Brown of this city. Judge Bell claimed ownership of the pond and its beaches to high-water mark. The claim was found not to be good in law, but to avoid litigation the city, by its water board, paid $2,000 for whatever right Judge Bell had. An Indian tribe is said to have lived on the island and left marks of occupation visible fifty years since (Bell, History of Chester). In the middle of the last century or thereabout valuable pine lumber was drawn by sled across the lake in winter to await the opening of navigation on the Merrimack.

Opposite Deer island is a triangular piece of land of considerable extent called in early times Papoose island, later known as Fletcher's. It was, however, a part of the main land, but when the water commission built a dam at the outlet of the lake, the low lands about were so flooded that it had to be reached by a bridge. This bridge was built by the brothers Fletcher, who also built a carriage way from the Proctor road and fitted the grounds for pleasure resorts.

The larger of the two sheets comprising the lake contains 1,370 acres, and the smaller 1,130. In depth it is rather shallow, and is said on no particular authority to measure 50 feet off Battery point. The sources of supply to so large a body of water are not at first sight visible. It will be noticed, however, that the surrounding territory is of considerable height. The lake, according the Hitchcock's survey, being 256 feet above the level of the sea, and at Maple falls mill dam in Candia, 407, and in other affluents in Manchester and Hooksett still higher. More recent surveys by the United States government make this estimate seven or eight feet too high.

The watershed line runs through Northwood to Saddleback mountain, south of west through Deerfield to Allenstown line. near Shingle ponds, then on a course through southwest part of Candia to Patten's hill. According to the survey in Eaton's history of Candia and the map prepared by the late ex-Governor Weston and Joseph B. Sawyer, C. E., the visible sources are as follows: One stream rises at summit on the dis

used track of the Portsmouth & Concord railway in Candia, runs nearly northwest to Hooksett line, thence southwest and south to Tower hill pond, supplying in its course Maple falls and Genessee mills Leaving Tower hill, the stream runs through Clark's pond, after which it is augmented by a stream from little Massabesic, bringing water from Murray and Preston's mill brooks in Candia. In addition to the above named, a small stream rising in Hooksett discharges into the back pond, and still another small stream, rising in two sources west of the railroad, finds its way into the lake through the Proctor estate.

It is estimated to drain a territory of forty square miles, and to have a circumference of twenty-nine miles Tradition has

it that the first settlers learned to use fish manure from the Indians, and that a thousand shad or alewives put on to an acre of ground would increase the crop fourfold. The practice was followed to such an extent that in 1739 the general court of Massachusetts ordered that no bass or cod should be taken for

manure "except their heads and offals." The next year an article was inserted in the town meeting warrant of Chester, "to see if the town would take measures to prevent the killing of fish as they come into Massabesic pond any more than what is for family support." The use of fish manure seems to have caused no little trouble. It is told that a certain good woman in the Massabesic region was so scandalized at what she considered the inordinate greed of the farmers who planted a whole fish with each hill of corn that she prayed for the punishment of such waste, whereupon dogs and wolves came and dug up corn and all. In connecton with this legend it is worthy of notice that the selectmen of Ipswich about the same time passed the following: "It is ordered that all dogs for the space of three weeks after the publishing hereof shall have one legg tied up. If a man refuse to tie up his doggs leggs, and he be found scraping fish in the corn field the owner shall pay 12s. besides whatever damage the dogge doeth."