I -NOTICES IN PtEGARl) TO THE ABUNDANCE OF EISH 

 ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST IN FORMER TIMES. 



^'An account of iivo voijagcs to JS^ew TJiuilaml. A description of the country, 

 natives, and creatures. By John Josselyn Gent., 1G75. 



[Repriuted in Collcctious of tlie Massachusetts Historical Society, 3d series, III., 1833.] 



"The Sea that Piscina mirahiUs affords us the greatest unmber, of 

 which I sliall begin first with the Whale, a regal fish, as all fish of ex- 

 traordinary size are accounted ; of these there are (as I have said in 

 another place) seven kinds — the Ambergreese Whale the chiefest. 

 Anno Dom. IGOS, the 17 oi Jtily^ there was one of them thrown u]) on the 

 sliore between Winter-harbour and Gape-porpits, 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." — (P. 271.) 



" The Sea-hare is as big as a Grampus or Herrin-hog, and as white as a 

 sheet. Tliere hath been of tliem in Black-Point Harbour, and some way 

 up the river, but we could never take any of them ; several have shot 

 sluggs at theui, but lost their labor." 



"The sturgeon is a Eegal fish, too; I have seen of them that have 

 been sixteen foot in length ; of their sounds they make isinglass, w^hicli, 

 melted in the mouth, is excellent to seal letters." 



" The Sea-horse or Morse is a kind of monster-fish, numerous about the 

 Isle of Sables ; i. e., the Sandy Isle. An amphibious creature, killed for 

 their Teeth and Oyl ; never brings more than two at a birth ; as also doth 

 the Seal and Manate or Cow-fish, which is supposed to be the Sea- 

 monster." 



" The small Sivord-Jish is very good meat ; the Sea-hat or Sea-oid is a 

 kind of flying fish."— (P. 272.) 



"The MacJierel, of which there is choicefull x>lenty all summer long; 

 in the spring they are ordinarily 18 inclies long; afterwards there is 

 none taken l3ut what are smaller." 



" The Herrin, which are numerous, they take of them all summer long. 

 In Anno Bom. 1G70. They were driven back into BlacJc-Point Harbour by 

 other great fish that prey upon them so near the shore that they threw 

 themselves (it being high water) upon dryland in such infiuite numbers 

 that we might have gone up half-way the leg amongst them for near a 

 quarter of a mile. We used to qualitie a pickled Herrin by boiling of 

 him in milk." 



^'Tlie Aleanfe is like a Herrin., but has a bigger bellie ; therefore called 

 an Alewife; they come in the end of April into fresh Elvers 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."— (P. 273.) 



"The Basse is a salt-water fish too, but most an end taken in Elvers 

 where they spawn ; there hath been 3,000 Basse taken at a set ; one 

 writes that the fat in the bone of a Basse's head is his braiues, which is 

 a lye." 



