TheSableis much of the size of aMattriseperfect black, but what store there is of them I cannot tell, I never saw but two of them in Eight years space.
TheMartinis as ours are inEngland, but blacker, they breed in holes which they make in the earth like Conies, and are innumerable, their skins or furr are in much request.
TheBuck,Stag, andRain-Dearare Creatures that will live in the coldest climates, here they are innumerable, bringing forth threeFawnsorCalvesat a time, which they hide a mile asunder to prevent their destruction by theWolves, wild-Cats,Bears, andMequans: when they are in season they will be very fat; there are but few slain by theEnglish. TheIndianswho shoot them, and take of them with toyls, bring them in [p. 88.] with their suet, and the bones that grow uponStags-Hearts.
TheMooseorElkeis a Creature, or rather if you will a Monster of superfluity; a full grownMooseis many times bigger than anEnglishOxe, their horns as I have said elsewhere, very big (and brancht out into palms) the tips whereof are sometimes found to be two fathom asunder, (a fathom [p. 89.] is six feet from the tip of one finger to the tip of the other, that is four cubits,) and in height from the toe of the fore-foot, to the pitch of the shoulder twelve foot, both which hath been taken by some of mysceptiqueReaders to be monstrous lyes. If you consider the breadth that the beast carrieth, and the magnitude of the horns, you will be easily induced to contribute your belief.
What would you say, if I should tell you that inGreenlandthere areDoesthat have as large horns asBucks, their brow Antlers growing downwards beyond theirMusles, and broad at the end wherewith they scrape away the snow to the grass, it being impossible for them other-wayes to live in those cold Countries; the head of one oftheseDoeswas sometime since nailed upon a sign-post inCharter-house-lane, and these following verses written upon a board underneath it.
Like aBucks-head I stand in open view,And yet am none; nay, wonder not, ’tis true;The living Beast that these fair horns did oweWell known to many, was aGreen-land DoeThe proverb old is here fulfill’d in me,That every like is not the same you see.
Like aBucks-head I stand in open view,And yet am none; nay, wonder not, ’tis true;The living Beast that these fair horns did oweWell known to many, was aGreen-land DoeThe proverb old is here fulfill’d in me,That every like is not the same you see.
Like aBucks-head I stand in open view,
And yet am none; nay, wonder not, ’tis true;
The living Beast that these fair horns did owe
Well known to many, was aGreen-land Doe
The proverb old is here fulfill’d in me,
That every like is not the same you see.
And for their height since I came intoEnglandI have read Dr.Scrodernshis Chymical dispensatory translated intoEnglishby Dr.Rowland, where he writesthat when he lived inFinlandunderGustavus Horn,he saw anElkethat was killed and presented toGustavushis Mother, seventeen spans high. Law you now Sirs of the Gibing crue, if you have any skill in mensuration, tell me what difference there is between Seventeen spans and twelve foot. There are certain transcendentia in every Creature, which are the indelible Characters of God, and which discover God; There’s a prudential for you, asJohn Rhodesthe Fisherman used to say to his mate,Kitt Lux. But to go on with theMoose; they are accounted a kind of Deer, and have threeCalvesat a time, which they hide a mile asunder too, as other Deer do, their skins make excellent Coats for Martial men, their sinews which are as [p. 90.] big as a mans finger are of perdurable toughness and much used by theIndians, the bone that growes upon their heart is an excellent Cordial, their bloud is as thick as anAssesorBullswho have the thickest bloud of allothers, a man the thinnest. To what age they live I know not, certainly a long time in their proper climate.Some particular living Creatures cannot live in every particular place or region, especially with the same joy and felicity as it did where it was first bred, for the certain agreement of nature that is between the place and the thing bred in that place: As appeareth byElephants, which being translated and brought out of the Second or Third Climate, though they may live, yet will they never ingender or bring forth young.So for plants, Birds,&c.Of both these Creatures, some few there have been brought intoEngland, but did not long continue. SirR. Bakerin his Chronicle tells us of anElephantinHenrythe Thirds Raign, which he saith was the first that was ever seen there, which as it seems is an error, unless he restrain it to theNorman’stime. For Mr.Speedwriteth thatClaudius DrusiusEmperour ofRomebrought in the first in his Army; the bones of which digg’d up since are taken for Gyants bones. As for theMoosethe first that was seen inEngland, [p. 91.] was in KingCharlesthe First Raign; thus much for these magnals amongst the Creatures of God to be wondered at, the next beast to be mentioned is
TheMaurouse, which is somewhat like aMoose, but his horns are but small, and himself about the size of aStag, these are the Deer that the flat-footedWolveshunt after.
