The history of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By a committee of the Dorchester antiquarian and historical society ...

314 HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
reimburse to the Province its expenses at Cape
Breton. The sum was ~183,649 2s. 7.d.
During the summer of this year there was a
drought, which appears to have been of longer continuance, and therefore more severely felt, than any
which has been recorded since. Blake gives the
following graphic account of it.
" This Summer was the Severest Drought in this Country,
as has ever been known in ye Memory of ye oldest Persons
among us. It was a dry Spring, and by ye latter end of May
the grass was burnt up so that ye ground looked white; and it
was ye 6th daj of July before any Rain (to speak of) came.
The Earth was dried like Powder to a great depth, and many
Wells, Springs, Brooks & small Rivers were dried up, that
were never known to fail before. And the Fish in some of
ye Rivers died. The Pastures were so scorched that there was
nothing green to be seen, and the Cattle waxed poor, & by
their lowing seemed to call upon their Owners for Relief, who
could not help them. Although the dry Grass was Eaten so
close as that there was but a few thin spires to be seen, yet
several Pastures took fire, and burnt fiercely. My Pasture took
fire near ye Barn (by a Boys dropping a Coal of fire, as he was
carrying fire to ye water-side) and tho' there seemed to be so
little Grass, yet what there was, and ye ground, was so dry that
it blazed and flushed like Gun-Powder, and run very fast along
ye ground, and in one place burnt some fence; and we were
forced to work hard to keep it from ye Barn, & to extinguish it;
having ye help of sundry men that happened to be here. It
spread over about half an Acre of Ground before we could stop
it; and where there was lumps of Cow-dung it would burn till
ye whole lump was Consumed, & burn a hole in ye ground; and
we were forced to use much water to quench it. There was a
great scarcity of Hay, being but a very little cut, of ye first
Crop; & salt marsh failed near as much as the English Mea