After the maner of the first sortes, and
afterward watered they boile them, & their seruants or sometime the
chiefe theselues, either for variety or for want of bread, doe eate them
with their fish or flesh.
'Of Beastes.'
'Deare', in some places there are great store: neere vnto the sea coast
they are of the ordinarie bignes as ours in England, & some lesse: but
further vp into the countrey where there is better feed they are
greater: they differ from ours onely in this, their tailes are longer
and the snags of their hornes looke backward.
'Conies', Those that we haue seen & al that we can heare of are of a
grey colour like vnto hares: in some places there are such plentie that
all the people of some townes make them mantles of the furre or flue of
the skinnes of those they vsually take.
'Saquenuckot' & 'Maquowoc'; two kindes of small beastes greater then
conies which are very good meat. We neuer tooke any of them our selves,
but sometime eate of such as the inhabitants had taken & brought vnto vs.
'Squirels' which are of a grey colour, we haue taken & eaten.
'Beares' which are all of black colour. The beares of this countrey are
good meat; the inhabitants in time of winter do use to take & eate maie;
so also somtime did wee. They are taken comonlie in this sort. In some
Ilands or places where they are, being hunted for, as soone as they haue
spiall of a man they presently run awaie, & then being chased they clime
and get vp the next tree they can, from whence with arrowes they are
shot downe starke dead, or with those wounds that they may after easily
bekilled; we sometime shotte them downe with our caleeuers.
I haue the names of eight & twenty seuerall sortes of beasts which I
haue heard of to be here and there dispersed in the countrie, especially
in the maine: of which there are only twelue kinds that we haue yet
discouered, & of those that be good meat we know only them before
mentioned. The inhabitats somtime kil the 'Lyon' & eat him: & we somtime
as they came to our hands of their 'Wolues' or 'woluish Dogges', which I
haue not set downe for good meat, least that some woulde vnderstand my
iudgement therin to be more simple than needeth, although I could
alleage the difference in taste of those kindes from ours, which by some
of our company haue been experimented in both.
'Of Foule.'
'Turkie cockes' and 'Turkie hennes': 'Stockdoues': 'Partridges':
'Cranes': 'Hernes': & in winter great store of 'Swannes' & 'Geese'. Of
al sortes of foule I haue the names in the countrie language of
fourescore and sixe of which number besides those that be named, we haue
taken, eaten, & haue the pictures as they were there drawne with the
names of the inhabitaunts of seuerall strange sortes of water foule
eight, and seuenteene kindes more of land foul, although wee haue seen
and eaten of many more, which for want of leasure there for the purpose
coulde not bee pictured: and after wee are better furnished and stored
vpon further discouery, with their strange beastes, fishe, trees,
plants, and hearbes, they shall bee also published.
There are also 'Parats', 'Faulcons', & 'Marlin haukes', which although
with vs they bee not vsed for meate, yet for other causes I thought good
to mention.
'Of Fishe.'
For foure monthes of the yeere, February, March, Aprill and May, there
are plentie of 'Sturgeons': And also in the same monethes of 'Herrings',
some of the ordinary bignesse as ours in England, but the most part
farre greater, of eighteene, twentie inches, and some two foote in
length and better; both these kindes of fishe in those monethes are most
plentifull, and in best season, which wee founde to bee most delicate
and pleasaunt meate.
There are also 'Troutes, Porpoises, Rayes, Oldwiues, Mullets, Plaice,'
and very many other sortes of excellent good fish, which we haue taken &
eaten, whose names I know not but in the countrey language; wee haue of
twelue sorts more the pictures as they were drawn in the countrey with
their names.
The inhabitants vse to take then two maner of wayes, the one is by a
kind of wear made of reedes which in that countrey are very strong. The
other way which is more strange, is with poles make sharpe at one end,
by shooting them into the fish after the maner as Irishmen cast dartes;
either as they are rowing in their boates or els as they are wading in
the shallowes for the purpose. [There]
There are also in many places plentie of these kindes which follow.
'Sea crabbes', such as we haue in England.
'Oystres', some very great, and some small; some rounde and some of a
long shape: They are founde both in salt water and brackish, and those
that we had out of salt water are far better than the other as in our
owne countrey.
Also 'Muscles, Scalopes, Periwinkles,' and 'Creuises'.
Seekanauk, a kind of crustie shell fishe which is good meate, about a
foote in breadth, hauing a crustie tayle, many legges like a crab; and
her eyes in her backe. They are founde in shallowes of salt waters; and
sometime on the shoare.
There are many 'Tortoyses' both of lande and sea kinde, their backes &
bellies are shelled very thicke; their head, feete, and taile, which are
in appearance, seeme ougly as though they were members of a serpent or
venemous: but notwithstanding they are very good meate, as also their
egges. Some haue bene founde of a yard in bredth and better.
And thus haue I made relation of all sortes of victuall that we fed vpon
for the time we were in 'Virginia', as also the inhabitants themselues,
as farre foorth as I knowe and can remember or that are specially worthy
to bee remembred.
