312 THE ISLAND OF NANTUCKET. 



tucket Railroad. It is about three and one half miles 

 from town. Cool and refreshing breezes are always 

 blowing here, and an unobstructed view of the ocean 

 can be obtained. A depot and restaurant have been 

 erected, and the railroad company contemplate build- 

 ing a hotel at no distant day. A few hundred feet 

 from the depot is the United States Life Saving 

 Station. The tract covers about four miles of the 

 shore, is uniformly high and level land, is well 

 grassed over, many varieties of wild flowers are to 

 be found in the vicinity, and it is well adapted for 

 building sites. 



Swain's Neck. 



Swain's Keck or Nashayte (" the neck ") makes into 

 Polpis Harbor. F. C. Sanford, Esq., who has a farm 

 here, says, " Old Spotsa covered Swain's Neck with 

 shells a foot deep, that are visible in places every 

 time the land is ploughed." It is possible Mr. San- 

 ford may be mistaken in regard to these shells hav- 

 ing been deposited at this point by the hand of man. 

 It seems probable that this mass of shells is only 

 a part of the immense stratum which underlies the 

 whole island (page 33), and which at this* spot trends 

 nearer the surface. The compiler believes that if 

 some geologist will make an examination here, many 

 facts of interest might be ascertained. By examining 

 the deed of Thomas Mayhew to the purchasers of the 

 island (page 164), it will be seen that at the time he 

 made the sale he was uncertain whether he should 

 reserve for himself Nashayte or Masquetuck, but as 

 history shows, decided upon the latter; and yet, after 