TheMaccaribis a Creature not found that ever I heard yet, but uponCape-Sablenear to theFrenchplantations.
TheBearwhen he goes to mate is a terrible Creature, they bring forth their Cubs inMarch, hunted with doggs they take a Tree where they shoot them, when he is fat heis excellent Venison, which is inAcorntime, and in winter, but then there is none dares to attempt to kill him but theIndian. He makes his Denn amongst thick Bushes, thrusting in here and there store ofMoss, which being covered with snow and melting in the day time with heat of the Sun, in the night is frozen into a thick coat of Ice; the mouth of his Den is very narrow, here they lye single, never two in a Den all winter. TheIndianas soon as he finds them, creeps in upon all four, seizes with his left hand upon the neck of the sleepingBear, drags him to the mouth of [p. 92.] the Den, where with a club or small hatchet in his right hand he knocks out his brains before he can open his eyes to see his enemy. But sometimes they are too quick for theIndians, as one amongst them called black Robin lighting upon a maleBearhad a piece of his buttock torn off before he could fetch his blow: their grease is very soveraign. One Mr.Purchasecured himself of theSciaticawithBears-greefe, keeping some of it continually in his groine. It is good too for swell’d Cheeks upon cold, for Rupture of the hands in winter, for limbs taken suddenly withSciatica,Gout, or other diseases that cannot stand upright nor go, bed-rid; it must be well chaft in, and the same cloth laid on still; it prevents the shedding of the hair occasioned by the coldness of winters weather; and the yard of aBearwhich as a Doggs or Foxes is bonie, is good for to expell Gravel out of the kidneys and bladder, as I was there told by one Mr.Abraham PhilateraJersey-man.
TheBeaveror Pound-dog is an Amphibious Creature, lives upon the land as well as in the water. I suppose they feed upon fish, but am sure that the Bark of Trees isalso their food; there is an old proverbial saying,sic me jubes quotidie, ut fiber salicem: you love me as theBeaverdoth the willow; [p. 93.] who eateth the Bark and killeth the Tree. They will be tame, witness theBeaverthat not long since was kept atBostonin theMassachusets-Bay, and would run up and down the streets, returning home without a call. Their skins are highly valued, and their stones are good for the palsie, trembling, and numbness of the hands, boiling of them in Oyl ofSpike, and anointing the sinews in the neck. If you take ofCastoriumtwo drams, of womans hair one dram, and with a little Rozen of thePine-Tree, make it up into pills as big as Filberts and perfume a woman in a fit of the mother with one at a time laid upon coals under her nostrils, it will recover her out of her fit. The grease of aBeaveris good for the Nerves, Convulsions, Epilepsies, Apoplexies&c.The tail as I have said in another Treatise, is very fat and of a masculine vertue, as good asEringo’sorSatyrion-Roots.
TheOtteror River-Dogis Amphibious too, he hunteth for his kind in the spring, and bringeth forth his whelps as theBeaverdoth, they are generally black, and very numerous, they are hunted inEnglandfromShrovetideuntillMidsummer, but inNew-Englandthey take them when they can. The skin of anOtteris worth Ten Shillings, [p. 94.] and the Gloves made thereof are the best fortification for the hands against wet weather that can be thought of, the furr is excellent for muffs, and is almost as dear asBeaver, the grease of anOtterwill make fish turn up their bellies, and is of rare use for many things.
