Bootleggers, Lobstermen Lumberjacks: Fifty Of The Grittiest Moments In The History Of Hardscrabble New England [Paperback]

The story of New England is built on an endless armature of fascinating tales of Yankee ingenuity and hardy, intrepid characters.Bootleggers, Lobstermen, and Lumberjackstakes the top fifty wildest episodes in the region's bygone days and presents them to the reader in one convenient, narrative-driven package. Including incredible but true tales of hardy Yankee hill folk and crusty seafarers engaged in all manner of amazing activity—from witch-hunting to log rolling, sometimes with tragic results—this book is a perfect stroll through New England's past for resident and visitor alike. Yankee history is rife with all manner of shipwreck victims surviving any way they know how; Indian, pirate, and shark attacks, cougar and bear attacks, and, of course, rum runners and bootleggers doing what they do best.

Matthew P. Mayois the author of several fiction and nonfiction books, includingCowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears(TwoDot, January 2010) and the Western novelsWinters' War,Wrong Town, andHot Lead, Cold Heart. Raised in Rhode Island and Vermont, he has spent much of his adult life in Maine, writing about the state forDown Eastand other publications. Visit him at matthewmayo.com.Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Pilgrims' Progress

A rough Atlantic crossing is followed by frigid temperatures, scurvy, starvation, and death. . . . Welcome to the New World. (1620)

2. Dungeon Rock

In a cave near Lynn, Massachusetts, pirate Thomas Veal guards his treasure—until the Great Earthquake of 1658 buries him alive. (1658)

3. The Great Swamp Fight

The Narragansetts are attacked deep in Rhode Island's Great Swamp by a force of 1,200. Three hundred children, women, and old people are shot, bludgeoned, and burned to death. (1675)

4. The Candlemas Massacre

Five hundred Abenakis raid York, Maine, killing, kidnapping, and bulã