Eastchester and Pelham 431 



considered healthful, as the island extends so far into the 

 Sound, and the great water-front of Pelham Bay Park with its 

 lack of villages and towns prevents the contamination of the 

 water by sewage. Row-boats, sail-boats, and small launches 

 are plentiful ; and there are dozens of places at which they can 

 be hired for sailing and fishing, while several of the hotels and 

 restaurants have more than a local fame. The fishing has 

 always been famous, though fallen off within the past quarter 

 of a century, according to the local anglers. Bolton gives 

 some marvellous stories of successful catches, both as to in- 

 dividual sizes of fish and to quantity, and as he was a clergy- 

 man we are, perforce, obliged to believe him. 



So self-contained and isolated were the population that when, 

 after annexation, so the story goes, one of the assistant super- 

 intendents of schools of the city visited the local school for 

 purposes of inspection, the population waited upon him en 

 masse and notified him that they had been able to get along 

 for over a century without supervision, and that they did not 

 propose to have their teachers and children bothered by super- 

 intendents from the city. They have, however, conformed to 

 the inevitable, and now have a fine, modern building, in which 

 the city provides not only instruction for the children, but 

 once a week, from October to May, also furnishes a free lecture 

 in the evening. The colonial entrance to the school building 

 seems peculiarly fitting to the locality. 



Probably, the greatest object of interest on the island is the 

 "Macedonian Hotel." It bears the following legend: 



This House is thz remains of the English Frigate "Macedo- 

 nian," captured on Sunday, October 25th, 18 12, by the United 

 States Frigate "United States/' commanded by Capt. Stephen 

 Decatur, U. S. N. The action was fought in Lat. 24° N., Long. 

 2Q°jo' W., that is about 600 miles N. W. of the Cape De Verde 