TheHare, I have no more to write of them than that they kindle in hollow Trees. What else concerns him, orany of the fore-mentioned Creatures you have in myNew-Englandsrarities, to which I refer you.
ThePorcupinelikewise I have treated of, only this I forgot to acquaint you with, that they lay Eggs, and are good meat.
The last kind of Beasts are they that are begot by equivocal generation, asMulesand several others, that when the Beasts were brought by the Almighty Creator toAdam, who gave them names, were not then inrerum natura. Of these there are not many known inNew-England. I know but of one, and that is theIndiandog begotten betwixt aWolfand aFox, or between aFoxand aWolf, which they made use of, taming of them, and bringing of them up to hunt with, but since theEnglishcame amongst them they have gotten store of our dogs, which they bring up and keep in as much subjection as they do their webbs.
[p. 95.] Of birds there are not many more than 120 kinds as our Naturalists have conjectured, but I think they are deceived; they are divided into land-birds and water-birds, the land-birds again into birds of prey, birds for meat, singing-birds and others.
ThePilhannawis the King of Birds of prey inNew-England, some take him to be a kind ofEagle, others for theIndian-Ruckthe biggest Bird that is, except theOstrich. One Mr.Hiltonliving atPascataway, had the hap to kill one of them: being by the Sea-side he perceived a great shadow over his head, the Sun shining out clear, calling up his eyes he saw a monstrous Bird soaring aloft in the air, and of a sudden all theDucksandGeese, (there being then a great many) dived under water, nothing ofthem appearing but their heads. Mr.Hiltonhaving made readie his piece, shot and brought her down to the ground, how he disposed of her I know not, but had he taken her alive & sent her over intoEngland, neitherBartholomewnorSturbridge-Fair could have produced such another sight.
Hawkesthere are of several kinds, asGoshawkes,Falcons,Laniers,Sparrow-hawkes, and a little blackhawkehighly prized by theIndianswho wear them on their [p. 96.] heads, and is accounted of worth sufficient to ransome aSagamour: they are so strangely couragious and hardie, that nothing flyeth in the Air that they will not bind with. I have seen them tower so high, that they have been so small that scarcely could they be taken by the eye.Hawkesgrease is very good for sore eyes.
TheOspreyI have treated of. There is a small Ash-colour Bird that is shaped like aHawkewith talons and beak that falleth uponCrowes, mounting up into the Air after them, and will beat them till they make them cry.
TheVultureorGeire, which is spoken of inLevit.11. 14. and called aGripe, their skins are good to line doublets with, and the bones of their head hung about the neck helpeth the head-ach.
TheGripe; seeNew Englandsrarities, and for theTurkie-buzzard.
TheOwlthe most flagging Bird that is, of which there are three sorts, a great greyOwlwith ears, a little greyOwl, and a whiteOwl, which is no bigger than aThrush.Pliniewrites that the brains of anOwlasswageth the pain & inflammation in the lap of the ear. And that Eggs of anOwlput into the liquour that a tospot useth to be drunkwith, will make him loath drunkenness [p. 97.] ever after. But now peradventure some will say, what doth this man mean to bringOwlstoAthens? verily Sirs I presume to say, had I brought over of the little whiteOwlsthey would have been acceptable, they are good mousers, and pretty Birds to look upon; theAthenians, no question are better imployed than to take notice of myOwls, poor ragged Birds they are and want those glittering golden feathers thatDraiton’s Owlis adorned with, yet they are somewhat of that nature; if anAthenianchance in this season of divertisement to cast an eye upon them I shall be glad, but more glad if he vouchsafe to prune and correct their feathers, which I confess are discomposed for want of Art; plain Birds they are, and fit for none but plain men to manage. Sirs do not mistake me, there’s no man living honours anAthenianmore than I do, especially where I perceive great abilities concomiting with goodness of nature: A good nature (saith Mr.Perkins) is the Character of God, and God is the father of learning, knowledge, and every good gift, and hath condescended to become a School-master to us poor mortals, furnishing of us with Philosophy, Historie, Divinity by his holy Scriptures, which if we diligently learn and practise, we shall in [p. 98.] time be brought into his Heavenly Academy, where we shall have fulness and perfection of knowledge eternally. But there are a Generation of men and women in this prophane age that despise Gods learning and his Ushers to theAthenians, choosing to wallow in the pleasures of sin for a season. I shall conclude this excursion, with that which a Poet writ sometime since, and then return to the trimming of myOwl.
