Cape Cod (Mass.) -- Fiction; United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Fiction
It is no part of our present purpose to describe minutely the
difficulties which followed the arrival of the “Spencer.” We feel that
this story may fitly end with the triumph of Hoppy Mayo; but, for
those who are unacquainted with the story of the Cape during the war
of 1812, it may not be amiss to quote the Rev. Enoch Pratt, historian
of Eastham: “The commander sent a barge, and demanded of the town
twelve hundred dollars in specie, threatening that, if it was not paid
in twenty-four hours, he would land with a force sufficient to burn,
indiscriminately, the vessels, dwelling-houses and salt works of the
inhabitants.”
After protracted negotiations, the reverend historian tells us, this
was agreed to, and the British gave a written promise not to molest the
town further during the war.
There was much criticism of the Committee of Safety for this compliance
with the British demand, but a majority of the people upheld the
decision. Tribute was also paid by the town of Brewster, but the
people of Orleans indignantly refused to capitulate and stubbornly and
successfully resisted all attempts of the enemy to land on their shore.
The end of the year 1814 saw the conclusion of hostilities on Cape Cod.
The stout warrior, Old Dick Raggett, sailed away for England, and with
him went that gallant and courteous officer, Herbert Fotheringay.
After the war, Eastham greatly increased in prosperity. Uncle Jabez
Rich soon succumbed to the infirmities of his great age, but most
of the worthy citizens mentioned in our story enjoyed the blessings
of peace and plenty for many years and left sturdy descendants to
perpetuate their names. Crosby’s famous tavern no longer exists to
afford the local gossips a meeting place; it is now a comfortable
farmhouse, and the inquiring stranger can still be shown the apartment
in which the captured British sailors held high revel with their Yankee
captors.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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