A New England Coastal Wilderness

Abstract

navigation difficult and risky. Constant wind and intermittent storms also eroded beaches, blocked channels with sand, and sent dunes marching across prime agricultural land. From first years of settlement until middle of nineteenth century, New Englanders dreaded coastal zone a wilderness beyond their capacity to shape and to cultivate. Long after transformation of forest wilderness to farmland and villages, entire New England coast remained an objectification of chaos. In first years of colonization, approach to coast meant relief and terror. Thus we parted from land, which we had not much before desired, and at first sight rejoiced, wrote James Rosier in 1605 of a harrowing experience among shoals that his ship entered, as now we all joyfully praised God, that it had pleased Him to deliver us from imminent danger.' Fifteen years later, Mayflower fell amongst dangerous shoals and roaring breakers, according to William Bradford. He recalled hours of horror vividly that he devoted one paragraph in his history of Plymouth Colony to named shoals and headlands of Cape Cod, among them Point Care, Tucker's Terrour, and Malabar, and another to his approval of Seneca's remarks on perils of travel. Although his history emphasized forest wilderness, Bradford never ignored ocean chaos immediately east of New Plymouth. The colonists found themselves beached like jetsam flung ashore, and they soon learned perils of shallow-water coastal navigation.2 Accurate charts might have lessened danger of Mayflower by instructing her master in safe channels and anchorages, but Christopher Jones had no such charts. John Smith cautioned in 1616 that the coast is yet still but even a coast unknown and undiscovered, largely because charts were so unlike each to other, and most differing from any true proportion, or resemblance of country, they did me no more good, than much waste paper, though they cost me more.3 Rosier's encounters twelve years before resulted largely from sea charts very false, putting land where none is, but not for centuries did mariners master difficulties of charting New England