And Thomas Veal, who
was buried in his cave by the Great
Earthquake.
In the year 1658 there was a great
earthquake in New-England. Some time
previous, on one pleasant evening, a little
after sunset, a small vessel was seen to
anchor near the mouth of Saugus river. A
boat was presently lowered from her side,
into which four men descended, and moved up
the river a considerable distance, when they
landed, and proceeded directly into the
woods. They had been noticed by only a few
individuals; but in those early times, when
the people were surrounded by danger, and
easily susceptible of alarm, such an
incident was well calculated to awaken
suspicion, and in the course of the evening
the intelligence was conveyed to many
houses. In the morning, the people naturally
directed their eyes toward the shore, in
search of the strange vessel--but she was
gone, and no trace could be found either of
her or her singular crew. It was afterwards
ascertained that, on the morning one of the
men at the Iron Works, on going into the
foundry, discovered a paper, on which was
written, that if a quantity of shackles,
handcuffs, hatchets, and other articles of
iron manufacture, were made and deposited,
with secrecy, in a certain place in the
woods, which was particularly designated, an
amount of silver, to their full value, would
be found in their place. The articles were
made in a few days, and placed in conformity
with the directions. On the next morning
they were gone, and the money was found
according to the promise; but though a watch
had been kept, no vessel was seen. Some
months afterwards, the four men returned,
and selected one of the most secluded and
romantic spots in the woods of Saugus, for
their abode. The place of their retreat was
a deep narrow valley, shut in on two sides
by craggy, precipitous rocks, and shrouded
on the others by thick pines, hemlocks and
cedars, between which there was only one
small spot, to which the rays of the sun at
noon could penetrate. On climbing up the
rude and almost perpendicular steps of the
rock on either side, the eye could command a
full view of the bay on the south, and a
prospect of a considerable portion of the
surrounding country. The place of their
retreat has ever since been called the
Pirates' Glen, and they could not have
selected a spot on the coast for many miles,
more favorable for the purposes both of
concealment and observation. Even at this
day, when the neighborhood has become
thickly peopled, it is still a lonely and
desolate place, and probably not one in a
hundred of the inhabitants has ever
descended into its silent and gloomy recess.
There the pirates built a small hut, made a
garden, and dug a well, the appearance of
which is still visible. It has been supposed
that they buried money; but though people
have dug there, and in many other places,
none has ever been found. After residing
there some time, their retreat became known,
and one of the king's cruizers appeared on
the coast. They were traced to their glen,
and three of them were taken, and carried to
England, where it is probable they were
executed. The other, whose name was Thomas
Veal, escaped to a rock in the woods, about
two miles to the north, in which was a
spacious cavern, where the pirates had
previously deposited some of their plunder.
There the fugitive fixed his residence, and
practised the trade of a shoemaker,
occasionally coming down to the village to
obtain articles of sustenance. He continued
his residence till the great earthquake in
1658, when the top of the rock was loosened,
and crushed down into the mouth of the
cavern, enclosing the unfortunate inmate in
its unyielding prison. It has ever since
been called the Pirate's Dungeon. A part of
the cavern is still open, and is much
visited by the curious.
This rock is situated on a lofty range of
thickly wooded hills, and commands an
extensive view of the ocean, for fifty miles
both north and south. A view from the top of
it, at once convinces the beholder that it
would be impossible to select a place more
convenient for the haunt of a gang of
pirates; as all vessels bound in and out of
the harbors of Boston, Salem, and the
adjacent ports, can be distinctly seen from
its summit. Saugus river meanders among the
hills a short distance to the south, and its
numerous creeks which extend among thick
bushes, would afford good places to secrete
boats, until such time as the pirates
descried a sail, when they could instantly
row down the river, attack and plunder them,
and with their booty return to the cavern.
This was evidently their mode of procedure.
On an open space in front of the rock are
still to be seen distinct traces of a small
garden spot, and in the corner is a small
well, full of stones and rubbish; the
foundation of the wall round the garden
remains, and shows that the spot was of a
triangular shape, and was well selected for
the cultivation of potatoes and common
vegetables. The aperture in the rock is only
about five feet in height, and extends only
fifteen feet into the rock. The needle is
strongly attracted around this, either by
the presence of magnetic iron ore or some
metallic substance buried in the interior.
The Pirates' Glen, which is some distance
from this, is one of Nature's wildest and
most picturesque spots, and the cellar of
the pirate's hut remains to the present
time, as does a clear space, which was
evidently cultivated at some remote period.
The Dungeon Rock and Pirate's Cave,
at Lynn, Mass.
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