INTRODUCTION. 



Wood asserts that the marsh at the mouth of the Saugus 

 River near Lynn was crowded with creeks, where lay " great 

 stores of Geese and other Ducks." 



In Obadiah Turner's Journal, July 28, 1630, relating to the 

 first settlement of Lynn, we find the following: " Of birdes wee 

 saw great store . . . manie of wch wee knew not ye names. 

 But wee are of a truth in a paradise of those moving things yt 

 be good for foode." ^ In the same volume, under date of 1638, 

 it is stated: "Upon ye beach they spied great multitudes of 

 birdes of manie kindes, they being there to pick vp ye wormes 

 and little fishes. They haue long bills wch they thrust into ye 

 little holes in ye sand and pull up ye fat wormes with great 

 relish. They lay eggs in ye sand and ye heate of ye sun being 

 vpon them they speedilie hatch, and ye little birdes betake 

 themselves to feeding. Ye beach birdes are verrie shy and 

 quick a-wing, but our sportsmen, nevertheless, do bring down 

 great plentie for their own vse and if need to supply their 

 plantations." ' 



In an account of Levett's voyage to New England (1623) 

 he mentions " great plenty " of wild-fowl at a pool nine miles 

 below the mouth of the Saco. He says, " In this place there 

 is a world of fowl," and also speaks of " much fowl " in other 

 places on the coast and islands.^ 



In Hosier's narrative of Waymouth's voyage to the coast 

 of Maine, in 1605, he records visits to Monliegan Island and 

 St. Georges Isles, and in both places saw " much fowl of divers 

 kinds " breeding. He gives a list of birds, and states that 

 there are "many other fowls in flocks, unknown."'* 



The enormous numbers of game birds, which formed a 

 staple article of food for settlers, were looked upon as a val- 

 uable asset in the new country; and the abundance of fowl 

 was fully set forth in the publications destined for the eyes 

 of presumptive immigrants. 



The President and Council of New England (1622), setting 

 forth the advantages of New England as a place of residence, 



1 Newhal], James Robinson: Lin, or. Jewels of the Third Plantation, 1880, p. 59. 



2 Ibid., p. 67. 



3 Coll. Me. Hi.st. Soc., Vol. II, pp. 80, 82, 83, 85. 



i Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., Vol. VIII, 3(1 ser., pi). 132, 157. 



