312 THE ISLAND OP NANTUCKET 



and sailed away to sea; many, very many, never to 

 return. These wharves, alas! have been for many 

 years slowly going to decay. It is to be hoped that at 

 no very distant day they may again be made available 

 for the uses of commerce. 



The names of the wharves are as follows: — 



Commercial Wharf. 



Old South, or Swain's Wharf. 



Straight Wharf. 



Old North, or Perry's Wharf. 



New North, or Steamboat Wharf. 



Wrecks. 



In his valuable book, " A List of the Wrecks around 

 Nantucket," Mr. A. H. Gardner says: — 



" The chapter of wrecks is perhaps one of the sad- 

 dest as well as one of the most interesting in the his- 

 tory of Nantucket. Lying as it does directly in the 

 track of vessels plying between the principal Ameri- 

 can ports north and south of the island, the waves 

 which dash upon its barren shores, or break in angry 

 foam upon the shoals and rips near by, have reaped a 

 harvest of shipwreck and death almost unparalleled 

 elsewhere upon the American coast." 



At 'Sconset, and at various other points about the 

 island, placed in conspicuous positions, may be seen 

 here and there the figure-head of some noble ship, or 

 a piece of board having upon it the name of what 

 once was a beautiful vessel, the pride alike of her 

 owner, captain, and crew. These senseless blocks of 

 wood tell eloquent stories of storm, of sunken rock, 

 of unknown shoal, of treacherous sea, of dangerous 



