Boston Light and Nantasket Point

 

Yesterday morning found me admiring Boston Light which is said to be the oldest light station in the United States.  Paddling out to it from Hingham was my main objective of the day but also on my mind was the 1630 landing of the ship Mary and John which sailed from England as part of the Puritan Migration.  Roger Clapp wrote in his memoir of the passengers being less than pleased when the ship's Master, Mr. Squeg, set them and their baggage ashore at Nantasket Point rather than at their expected destination, Charlestown.  Apparently Squeg was reluctant to venture amidst the many shoals within Boston Harbor.  So while Nantasket Point isn't shown on today's maps, I can't help wondering just where it was located.

It was a beautiful morning to be out on the water.  Seas were flat and I passed through Hull Gut about a half hour before high tide.  While passing though the Gut, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter ferry boat Glory was just leaving the dock near the appropriately named "Windmill Point"...

Once out of Hingham Bay, I headed parallel to Boston's first shipping channel known as Nantasket Roads towards Little Brewster Island and Boston Light...

 

This light station was first lit in 1716 and today retains a second-order Fresnel lens which displays a flash of light every 10 seconds...

...visible as far as 27 miles away.

A very informative article on Boston Light Station written by Wayne Wheeler was found on the U. S. Lighthouse Society's web site. The article includes mention of an early Revolutionary War battle involving the light station and more specifically a cannon being fired at British boats from Nantasket Point.  Included in the article is a map showing Nantasket Point's 1775 location (halfway between Point Allerton and Pemberton Point).  Leaves me to wonder if the ship Mary and John found safe harbor in Hull Bay after passing through Hull Gut. 

While paddling around Little Brewster Island I caught this glimpse of Graves Light some 3 miles further out to sea...

Graves Light was completed and lit in 1905 when a second shipping channel into Boston Harbor was created.  

So upon my return through Hull Gut and into Hingham Bay, I more than likely passed the place where Roger Clapp and his fellow passengers were left standing on the sandy shore.  Their desired destination of Charlestown lay some 7 miles or so to the northwest between the Boston skyline and Deer Island's white dinosaur eggs...

Could those Mary and John passengers possibly conceive of today's commuters covering that distance in about 20 minutes aboard the MBTA's high-speed catamaran Champion?...

The capacity of the Champion is 150 passengers and could have handled all of the Mary and John passengers.

By the time I reached a quiet Bumpkin's Island the day was fast heating up and a relaxing swim was greatly enjoyed...

A map showing most of the spots mentioned...

Only trash encountered was of the shiny and floating nature...

Sholan's Weshakim to Watertown Venture

With out-of-state travel being less attractive during these Covid times I find myself taking a closer look at some Massachusetts great ponds I may have previously overlooked.  One such great pond is West Waushacum in Sterling, MA.  It and sister pond East Waushacum sandwiched the Native American village known as Weshakim where the Nashaway tribe is said to have stayed during the summer months.  One day in either 1641 or 1642 the chief sachem of the Nashaway tribe, Sholan, decided to walk "laden with peltry" to the falls on the Charles River at the head of tidewater in Watertown, about 35-miles to the east of Weshakim. History doesn't tell us if he went alone or with others.  Historian Joseph Willard does however note that after trading his pelts to a young Englishman, Thomas King, who Sholan found to be trustworthy, the sachem made the fateful decision of inviting King to visit Nashawogg (present-day Lancaster) and establish a trading post there.  He would later allow King and his associates to purchase a tract of land ten miles in length and eight in breadth with the caveat not to "molest" the Indians in their hunting, fishing, or planting places.  Thomas King with an associate Henry Symonds would build a trading post near the base of George Hill about 4 miles to the northeast of Weshakim where several Indian trails intersected.  King, however, never lived there and would die only a few years later at the young age of 29.

Yesterday at sunrise (before it got hot) I launched into West Waushacum Pond in Sterling, MA...     

...and paddled towards where the village of Weshakim may have been located, and from where Sholan began his eastward journey.  Because the pond is within the Wachusett Reservoir Watershed Protection Zone, access is limited to non-gasoline propelled small boats, canoes, and kayaks...

...which results in the pond having crystal-clear water.  No bodily-contact with the water is allowed.

A map of the pond...

   

Prior to the creation of Wachusett Reservoir in 1901 the pond was a popular summertime destination with Picnic Grounds and a Methodist Campground nearby.

Today the pond is a serene place with one tiny island...

Once I reached the pond's south end I turned about to see Wachusett Mtn. to the NW...

 

A bald eagle was encountered several times nearest the pond's east shoreline...

The eagle had fishing competition from cormorants and this kayak fisherman...

 

A railroad causeway built in the 1800's cut-off a section of the pond today known as "The Quag".  The Quag can be entered by paddling through a narrow and very shallow opening in the causeway...

