DIVIDING THE I AMD. I37 



of the First Division, evidently granted at some previous 

 time. 



There is no relief from our perplexity in saying that the 

 pioneers made so serious a mistake in their measurements. 



Something more remarkable than that has happened. 

 The marshes themselves have disappeared. In other 

 words, the slow subsidence of our coast, referred to in the 

 second chapter of this book, has drowned out nearly half 

 of our pioneers' marsh lands in Little Harbor. The loss 

 sustained by the slow movement of these two hundred and 

 fifty years is clearly seen upon the north side of Cooper's 

 Island, where four acres of salt meadow were granted to 

 Thomas Barnes and David Phippeny, but where nothing 

 of it now remains above the salt water. There was a 

 successful scheme which checked this loss by subsidence, 

 made in the early part of this century, when the salt 

 water was kept out by Cuba Dam at the site of the present 

 bridge, and the whole harbor was turned into a fresh 

 meadow. But the pioneers happened along in the nick of 

 time, before the sea had submerged the much-needed 

 meadows. 



After the necessary reimbursements had been made for 

 the settlers' losses at Nantasket, the Second Division* was 

 laid out by the committee of nine. 



Some ten lots of this second group lay along the south 

 side of Little Harbor, and the remaining six lots were at 

 Sandy Cove. These all lay upon the north side of the 

 familiar highlands in that part of our town which the 



* The allotments were as follows : — 



r.ol. Name. Acres. 



ID Matthew Lane ii^ 



11 Richard Langer 1 1/, 



12 Thomas Lincoln (husbanciman ) 2 



13 Thomas Gill 2 



14 Henry Gibbs 1 1^, 



15 Samuel Parker 1 1/, 



16 John Stoddard, Sr. i 1/, 



Total 28 14 



