^^

24

APPENDIX.

5 All the early colonists in America were dazzled by

the prospect of finding gold, pearls, and precious
Linnaius professed to understand the art of
producing natural pearls, probably by perforating
the shell of the mussel and introducing a grain of
sand.
stones.

6 This estimate

is

at ten o'clock they

distance.

too large, as

had not

by the next morning

more than that

travelled

7 Placed here to rescue shipwrecked sailors. The

Society many years ago built huts at intervals on the beach, where such unfortunates may find

Humane
shelter.

8 It has also been objected that the Sagas state that

"there is no winter in Vinland, and no cold and no
This was unfrost, as in Iceland and Greenland,"
doubtly said to encourage emigration. Thomas Morton [N. E. Canaan] does not hesitate to say, with the
same end in view, that in New England the people
have "no coughs and colds." What account might
not Gosnold have honestly given of the climate if he
had found ice here in July, as did one writing
to the Boston Post-Boy, of July 16, 1741
"Province-town, July 14th. On the 4th, of this
month one of this town discovered a considerable
quantity of ice on the north side of a Swamp in this
place, who bi'oke off a piece and carried it several
miles undissolved to the tavern-keeper, who for his
pains treated him to a bowl of punch for his pains."
9 East Harbor creek, called "Head of the Meadow,"
where the life-boat is housed on the beach.

10 These moraines, which so impress the beholder,

and which are so suggestive of a former deluge, are
considered by Hitchcock and Robinson as identical
with the isolated moraines around Jericho.
11 A well known Episcopal clergvman of Boston,
formerly minister of the old Congrcg tional Society
in Plymouth, informs the writer that he has seen the
houses situated on the Cape, twenty miles distant from
that place, during the mirage, the houses in question
appearing to be only a short distance from the shore.
In the ordinary state of the atmosphere this would
be impossible.

FOOTPRINTS
^>^'

o p

piles

^taitHslj.

BY THE REV.

DeCOSTA.

B. F.

^arlesto

fa

it

Re-pkinted from the C'HrKCH Monthly

POR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION.

1864,

"i^^^aXMtMr^i