My ‘impossibles’ with Dighton Rock!

 By Manuel Luciano da Silva, Medical Doctor

(1)    My first ‘impossible’ with Dighton Rock happened  when I was a student in  High School in Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal, and my history  teacher João  Santos (an excellent teacher) told  me in class: “Luciano, when you go to America,  I want  you to go and see the Dighton Rock where  Miguel Corte Real inscribed his name  and then send me a photo of that rock”.

At that time, in 1943, I did not want to become an emigrant.  I did not want to come to America, but  my father sent me an ultimatum: “Either you come or  you take care of yourself alone in Portugal!”  And I came with my mother and my brother to Brooklyn, New York, so our family could live together.

The only thing I knew then in Portugal was that a family descendent of the Corte Reais  living in  Cidacos,  a borough of Oliveira de Azeméis, had a  farmhouse about  nine hundred feet from our house. They were isolated by a high wall. We thought they were  blue bloods.

(2)    My second ‘impossible’ about Dighton Rock was when I was already living in Brooklyn,  New York City and wanted to find out where the rock was located. I was very much surprised to learn that the rock was more than two hundred miles (300 kilometers ) from our residence in the big city.  So I decided to visit  the large New York Public Library to uncover  more information about Dighton Rock and I encountered  a book entitled “Dighton Rock” published by Professor Edmund Burke Delabarre in 1928. It was a big surprise for me  to learn  that the face of the inscriptions was covered by tidal waters twenty hours per day by the Taunton River and that the Dighton Rock was totally abandoned!

(3)     At that time (1947) it was impossible for me to visit Dighton Rock. I was not able to find anyone  that could go with me – even if I offered  to pay for the gas – to  see the rock and obtain the photograph to send to my favorite teacher João Santos. There  were no highways yet in America. The best way for me to travel  was to use the railroad from New York to Providence, Rhode Island  and rent a car and search  the location where the rock would be about 30 miles from Providence. But I was yet a minor. I was not yet 21. I had to wait one more year so I could reach 21 to be able to rent a car.

(4)       In August  1948 when I was already  21, and using my  summer vacation  days  from New York University where I  was a student, and with  financial help from  my mother, I got my guts together  and went looking for my  first encounter with Dighton Rock.  It was on a Thursday, August 14, the anniversary of the great Battle  of Aljubarrota  in 1385  when the Portuguese defeated  the Spanish   to defend  our  independence.

(5)     I took the train at Grand Central Station  in New York and arrived in the city of Providence just before noon. I rented a car without any difficulty, and followed  Route 6 in  the direction of Fall River. Before crossing the Taunton River I turned  to the  north onto  Route 138 directly  to the Town of Dighton. Up to here I had no problem because I had studied very well all the road connections.  Once in the Town of  Dighton I started  asking   various people where Dighton Rock was  located and NOBODY  could help me. I decided then to go the Dighton  Police Station,  and I told them that I was a student from  New York University,  that was doing a research paper about the Dighton Rock inscriptions and they told me that Dighton Rock was located on the other side of the Taunton River and I should go to see  the Berkley Police. They drew  a road map for me, called the Berkley Police informing them that I was going there, and when I got to the  police station in Berkley, and an  officer  took me to see  the Dighton Rock. We followed  the Bay View  Avenue and then we had to walk through a path  about 400 meters until we got to the left bank of the river. When we got to  the site of the rock we could not see the Rock because it was entirely  covered by  high tide!    It was ‘impossible’  for me to see the rock!    My bad luck!  

August 14, 1948,  when I saw the rock for the first  time under the tidal water

We returned to the Police Station to find out when  low tide  occurred  on the following day. I had to sleep in a motel in Fall River  and return next morning  at 10 AM to meet,  for the first time, the face of  Dighton Rock! What a terrible disappointment. It was all covered with lichen and with stinky mud from the sewage of the City of  Taunton! I did not take any photograph to send to my beloved teacher João Santos!  

I tried to buy the book “Dighton Rock” by Delabarre , but it was all sold out and at that time there were no  machines to make  copies  in  New York Library.

