Great Meadows Near and Far

My river travels this past week brought me to the Concord, Connecticut, and Assabet rivers.

Got my week started at Egg Rock where nearly all of its text was visible...

...indicating river levels had fallen to something closer to normal.

The Old North Bridge was no longer flooded...

...as it was two weeks ago when the annual re-enactment of the April 19,1775 battle was cancelled due to high water.

Further downriver this bench, possibly from the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge trails, attested to the recent flooding...

Turned about at Davis Hill...

The otherwise dreary day was brightened up a bit by these flames...

...where someone was burning brush.

On my way back upriver I stopped at October Farm and explored the ruins of William Brewster's riverside cabins. 

Drove to Vermont on a whim Tuesday morning and launched from Putney Landing...

...located about 15 miles upriver from the Vernon, VT dam.

Waited for the very tail-end of a thunderstorm to clear the area before heading upriver...

Passed along knobby hills on the river's west side...

Noticed an occupied eagle nest to the east of the river...

Eventually reached the shallow area where Mill Brook enters the river...

...which provided a good spot for lunch and was across the river from Putney's Great Meadow.

This stitched-together map from UNH's Dimond Library shows Great Meadows near the top, and Putney Landing just off the page bottom left...

According to Rich Holschuh, Public Liason for the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, in an article, Putney Great Meadows (K'tsi Mskodak) found on the Brattleboro Historical Society's website: "When the British first ventured up the Kwenitekw (Connecticut River) in the early 1700s they found a glorious stand of yellow pine trees covering the K'tsi Mskodak, the Great Meadows of Putney, Vermont...this fertile floodplain, encompassing 500 acres of well-drained sandy loam, projects eastward toward New Hampshire nearly a mile, with the Connecticut River sweeping in a broad arc around its fertile expanse."  Rich also explains that what was called "yellow pine" back then is today known as red pine.  "The stand at K'tsi Mskodak certainly caught the attention of the merchants in New London, Connecticut, already a well-established center for shipbuilding, In 1732 a party of seventy men was sent upriver to cut the tall arrow-straight pines for the use of the King's Navy - it was British law that all such trees were Royal property.  Accounts indicate that the trees were cut and floated down the river continuing into the following year. Save for Massachusetts' frontier outpost 16 miles downriver at Fort Dummer (at the south edge of what is now Brattleboro, Vermont), this was an exceedingly rare venture into the northern unknown by the English interlopers."  It's hard for me to imagine what the native Abenaki people would have thought upon seeing clear-cutting of trees that they also valued for the pitch they produced.

At the south end of Great Meadow stood this log cabin...

...which may have been intended to serve as a reminder of the long-gone Fort Putney.  The cabin is located about 1500 feet from a stone marker for the fort.  The first fort at Great Meadows was built in 1740 and later demolished.  A second fort was built in 1755 and is described as having been built of pine logs with the following dimensions: 120 ft by 80 ft with walls 17 ft high. It encompassed some 15 dwellings and a staff of 10 or so soldiers.  Fort Dummer was about 12 miles downriver, and Fort Number 4 was about 20 miles upriver.  These forts allowed English settlers to gain a toehold on these valuable tracts of land along the Connecticut River.  The forts were put to the test during the French and Indian wars. 

My trip back downriver to Putney Landing was swift and saw brightening skies...

On Thursday I was back on my local waters launching from Chapin Road in Hudson, MA and paddling the Assabet River.  Enjoyed the best weather of the week with temps near 75 degrees F.

Passed under the Taylor Bridge at Wood Park...

...before reaching downtown Hudson...

Ventured upriver toward the Four Bridges area...

The passage where one of the four bridges once spanned the gap...

Came across this rabbit...

...beneath the mayhem of the Route 495/290 interchange traffic.

Sunday's trash from the Concord River...

...included these official coffee containers for two of our Boston teams...

Hope their playoff drives don't get cut short like these cups.

Tuesday's trash from the Connecticut River...

...included an empty 5-gallon kerosene jug and somebody's golf club.

Thursday's trash from the Assabet River...

...included 14 "nip" bottles and some laundry-related containers.

 

Earth Week Afloat

On Earth Day I got out on the Merrimack River launching from Cashman Park in Newburyport, MA just upstream from the Route 1 Bridge...

Crossed-over to the Salisbury side of the river in search of shelter from the stiff westerly breeze.  An eagle on Ram Island watched from his perch...

Behind the island entered Town Creek...

