Legends & Lost Cushing
The stories the record cannot settle.
A pirate on the western shore. A merman in a canoe. Lights on the ledges. Tunnels under the batteries. These are part of the island's history as culture even where they are not part of it as fact — and the interesting work is separating the two in public, rather than quietly dropping either.
For each legend: what would actual evidence look like, and why has it not turned up?
- c. 1632Dixie Bull haunts Casco Bay
New England's first documented pirate operates in Casco Bay. Local tradition — not primary sources — places him along Cushing's western shore.
- c. 1650Mitton's 'Triton' in the Bay
Michael Mitton — Cleeves's son-in-law and the island's third English owner — tells John Josselyn about chopping off the hand of a merman while fowling around the island by canoe. Sargent identifies the 'small Island' of Josselyn's account as Cushing itself.
- 01Stand at Lobster Cove & Crab PointPlace · Lobster Cove & Crab Point — Legend · c. 1632
- 02Who was Michael Mitton?Person · Michael Mitton — Third English owner; Casco Bay's mermaid witness
- 03Open the case file: The Dixie Bull LegendCase file · The Dixie Bull Legend — Case file V
- 04The story they still tell: Dixie BullLegend · Dixie Bull — Legend
- 05The story they still tell: Ghost lights on the ledgesLegend · Ghost lights on the ledges — Legend
- 06The story they still tell: Michael Mitton and the TritonLegend · Michael Mitton and the Triton — Legend