REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 35 



The whale-ships ordinarily came to anchor in the outer harbor. 

 My father, John H. Jones, built a dock on the east side of the inner 

 harbor to facilitate their outfitting, and I have seen a vessel fitting 

 out at that dock for a three j^ears' voyage to the Arctic ; but the 

 great rise and fall of the tide prevented the experiment being a suc- 

 cess, and the original anchorage was resumed. The great rise of the 

 tide — some 7 feet — was in one respect an aid outside, for, lying at 

 anchor several months, the anchors sank so deep in the mud that 

 the windlasses of the vessels could not start them, and when the 

 chains were hauled taut for the vessel to pull by the rise of the tide, 

 it often took several tides before the windlasses could weigh anchor, 

 necessitating three days in breaking anchorage. 



There were two post-offices by the name of Cold Spring in this 

 State, and the delivery of letters became so confused between the 

 one on the North River and the one on lyong Island that the name 

 of the lyong Island village was changed to Cold Spring Harbor. It 

 was then made a port of entry, an honor which I believe it still re- 

 tains, but the income is very limited. Many of the deserted build- 

 ings were torn down — one because it interfered with the view of the 

 outer harbor from this house ; two or three have been modified so 

 as to be of present use. The inner harbor, with its clear water, was 

 in those days a constant source of amusement. A prett}^ sandy 

 shore at the lower end of these grounds, with a clean sand-bar ex- 

 tending out, was a delightful place for youngsters, especially from 

 the district school near b}', to bathe at medium tide, and I never 

 failed in taking advantage of this sport. A legend was long current 

 that General Washington, on his way from Oyster Bay through the 

 island, halted at this school-house when being erected and gave per- 

 sonal aid in raising the first rafter. At low tide the water largely 

 covered the bottom, and at the deep hole a number of acres were 

 always filled with 5 to 6 feet of water, even at the lowest tide, 

 which permitted a pleasant pastime for young people to fish and se- 

 cure results worth serving at the table, the incoming tide always 

 bringing in a fresh supply of fish. Occasionally, but at long inter- 

 vals, one or two porpoises might be seen sporting in the inside water, 

 but as soon as the tide turned to ebb they made for the outer harbor 

 and no effort to stop them ever succeeded, as they dived under or 

 leaped over the string of boats stretched across the narrow entrance 

 to stop their escape. 



The next change, particularly on the west side, assumed a scien- 

 tific aspect. 



