Conclusion.
The news of Hoppy Mayo’s exploit caused intense excitement in Eastham
and the neighboring towns. The Orleans militia company and the Brewster
artillery hastened to the Eastham beach and assisted in guarding the
captured British. The prisoners were escorted to Crosby’s tavern where
they were hospitably entertained. The remainder of the cask of rum was
brought ashore and it was welcomed by all those who liked a gill. At
first, the British tars were bewildered in their strange surroundings
when they recovered from the debauch of the morning, but they accepted
the new conditions in the best possible spirit and were soon on the
friendliest terms with their captors. Local tradition in Eastham has
preserved the memory of that night of revelry at Crosby’s when friend
and foe clasped hands and clinked glasses as brothers. Phil the Fifer
lilted his merriest notes and Peter Walker’s ballads were sung and
evoked enthusiastic applause from all hands.
Hoppy was hailed as the hero of the hour. He bore his honors with great
modesty and disclaimed any extraordinary merit for the part he had
played.
Win Knowles had not yet returned to Eastham and some were of opinion
that there was something queer about his failure to return to the
“Spencer,” but Hoppy strenuously maintained that Win had acted wisely,
as his chances of doing any good with the money were slight. Besides,
he had told Win not to feel anxious about the matter.
Hoppy gave a full account of his adventure to the Committee of Safety.
The worthy chairman warmly expressed the Committee’s appreciation of
their townsman’s gallantry and resourcefulness, but he had grave doubts
about Captain Raggett’s attitude when the news should reach him. He
would surely exact retribution for an act which humiliated the pride
of King George’s navy.
It is no part of our present purpose to describe minutely the
difficulties which followed the arrival of the “Spencer.” We feel that
this story may fitly end with the triumph of Hoppy Mayo; but, for
those who are unacquainted with the story of the Cape during the war
of 1812, it may not be amiss to quote the Rev. Enoch Pratt, historian
of Eastham: “The commander sent a barge, and demanded of the town
twelve hundred dollars in specie, threatening that, if it was not paid
in twenty-four hours, he would land with a force sufficient to burn,
indiscriminately, the vessels, dwelling-houses and salt works of the
inhabitants.”
After protracted negotiations, the reverend historian tells us, this
was agreed to, and the British gave a written promise not to molest the
town further during the war.
There was much criticism of the Committee of Safety for this compliance
with the British demand, but a majority of the people upheld the
decision. Tribute was also paid by the town of Brewster, but the
people of Orleans indignantly refused to capitulate and stubbornly and
successfully resisted all attempts of the enemy to land on their shore.
The end of the year 1814 saw the conclusion of hostilities on Cape Cod.
The stout warrior, Old Dick Raggett, sailed away for England, and with
him went that gallant and courteous officer, Herbert Fotheringay.
After the war, Eastham greatly increased in prosperity. Uncle Jabez
Rich soon succumbed to the infirmities of his great age, but most
of the worthy citizens mentioned in our story enjoyed the blessings
of peace and plenty for many years and left sturdy descendants to
perpetuate their names. Crosby’s famous tavern no longer exists to
afford the local gossips a meeting place; it is now a comfortable
farmhouse, and the inquiring stranger can still be shown the apartment
in which the captured British sailors held high revel with their Yankee
captors.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.