THE VEGETATION OF MONTAUK II 



fencing their fields at their own costs and charges, and observing the rules 

 of laying them open as is before prescribed. 



"And the said Indians and their posterity shall have liberty to keep 

 upon the said land two hundred and fifty swine, great and small; the said 

 Indians paying all such damage to the English as they shall sustain by the 

 rooting of the said swine; and to keep horse kind and neat cattle not 

 exceeding the number of fifty in all, and to get hay to winter them ; but they 

 are not to take any horse kind, cattle or swine to keep for any other person, 

 nor to sell, give or any way dispose of any grass or hay to any person 

 whatsoever; nor shall they have liberty to permit or let out any land to 

 any person, either to plant, sow, or any other way to improve. 



"That the said Indians and their posterity after them shall have liberty 

 to make use of so much of that timber of the town on this [west] side of the 

 Fortpond [the Hither Woods] as they shall need to fence in their general 

 field, after they have used all the fencing stuff^ that is upon the Northneck, 

 if the English do not lay out that land into parcels or lotments and improve 

 the same. In testimony hereof, we the parties to these presents have here- 

 unto set to our hands and fixed our seals enterchangeably, this 3rd day of 

 March 1702/3." 



From this it appears that there was certainly both timber and grassland 

 at Montauk, both east and west of Great Pond, but ten years later there 

 can be no doubt about the shortage of timber, for records of the town of 

 Easthampton, dated April 7, 1713, have this to say about the question; 



"Also in regard of the scarcity for timber at Montauk for the enclosures 

 and for the prevention of its being destroyed or improved to wrong uses, 

 it is ordered by the said Trustees that whosoever shall presume to fell or 

 cut down tree or trees standing on any part of Mentauk [another old 

 spelling] or carry or any way bring off from Mentauk any part of its growth 

 by land or water except such as have authority so to do by virtue of some 

 former deed or contract or by permission from the Trustees for the time 

 being, he or they for so offending shall forfeit to the use of said Trustees 

 for each and every tree felled or cut down aforesaid the sum of ten shillings 

 and for each and every load of timber any way carried off as aforesaid 

 the sum of forty shillings." 



At the end of the year, in casting up the accounts of expenses of Mon- 

 tauk, which was a common pasturage, appear two significant items, thus: 

 To Jeremiah Miller for carting 1,000 feet s. d. 



of boards to Montauk 5 6 



To Stephen Leek for carting 2,000 feet 



of boards to Montauk 13 o 



In fact in 1676 there were already signs that our ruthless ancestors 

 began to see where their methods would lead them, for David Gardiner 

 in his "Chronicles of the Town of Easthampton" says: 



"The rapid diminution of timber had attracted attention as early as 

 1676, when at a Court of Sessions held at Southold, by his Majesty's 



