Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-26
THE ISLES OF SHOALS.
Beautiful Gems Of the Sea of Which
Edna Dean Proctor Writes.
MCEA NSHERMEN'S STRONGHOLD.
Thar Story Goes Back Before the ha5-
flower Landed the RlgrimA
TIE DELIGHTS OF THEIR CLIMATE
ccoxRDsPoNDENM OF THE DfsrAT0Ai
THE ISLES OF SHOALS, July 70

ccoxRDsPoNDENm OF THE DrsfAroAf
THE ISLES OF SHOALS, July rs
Ione islets of the northern sea,
In summer ewes ye shine
| Like the happy isles where the blessed Do
Far out on the cleaning brine.
And fair White Island lifts its light
When the storm-wtnds rave togetnsz'
A merciful star to the mariner
Through all the wintry weather.
The historic Isles of Shoals lie off Ports
mouth, N H, ten miles to sea- Climate
depends as much upon environment as upon
Iatitude-the conformation of shores, the
mountain barriers, the trend of the valleys,
the prevailing winds. 1t Is not merely the
fancy of enthusiastic visitors that these
islands have a soft clearness OF SKY
and tempered GOODNESS of air peculiar to
| the reach of water and coast lying between
Cape Ann and the headlands of Maine.
Careful observations show that the ther,
mometer here has unusual steadiness, and
often while Boston and Portland may be
lost in fogs or drenched with rain the
shoals and the opposite shore have serene
days unmarried BY mist or storm; and one
may sit upon the piazza and see the black
clouds gather over the lower course OF the
Merrimack and its mouth at Newburyport,
and watch the slanting rain fall and hear
the thunder roll, while in that charmed cir
Gle of the seas all is light and peace.
On a Steamer in Portsmouth Water.
o, the Joy of fleeing from the heat and
hurry and dust of New York and Boston,
and finding ones self in the late afternoon
on board the Shoals steamer in Portsmouth
water Around are the quaint old ware
houses and churches of this interesting lit
tie city, which was in its prime 100 years
ago, and whose spacious antique dwellings
could tell many tale Of the stately men men
and women of bygone days. As the boat
glides down the Piscataqua, whose broad,
deep channel makes Portsmouth one Of the
best harbors on the seabofrd, passes the
navy ward on the left and Newcastle on the
right, with its picturesque mansion, the resi-
dence of the last Colonial Governor, the
cool, salt breeze comes refreshingly to your
brow; YOU catch the faint sound of the bell
as the buoy floats with the tide; the coast
recedes, the weight of care is lifted, is for
gotten and rest comes as balm to your soul
Those dim outlines on the horizon, grow
ing stronger and more rosy as you advance
in the glow of the setting sud, are the Isles
of Shoals. They are seven or eight in num-
ber, as you view them at high or low tide,
some 600 acres in extent, and Appledore,
Haley's and Star are the largest three. Be-
tween Appledore, Star and Portsmouth the
boats ply thrice day.
How the Islands Got Their Name.
The sea in this vicinity teens with fish,
especially cod, and it was from these great
schools or shoals that the islands were
named. They were included in grant of
land each side the Piscataqua river made in
1851 to Sir Fernando Gorges and Captain
John Mason. In 1886 the owners divided
them, anne exing them to their respective prov
inces; the northerly half, including Apple
dore. going to Maine, and the southerly half
including Star and White Islands, to New
HAMPSHIRE For over 30 years Appledore,
which has more than half the acreage of the
entire group, was the principal settlement;
but in 1879, when New Hampshire became
q royal province, most of the people crossed
the harbor to Star Island and henceforth re-
mained there.
Years before the Mayfower dared the sea,
navigators and fishermen had cruised along
the coast and noted these islands, and in
1914 Captain John Smith, OF Pocahontas
fame, described them particularly, took
possession of them as proprietor and called
them Smiths Isles. A cove on Appledore
still bears his name, and a poor marble
monument on the highest point of Star re-
cords his exploits and seeks to honor his
memory.
We're Going to Eclipse Boston.
The settlers hero and in New Hampshire
and Maine were principally adherents of
the royal cause and of the State Church and
were, therefore, obnoxious to Puritan
Massachusetts, It seems strange at this
day to know that the Episcopalians of that
time had little belief in the growing and
lasting Importance of Boston. A company
of them from Holderness, Yorkshire, set
tied in pleasant spot near Lake Winnipe-
saukee, called it Holderness its present
name)and intended 1t to be center Of relig-
ious and educational influence, and quite
to eclipse the Puritan town by the sea.
The Shoalers seem to have been, in the
main, notwithstanding their succession of
excellent clergymen, rather Indifferent to
both law and religion. Jenness, in his his
tory of the islands, speaks of them as Wig
orous, lawless population, given to strong
drink and independence, regardless of rules,
and as little amenable to fines as the Goldfish
In the sea. He narrates that one of their
preachers, desiring to produce an impress
sion upon them, told them Of wreck in Ip-
switch Bay, and asked them what they would
do if death stared them thus in the face
"What?'' exclaimed one of his hearers;
'fh'ist the forest and scud away to Synaml'
Fishing was their livelihood and riotous fun
their diversion. Everything yielded to the
necessities of ''the catch"
Went on Strike for Bonnets.
The church even was sometimes used as
storehouse and service was broken up at
any moment if school of mackerel ap-
peared. Some 80 years ago, when the popula-
tion of Gosport had greatly diminished
and missionary came to them at stated
times. he noticed one Sunday morning that
none of the women were in attendance.
Inquiring the reason, he was told they had
heard that the women on the mainland
wore sbunnits" to church instead of hand
kerchiefs or uncovered hair, and as they
regarded their presence merely as favor to
the preacher, they had resolved not to go
unless they could have "bunnits," too
Going back to Portsmouth he made q col
lection of castof headgear and dispatched it
to the Shoals. At the next service all the
women, young and old, were in their seats,
satisfied and smiling, their bronzed faces
encased in the styles of the previous quar-
ter of century.
What rugged, rollicking, boisterous set
of fellows must have congregated at these
islands in the early days; the reckless, dare
devil sailors and fishermen of many port;
pirates rowing the seas and glad to put in at
safe and remote harbor; fugitives from JUS
tice; enterprising traders securing the coast
Il