122 



which one Hewes, in command of a West of England ship, occupied 

 in the absence of the Plymouth fishermen. Hewes acted under the 

 orders of these merchants, who now, it further appears, had dissolved, 

 or were about to dissolve, their business relations with the J^ilgrims, 

 and some of whom, on account of the difficulties that had occurred, 

 cherished an enmity towards them. On hearing that Hewes had t;iken 

 possession of the stage. Governor Bradford ordered the renowned In- 

 dian-slayer, Miles Standish, to eject him. Hewes refused to yield, and 

 Standish resolved to employ force. Hewes made a sort of breast-work 

 on the stage of the casks used in fishing, and was thus strongly fortified, 

 while his opponents were on the land and almost at his mercy. At the 

 point of collision and bloodshed, Conant (of whom we have spoken) 

 and Captain Pcarce, a fast friend of the Plymouth settlers, who was 

 also there with a fishing-ship, interposed their good offices, and suc- 

 ceeded in compromising the difficulty, Hewes and his men agreeing to 

 erect another stage. 



The next incident that deserves our attention is of a different nature. 

 Mr. Higginson, the first minister of Salem, arrived in 1629. About one 

 hundred of the colonists died before the close of the following year, 

 and among diem this excellent divine. He wrote a tract called "'New 

 England's Plantation," which was published* in 1630, and contains 

 the ibllowing glowing description of the treasures 'of our seas: "The 

 abundance of sea-fish," he says, "are almost beyond believing, and 

 sure I should scarce have believed it, except I had seen it with mine 

 own eyes. I saw great store of whales and grampusses, and such 

 abundance of mackerels that it would astonish one to behold, hkewise 

 codfish in abundance on the coast, and in their season are plentifully 

 taken. There is a fish called bass, a most sweet and wholesome fish 

 as ever I did eat; it is altogether as good as our fresh salmon, and the 

 season of their coming was begun when we came first to New Eng- 

 land in June, and so continued about three months' space. Of this fish 

 our fishers take many hundreds together, which I have seen lying on the 

 shore, to my admiration: yea, then- nets ordinarily take more than they 

 are able to hall to land, and for want of boats and men they are con- 

 strained to let many go after they have taken them, and yet some- 

 times they fill two boats at a time with them. And besides bass, 

 we take plenty of scate and thornbacks, and abundance of lobsters, 

 and the least boy in the plantation may both catch and eat what he will 

 of them. For my own part I was soon cloyed with them, they were 

 so great and fat, and luscious. I have seen some myself that have 

 weighed sixteen pounds ; but others have had, divers times, so great 

 lobsters as have weighed twenty-five pound, as they assure me. Also 

 here is abundance of herring, turbut, sturgeon, cusks, haddocks, mul- 

 lets, eels, crabs, muscles and oysters. Besides, there is probability 

 that the country is of an excellent temper for the making of salt ; for 

 since our coming our fishermen have brought home very good salt, 



* The Rev. Francis Higginson was born in 1588, and was educated at Cambridge, England. 

 Excluded from his pulpit for non-conformity, he was invited to come to America by the com- 

 pany engaged in the colonization of Masshchnsetts. He was ordained at Salem, in August, 

 li'yid. He left a wile and eight children, wlio, after his decease, removed to Churlestowu, 

 Massachusetts, and subsequently to Now Haven, Connecticut. 