A deer watched my approach into one of the side channels...

This saltwater tolerant turtle paid me no mind...

On Wednesday a stretch of the Assabet River was paddled in Stow, MA...

 

Plenty of activity at the riverside eagles nest:

One adult eagle in the nest (hopefully with an eaglet or two)...

...and the other adult "Dark Eyes" on a tree nearby...

Post-paddle made a short hike to this historical marker on a hillside overlooking the river...

It serves as testament to how badly things were going between the settlers and the Native Americans in early 1676.

On Thursday I drove to Harvard, MA where this view of Mount Wachusett was seen on the road leading to the boat launch at Oxbow N.W.R...

Once launched I headed downriver...

Passed by this evidence of someone's probably bad day on the river...

Also saw clusters of trash such as this one caught behind downed trees at bends in the river...

...left behind by the receding water levels.

The week's flotsam:

From the Merrimack River on Earth Day...

...which included 17 "nip" bottles and 3 Hooksett Disks.

From the Assabet River on Wednesday... 

...which included 6 "nip" bottles and a 1-gallon plastic (PET) jug on the riverbank that disintegrated into many small pieces as soon as I touched it.  There was also a paper bag full of trash someone left behind a tree at the launch site.

From the Nashua River on Thursday...

...which included 105 "nip" bottles.

At one point in my paddle on the Assabet River a helicopter circled overhead several times...

I believe it was WCVB-TV possibly filming some of the apple orchards that were facing possible freeze damage over the last few days. 

 

At Earth Week's conclusion I'm left to wonder if a more targeted 'Bottle Bill' might solve much of the litter/microplastics problem.  With many folks having access to curbside recycling programs at their homes these days their empty beverage containers don't usually end up as litter.  On the other hand, it's becoming more and more apparent to me that most of the litter that I encounter comes from folks out and about and "on the go".  Beverages are purchased "cold" and consumed away from home...and subsequently many of these containers end up on the ground, in the shrubbery, or in the river.

  

Therefore, how about having a 10-cent deposit on only those non-alcoholic beverage containers sold "cold" from refrigerated cabinets...exempting containers sold non-refrigerated.   

All "nip" bottles would have a 10-cent deposit regardless of temperature.

Is such a program feasible?  Implementing such a plan would require the cooperation of manufacturers and merchants.  Would they do so in an effort to help stem the proliferation of litter/microplastics?  Would consumers also be willing to cooperate?  I sure would.  Just my 2-cents.

Long Wharf to Wachusett, and Beyond

Picked up this week where my last post ended by visiting more sites related to the internment of Native Americans, aka Praying Indians, on Boston Harbor's Deer Island.  Over the course of the week I walked from where the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Council held court to the tip of Boston's Long Wharf; paddled the Charles River to where the Natick Praying Village was once centered; paddled the Sudbury River to where one of the earliest bridges (dating to 1640s) was located on the road to Lancaster, MA; walked around the Redemption Rock area near Mount Wachusett; and paddled Asnacomet Pond in Hubbardston, MA.  Most of these locales were visited by the Praying Indian, Tom Doublet, who was allowed to leave internment on Deer Island in order to carry letters to and from the the parties engaged in King Philip's War.  

Started on Sunday morning with a paddle from Bridge St. in Dover, MA down the Charles River to where the Natick Praying Village was located in present-day South Natick situated about 40 miles by river from Boston Harbor...

...with a side trip up Indian Brook along the way...

According to Ron McAdow in his Charles River guidebook, a mill for grinding grain was built on the brook by Englishman Thomas Sawin at the invitation of the Natick Praying Indians around 1692.  Thus Sawin became the first non-Indian resident of Natick.  The brook "became know as Sawin Brook, but is now called Indian Brook."  The mill was located within the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary.

Further downriver I passed under the arched pedestrian bridge...

...before reaching where the Praying Village was located.  The view across the falls to where the village was centered (their church once stood to the right of the brick building)...

It was from here that the Praying Indians were removed from their homes and sent overland to Watertown on October 30, 1675.  According to Daniel Gookin, they waited there until midnight when the tide allowed for their being transferred by boat to Deer Island.  The Natick Praying Indians were later joined there by other Indians from other praying villages, including Ponkapoag and Nashoba.  When the English authorities needed someone to find and deliver a letter to the hostile Indian forces at Mount Wachusett it was Tom Doublet (aka Nepanit), a Nashoba Indian, who stepped forward.  With the council's approval Gookin brought Tom to his house in Cambridge, MA.  On Monday April3,1676 Tom left from there and journeyed to Wachusett.

