SQUANTUMS. STEAMBOATING. 301 



" he speaks of Squam as being covered for a great part 

 with wood at the time of the first William Bunker, 

 when the marauding French robbed his house and 

 obliged him to pilot their vessel around the shoals i nd 

 Great Point, as far as Tarpaulin Cove, but gives 

 no date. It was probably between 1690 and 1700. 

 William Bunker died in 1712." 



Squantums. 



This is doubtless an Indian word; but whether used 

 by them as it is used to-day is uncertain. In Nan- 

 tucket parlance Squantum means a clam-bake, picnic, 

 or good time generally, out of town. To visit Kan- 

 tucket and not " go on a Squantum " would be just as 

 culpable on the part of the visitor as for a Harvard 

 student to go over to Boston and neglect to call at 

 " Parker's." 



STEAMBOATING. 



It is a noticeable fact that two of the greatest neces- 

 sities of modern times, steamboats and newspapers, 

 steam and journalism, made their advent at Nantucket 

 the same year. 



In 1816 the little steamer u Eagle " commenced 

 making trips between this port and New Bedford. 

 She brought into the harbor the ship " George," the 

 first Nantucket whale ship ever towed by steam. 



The " Eagle " was followed by the " Hamilton," and 

 she in her turn by the " Marco Bozzaris," the latter 

 being sent here about the year 1829 by the celebrated 

 Jacob Barker. 



