The Minx May Be Made Domestick,
And Were It Not For His Paying A Visit Now And Then To The Poultry,
They Are The Greatest Destroyers Of Rats And Mice, That Are In The World.
Their Skins, If Good Of That Kind, Are Valuable, Provided They Are Kill'd
In Season.
{Water-Rats.}
The Water-Rat is found here the same as in England.
The Water-Snakes
are often found to have of these Rats in their Bellies.
{Coneys.}
That which the People of Carolina call a Hare, is nothing but a Hedge-Coney.
They never borough in the Ground, but much frequent Marshes and Meadow-Land.
They hide their Young in some Place secure from the Discovery of the Buck,
as the European Rabbets do, and are of the same Colour;
but if you start one of them, and pursue her, she takes into a hollow Tree,
and there runs up as far as she can, in which Case the Hunter makes a Fire,
and smoaks the Tree, which brings her down, and smothers her.
At one time of the Year, great Bots or Maggots breed betwixt
the Skin and the Flesh of these Creatures. They eat just as
the English ones do; but I never saw one of them fat. We fire the Marshes,
and then kill abundance.
{Rabbet English.}
The English, or European Coneys are here found, tho' but in one place
that I ever knew of, which was in Trent-River, where they borough'd
among the Rocks. I cannot believe, these are Natives of the Country,
any otherwise than that they might come from aboard some Wreck;
the Sea not being far off. I was told of several that were upon
Bodies Island by Ronoak, which came from that Ship of Bodies;
but I never saw any. However the Banks are no proper Abode of Safety,
because of the many Minxes in those Quarters. I carried over
some of the tame sort from England to South-Carolina,
which bred three times going over, we having a long Passage.
I turn'd them loose in a Plantation, and the young ones,
and some of the old ones bred great Maggots in their Testicles. At last,
the great Gust in September, 1700, brought a great deal of Rain,
and drown'd them all in their Holes. I intend to make a second Tryal of them
in North Carolina, and doubt not but to secure them.
{Elks.}
The Elk is a Monster of the Venison sort. His Skin is used
almost in the same Nature as the Buffelo's. Some take him
for the red Deer of America; but he is not: For, if brought and kept
in Company with one of that sort, of the contrary Sex, he will never couple.
His Flesh is not so sweet as the lesser Deers. His Horns exceed (in Weight)
all Creatures which the new World affords. They will often resort and feed
with the Buffelo, delighting in the same Range as they do.
{Stags.}
The Stags of Carolina are lodg'd in the Mountains. They are not so large
as in Europe, but much larger than any Fallow-Deer. They are always fat,
I believe, with some delicate Herbage that grows on the Hills;
for we find all Creatures that graze much fatter and better Meat on the Hills,
than those in the Valleys: I mean towards and near the Sea.
Some Deer on these Mountains afford the occidental Bezoar,
not coming from a Goat, as some report. What sort of Beast affords
the oriental Bezoar, I know not. The Tallow of the Harts
make incomparable Candles. Their Horns and Hides are of the same Value,
as others of their kind.
{Fallow-Deer.}
Fallow-Deer in Carolina, are taller and longer-legg'd, than in Europe;
but neither run so fast, nor are so well haunch'd. Their Singles are
much longer, and their Horns stand forward, as the others incline backward;
neither do they beam, or bear their Antlers, as the English Deer do.
Towards the Salts, they are not generally so fat and good Meat,
as on the Hills. I have known some kill'd on the Salts in January,
that have had abundance of Bots in their Throat, which keep them very poor.
As the Summer approaches, these Bots come out, and turn into
the finest Butterfly imaginable, being very large, and having black, white,
and yellow Stripes. Deer-Skins are one of the best Commodities
Carolina affords, to ship off for England, provided they be large.
{Fox Squirrel.}
Of Squirrels we have four Sorts. The first is the Fox-Squirrel,
so call'd, because of his large Size, which is the Bigness of a Rabbet
of two or three Months old. His Colour is commonly gray;
yet I have seen several pied ones, and some reddish, and black;
his chiefest Haunts are in the Piny Land, where the Almond-Pine grows.
There he provides his Winter-Store; they being a Nut
that never fails of bearing. He may be made tame, and is very good Meat,
when killed.
{Small gray Squirrel.}
The next sort of Squirrel is much of the Nature of the English,
only differing in Colour. Their Food is Nuts (of all sorts
the Country affords) and Acorns. They eat well; and, like the Bear,
are never found with young.
{Flying-Squirrel.}
This Squirrel is gray, as well as the others. He is the least of the Three.
His Food is much the same with the small gray Squirrels. He has not Wings,
as Birds or Bats have, there being a fine thin Skin cover'd with Hair,
as the rest of the parts are. This is from the Fore-Feet to the Hinder-Feet,
which is extended and holds so much Air, as buoys him up,
from one Tree to another, that are greater distances asunder,
than other Squirrels can reach by jumping or springing. He is made very tame,
is an Enemy to a Cornfield, (as all Squirrels are) and eats only
the germinating Eye of that Grain, which is very sweet.
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