The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part IHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part I
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
and Raspis, as common as grasse. The timber is most Firre, yet plentie of
Pineapple trees: fewe of these two kinds meete to maste a ship of
threescore and ten: But neere Cape Briton, and to the Southward, big and
sufficient for any ship. There be also Okes and thornes, there is in all
the countrey plentie of Birch and Alder, which be the meetest wood for
cold, and also willow, which will serue for many other purposes. [Sidenote:
Seueral sortes of fish.] As touching the kindes of Fish beside Cod, there
are Herrings, Salmons, Thornebacke, Plase, or rather wee should call them
Flounders, Dog fish, and another most excellent of taste called of vs a
Cat, Oisters, and Muskles, in which I haue found pearles aboue 40. in one
Muskle, and generally all haue some, great or small. I heard of a Portugall
that found one woorth 300. duckets: There are also [Sidenote: Called by
Spaniards Anchouas, and by the Portugals Capelinas.] other kinds of
Shel-fish, as limpets, cockles, wilkes, lobsters, and crabs: also a fish
like a Smelt which commeth on shore, and another that hath like propertie,
called a Squid: there be the fishes, which (when I please to bee merie with
my olde companions) I say doe come on shore when I commaund them in the
name of the 5 ports, and coniure them by such like words: These also bee
the fishes which I may sweepe with broomes on a heape, and neuer wet my
foote, onely two or three wordes whatsoeuer they be appointed by any man,
so they heare my voyce: the vertue of the wordes be small, but the nature
of the fish great and strange. For the Squid, whose nature is to come by
night as by day, I tell them, I set him a candle to see his way, with which
he is much delighted, or els commeth to wonder at it as doth our fresh
water fish, the other commeth also in the night, but chiefly in the day,
being forced by the Cod that would deuoure him, and therefore for feare
comming so neare the shore, is driuen drie by the surge of the sea on the
pibble and sands. Of these being as good as a Smelt you may take vp with a
shoue net as plentifully as you do Wheat in a shouell, sufficient in three
or four houres for a whole Citie. There be also other fishes which I tell
those that are desirous of stange newes, that I take as fast as one would
gather vp stones, and them I take with a long pole and hooke. Yea marrie
say they, wee beleeue so, and that you catch all the rest you bring home in
that sort, from Portugals and Frenchmen. No surely, but thus I doe: with
three hookes stretched foorth in the ende of a pole, I make as it were an
Eele speare, with which I pricke these Flounders as fast as you would take
vp fritters with a sharpe pointed sticke, and with that toole I may take vp
in lesse then halfe a day Lobsters sufficient to finde three hundred men
for a dayes meate. This pastime ended, I shewe them that for my pleasure I
take a great Mastiue I haue, and say no more then thus: Goe fetch me this
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