On Tuesday, thinking of Tom's journey, I paddled a stretch of the Sudbury River in Wayland where I suspect he may have passed.  Launched at Sherman's Bridge and headed upriver...

With the water levels so high it was possible to take short-cuts through the woods and pass by a hunter's unoccupied deer stand...

The water level was high enough to allow my paddling over to the Haynes Garrison House location...

...where colonists were under attack on April 21, 1676...this battle occurring only a few weeks either side of Tom's passing through the area.

The abandoned bridge over the river's original course...

...where an earlier structure allowed carts to pass.  Tom may have used the earlier bridge...

Eight men from Concord died there on April 21,1676 and are buried near the bridge's east end...

A train trip into Boston on Wednesday allowed for a visit to the Long Wharf...

....where from its tip one can see Deer Island some 4 miles out (to the right center behind the yellow airplane)...

Turning about one can look up State Street from the Long Wharf to the Old State House...

A closer look at the spot where in 1676 stood the Town House where the General Court held session...

The plan to start negotiations with the warring tribes at Wachusett was most likely devised here.

On Friday, a visit was paid to Mount Wachusett where remnants of winter can still be seen...

...and nearby the locale known as Redemption Rock...

...where the inscription tells of how the negotiations (that started with Tom Doublet's delivery of that first letter) came to fruition...

Tom made three trips to Wachusett: two in April -the first was solo; the second with fellow Praying Indian, Peter Conway (aka Tataquinea).  A third trip in early May included John Hoar of Concord, a man friendly towards the Indians, who paid the ransom for Mrs. Rowlandson's redemption. Tom later made additional trips to secure the release of other hostages.

Before leaving the Wachusett area I paddled Asnacomet Pond in Hubbardston, MA.  I'd driven past the pond on many occasions and enjoyed finally getting out on it.  Its outlet flows into the East Branch of the Ware River...

Imagine my surprise in coming across a floating beer can named for the historical site I'd just visited...

Some wildlife encountered during the week included this pair of buffleheads on the Charles River...

...and this solitary mushquash on the Sudbury River...

Trash included a floating emoji on the Charles...

Trash from the Charles...

Trash from the Sudbury...

Trash from Asnacomet Pond...

In May of 1676 the General Court issued an order ending the internment of the Praying Indians, but not supplying any funds to help in their transport back to the mainland.  Daniel Gookin and John Eliot used their own money in paying those costs.  Most of the survivors went to Natick while some 50 or so returned to Nashoba where, according to Gookin, "were living there quietly and unmolested".

So, what happened to Tom Doublet?  In searching for more information regarding this Native American man I found the following:

In Charles H. Wolcott's Concord in the Colonial Period (1884) there was this Oct. 2, 1660 court record Walcott referenced in showing the colonists' bad disposition towards Indians: "Thomas Dublet, a Concord Indian, was convicted of an assault upon one of the English, and sentenced to pay a fine of 20 lbs, in default whereof he was 'to be sold to such as would buy him'. This man was subsequently of great service in procuring the release of Mrs. Rowlandson from captivity."  I'm guessing Tom might have been a young man in 1660.

 

Another mention of Tom was found in a Littleton Historical Society Volume 1 essay The Indians of Nashoba by Herbert Joseph Harwood: "For all this important service for the state in which Dublet proved himself brave, faithful, and discreet, after waiting eight years and petitioning for compensation, the council voted him the munificent reward of two coats!"  

At some point, either on Deer Island or perhaps after leaving the island, in either 1675 or 1676, Tom married Wunnuhhew (Sarah) the daughter of Sagamore John).  According to Freedomsway.org Sarah grew up in Wamesit at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord rivers and following custom first married the son of Nashoba sachem Tahattawan, John Tahattawan.  John died young in 1770.  Her second husband was the Okommakamesit sachem Oonamog and he also died young around 1674.  Upon marrying her third husband Tom Doublet she became known as Sarah Doublet.  Perhaps they knew each other from their earlier years at Nashoba.  Today a forest in the town of Littleton, MA bears her name and speaks of her and Tom spending their remaining years there...

...

After Tom passed away Sarah ultimately became the last of her people living at Nashoba.  Her final days were spent in South Acton, MA about 1.5 miles from my home.  She died in 1736.  My guess is they're both buried somewhere in the Nashoba area.