(6)   Another ‘impossible’ that surprised me very much was the ignorance of the American  people  and even  high schools  and universities teachers regarding  the Great Portuguese World Discoveries and much more so  with regard to Dighton Rock!  Because of this it  was for me a great surprise to find out  that there was a professor at New York University teaching Portuguese! At that time in 1948 New York University was the largest university in the world because of its  large number of students and it published a catalogue with courses   descriptions and  the names  of the professors. It was this way that I was able to go the third floor and meet  Professor José Dâmaso Fragoso who was teaching Portuguese. We became acquainted and even good friends. Later  on I found out that Fragoso was very  much interested  in the history of  Dighton Rock and  even in 1928 had invited   Professor Delabarre to come to New York  City to give a lecture about his discovery  of  the Miguel Corte Real Theory.  Further more I found out that Fragoso had discovered  three Crosses of the Order of Christ engraved on the face of the Dighton Rock.

With this data  it was decided to incorporate in the State of New York a non-profit organization entitled  “Miguel Corte Real Memorial Society, Inc”, on September 25th 1951. The  Portuguese American officers were:  José Dâmaso Fragoso, Manuel Luciano da Silva, Antone S. Pimental, Hermínio Martins da Silva, and António S. Pires. Fragoso was chosen to be the president and I was selected to be secretary-treasurer.

(7)      My other ‘impossible’ concerning the Dighton Rock was my departure for  Portugal to attend the Medical School at the Coimbra University where I obtained  my  Medical Degree with distinction.   This was a long interruption  of six years.  In the mean while many things occurred in the United States  of America related to  Dighton Rock.  

(8 ) Another disappointing  ‘impossible’ for me  was  to discover,  when I was a student in Coimbra,  the total disinterest   and even antagonism towards the   Dighton Rock inscriptions by the professors of history  who never saw the face of  the rock.   This attitude is similar to  making   a medical   diagnosis without ever  examine the patient!  

This is a terrible mistake  and should never occur!

(8)    When I returned  to New England  in 1959 as a physician I had occasion to observe that several  things had  happened related to the famous Dighton Rock. 

First – “The Miguel Corte Real Memorial Society, Inc”. from  New York City had purchased  in 1952, fifty  acres  of land contiguous to  Dighton Rock to create a park.

Second – Two years later this land was acquired by eminent domain by a Proposal  submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature  by Senator Edmund Dinis for the purpose of establishing  the  Dighton Rock State  Park.

Third - When Fragoso found out about the acquisition of the land by the State   he became  so furious  that  he even moved from New York to live in New Bedford so we could appeal  the takeover  of the land by the  State. He lost the appeal  and after this   episode  he began antagonizing everyone, including the authorities  and members of the media.

Fourth -  It was this unpleasant environment that I came to encounter  in 1959 when I began  my internship at  St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.   Afterwards  I was  admitted to the famous Lahey Clinic in Boston to obtain my specialization in Internal Medicine.

On September 1960 I traveled  to Portugal, got  married,   and  participated in  the First International Congress of the  History of the Discoveries  held in the University of Lisbon  on second  week of  September,  where  I delivered my lecture on Dighton Rock inscriptions with a film and color slides.  My presentation merited the front page of Lisbon newspapers.

Fifth -  On Wednesday, December 14^th, 1960, Fragoso knocked  at the door of my apartment in Boston, taking a furious attitude against me, saying that he was  the one that should have  gone  to the  International Congress of History   in Lisbon, that  he suspected I was  taking  sides with  his enemies, etc.  I immediately saw that he was not mentally well,  that he had become  paranoid,  and I told him  that I was sorry,  but  I could never again  work with him  on matters  dealing with Dighton Rock.  I bade  him goodbye forever. I never spoke with him again  since that date.  I realized  immediately that if I wanted  to preserve the Dighton Rock I had to do it  my way. This  was what I did.

Even though I severed  relations with Fragoso,  I   ALWAYS gave him credit for  his historical discoveries in my publications in English and  Portuguese.

(9)    My next ‘impossible’ took place on  January 24^th 1961 when a Public Hearing took place  in the Capitol in Boston on a Proposal to move  the rock out of the water and place it  on a dry cofferdam.  Because Professor Francis Rogers, who taught Portuguese at  Harvard University came to object,  as a s. o. b., and  the bill was not admitted into  the House of  Representatives.  The following year,  I  found out first  when Harvard University was on vacation and arranged for the Public Hearing  for  the same Proposal to be  held during the same vacation  period,  and it passed without any objection. It was  approved by the House of  Representatives, by the Senate and signed by the Governor.  

