The Portland daily press., 1883-10-09
SUMMER OF 'es IN oAsco BAY.
BY ADAM NEwBEdIN


| cottage system is but just commencing here |
aud but few non-resdents have built, yet |
| Peaks Island lots are passing into the hands
OF strangers, and Cushiug's Island cannot fail
| to soon attract wealthy cottagers from the |
southwark, who will find that protection from
intrusion, in the plans of the propretors, which |
| they fail to find IN many other places. Our
| own citizens are rapidly yielding to the at
traction. On Peaks Island many new cottages
have been built so that the number is
probably doublsd. The same is trne of Little |
Diamond, which shows very attractive row
of them overlooking the anchorage ground.
On Diamond Island they have increased from
five to twelve. Evergreen Landing stands still
owing to the dying Of the spruce trees there.
but at every other point cottages are going up,
and also on the Cape and Falmouth shores.
People who have not learned the fascina-
tions of island life, cannot comprehend whv
any should care to spend long summer there.
but the illuminate, who are initiated in thu |
mystery OF the sea, know its charms and quiet
~ steal away to 1T, and leave it sadly when
autumn hath blown. There is charm in the
air, in the sky and in the water, indescribable.
but potent, which sets the young men and
maidens rowing idly over the water, and the |
small boy playing quietly on raft for hours by
himself, forgetting to shout or disturb any
body. This love of the islands is not new to |
Portlanders, for the Oldest resident looks back
to them as bright spots in his youth, the exile
from home, when he thinks of his native town
recalls the green islands shimmering in the
bay, rather than the dear old tree-lined streets
even though his memory brings them up with
| tie light of the Indian summer sun streaming
| through the autumn leaves; and, if be is for
tunate enough to revisit the old home he is
not happy until he has been to Diamond Cove
and had chowder, and got benighted down
the harbor, as in the olden days. 1t has al
ways been so. Master Michael Milton loved to
paddle among the islands, shooting and fishing,
and before his time the Indians came hither in |
large parties to spend the sweet summer days.
The must have come in larger parties still, at
an earlier day, judging from the shell-hesps.
Oar friend W. G. engaged me to pace the |
shell-heap near the bar between Diamond
Islands, this summer, and found It fifty BY
forty feet in dimensions But over BY the
farmhouse, on the bank fronting Trefethen's
Landing, is great shell heap two hundred
feet long by ninety wide. When we think
what little heap of shells we find after an ex-
cursion party have dined on CLAIMS nowadays,
we cannot but conclude that immense numbers
have Toasted here, or else very hungry In
dian has come often.
have labored diligently at that big hesp
this summer anxious to find good arrow
head as a relic of the aborigines MY labor
was in vain so far as arrow-heads were con-
cerned, and am almost persuaded that the
Indians did not 60 a-gunning after CLAIMS with
bows and arrows. But that is not logically
proved by the absence of arrow-heads, for
found no traces of the tools with which the
CLAIMS were captured; and yet, am convinced
from the similarity of the shells TO those
of the modern clam, that the Indians
must have had something to dig with
since the clam is not the kind of bird
to come to the call and be roasted I
shall leave that question for our Natur-
al History Society to debate, assuring them at
the same time that did not find single oys-
ter Shell in the heap, fact which may bta
upon one of their recent discussions, and also
Informing orr historians that there do not APP
pear there any quahog shells, no matter how |
many they nay find on other islands, which |
are not supposed to be named after that amia- |
bic and excellent shell-fish. This latter fact |
eonvinces me that the Indians did not give |
this island that name, not to mention that In |
dams did not give names to islands, but to par
ticular camping spots
In this connection it occurs to me to say that
the name Diamond is more appropriate to the
island than to the Cove, for but few
| specimens of crystals can be found at
the Cove, while the interior is full
| OF rocks containing them. The old stone
fences are built of such, and visitors have had
rich harvest of them this year, where the
fences have been torn away to ballast the new
wharf.
was almost afraid to explore the island this |
summer, fearing that the wood-choppers might |
have wrought devastation, but the work seems
to have been done iudiciously, and new paths |
ana new views are opened up. Clearing out |
the dead trees will give access to many beauti- |
ful spot which were not approachabIe before, |
and the fine trees will be preserved from the |
always present danger of destruction by fire. |
1t is sad to see how many magnificent trees |
have been wantonly destroyed by yachting par
ties who have builded fires against them, but |
such trespassers are likely to be kept away in |
future.
The Diamond Island Association have still |
an important work to do before the island will |
De accessible at low water. The present chan |
mel to the Farm wharf will not admit the |
larger steamboats,, and it will soon become in |
dispensable that wharf should be run out |
from the point to the south of that. which /
approaches close to the channel, 80 that any of |
the boats can come in at any state of the tide. |
n
season, and the Inconvenience has not been |
much felt this year, but in two years there will |
be forty or fifty families to be accommodated. |
and with their hosts of visitors the demand |
Will be overwhelming. The new wharf on |
the north side will not supply the demand,
because for every trip made to that side there
will be half dozen on the south side. and |
any one who inspects the narrow channel
which has been dredged there will perceive |
that the same impeachment will exist at that |
place. 1t is obvious that you cannot fully |
realize on summer residence unless YOU can |
get TO It, But 1t is SO easy to reach the channel |
from the point mentioned that of course the
association will build there at the earliest
moment as an economical measure.
The new restaurant, although not vet mt to
-
religious services, but has been used for social
gatherings, and when the cottagers from both
Great and Little Diamond islands are gathered
there, with their friends from town, gayer
company or merrier dance can not be found.
The courtesy of Capt. Willard, the manager of
the steamboat company, in running boat for
such occasions has been very gratifying, both
to the cottagers and to their city friends.
But the great interest of the past summer
has been the rivalry between the Garden and
the opera at Peaks Island. The young folks
have not tired going over afternoon and even
ing to attend them, and the little ones are full
OF quotations from Mr.. Punch, and continually
csroling forth
"You can't keep the working men downl'
This company's season at the island has GER
tainly done more to introduce good music
among the people than many seasons Of more
pretentious troupes uptown. The very deck
hands gently sing, "gobble, gobble," and the
gate-tender softly bleats "ba-a"
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