ee a a ee ae 
eh ean 
—— ae 
= s 
se ae ee er a 
at Plymouth, in fact, by King James. 
good, old nurse” saw fit to take it away from her chil- 
dren, and to leave in its stead the beautiful islands. 
There is hardly one that has not its legend of wrecks, of 
fishing vessels or of colony days. 
’ One of the largest of the islands along the Shore ‘s 
Plum Island, which lies near the mouth of the Ipswich 
river. © It was important in marine affairs, because of its 
location, and was early supplied with a beacon light, 
afterwards replaced by a light-house. This island was 
granted to Capt. John Mason very early in colonial his- 
tory, during the year after the landing of the Pilgrims 
The grant des- 
cribed it as: “The great isle, henceforth to be called the 
Isle of Mason, lying near or before the bay, harbor, or 
river of Agawam.” The General Court of Salem set 
off part of the island to the town of Ipswich (Agawam) 
in 1639, and for many years, the place has been called 
Plum Island, on account of the abundant wild plums 
which grow there. Such, at least, is the generally ac- 
cepted opinion. 
The islands of the Gloucester region seem to have 
played an important part in the history of the North 
Shore. They include many, whose names have been 
made famous by the pens of great poets and by the 
graphic records of the Revolutionary period. — Five 
Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor, is one of the latter. 
In the year, 1775, after the battle of Bunker Hill, the 
ship “Falcon” was sent to the assistance of the British, 
with a brave sailor, Captain Lindsay, in command. The 
vessel came to Ipswich Bay, to the mouth of Annisquam 
Harbor, and, on the eighth of August, overtook two 
schooners from the West Indies, capturing one and chas- 
ing the other into Gloucester, where she ran ashore on 
Five Pound Island. Captain Lindsay was thus able to 
capture his prize, but he paid dearly for the privilege, 
for a hot battle with the Gloucester men followed. Five 
Pound Island received its name from the price, five 
pounds, which was paid for it. ‘The same is true of 
Ten Pound Island, of which the colonial records of 1644 
say: “Ten Pound Island shall be reserved for Rams 
onlie; and whoever shall put on any but great Ramms 
shall forfeit 2s. 6d. per head.” 
In the days when pirates added to the dangers of 
the good ships sailing out of Gloucester Harbor, the 
General Court of Salem offered 35 pounds for each 
pirate hung. After the John Phillips episode, the 
pirates, who were caught, met with a summary end, and 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 9 
Beach Scene near the New Ocean House, Swampscott. 
their bodies were hung as a warning to other wrong- 
doers from the limbs of trees on an island, which was 
named from the occurrence, “Hangman’s Island.” 
Like many another along the Shore, Thacher’s Is- 
land, or as it is sometimes spelt, Thatcher’s Island, was 
named for one of those catastrophes which were so com- 
mon when our forefathers went out to the open sea in 
the crude vessels of the day. In 1635, a pinnace sailed 
from Ipswich bearing the Rev. John Avery with his 
wife and six children, Anthony Thacher with his wife 
and four children, two other passengers and four 
mariners. The boat was bound for Marblehead, where 
Father Avery had been called to preach to the fishermen, 
but on the rocks, ever since called ‘““Avery’s Woe,,” she 
struck and sank. Every soul on board save Anthony 
Thacher and his wife, who were cast upon, and rescued 
from, the island to which they afterwards gave their 
name. In 1771, Thacher’s Island became the property 
of the Colonial Government, and two light-houses which 
are called the “Cape Lights” were erected there within 
a year’s time. 
These are a few of the stories of the many islands 
in this section and while the others, such as Milk, 
Obadiah Bruen’s, Cow, Norawaie, Cormorant, and 
Eagle Islands have just as interesting, if more obscure 
traditions, they may not all be written here. Continuing 
down the coast a little way is Kettle Island, one of the 
prettiest islands along the Shore, and, moreover, one 
which has figured in the history of Manchester and 
Magnolia from the beginning, for was not the first set- 
tler at Magnolia (Kettle Cove), John Kettle, who built 
the very first dwelling in Manchester on the property, 
which is now included in the estate of the late Hon. T. 
Jefferson Coolidge? ‘The island is quite reasonably sup- 
posed to have been named for John Kettle, as it is men- 
tioned as Kettle Island in records as early as 1634, when 
five men of Salem were drowned in the vicinity. An- 
other interesting island in this neighborhood is the pic- 
turesque, little Dana’s Island, which lies in front of the 
first summer home of which Manchester ever boasted, 
that of the writer, Richard Henry Dana. 
The islands of Marblehead Harbor vie with those 
of Gloucester in their treasures of traditions and legends. 
Cat Island, now Irnown as Lowell’s Island, was once the 
cause of a hot controversy between the residents of 
Marblehead and the governing powers of Salem. The 
latter, much against the wishes of former, decided to 