When Professor Rogers found out what had  happened it was  already too late!

(10)  Another “impossible”  was when the sum of fifty thousand  dollars was approved to elevate the rock eleven feet and to construct a cofferdam, and the Engineers  of the Department of Natural Resources were not sure  if the rock was a bolder or  the tip of  an underground stone  mountain.  They had to consult the Sonar  facilities at MIT  and it was verified that indeed Dighton Rock was a bolder which  weighted  40 tons.

(11)    One more  “impossible” was to photograph the face of the rock at night. We  had to obtain permission from the officials of  the Dighton Rock State Park  and alert the Berkley Police that we were going to go there on May 2^nd, 1971, making  much noise with a portable electric  generator.  Our request was  approved. Then  Prof. Steven Tegu, Dr. Nelson Matins, Joseph L. Brum, electrician, and myself all congregated around Dighton to obtain the final photographs  of  the inscriptions with tangential lighting. These became the best photos of the inscriptions.

(12)   When I informed the officials of the Department of State  Parks that a new Proposal would  be submitted  for the construction  of a Pavilion to protect  the rock,  their  reaction to  me was: “That’s  impossible!”  When an additional  fifty thousand dollars was  approved  by the Legislature,  I suggested to the State  Engineers and Architects  that the format of the building should be octagonal  and  they accepted my idea.

(13)   Another ‘impossible’ appeared when I asked Representative John Long from  Fall River  to submit another Proposal for the  construction of  an additional building to the Pavilion to complete the Museum itself.  And when the Legislature approved another fifty thousand dollars it was very simple  to  build the addition in a octagonal shape and now the museum looks like a gigantic  eight!   

(14)    I encountered another ‘impossible’ with the technicians of the Department of Parks because they wanted  to use  vanished wood  panels on  the inside walls of  the  museum and I insisted that the   wood should be natural  to show even the knots of the wood so it would give the impression to  the visitors  that they were  inside  the hull  of  a caravel. And they  accepted my idea. 

(15)    The technicians of the Department of  Parks insisted on  constructing  eight  small windows in the Pavilion and I protested because that would permit the entrance of  excessive  of humidity from  the river  which would cause   destructive oxidation of the rock.  Only after several years were those windows sealed  with bricks and cement.

(16)     Even with these  small windows eliminated, the rock continued  to oxidize  and for the situation to be corrected , several years ago I went before the Ways and  Means Committee held  at the Capitol in Boston where  I presented my scientific explanation why the rock continued to oxidize, and  my request for an air  conditioning  system was approved which  to this day  has been  functioning very well  in the Museum.

 (16)  I suggested to State officials that the name “Dighton Rock Museum” should be engraved on the  cement  front  above the main  doors,   using  concave  letters and painted in black.  I also  explained that  because five centuries ago our   alphabet did not yet possess   two letters [ U [ and [ J ] we should  use  the letter [ V ] instead of   [ U ] in the word  Museum like this:  DIGHTON ROCK MUSEUM .  But my suggestion was not accepted.  

(17)     For me, during many years,  Boston was like Bosta! The Portuguese word Bosta  means “cow manure” or  “cow shit” !

I always related very well with the official personnel  of the Dighton Rock  State  Park  and the Museum. I wanted to express to all of them my sincere thanks.

But my relationship with the High Officials in Boston  has been a true  Bosta! 

Imagine  ALL  the Governors of Massachusetts up to  2011  – at a distance of even  40 miles from Dighton Rock --   NEVER one  has ever  visited the rock   and all of  them have passed by route 24,  which is only two  miles away from  the Museum! No Secretary  of Education  ever  set foot  inside  the Museum, either.

Even those  Governors who  signed the Proposals  for the construction and   the  preservation  of  Dighton Rock  never visited this monument! Why the big politicians of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts  NEVER cared for the historical meaning of Dighton Rock?  Because Dighton Rock does not vote, and does not give banquets and drinks to anyone!

