[Illustration:  The Portal of the canal]

This river, now obliterated by the Cape Cod canal, had its origin in Great Herring Pond in the Plymouth woods and flowed by a rather circuitous route into Buzzards Bay at a point near the present railroad bridge over the canal.

It was in 1627 that the colonists established a trading post on the banks of this river, the exact point being known and marked.  It was on the south side of the river a short distance south of the Bourne bridge spanning the canal.  This structure was built for the purpose of facilitating their intercourse with the Narragansett country, New Amsterdam (New York), and the shores of Long Island sound.  By transporting their goods up the creek from Scusset harbor (Sandwich) and transferring them to what is now Bournedale by land, they reached the boatable waters of the Manomet (or Monument) river and the open waters of Buzzards Bay.

Governor Bradford says; “For our greater convenience of trade, to discharge our engagements, and to maintain ourselves, we built a small pinnace at Manomet, a place on the sea, twenty miles to the south, to which by another creek on this side, we transport our goods by water within four or five miles and then carry them overland to the vessel; thereby avoiding the compassing of Cape Cod with those dangerous shoals, and make our voyage to the southward with far less time and hazzard.  For the safety of our vessel and our goods we also there built a house and keep some servants, who plant corn, raise swine, and are always ready to go out with the bark—­which takes good effect and turns to advantage.”

The first communication between the Plymouth colony and the Dutch at Fort Amsterdam was through this post.  With a ship load of sugar, linen and food stuffs, De Razier, the noted merchant, arrived at Manomet in September, 1627, and Governor Bradford sent a boat to Scusset harbor to convey him to Plymouth.  There the trading was done and the first merchandising venture of New England consummated.

In 1635 a tidal wave swept over this part of the Cape on the 15th of August, destroying the trading post and partially filling the river with sand.

When the white men came Bourne contained other Indian hamlets beside Manomet.  At the south was Pokesit (Pocasset) and still to the south was Kitteaumut (Cataumet), while to the north of all these was Comasskumkanit, the home of the Herring pond Indians.

Bourne is the first town reached when driving Capeward.  After passing through Wareham from the west and nearing Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod and the town of Bourne is entered after passing over the new concrete bridge over Cohasset Narrows, the most northerly arm of Buzzards Bay.  This fine concrete structure, completed last year at an expense of about a quarter of a million dollars, is really the “Portal of the Cape,” although there is another way to reach it from the direction of Plymouth, also passing through the town of Bourne.