186 EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY. 



Few settlements, and but little alteration occurred with Cape Island 

 until recently. 



Thomas H. Hughes, Jonas C. Miller, R. S. Ludlam, and the 

 Messrs. McMakin, were among the first to venture the experiment 

 of erecting large and commodious boarding-houses, who were fol- 

 lowed by a host of others, and an impetus was given to the enter- 

 prise, that has built up a city where a few years ago corn grew and 

 verdure flourished. 



As a watering-place it stands among the most favored on the 

 coast, and the shore and bathing grounds are perhaps unrivaled. 



In 1689, as noted in deeds to William Jacocks and Humphrey 

 Hughes, the distance from the sea across the island to the creek 

 was 265 perches. As the deed calls for a line of marked trees. It 

 must have been on the upland, at which place the distance has been 

 greatly reduced by the inroads of the sea since that time. 



In 1'^.56 Jacob Spicer advertised' to barter goods for all kinds 

 of produce and commodities, and among the rest particularly de- 

 signated wampum. He offered a reward of £5 to the person that 

 should manufacture the most wampum ; and advertised, " I design 

 to give all due encouragement to the people's industry, not only by 

 accepting cattle, sheep, and staple commodities in a course of barter, 

 but also a large quantity of mittens will be taken, and indeed a 

 clam shell formed in wampum, a yarn-thrum, a goose-quill, a horse 

 hair, a hog's bristle, or a grain of mustard seed, if tendered, shall 

 not escape my reward, being greatly desirous to encourage industry, 

 as it is one of the most principal expedients under the favor of 

 Heaven, that can revive our drooping circumstances at this time of 

 uncommon, but great and general burden." 



In another place he advertises for a thousand pounds of woolen 

 stockings, to supply the army then in war with the French. He 

 succeeded in procuring a quantity of the wampum, and before send- 

 ing it off to Albany and a market, weighed a shot-bag full of silver 

 coin and the same shot-bag full of wampum, and found the latter 



