296 A Century of Science 



out of the township we seem to see a reminiscence 

 of the ancient threefold partition into town mark, 

 arable mark, and common. The " east gate," near 

 the corner of Harvard and Linden streets, and the 

 "west gate," at the corner of Ash and Brattle, 

 marked the limits of the town in those directions. 

 The town was at first comprised between Harvard 

 Street and the marshes which cut off approach 

 to the river bank. Afterward, the " West End," 

 from Harvard Square to Sparks Street, was grad- 

 ually covered with homesteads. The common be- 

 gan, as now, hard by God's Acre, the venerable 

 burying ground, and afforded pasturage for the 

 village cattle as far as Linna3an Street. The re- 

 gions now occupied by Cambridgeport and East 

 Cambridge contained the arable district with many 

 farms, small and large, but everywhere salt 

 marshes bordered the river, and much of the coun- 

 try was a wild woodland. The tale of wolves killed 

 in Cambridge for the year 1696 was seventy-six, 

 and a bear was seen roaming as late as 1754. It 

 was a rough country which the British first encoun- 

 tered when they landed at Lechmere Point in 1775, 

 on their night march to Lexington. Cambridge 

 then turned its back toward Boston, to which the 

 only approach was by a causeway and bridge at 

 what we now call Boylston Street, and by this route 