Say thou pour’st them Wheat,And they wouldAcornseat;’Twere simple fury in thee still to wastThy self, on them that have no tast;No, give them draff their fill,Husks, Grains and swill;They that love Lees and leave the lustie Wine,Envy them not, their palats with the Swine.
Say thou pour’st them Wheat,And they wouldAcornseat;’Twere simple fury in thee still to wastThy self, on them that have no tast;No, give them draff their fill,Husks, Grains and swill;They that love Lees and leave the lustie Wine,Envy them not, their palats with the Swine.
Say thou pour’st them Wheat,
And they wouldAcornseat;
’Twere simple fury in thee still to wast
Thy self, on them that have no tast;
No, give them draff their fill,
Husks, Grains and swill;
They that love Lees and leave the lustie Wine,
Envy them not, their palats with the Swine.
TheRavenis here numerous and Crowes, butRooks,Danes,Popinjaes,Megpiesthere be none. It is observed that the female of all Birds of prey and Ravin is ever bigger than the male, more venturous, hardy, and watchful: but such Birds as do not live by prey and Ravin, the male is more large than the female. So much for Birds of prey, the next are Birds for the dish, and the first of these is,
[p. 99.] TheTurkie, which is inNew-Englanda very large Bird, they breed twice or thrice in a year, if you would preserve the young Chickens alive, you must give them no water, for if they come to have their fill of water they will drop away strangely, and you will never be able to rear any of them: they are excellent meat, especially aTurkie-Caponbeyond that, for which Eight shillings was given, their Eggs are very wholesome and restore decayed nature exceedingly. But theFrenchsay they breed the Leprosie; the Indesses make Coats ofTurkie-feathers woven for their Children.
ThePartridgeis larger than ours, white flesht, but very dry, they are indeed a sort ofPartridgescalledGrooses.
ThePidgeon, of which there are millions of millions, I have seen a flight ofPidgeonsin the spring, and atMichaelmaswhen they return back to the Southward for four or five miles, that to my thinking had neither beginning nor ending, length nor breadth, and so thick that I could see no Sun, they joyn Nest to Nest, and Tree to Tree by their Nests many miles together inPine-Trees. But of late they are much diminished, theEnglishtaking them with Nets. I have bought atBostona dozen ofPidgeonsready pull’d and garbidgd for three pence, [p. 100.] Ring-Dovesthey say are there too, but I could never see any.
TheSnow-Bird is like aChaf-Finch, go in flocks and are good meat.
The singing Birds areThrusheswith red breasts, which will be very fat and are good meat, so are theThressels,Filladiesare small singing Birds,Ninmurderslittle yellow Birds.New-EnglandNightingales painted with orient colours, black, white, blew, yellow, green and scarlet, and sing sweetly,Wood-larks,Wrens,Swallows, who will sit upon Trees, andStarlingsblack asRavenswith scarlet pinions; other sorts of Birds there are, as theTroculus,Wag-tail, orDish-water, which is here of a brown colour,Titmousetwo or three sorts, the Dunneck or hedge-Sparrowwho is starke naked in his winter nest. The golden or yellow hammer, a Bird about the bigness of aThrushthat is all over as red as bloud, Wood-Peckersof two or three sorts, gloriously set out with variety of glittering colours. TheColibry,Viemalin, or rising or waking Bird, an Emblem of the Resurrection, and the wonder of little Birds.
