Ye antient wrecke—1626

by Charles W. Livermore; Leander Crosby

“On the 6th of May, 1863, Messrs. Solomon Linnell, 2d, and Alfred Rogers, of Orleans, were on Nauset Beach, and discovered portions of a wreck. Mr. Linnell was at the same place on the 4th, when no part of the wreck was visible. This proves that it was uncovered between the 4th and 6th of May, 1863. When first discovered, it was partially covered with the marsh mud in which the wreck had been embedded. On removing some of the mud, they found a quantity of charcoal, and the appearance of the timbers and planks indicated that the vessel of which these were the remains had been burnt.[6] On Saturday, May 9, Leander Crosby, Esq., visited the wreck, and collected a quantity of beef and mutton bones; several soles of shoes, probably made for sandals; a smoking pipe of the kind used by smokers of opium; and a metallic box.”

Dr. Benj. F. Seabury and John Doane, Jr., afterwards visited the wreck, and found the rudder lying a few feet distant; this they removed, and it is now deposited in the hall of the Pilgrim society, at Plymouth. Messrs. Seabury and Doane took measurements of the ship, and public attention was now drawn to a consideration of the subject.

“The peculiar model of the wreck excited the curiosity of the people, and although four miles from the village, it was visited by hundreds, and each one took a fragment as a memento of his visit. At the time the writer was there the current had swept out a basin in the sand around the wreck, and it being low tide, every part excepting the keel could be examined. One striking part was immediately noticed by everyone,—the long, tail-like projection at the stern. The oldest sailor never saw a vessel built on that model, she must have had, to use a nautical expression, “a clean run,” and have been a good sea-boat.... She had been most carefully built. The frames were placed side by side.... There were twenty-three regular frames remaining, or forty-six timbers, not counting the six at the stern. At the bow several frames were missing. The planks were fastened with spikes and treenails, in the same manner as at the present time. Some of the treenails had been wedged after they were first driven, showing that some repairs had been made.

“The timbers and planks of the old ship are very sound, 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. Under such circumstances air was almost wholly excluded, and oxidation must have been slow.

“Though called a ship, she had only one mast, and that as shown by the mortise in the keelson, was nearly midship.”

“In August last, the wreck was again covered with sand, and is now buried several feet below the surface, where it may remain undiscovered for ages. Centuries hence some plodding antiquarian may labor to prove it to be the same I have described in this article.[7]

“One point remains to be considered. Is the wreck recently discovered a part of Capt. Johnston’s ship, lost in 1626? The reader will look at his map. ‘Ile Nawset’ was of the drift formation, hilly, and in some parts rocky. No part of it now remains. About fifty years ago, a small portion of it, called Slut’s Bush, had not washed away. The sand on its shores, and most of which has been washed by the currents from the north, has blown inward by the winds, covering the meadows within, and in some places filling the navigable channels and harbors on the west. In some places the waves of the ocean have swept across the beach, and transported immense quantities of sand to the meadows in a single tide.”

“The wreck of the Old Ship is on the second lot of the Potanumaquut meadows.[8] This was always known as the Old Ship lot, but why it was so called no one could explain. Now the reason is apparent. 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 two 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. Similar causes existed then, and it is safe to assume that Capt. Johnston’s vessel was covered up very soon after she was lost.

“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. 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. The position of the wreck in reference to navigable waters, to the salt meadows, and to the beaches is reliable testimony.

“Now it is perfectly certain that this wreck must have been in its present position since the year 1750, or 113 years, for since that date there have been no navigable waters within a quarter of a mile of the spot where it lies. It is also certain that it must have been in its present position during all that period, prior to 1750, while the meadows were forming around it, and on the west. If it is admitted that those meadows are of recent formation, one hundred years would be a low estimate, making the whole time 213 years.

“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.