Leander Crosby

“ D. J. LAWLOR.
13
An inquiry naturally suggests itself, By what means has a wreck, so perfect that a “working model” could be constructed from it, been so long preserved? Ordinarily, wrecks, being exposed to the direct action of the winds and waves, soon break up and disappear. How does it happen that this wreck formed an exception? That it was preserved by being embedded and buried in the sand, has been already intimated. The causes which at first operated to bury and conceal, and, at length, by their continued action brought the wreck to light, will be considered in the following chapter. ”

“ Salt meadows do not form on a shore where a surf beats, or where a strong current exists. While the ancient entrance to the harbor was open, there was such a current on the west or inside of Isle Nauset, which prevented the formation of salt meadow near the wreck. After the closing of the old entrance, the current turned west of Pochett and Sampson’s islands, and found an outlet through Pleasant bay, to Chatham harbor, thus leaving a body of still water favorable to the rapid formation of salt meadows. ”

“ These bars are continually shifting,—the causes of which are storms and a strong current which sets in and out of the harbour. At low water, there are seven feet on the outer bars, common tides rising about six feet. North of them, the shore is bolder. There is good holding ground in the harbour. At the entrance, the bottom is sandy. Farther in there is a muddy bottom. The depth at low water is about twenty feet.
“Not only do the bars alter, but the mouth of the harbour also is perpetually varying. At present it is gradually moving southward by the addition of sand to the point of the beach. ”

“ A writer in the Massachusetts Magazine, in the last century, tells us that ‘when the English first settled upon the Cape, there was an island off Chatham, at three leagues’ distance, called Webbs’ Island, containing twenty acres covered with red cedar or savin. The inhabitants of Nantucket used to carry wood from it;’ but he adds that in his day a large rock alone marked the spot, and the water was six fathoms deep there. The entrance to Nauset harbor, which was once in Eastham, has now travelled south into Orleans.... ”

“ Mr. Otis remarks, that “the evidence which seems to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that those remains belong to the ship which Gov. Bradford informs us was lost in Potanumaquut harbor in the winter of 1626–7 ... is principally based on the geological changes that have occurred on the coast, since its discovery. Archer’s account of Gosnold’s voyage around the Cape, in 1602, and of the appearance of the coast, is so unlike anything seen by the modern mariner, that his relation has been considered a myth or traveller’s tale, unreliable and unworthy of credence. ”

“ The deep human sympathy which attaches to every scene where men have fought or suffered,—which treasures every relic of the times of the Pilgrims, 5invests this ancient wreck with a deep and abiding interest. As we behold it, we seem to see Mr. Fells, Mr. Sibsie, and the “many passengers” casting anxious eyes to the west; for it is stormy weather, and the sea is rough, and they have been six weeks afloat, “and have no water, nor beere, nor any woode left;” and there is Captain Johnston “sick and lame of ye scurvie,” so he can “but lye in his cabin dore and give direction;” ”

“ This view is confirmed by the Eastham records. That town was settled in 1646, and in the early division of meadows, the Potanumaquut are not named. As salt meadows were considered more valuable then, than at the present time, it is surprising that they are not named till 1750, if they had then existed.
“Records cannot be quoted to prove the antiquity of this wreck, neither can it be proved by living witnesses; we necessarily have to rely on other testimony. That the rust had entirely consumed all the iron used in its construction is evidence of its antiquity. ”

“ If it be said that the Potanumaquut meadows belong to the older and not to the recent formation, it proves too much; it proves that the wreck has been in its present position many centuries—that it is the remains of an old ship in which the Northmen, or other ancient navigators sailed. ”

“ The only difficulty is in determining precisely where the north end of that island was in 1602. The northern end of it, which persons living remember, was opposite the present entrance to Nauset Harbor. In 1602 it probably extended half a mile further north, that is, as far north as the low beach extended, that persons now living remember. John Doane, Esq., now seventy years of age, was born in the immediate vicinity of Point Care, his father and grandfather, in fact all his ancestors from the first settlement, owned the land and meadows between Ile Nawset and the main. ”

“ At the last (October, 1865,) meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the subject of the “old wreck” being under discussion, Mr. Charles Deane read the following paper, which he had prepared to show the small size of some of the “ships” used in crossing the Atlantic, both before and at the time the vessel which we call the “Sparrow-Hawk,” was stranded on Nauset Beach. Mr. Deane remarked that the list could have been much extended:
Columbus had, on his first voyage of discovery, three vessels. ”