The water-fowl are these that follow,Hookersor wild-Swans,Cranes,Geeseof three sorts, grey, white, and thebrantGoose, the first and last are best meat, the white are [p. 101.] lean and tough and live a long time; whereupon the proverb, Older than a whiteGoose; of the skins of the necks of greyGeesewith their Bills theIndiansmakes Mantles and Coverlets sowing them together and they shew prettily. There be four sorts ofDucks, a blackDuck, a brownDucklike our wildDucks, a greyDuck, and a great black and whiteDuck, these frequent Rivers and Ponds; but ofDucksthere be many more sorts, asHounds, oldWives,Murres,Doies,Shell-drakes,ShoulersorShoflers,Widgeons,Simps,Teal, Blew wing’d, and green wing’d, Divers orDidapers, orDip-chicks,Fenduck,DuckersorMoorhens,Coots,Pochards, a water-fowl like aDuck,Plungeons, a kind of water-fowl with a long reddish Bill,Puets,Plovers,Smethes,Wilmotes, a kind ofTeal,Godwits,Humilities,Knotes,Red-Shankes,Wobbles,Loones,Gulls, whiteGulls, or Sea-Cobbs,Caudemandies,Herons, greyBitterns,Ox-eyes,BirdscalledOxenandKeen,Petterels,Kings fishers, which breed in the spring in holes in the Sea-banks, being unapt to propagate in Summer, by reason of the driness of their bodies, which becomes more moist when their pores are closed by cold. Most of these Fowls and Birds are eatable. There are little Birds that frequent the Sea-shore in flocks calledSanderlins, [p. 102.] they are about the bigness of aSparrow, and in the fall of the leaf will be all fat; when I was first in the Countrie theEnglishcut them into small pieces to put into their Puddings instead of suet, I have known twelve score and above kill’d at two shots. I have not done yet, we must not forget theCormorant,ShapeorSharke; though I cannot commend them to our curious palats, theIndianswill eat them when they are fley’d, they take them prettily, they roost in the night upon some Rock that lyes out in the Sea, thither theIndiangoes in his Birch-Canowwhen the Moon shines clear, and when he is come almost to it, he lets hisCanowdrive on of it self, when he is come under the Rock he shoves his Boat along till he come just under theCormorantswatchman, the rest being asleep, and so soundly do sleep that they will snore like so many Piggs; theIndianthrusts up his hand of a sudden, grasping the watchman so hard round about his neck that he cannot cry out; as soon as he hath him in hisCanowhe wrings off his head, and making hisCanowfast, he clambreth to the top of the Rock, where walking softly he takes them up as he pleaseth, still wringing off their heads; when he hath slain as many as hisCanowcan carry, he gives a shout [p. 103.] which awakens the survivingCormorants, who are gone in an instant.
The next Creatures that you are to take notice of, are they that live in the Element of water.Plinyreckons them to be of 177 kinds, but certainly if it be true that there is no Beast upon Earth, which hath not his like in the Sea, and which (perhaps) is not in some part parallel’d in the plants of the Earth; we may by a diligent search find out many more: of the same opinion is the Poet, who saith that it is
Affirm’d by some that what on Earth we find,The Sea can parallell in shape and kind.
Affirm’d by some that what on Earth we find,The Sea can parallell in shape and kind.
Affirm’d by some that what on Earth we find,
The Sea can parallell in shape and kind.
DivineDubertusgoes further.
You Divine wits of elder dayes, from whomThe deep invention of rare works hath come,Took you not pattern of our chiefest ToolesOut of the lap ofThetis,Lakes, and Pools?Which partly in the Waves, part on the edgesOf craggy Rocks, among their ragged sedges,Bring forth abundance of Pins, Spincers, spokes,Pikes, piercers, needles, mallets, pipes & yoaks,Oars, sails & swords, saws, wedges, razors, rammers,Plumes, cornets, knives, wheels, vices, horns and hammers.
