190 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [AprR. 24 
Nevertheless, when he comes to his general conclusions these 
show a remarkably correct idea of cause and effect. Thus, he 
continues : 
A more probable opinion is, that Long-Island, and the adjacent conti- 
nent were, in former days, contiguous, or only separated by a small river, 
and that the strait which now divides them was formed by successive 
inroads of the sea, from the eastward and westward, in the’ course of 
ages. 
Between Long-Island and the continent there are several shoals, with 
rocks scattered over them, which are, apparently sunken or wasted islands. 
These remains of what was, probably, in former days, upland of as great 
height as the neighbouring islands, afford strong evidence of the leveling 
power of the waves. 
Manchonack, the Isle of Wight, or Gardiner’s-Island, is an irregular 
body of land, lying obliquely between Montock and Oyster-Pond points. 
Here too the earth is crumbling down, and yielding to the impulse 
of the waves: for, besides the wasting of other parts of the shore, a part 
of the island, which was formerly connected with a point or headland by 
a high beach, has, within a modern period, been separated by the tide. 
The separated portion is called Ram-Island. 
Plumb-Island. There can be no reasonable doubt that this detached 
piece of land was formerly connected with Long-Island at Oyster-Pond 
point, from which it is now distant about three-quarters of a mile. 
The Indian tradition is, that the distance was formerly very small. . 
The Gull-Islands are two small portions of land and rocks, lying N.E. 
of Plumb-Island, and were apparently once connected with it, and with 
each other. 
Fisher's-Island . . . is now comprehended within the town of 
Southold. There is aseries of rocks, reefs, and shoals in a N.E. direc- 
tion from the N.E. Gull-Island, about seven miles, until Fisher’s-Island 
begins. Evidently these are the remains of the ancient continent, which 
many ages ago stretched across this space. 
Thus writes one of the earliest observers in the region which 
we have to consider, and the first, so far as I am aware, to note 
the indications of former land connection between Long Island 
and the main land. His conclusions were, of course, drawn 
from general appearances only, but it will be of interest to note 
how they agree with the facts discovered and made known by 
subsequent observers, some of which facts it is the object of 
this paper to discuss. 
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