The Society's work.
Publication of the society's work for two years has been omitted, but is here resumed.
The season of 1921-22 was opened by a special meeting on September 21, the three hundredth anniversary of the coming here of white men.
Report of recent meeting at
Hingham of the Bay State League was given.
It was attended by
Dr. Green,
Messrs. Ackerman,
Dunham and
Eddy and Mr. and
Mrs. Mann.
A letter and program of celebration was received from the
Annapolis, N. S., Historical Society.
A finely executed book of their anniversaries was later received.
The president then announced the subject of the evening, ‘The visit of
Myles Standish and his party to the site of
Medford on September 21, 1621,’ and called
Miss Atherton, who read an extract from the oration of
Charles Sprague (
Boston, July 4, 1825), ‘The Disappearing
[p. 24] American Indian.’
The president then spoke on Indian trails, read from ‘Paths and Legends of
New England Border and of the
Mohawk Trail,’ and then asked
Mr. Charles Daly to read extracts from ‘
Mourt's Relation’—the
Expedition of the
Massachusetts, which he did.
Then
Mr. Wilson Fiske gave his impression of the visit thus described.
This was also given in the current issue of the register.
The president then called attention to a large framed lithograph hanging at the right of the chair.
It was published in 1873 and is now very rare.
It is the ‘March of
Myles Standish,’ and was loaned to the society by
Mr. Mann the next speaker called upon, who reviewed the story just read in the original.
He traced the march of the
Pilgrim band from their landing place, where
Charlestown was yet to be, ‘in armes up through the country,’ and located the places mentioned, placing the ‘cornfield’ on the
Winthrop-Royall farm, the king's lodge on
Rock hill, his burial place on Sagamore avenue, his death on Grove street hill-top, and the futile search for the
Squa Sachem at Wedgemere.
They found but one Indian brave—he a sorry specimen—but the primitive ‘Daughters of
Pocahontas’ were numerous, regaling the adventurers with a fish dinner and escorting them for a part of their return.
He also quoted
Bradford's account of the same, and closed with allusion to ‘seeds of life and death,’ told of by the
Boston orator of a century ago. (This appeared in the
Mercury, October 7, 1921.)
Some discussion of the event was indulged in by those present (about the usual number and one visitor) and so passed an unusual opportunity into history, unheeded by any save our Society.