You Divine wits of elder dayes, from whomThe deep invention of rare works hath come,Took you not pattern of our chiefest ToolesOut of the lap ofThetis,Lakes, and Pools?Which partly in the Waves, part on the edgesOf craggy Rocks, among their ragged sedges,Bring forth abundance of Pins, Spincers, spokes,Pikes, piercers, needles, mallets, pipes & yoaks,Oars, sails & swords, saws, wedges, razors, rammers,Plumes, cornets, knives, wheels, vices, horns and hammers.
You Divine wits of elder dayes, from whom
The deep invention of rare works hath come,
Took you not pattern of our chiefest Tooles
Out of the lap ofThetis,Lakes, and Pools?
Which partly in the Waves, part on the edges
Of craggy Rocks, among their ragged sedges,
Bring forth abundance of Pins, Spincers, spokes,
Pikes, piercers, needles, mallets, pipes & yoaks,
Oars, sails & swords, saws, wedges, razors, rammers,
Plumes, cornets, knives, wheels, vices, horns and hammers.
[p. 104.] Psalm 104.25, 26.In ipso mari magno & spatioso, illic reptilia sunt atque innumera animantia parva cum magnis. Illic navea ambulant; balæna quam formasti ludendo in eo.
And as the females amongst Beasts and Birds of prey for form and beautie surpass the males, so do they especially amongst fishes; and those I intend to treat of, I shall divide into salt-water fish, and fresh-water fish.
The Sea thatPiscina mirabilisaffords us the greatest number, of which I shall begin first with the Whale a regal fish, as all fishes of extraordinary size are accounted, of these there are (as I have said in another place) seven kinds, the Ambergreese-Whalethe chiefest.Anno Dom.1668 the 17 ofJulythere was one of them thrown up on the shore betweenWinter-harbourandCape-porpus, about eight mile from the place where I lived, that was five and fifty foot long. They are Creatures of a vast magnitude and strength. The Royal Psalmist, in the 148 psalm, and the 7 verse,makes mention of them.Laudate Jehovam terrestria; Cete(Dracones as some translate it) &omnesabyssi.And Moses in his history ofJob, Job 41. 1.An extrahas balænam hamo, &c. [p. 105.]Whereby the subtlety of the Devil is shewed, as also, the greatness and brutishness of the Devil by the Elephant, in the10verse of the foregoing Chapter. In the book ofJonasprophecies we read of a great fish, Jonah 1. 17.Pararat autem Jehova piscem magnum, qui obsorberet Jonam.But whether this were a Whale or not is questioned by some. In the head (saith Mr.Parkinsonthe Herbalist) of one only sort of Whale-fish is found that which is calledsperma Cæti,it lyes in a hole therein, as it were a Well, taken out and prest that the oyl may come out, the substance is that we use forsperma Cæti,and hath little or no smell, the oyl smells strong. See the rarities ofNew-England.
TheSea-hareis as big asGrampusorHerrin-hog, and as white as a sheet; There hath been of them inBlack-point-Harbour, & some way up the river, but we could never take any of them, several have shot sluggs at them, but lost their labour.
TheSturgeonis a Regal fish too, I have seen of them that have been sixteen foot in length: of their sounds they makeIsinglass, which melted in the mouth is excellent to seal letters.
Sharkesthere are infinite store, who tear the Fishermens nets to their great loss and hinderance; they are of two sorts, one flat [p. 106.] headed, the other long-snouted, the pretious stone in their heads (soveraign for the stone in a man) so much coveted by the travelling Chirurgeon is nought else but the brains of the flat-headedSharke. With these we may joyn the Dog-fish or Thorn-hound, who hath two long sharp prickles on his back.
