THE RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR. 121 
partook of rcfreshnioiit.s in a primitive way. A few ilini'd 
at the hotel. At 2.30 p.m. the nicetiiii^' was called to or- 
der, the president in the chair. In the absence of the 
secretary, who was detained at the rooms in Salem, Capt. 
George M. Whipple was chosen secretary ^ro ^em. 
Prof. E. S. Morse was the first speaker ; he discoursed 
upon the shell heaps found in this vicinity. He thought 
they were of great age ; one proof of their antiquity men- 
tioned was that the bones of the great auk, a bird now sup- 
posed to be extinct, are found in great abundance in these 
heaps. These birds were once numerous, but only a few 
specimens are now preserved in any museum. A molar 
tooth of a polar bear has been found in heaps near Port- 
land or Portsmouth showing that the heaps were made when 
the climate was cold enough for that animal many centu- 
ries ago. Professor Morse also spoke upon the gradual 
change in the shape of the clam, attributed to a change in 
the climate of these regions. 
Abner C. Goodell, jr., was the next speaker. He s[)oke 
of the value of old records ; regretted that the earliest peo- 
ple did not make any reco*'d of their lives and habits. 
He compared the present modes of recording and present- 
ing the facts of history to the limited opp(n-tunities of the 
olden times. The art of photography, had it been in use 
in the early days of New England, would have preserved 
to us views of great interest and value. John Smith in 
1614 mentions "PUmib" Island and said it was covered with 
mulberries pro])ably mistaking those trees for plum trees. 
Baker's Island, Mr. Goodell said, was named for Isaac Ba- 
ker, who was killed on that island while felling a tree. 
He said the imperfect account of the early years of Amer- 
ica should teach us of the present time, faithfully and fully 
to put on record the events great and small of to-day. 
John H. Sears spoke in reference to the peculiar geo- 
