FISH, THE PEOPLE OF THE SEA 



pilots, shads, pilchards, sailor's choice, squirrels, 

 and cavaly; many of these are excellent eating, 

 but such as feed on copperas backs are poisonous, 

 affecting the joints of those who eat them with 

 itching pains, and the disorder goes off by rubbing 

 the parts ; the method used to distinguish the fish 

 is by putting a spoon or piece of silver into the 

 water in which it is boiled, which turns black if 

 the fish is poisonous. They make plenty of oil 

 from the nurses, seals, etc., and a beneficial whale 

 fishery might be established here, as that fish 

 comes in great numbers to wean their young 

 among the islands, and several have been thrown 

 ashore full of the spermaceti; there is likewise 

 found in the shore much ambergrise. Their shell 

 fish are conques, perriwynkles, coneys, sogers, 

 wilkes, cukolds, craw fish, lobsters, crab ; they have 

 also the land crab and many sorts of tortoises, of 

 which the hawkbill is the most valuable for its 

 fine shell and the green kind for eating ; the great- 

 est number of which are taken at the Bimini 

 Islands. There is also ambergrise found in con- 

 siderable quantities on these shores." 



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