THE F/A'ST YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC. 33 I 



work, there was nothing to be gained. A violent storm 

 of the heartless northeast variety packed their sluice full 

 of sand, choking the whole scheme in the first winter.* 



But another method was tried by Elisha Doane and his 

 colleagues. Long sluice boxes or canals were planned to 

 reach from the inside of the dam down to the sea, so that 

 all the water of the harbor might be let out so that nearly 



Photo, M. II.I{e:iniy. 



Cunningham Bridge (the old wooden one). Outlet ok Little 



Harbor, formerly Cuba Dam. 



Taken from the side of Mohawk Hill. 



one hundred acres could be laid bare to the sun and thus 



could be transformed from a salt marsh to fresh meadows. 



The canal or flume or "trough," as it was variously 



called, had to be made about two hundred feet long in 



* The tradition of this event comes from Caleb Nichols, Sr. A few years ago, 

 after the new road had been built along this beach, it settled at a certain place 

 so much, that some digging was' done to see what was the matter ; they found the 

 soft place underneath was the old sluice. 



