Cañon City record., 1899-03-02
MADE IN ONE NIGHT.
How the Harbor of Marshfield, Cape
Cod Bay, Was Formed
4 NostAsest Gale Piled Up the saAA
ead Created . Valuable Ar
shoraHe for the Coast
Shipping.


Years ago Marshfield, situated on
ECape Cod bay, about half way between
ECohasset and Plymouth, was a bus
tfiing little coast town, and was in fact
Eone Of the shipbuilding towns of note
in the country's earliest history. The
Famous trading brig Columbia, after
(which the Columbia river was named,
iswas built here. as were also several yes
sels used as privateers in the war of
i1sl2. If it had been allowed to work
put its own destiny. Marshfield might
even now be q thriving town like Es-
sex, which is known for its honest and
Thorough ship-building wherever the
| fishermen of New England guide their
restless keels. But nature intervened,
and walled the town up in prison. the
like of which may be seen at many
places on sandy Cape Cod
Originally the mouth OF the river
was at point nearly opposite thetown,
but gradually, as the soil washed down
by the river and the sand worked up
by the seat met, q bar formed extend
ing from the north side of the rivers
mouth across it, thus stopping the
swift, direct flow which had always
kept the channel free and clear. Then
the river turned south, and the sandbar
followed it, growing in size as the
flow of the river decreased. until it
hid become a good-sized promontory
inside of which the river flowed, with
an outlet far to the southwark of the
original one opposite the town Being
turned out of its regular channel in this
way, the river also broadened and shall
lowed. The current slackened, and the
deposits carried down by it were
dropped inside. instead of outside, the
mouth, while throughout the little
roadstea6 inside the old mouth islets
formed. SO that there were few good
places for a boat to lie. even if any
thing more than the shoalest draught
could have got in over the bars at the
mouth
Sc Marshfeld remained behind its
barrier of sand and peat until the night
Of November 26. when the big storm set
IN All night long the fierce north
east gale piled the water up against
the outside of the promontory, and on
the following daj, in conjunction with
the gale. came one of the highest tides
Of the year. The water rose until at
length il broke clear over . low place
in the promontory, between what are
known ~ third and fourth ciiffs, and
swept up into the river with all the
pewer Of the high tide and hurricane 1t
81 EaAk The river wns dfied until the
water ruse over the bridge and up
into the street at Marxhfield. and hun
dreds of acres of the big marshes ly-
ing TO the southeast of the town. and
from which il takes its name, were
covered several feet with water.
When all this immense body of water
started on its return to the sea with the
falling tide, it was impossible for it to
get out quickly enough by the shallow
and devious way through the mouth of
the river, so 1t went out in the way
most Of it had come in. by the break
made by the sea over the promontory,
and the securing of this strong tide
undid in single night the work of
many years. When the Marshheld folk
visited the place the next day they
found, where there had been solid
ground As hours before, clean-cut
channel, $50 feet wide and l3 feet deep
for its full width, through which the
tide ran like a millrace. while in the,
older mouth of the river there was
hardly and movement. For a mile or
more outside of the cut the water was
tiiscolored by the dirt and refuse
which were being carried out by the
current, and even then it was evident
the bars and isleis which had filed the
harbor were being washed away.
The work that began then has been
going steadily on ever since. Many of
the little islets which had formed in
the harbor have entirely disappeared.
| and Others are growing smaller every
day. There is a straight, free entrance
| 10 the sea, which is in more direct
line with the flow of the river than
even the old mouth of years ago. and
through which good-sized vessel can
enter at any stage of the tide. Inside
| of i; is a harbor large enough for quite
fleet to anchor, with good holding
ground and from 50 to 40 feet Of water
in most places. while the rush of the
tide appears TO be deepening both chan
mel and roaastead.
II matters continue as favorably as
! they have begun, the harbor thus
strangely created will be a very val
uable one. not only to Marshfield itself,
eu, TO our coast shipping, and even
more to our yachtsmen. Up to now
there has not been a single good harhor
on the south shore. as the outer harbor
of Plymouth is not safe anchorage
for small craft, and the inner harl,or
can be gained only by skilled plot.
Between Plymouth and Huh there are
only Sci,uate and Cohasset. Both of
these are shoal and the latter is with
ont sufficient protection from north
east gale.--Boston Transcript