Sea Log - Day Four - Jan. 10th, 2002 (Thursday--Continued)

Traveling on from Marblehead we made our way to Salem.  It was funny to hear the park people apologizing for all the things which were closed when, in fact, they had so much open.  The only loss was that there was very little connected with witchcraft--but that was no problem for me.

"Folks," I said, "This is a sea literature class, and we are here to learn about the maritime nature of this community.  Behind me I heard one of the park rangers gave forth a sigh:

"Thank you," she said.  "We have over three hundred years of history here and eight weeks of bad choices, and all people want to hear about are the bad choices."

Salem was settled in 1626, (just six years after Plymouth).  It is one of the ironies of history that those Puritans did what they did because they wanted to stamp out any trace of witchcraft from their community.  But because they acted as they did history has taken its revenge so that today, as their own web site says "Salem is known as The Witch City."

All manner of foolishness now fills the city streets during the spring and summer months.  Even our group found ourselves gapping at the Dungeon Bakery "We're just dying to server you" fully stocked with open coffins and skeleton waiters."

Meanwhile, there were several maritime exhibits in the actual visitors' center.  One of them was this meticulous model of The Peggy typical of the merchant ships which made Salem the premier harbor of the New England colonies for all of the sixteenth and much of the seventeenth century.  

So far reaching and numerous were the ships in her merchant fleet that many people around the world thought there was an actual nation called Salem.

Salem only began to lose her position when ships builders started making larger ships which required a deeper harbor, like the one found in Boston.

By the time Nathanial Hawthorne was working in the Counting House (which we also visited) Salem's holding were on the decline.  Still even then the counting house was an impressive structure reminding all visitors of the importance of merchant shipping to the area.

A short walk from the center we found ourselves at Salem's historical wharf.  They have actually moved one of the last surviving warehouses down to the sea shore (it has served several functions since its original construction) and is now part of the park service.  Tied up in harbor is the schooner Friendship.

"Will you guys hurry up?!"

Like most ships of the time, The Friendship has her figurehead, a woman striding into the unknown.

Here we all are are all in the captain's cabin thinking, "I could hang out here.  Yep, the captain's life for me." 

At least that's what I was thinking especially after looking over the bunks of the crew down below.

Here's Jeremy looking rather nautical.  He's a natural!