ICO REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



beyond bolpcning, & sure I should scarce liaue beleeued it excei)t I had 

 scene it with uiiiie ovrne Eyes. I saw great Store of Whales & Crani- 

 pusse, & snch aboundance of Makeriis tliat it would astonish one to be- 

 liold, likewise Cod-Fisb aboundaftce on the Coast, & in their season ai'e 

 plentifully taken. There is a Fish called a Basse, a most sweet & whole- 

 some Fish as euer I did eat, -it is altogether as good as our fresh Sam 

 mon, & the season of their comiiiing was begun when we came, first to 

 Neiv-England in June, & so continued about three months space. Of 

 this Fish our Fishers take many hundreds together, which I haue scene 

 lying on the shore to my admiration ; yea, their Nets orclinarUi] talce 

 more than they are able to haU to Land, & for want of Boats & Men they 

 are constrained to let a many goe after they haue taivcn them, & yet 

 sometimes they fill two Boats at a time with them. And besides Basse 

 we take plenti-e of Scate & Thornbacke, & aboundance of Lobsters, that 

 the least Boy in the Plantation may both catcli & eat what lie will of 

 them. For my owne part I w^as soone cloyed with them, they were so 

 great, «& fat, «& lussious. I haue scene some my selfe that haue weighed 

 16 pound, but others haue had diners time so great Lobsters as haae 

 weighed 25 i>ouud, as they assured me. Also here is aboundance of 

 Herring, Turbnt, Sturgion, Cuskes, Hadocks, Mullets, Eeles, Crabs, 

 Muskles & 03;sters."— (P. 9.) 



" Here are likewise aboundance of Tnrkies often killed in the Woods, 

 farre greater than our English Tnrkies, & exceeding fat, sweet, & 

 fleshy, for here they haue aboundance of feeding all the yeere long, as 

 Strawberries, in Summer all places are full of them, & all manner of 

 Berries & Fruits, In the Winter time I haue scene Flockes of Pidgeons, 

 «& haue eaten of them ; they doe fiye from Tree to Tree as other Birds 

 doe, which our Pidgeons will not doe in England: they are of all colours 

 as ours are, but their wings &, tayles are farr longer, & therefore it 

 is likely they fly swifter to escape the terrible Hawkesin this Couutrey. 

 In Winter time this Countrey doth abound with wild Geese, wild Ducks, 

 & other Sea Fowie, that a great part of Winter the Planters haue 

 eaten nothing but roastmeat of divers Fowles which they have killed." 



Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers of the colony of Plymouth. lG92-'2.5. By 



A. Tonng, S vo., Boston, 1841. 



" In five or six hours fin Cape Cod Bay] we x)estered our ship so with 

 cod fish that we threw numbers of them oN'crboard again." Journal of 

 John Brercton, May, 1002. 



[He was then with Gosnold, on the voyage in which Cape Cod was dis- 

 covered. Page lOL] 



" We saw daily [in Cape Cod Harbor, Nov.-Dec, 1020] great whales, 

 of the best kind for oil & bone, come close aboard our ship, and in fair 

 weather swim & play about us." P. 110.) 



" Before the brook [Town Brook, Plymouth, Mass.] was so much im- 

 peded by dams, vast quantities of alewives passed up through it annu- 

 allv to Billington Sea. In a single season 800 barrels have been 

 taken." P. 172, note 3.) 



" Having bat one boat left, we divide the men into several companies, 

 six or seven in each ; who take their turns to go out with a net and fish, 

 and return not till they get some, though they be five or six days out ; 

 knowing there is nothing at home, & to return empty would be a great 

 discourageuicut. When they stay long or get but little, the rest go a 

 digging shellfish." [Plymouth, Mass., summer of 1023.] Bradford in 

 Priuce", p. 210. P. 318, note 1.) 