(18)     Among several  hundreds of individuals   that  have shown interest  in  Dighton Rock  only TWO  investigators  showed EXCLUSIVE   HISTORIC   INTEREST: Professor Delabarre and Dr. Luciano da Silva.

All others became interested in Dighton Rock to sell  their publications or  in their political interest to gain more votes.     Even Senator Edmund Dinis  responsible for the creation of the Dighton Rock State Park, after he became the owner of the powerful radio station WJFD-FM with fifty thousand watts, in  the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts – because of his strong  animosity against  Fragoso – NEVER did  anything  to  interest  the Portuguese immigrants in the historical meaning of the Portuguese inscriptions engraved on the face of Dighton Rock! 

The same  thing happened with  Fragoso. When he moved to New Bedford he used his involvement with Dighton Rock to run for several  public positions  but was never successful.

All these politics and controversies  created  a difficult   environment  for me  to deal with the Massachusetts Authorities because they thought   I was  “one more like the others” that wanted  to take personal advantage  because I was connected to the Dighton Rock.   Several years had  to elapse so the authorities would  verify that my interest in  Dighton Rock was exclusively historical.

Professor Delabarre  was a  serious  scientist. He went to the University of Berlin and  the University of  Sorborne in Paris to specialize in Psychology.  When he returned to  the USA   he was selected by Harvard  University,  but he  chose Brown University in  Providence, Rhode Island and in 1896 he initiated Experimental Psychology studies  of  the medical  effects  of  Cannabis or   Marijuana.  He was very meticulous.  He was considered a perfectionist by other scientists. He applied   the same scientific methods  he  used in his laboratory of  Psychology to his researches of the Dighton Rock inscriptions,  and  was able to discover the Portuguese theory in 1918.  In 1924 he was awarded  the Cross of Order of Christ by the Portuguese Government.  

I practiced Internal Medicine  for 45 years without ever being sued for malpractice. Everyday I had to use the scientific methods of making medical diagnoses. I also applied these  scientific methods to my historical  researches and because  of this I was able to discover new things that the so called professional  historians missed.  I NEVER used my involvement with  Dighton Rock to acquire more  patients  or  to gain any political advantage. I repeat,  Professor Delabarre’s and my  interests, for Dighton Rock were   ALWAYS for its historical value.  I am sad  that  I never  had a chance to meet  Professor Delabarre, because he died the  year before I came to  the USA in 1946.

(19) After the sensational discovery  of the Portuguese theory of Miguel Corte Real by Professor Delabarre in  1918, several Portuguese American leaders  of that time from Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford,  got together for the purpose   of  organizing  several activities to preserve and publicize  the meaning of   Dighton Rock, but were not able to accomplish anything because of their enviousness, and  personal jealousies,    and the Rock continued to exist  on the same sad situation, unprotected on the river and covered by  the stinky  mud. Because of this,  Professor Delabarre  was  saddened with this outcome  and decided to buy a small area  of land contiguous to Dighton Rock  and left this property in  his  will to the Taunton Historical Society. This organization NEVER did anything positive  to protect the Dighton Rock.  Even Professor Delabarre  never had the idea of making  a Legal Proposal to  the State of Massachusetts  to protect the Dighton Rock!

(20) This disastrous experience for Professor Delabarre in that  the Portuguese American leaders were not able to do anything to protect Dighton Rock, put me on  ALERT!  But  I must confess that despite  that,  I went ahead  and  incorporated in 1964 the organization “The Knights of Corte Real, Inc” but I was not able to create  enthusiasm of its members  for the Dighton Rock.  In the following year in 1965 I started another organization entitled “The Portuguese American Federation, Inc”  but the same thing  happened.   So I decided to  incorporate a third organization entitled “The Friends of the Dighton Rock Museum, Inc”.  Here are the names of the new  Directors: Manuel Luciano da Silva,  Silvia Jorge da Silva, Professor Steven T. Tegu, Dr. Nelson Dias Martins, Frederico Pacheco and Raul  Benevides. This organization functioned like a very strong cohesive  family and the results now can be seen at the Dighton Rock Museum.  We started by writing effective  letters, establishing good strategies and we became very successful and were able to get the cooperation of Portuguese-Americans  and also  American  citizens  and  in this way  we were able to attained  our objectives. We feel very proud of our achievements!

