THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 55 



upon muscles, clams, and other fish, as they were in Eng- 

 land with their fill of bread ; ' ' how some were providentially 

 furnished with an abundance of fish in their nets or on 

 their hooks ; how others without hooks and nets caught the 

 fish with their hands, and were thus provided for until 

 other kinds of food came. 1 



The stories of hardship and suffering on land can be 

 equalled, if not surpassed, by disasters that befell these sea- 

 faring people at sea during the period of the early years 

 of struggle for existence. A remarkable accident befell a 

 boat that was bound from Pemaquid to Boston with a barrel 

 of powder aboard. As they were nearing Piscataqua on 

 the way, one of the sailors wished to light his pipe. His 

 companions remonstrated with him for taking so great a 

 risk, but he replied that if the devil should take him away 

 quickly he would take one pipe. In lighting the pipe the 

 powder was set on fire and the boat blown to pieces, with 

 a loss of two hundred pounds worth of commodities. None 

 of the seamen were injured except the one whose foolhardi- 

 ness had caused the accident; his body was found later 

 with hands and feet blown off, "which was a very remark- 

 able judgment of God upon him." 2 



Other accidents are recorded, due sometimes to care- 

 lessness, as when two persons from Roxbury left their 

 boat unfastened as they went to gather oysters, the boat 

 drifted away, and, since the men had no other means for 

 getting to the mainland, they were drowned. Others were 

 lost by their own rashness, as in the case of an old man 

 who used to go to sea accompanied only by a dog which 

 he had taught to steer. Once as he was putting out to 

 sea he was warned that a storm was coming on, but he 

 answered that he would go to sea though the evil one 



1 E. Johnson, Wonder Working Providence of Sion's Savior in 

 New England. 



2 W. Hubbard, General History of New England, pp. 195-196. 



