THE SEA AND THE DESERT. 
183 
fenced with four lengths of rail ; also a fence made 
wholly of hogshead-staves stuck in the ground. These, 
and such as these, were all the cultivated and cultiva¬ 
ble land in Provincetown. We were told that there 
were thirty or forty acres in all, but we did not discover 
a quarter part so much, and that was well dusted with 
sand, and looked as if the desert was claiming it. They 
are now turning some of their swamps into Cranberry 
Meadows on quite an extensive scale. 
Yet far from being out of the way, Provincetown is 
directly in the way of the navigator, and he is lucky who 
does not run afoul of it in the dark. It is situated on 
one of the highways of commerce, and men from all 
parts of the globe touch there in the course of a year. 
The mackerel fleet had nearly all got in before us, it 
being Saturday night, excepting that division which had 
stood down towards Chatham in the morning ; and from 
a bill where we went to see the sun set in the Bay, we 
counted two hundred goodly looking schooners at anchor 
in the harbor at various distances from the shore, and 
more were yet coming round the Cape. As each came 
to anchor, it took in sail and swung round in the wind, 
and lowered its boat. They belonged chiefly to Well- 
fleet, Truro, and Cape Ann. This was that city of 
canvas which we had seen hull down in the horizon. 
Near at hand, and under bare poles, they were unex¬ 
pectedly black-looking vessels, fieXaivai vrjes. A fish¬ 
erman told us that there were fifteen hundred vessels in 
the mackerel fleet, and that he had counted three 
hundred and fifty in Provincetown Harbor at one time. 
Being obliged to anchor at a considerable distance from 
the shore on account of the shallowness of the water, 
they made the impression of a larger fleet than the ves- 
