INTRODUCTION. 



are all sorts of fowls, such as cranes, bitterns, swans, geese, 

 ducks, widgeons, wild geese . . . Birds fill also the woods." ^ 



Isaack de Rasieres, in a letter to Samuel Blommaert (1628), 

 states that there were many birds which were in abundance 

 there in the winter.^ 



Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, Jr. (1644), asserts: " We have 

 here, too, a great number of all kinds of fowl . . . which sport 

 upon the river in thousands in the spring of the year, and 

 again in the autumn fly away in flocks, so that in the morn- 

 ing and evening any one may stand ready with his gun before 

 his house and shoot them as they fly past." ^ 



David Pieterszoon de Vries (1642) speaks of great quanti- 

 ties of different kinds of Geese, Curlews, Snipe, Gulls and 

 many shore birds. Turtle Doves (Passenger Pigeons) were so 

 numerous that the light could hardly be discerned where they 

 flew, and other species of birds in large numbers.^ 



Hubbard (1680) says that on Long Island there was " great 

 store " of wild-fowl, such as Turkeys, Heath Hens, Quail, 

 Partridges, Pigeons, Cranes, Geese of several sorts. Brant, 

 Ducks, Widgeons, Teal " and divers others." * 



Martin Pring (1603), who visited the northern part of 

 Virginia (New England and adjacent lands), states that there 

 was "great store" of river and sea fowl.* 



In Archer's account of Gosnold's voyage we find the 

 statement that about May 22, 1602, the company reached 

 an island, south of Cape Cod, which they called Martha's 

 Vineyard, where they found wild-fowl breeding in abun- 

 dance. This island evidently was that now known as " No 

 Man's Land." It is given as in " latitude 413^." ^ 



In Brereton's account of Gosnold's voyage (1602) there 

 is a description of a fresh-water lake (which some later his- 

 torians have located on the island now known as Martha's 

 Vineyard), in which stood a small island that was "exceed- 



* Jameson, J. Franklin: Narratives of New Netherland, Am. Hiat. Aaso., 1909, p. 71. 

 ' Ibid., p. 113. 

 s Ihid., p. 169. 

 ' Ibid., p. 221. 



' Hubbard, William: General History of New England, Coll. Mass. Hist. Soe., Vol. VI, 2d ser., 

 p. 672. 



8 Jameson, J. Franklin: Early English and French Voyages, Am. Hist. Asso., 1906, p. 350, 

 » CoU. Mass. Hist. Soo., Vol. VIII, 3d ser., p. 76. 