TheSea-horseorMorseis a kind of monster-fish numerous about the Isle ofSables, i. e. The sandy Isle. An Amphibious Creature kill’d for their Teeth and Oyl, never brings forth more than two at a birth; as also doth the Soil and Manate or Cow-fish which is supposed to be the Sea-monster spoken of byJeremy,Lament.4. 3.Etiam phocæ præbent mammam, lactant catulos suos;So the Latins render it, phocaa Sea-Calf or Soil.
The smallSword-fishis very good meat, theSea-batorSea-owla kind of flying fish.
NegroesorSea-Devilsa very ugly fish, having a black scale, there are three sorts of them, one a hideous fish, another about two foot long; of these I have seen store inBlack-pointHarbour in the water, but never attempted to take any of them.
Squidsa soft fish somewhat like a cudgel, their horns like aSnails, which sometimes are found to be of an incredible length, [p. 107.] this fish is much used for bait to catch aCod,Hacke,Polluck, and the like Sea-fish.
TheDolphin,Bonito, orDozado, the ashes of their teeth mixed with honey, is good to asswage the pain of breeding teeth in Children.
TheSea-bream,Dorado, orAmber-fish, they follow ships as doth theDolphin, and are good meat.
TheMackarel, of which there is choicefull plenty all summer long, in the spring they are ordinarily 18 inches long, afterwards there is none taken but what are smaller.
TheLiver-fishlike aWhiting.
TheHerrinwhich are numerous, they take of them all summer long. InAnno Dom.1670. they were driven intoBlack-pointHarbour by other great fish that prey uponthem so near the shore, that they threw themselves (it being high water) upon dry land in such infinite numbers that we might have gone up half way the leg amongst them for near a quarter of a mile. We used to qualifie a pickledHerrinby boiling of him in milk.
TheAlewifeis like aherrin, but has a bigger bellie therefore called anAlewife, they come in the end ofAprilinto fresh [p. 108.] Rivers and Ponds; there hath been taken in two hours time by two men without any Weyre at all, saving a few stones to stop the passage of the River, above ten thousand. TheItalianhath a proverb, that he that hath seen one miracle will easily believe another; but this relation far from a miracle will peranter meet, instead of a belief with an Adulterate construction from those that are somewhat akin to St.Petersmockers, such as deny the last judgement. I have known inEngland9 score and 16PikesandPickareltaken with three Angles between the hours of three and ten in the morning, in the RiverOwsein the Isle ofEly, three quarters of a yard long above half of them; they make redAlewivesafter the same manner as they doherrinsand are as good.
TheBasseis a salt water fish too, but most an end taken in Rivers where they spawn, there hath been 3000Bassetaken at a set, one writes that the fat in the bone of aBasseshead is his brains which is a lye.
TheSalmonlikewise is a Sea-fish, but as theBassecomes into Rivers to spawn, aSalmonthe first year is aSalmon-smelt; The second aMort; The third aSpraid; The fourth aSoar; The fifth aSorrel; The sixth [p. 109.] aforket tail; and the seventh year aSalmon. There are another sort ofSalmonfrequent in those parts called whiteSalmons.
Capelingis a small fish like a smelt.
TheTurtleorTortoiseis of two sorts Sea-Turtlesand land-Turtles: of Sea-Turtlesthere are five sorts, of land-Turtlesthree sorts, one of which is a right land-turtlethat seldom or never goes into the water, the other two being the River-Turtle, and the pond-Turtle: there are many of these in the brookeChysonin theHoly land. The ashes of a Sea-Turtlemixt with oyl orBears-grease causeth hair to grow: the shell of a land-Turtleburnt and the ashes dissolved in wine and oyl to an unguent healeth chaps and sores of the feet: the flesh burnt and the ashes mixt with wine and oyl healeth sore legs: the ashes of the burnt shell and the whites of eggs compounded together healeth chaps in womens nipples; and the head pulverized with it prevents the falling of the hair, and will heal the Hemorrhoids, first washing of them with white-wine, and then strewing on the powder.