The abandoned rail line is now an unpaved section of the Central Mass Rail Trail.

A blue heron in the Quag...

 

One pink water-lily stood out amidst all the white ones...

 

Cardinal flowers remind that summer's days are numbered...

The only trash encountered was in the vicinity of the rail trail overpass...

On my way home, on a fast warming day, I decided to tempt fate and try to locate where the trading post was built.  In the process one friendly local asked if I was lost.  Driving around George Hill I came across several historical markers...

...and this mention of one of the trading post's subsequent owners...

...before finally hitting pay dirt...

...which matched historian Henry Stedman Nourse's description in The Military Annals of Lancaster, Massachusetts 1740-1865: "The little plateau halfway down the sheltering hill, with fertile fields sloping to the southeast and its never failing springs was and is an attractive spot." For me, finding this marker closed the loop and made my day ...

It was within the above mentioned structure that Englishmen used the tactic of extending credit to Native Americans who weren't familiar with the concept.  When the extended credit came due and went unpaid the traders accepted land in lieu of payment and amazingly this was considered quite legal.  Dennis A. Connole in his book The Indians of the Nipmuck Country in Southern New England 1630-1750 writes: Prescott had extensive land holdings, acquiring over three hundred acres of land in the vicinity of Waushacum Ponds from the Indians, "probably in settlement of debts".  

The trading post was sold by King in 1644 to John Cowdall and he, in turn, sold it in 1647 to John Prescott (considered the founder of Lancaster).  Prescott would sell it in 1656 to John Tinker and Tinker in 1659 sold it to Simon Willard, who owned it until 1672. 

Sholan died in 1654 and was spared from seeing the disastrous fate that befell his people.

So, if he could have a do-over, would he still walk to Watertown and extend that invitation? 

Nowadays an image of Sholan looking out upon the water graces the Town of Sterling's official seal.

Connecticut River thru Northfield

Got out on the Connecticut River early yesterday morning and paddled upriver to where the neighboring states of New Hampshire and Vermont were within view...  

  

Thanks to rains associated with Tropical Storm Isaias, river levels were much improved.  After noting an immature eagle atop one of the old RR bridge piers I turned about and headed downriver to my ultimate destination, Kidd's Island in Northfield.  Along the way an adult eagle flew overhead...

...a little above the Route 10 bridge...

I passed the Munn's Ferry Boat Camping Area...

...which is maintained by FirstLight Power Resources and, as the sign explains, requires reservations.

Past Munn's Ferry Kidd's Island lies towards the river's east side...

Inhabiting the island was this year's crop of recently fledged eagles (at least two)...

...a sibling...

Both were perched not too far from where they entered this world...

The nest's location is towards the island's north end...

The island is named for a local legend involving the infamous pirate/privateer Captain Kidd and his possibly having hidden a treasure chest on the island.  The needle on my old analog treasure chest detector showed no response. 

Opposite the island on the Gill side is Otter Run which I hoped to checkout...

...but only a crude steel structure, barbed wire, and a 'No Trespassing' sign were there to greet me...

Oddly the needle on my treasure chest detector pinned here.

So, it was back upriver under a fast-improving sky...

Very little trash was encountered.  Most of what I came across was in the form of plastic containers partially filled with sand...

Flashed on the Assabet

...or at least that's how it looked.  Turns out the heron wasn't yesterday morning's only flasher...

Seems just about everything is in full bloom on the river these days...

The Assabet had been the beneficiary of some much needed rainfall the night before and was at a better level...

The nicely-restored Boston and Maine RR caboose residing at the Crow Island Airport was looking ready to be tacked onto the end of a long freight train (at least in its dreams)...

Some trash perhaps set afloat by the recent rain...

Same Dream/Salty Version

August got off to a beautiful beginning yesterday on Cape Ann.  Arriving there early afforded me the whole launch site to myself.  It was one of those days when after rounding Annisquam Light (opening photo) a paddler might have been tempted to go all the way round the cape...and before long Halibut Point could be seen from Folly Point...

Folly Cove itself was inhabited for the most part by scuba divers...

...except for these strange-looking birds hanging at the tip of Folly Point...

...which my guidebook says are ruddy turnstones, a type of sandpiper I'd not previously encountered.

After turning back at Folly Cove I returned to the Annisquam River just in time for a top-of-the-tide swim...

By this point the Annisquam was pretty busy with all types of watercraft.  More peaceful waters could be found in Goose and Lobster coves (view from Lobster Cove)...

 

On my way back to my take-out I passed the scene of an active house fire in Mill River near Wheeler Point...

Later news reports mentioned the owners not having been home, but, unfortunately their two dogs may have perished in the fire.

Best boat name of the day...

Some trash found floating along the way...