“ The position of the wreck has not probably changed since it sunk in the place where it now lies. At low tide there are about two feet of water around it, showing that at high water there was a sufficient depth to have floated a vessel of seventy tons burthen. Every portion of the wreck is below the surface of the meadows. These 31two facts prove that this vessel was not cast away upon a beach nor on the meadows.
“At the present time a wreck sunk in such a situation would be covered with sand and mud in the course of a month. ”

“ The position of this wreck in reference to the salt meadows and to the beach, is the best possible evidence of its antiquity. If driven there it must have been by a westerly wind, which would cause a low tide. Admitting that the vessel of which this wreck is the remains, was, by some unknown cause, forced on the meadows, how was the wreck buried below the line of the surface?
“To suppose that she was so buried on hard meadows by natural causes is an impossibility. ”

“ Within his memory the north beach, connected with Eastham shore, has extended south one mile, and the whole beach has moved inward about its width, say one fourth of a mile. Formerly there were navigable waters between Nauset and Potanumaquut harbors. It is about a century since vessels have passed through, and about fifty years since the passage was entirely closed. This is caused by the moving of Nauset beach inward. Dunes always travel inward, never outward, let the direction be what it may. ”

“ The timbers and planks of the old ship are very 29sound, there is no appearance of rot. There are no barnacles upon them, they are not eaten by worms, and there is no indication that they have been for any considerable length of time exposed to the action of the elements. The spikes, bolts and other fastenings of iron have entirely disappeared, ... rust had gradually consumed them, and discolored sand indicated the places where the iron once was. The wreck was embedded in marsh mud and covered deeply in sand. ”

“ Only a practised mechanical eye could detect a little inequality in her sides, in consequence of her having had a heel to port. We have replaced the keel, sternpost, stern-knee, part of the keelson, all the floor timbers, most of the first futtocks and the garboard strake on the starboard side; but the stem and forefoot, the top timbers and deck are gone. Enough of her, however, remains to enable us to form a fair estimate of her general outline when complete. The model made by D. J. Lawlor, Esq., embodies our idea of her form and size. ”

“ With a desire to furnish ship-builders, and others interested in naval construction, a plan of the ship, D. J. Lawlor, Esq., naval architect, has constructed a model of the hull, including the upper works, as they must have originally existed. ”

“ It moved the sand on the beach opposite [Highland] lighthouse to the depth of six feet, and three rods in width as far as we could see north and south, and carried it bodily off, no one knows exactly where, laying bare in one place a rock five feet high, which was invisible before, and narrowing the beach to that extent. ”

“ In a list of ships which sailed for Virginia in 1619, I find one of seventy tons, carrying fifty-one persons, and one of eighty tons, with forty-five persons.
The “Mayflower” was of “nine score” (180) tons burthen. The “Speedwell,” which brought the pilgrims from Holland to Southampton, and which was also intended for the voyage to America, but proved unseaworthy, was of sixty tons burthen. The “Fortune,” which brought twenty-nine passengers to Plymouth in 1621, was of only fifty-five tons. The “Little James,” which came in 1623, was of only forty-four tons. ”

“ The name, however, is of little consequence, compared with the identity of the ship,—and that, I think, is clearly established by the historical facts as given in your publication to which I have alluded. Eminent ship-builders who have examined the frame as now exhibited, are clearly of opinion that it dates far back in the history of naval architecture. ”

“ The fisherman sometimes gets his line entangled with them36 and pulls them up. During violent gales of wind they are sometimes loosened and driven to the shore.
“Beyond Slut’s Bush, about three miles from the shore, there is a similar ledge called Beriah’s Ledge, probably formed in precisely the same manner as Slut’s Bush ledge is known to have been formed. Six nautical miles south of Point Care, Gosnold discovered another headland, which he named Point Gilbert. ”

“ Truly, a most unique curiosity, and well worthy the attention of all men.
Mr. Livermore requested Messrs. Dolliver and Sleeper to communicate in writing all matters relating to the style of building, the condition of the hull, and any other particulars which might be of interest. Those gentlemen, having put planks and timbers together in their pristine shape, have furnished the following information in accordance with the request of Mr. Livermore ”