Lobster, which some say is at first awhelk, I have seen aLobsterthat weighed twenty pound, they cast their shell-coats in the spring, and so doCrabs; having underneath a thin red skin which growes thicker and [p. 110.] hard in short time. TheIndiansfeed much upon this fish, some they rost, and some they dry as they doLampresandOysterswhich are delicate breakfast meat so ordered, theOystersare long shell’d, I have had of them nine inches long from the joynt to the toe, containing anOysterlike those the Latines calledTridacuanthat were to be cut into three pieces before they could get them into their mouths, very fat and sweet.
TheMuscleis of two sorts, Sea-musclesin which they find Pearl and river-muscles. Sea-musclesdryed and pulverizedand laid upon the sores of thePilesandhemorrhoidswith oyl will perfectly cure them.
TheWhoreis a shell-fish, the shells are called whores-eggs, being fine round white shells, in shape like aMexicopompion, but no bigger than a good large Hens-egg; they are wrought down the sides with little knobs and holes very prettily, but are but thin and brittle.
ThePerriwigis a shell-fish that lyeth in the Sands flat and round as a shovel-board piece and very little thicker; these at a little hole in the middle of the shell thrust out a cap of hair, but upon the least motion of any danger it drawes it in again.
Troutsthere be good store in every brook, ordinarily two and twenty inches [p. 111.] long, their grease is good for thePilesandclifts.
TheEalis of two sorts, salt-waterEalsand fresh-waterEals; these again are distinguished into yellow belliedEalsand silver belliedEals; I never eat betterEalsin no part of the world that I have been in, than are here. They that have no mind or leasure to take them, may buy of anIndianhalf a dozen silver belliedEalsas big as those we usually give 8 pence or 12 pence a piece for atLondon, for three pence or a groat. There is several wayes of cooking them, some love them roasted, others baked, and many will have them fryed; but they please my palate best when they are boiled, a common way it is to boil them in half water, half wine with the bottom of a manchet, a fagot of Parsley, and a little winter savory, when they are boiled they take them out and break the bread in the broth, and put to it three or four spoonfuls of yest, and a piece of sweet butter, this they pour to theirEalslaid upon sippets and so serve it up. I fancie my way better which is this, after theEalsare fley’d and washt I fill their bellies with Nutmeg grated and Cloves a little bruised, and sow them up with a needle and thred, then I stick a Clove here and there in their sides about an inch asunder, [p. 112.] making holes for them with a bodkin, this done I wind them up in a wreath and put them into a kettle with half water and half white wine-vinegar, so much as will rise four fingers above theEals, in midst of theEalsI put the bottom of a penny white loaf, and a fagot of these herbs following, Parsley one handful, a little sweet Marjoram, Peniroyal and Savory, a branch of Rosemary, bind them up with a thred, and when they are boiled enough take out theEalsand pull out the threds that their bellies were sowed up with, turn out the Nutmeg and Cloves, put theEalsin a dish with butter and vinegar upon a chafing-dish with coals to keep warm, then put into the broth three or four spoonfuls of good Ale-yeast with the juice of half a Lemmon; but before you put in your yeast beat it in a porringer with some of the broth, then break the crust of bread very small and mingle it well together with the broth, pour it into a deep dish and garnish it with the other half of the Lemmon, and so serve them up to the Table in two dishes.
TheFrost fishis little bigger than aGudgeonand are taken in fresh brooks; when the waters are frozen they make a hole in the Ice about half a yard or yard wide, to which the fish repair in great numbers, where with [p. 113.] small nets bound to a hoop about the bigness of a firkin-hoop with a staff fastned to it they lade them out of the hole. I have not done with the fish yet, being willing tolet you know all of them that are to be seen and catch’d in the Sea and fresh waters inNew-England, and because I will not tire your patience overmuch, having no occasion to enlarge my discourse, I shall only name them and so conclude.