(21) All the  “Impossibles” to get the funds for constructions of the Pavilion and Museum proper, by the State of Massachusetts did not provide any extra money   to purchase any artifacts for the Pavilion  and the Museum. “The  Friends of the Dighton Rock Museum”  assumed the responsibility to select and obtain   all the Maritime Artifacts  that are now displayed  inside the Museum. It took us several years  but we are very satisfied with our successes. Here are the descriptions of the artifacts:

In the Pavilion.

A system of tangential lighting was installed in front of the face of the Rock  for better contrast of  the inscriptions. 

Four frames with diagrams were placed in front of the rock  describing  the four theories: (1) American Indians, (2) Phoenicians, (3) Vikings and  (4) Portuguese.

And the “Lithocollage”,   a magnificent piece of art, in three dimensions,   as an allegory of  the Wampanoag American Indians.

In the Museum.

Six panels were installed illustrating the History of Dighton Rock and explaining the four theories: (1) American Indians, (2)  Phoenicians, (3) Vikings and  (4) Portuguese.

The Portuguese Padrão or the Portuguese Discovery Marker, which was a gift from the Gulbenkian Foundation, from Lisbon, Portugal.

The model of “Nau São Gabriel” of Vasco da Gama , a gift from the Portuguese Prime Minister, Admiral Pinheiro de Azevedo.

The Model of “Caravel Victoria”  a gift from the King of Spain Don Juan Carlos.

Model of Codfish or Faithful Friend, gift from the Academy of Codfish of New England.

Five hundred  years  ago the sources  of energy   in New England were codfish (food) and wood (pine trees of New England and  Canada).   Afterwards  the whale oil became the symbol of energy. But since 1860   petroleum has dominated up to the  present time.

If you want to know the  details of the artifacts  that are inside  the Museum of Dighton Rock  see this article entitled: The artifacts on the Dighton Rock Museum.

(22)  My last ‘impossible’ connected with the Dighton Rock  was the establishment of “The Friends of Dighton Rock Museum” with inhabitants  from  the Town Berkley. This organization is already incorporated  in the   Department of Corporations  in Boston. Identification Federal # 043269877.

Here are the Officers:

Manuel Luciano da Silva, President

Doris Garcia, Vice President

Catherine Westgate, Treasurer

Nancy Possinger, Secretary

Directors: John Possinger, Elsie Goldstein and Carole J. Johnson.

I will continue to be President, but at anytime I can  give up my position to anyone from Berkley. 

This new group has already organized  several historic and cultural  shows in the Dighton Rock Museum  and has revealed that   they will continue to defend with  enthusiasm  the historical meaning of this monument which will glorify the History of the Town of Berkley. 

I still hope that the new Directors of the Friends will organize a trip to Continental Portugal and  also to the City of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Island of Terceira in Azores  to  become familiar with  the  original Portuguese National Symbols  so that they will  be able to compare them with those  that  are engraved on the face of Dighton Rock, and also to visit  the house where Miguel Corte Real  was born and  still stands!  

Any one who wants to be HONEST with  the DIAGNOSIS of the Dighton Rock inscriptions  HAS  TO  GO  TO  PORTUGAL!     

(22) The Marvelous “Impossible”

I left for last the marvelous “impossible” because it is like a miracle!

Reverend Tim Goldrick, Catholic Pastor of the Saint Bernard Church in Assonet, Massachusetts,   together with his parishioners installed  on the steeple of  the their church,  a large Cross of the Order of Christ with 45 degree angles made of silver and gold. They created a beehive as symbol or icon for their church (symbol of the Congregation) which has  superimposed another Cross of   the Order of Christ. Underneath this icon  Father Goldrick engraved this sentence: “Clamed for Christ since 1511”, which  is the date etched on the face of Dighton Rock.

There is another extraordinary coincidence. We should note  that Saint Bernard  was a Cistercian Crusader  (from Normandy, France)  who  helped the First King of Portugal,  Afonso Henriques,  to conquer  the city of Santarem from the Moors,  and this helped  confirm the  Independence of Portugal in  1139. The Portuguese King gave the money for the Cistercians to build the Alcobaça Monastery  which  still is the largest church in Portugal.