Discovered.
In the year of our Lord 1663. _May 28._ upon an Invitation from my
only Brother, I departed from _London_, and arrived at _Boston_,
the chief Town in the _Massachusetts_, a Colony of _Englishmen_ in
_New-England_, the _28th_ of _July_ following.
_Boston_ (whose longitude is 315 deg. and 42 deg. 30 min. of North
Latitude) is built on the South-west side of a Bay large enough for
the Anchorage of 500 Sail of Ships, the Buildings are handsome,
joyning one to the other as in _London_, with many large streets,
most of them paved with pebble stone, in the high street towards
the Common, there are fair buildings, some of stone, and at the
East End of the {2} Town one amongst the rest, built by the Shore
by Mr. _Gibs_, a Merchant, being a stately Edifice, which it is
thought will stand him in little less than 3000 _l._ before it be
fully finished.[26] The Town is not divided into Parishes, yet they
have three fair Meeting-houses or Churches, which hardly suffice to
receive the Inhabitants and Strangers that come in from all parts.[27]
Having refreshed my self here for some time, and opportunely lighting
upon a passage in a Bark belonging to a Friend of my Brothers, and
bound to the Eastward, I put to sea again, and on the Fifteenth of
_August_, I arrived at _Black-point_, otherwise called _Scarborow_,
the habitation of my beloved Brother,[28] being about an hundred
leagues to the Eastward of _Boston_; here I resided eight years, and
made it my business to discover all along the Natural, Physical, and
Chyrurgical Rarities of this New-found World.
_New-England_ is said to begin at 40 and to end at 46 of Northerly
Latitude, that is from _de la Ware_ Bay to _New-found-Land_.
The Sea Coasts are accounted wholsomest, the East and South Winds
coming {3} from Sea produceth warm weather, the Northwest coming
over land causeth extremity of Cold, and many times strikes the
Inhabitants both _English_ and _Indian_ with that sad Disease called
there the Plague of the back, but with us _Empiema_.[29]
The Country generally is Rocky and Mountanous, and extremely
overgrown with wood, yet here and there beautified with large rich
Valleys, wherein are Lakes ten, twenty, yea sixty miles in compass,
out of which our great Rivers have their Beginnings.[30]
Fourscore miles (upon a direct line) to the Northwest of _Scarborow_,
a Ridge of Mountains run Northwest and Northeast an hundred Leagues,
known by the name of the _White Mountains_, upon which lieth Snow all
the year, and is a Land-mark twenty miles off at Sea. It is rising
ground from the Sea shore to these Hills, and they are inaccessible
but by the Gullies which the dissolved Snow hath made; in these
Gullies grow _Saven_ Bushes, which being taken hold of are a good
help to the climbing Discoverer; upon the top of the highest of these
Mountains is a large Level {4} or Plain of a days journey over,
whereon nothing grows but Moss: at the farther end of this Plain is
another Hill called the _Sugar-Loaf_, to outward appearance a rude
heap of massie stones piled one upon another, and you may as you
ascend step from one stone to another, as if you were going up a pair
of stairs, but winding still about the Hill till you come to the top,
which will require half a days time, and yet it is not above a Mile,
where there is also a Level of about an Acre of ground, with a pond
of clear water in the midst of it; which you may hear run down, but
how it ascends is a mystery. From this rocky Hill you may see the
whole Country round about; it is far above the lower Clouds, and from
hence we beheld a Vapour (like a great Pillar) drawn up by the Sun
Beams out of a great Lake or Pond into the Air, where it was formed
into a Cloud. The Country beyond these Hills Northward is daunting
terrible, being full of rocky Hills, as thick as Mole-hills in a
Meadow, and cloathed with infinite thick Woods.[31]
_New-England_ is by some affirmed to be an Island, bounded on
the North with the {5} River _Canada_, (so called from Monsieur
_Cane_) on the South with the River _Mohegan_, or _Hudsons_ River,
so called because he was the first that discovered it.[32] Some
will have _America_ to be an Island, which out of question must
needs be, if there be a Northeast passage found out into the South
Sea; it contains 1152400000 Acres. The discovery of the Northwest
passage (which lies within the River of _Canada_) was undertaken
with the help of some Protestant _Frenchmen_, which left _Canada_
and retired to _Boston_ about the year 1669. The Northeast people of
_America_ i.e. _New England_, _&c._ are judged to be _Tartars_ called
_Samoades_, being alike in complexion, shape, habit and manners,
(see the _Globe_:) Their Language is very significant, using but few
words, every word having a diverse signification, which is exprest
by their gesture; as when they hold their head of one side the word
signifieth one thing, holding their hand up when they pronounce it
signifieth another thing. Their Speeches in their Assemblies are very
gravely delivered, commonly in perfect _Hexamiter_ Verse, with great
silence and attention, and answered again _ex tempore_ after the same
manner.[33]
{6} Having given you some short Notes concerning the Country
in general, I shall now enter upon the proposed Discovery of
the Natural, Physical, and Chyrurgical Rarities; and that I may
methodically deliver them unto you, I shall cast them into this
form: 1. Birds. 2. Beasts. 3. Fishes. 4. Serpents and Insects. 5.
Plants, of these, 1. such Plants as are common with us, 2. of such
Plants as are proper to the country, 3. of such Plants as are proper
to the Country and have no name known to us, 4. of such Plants as
have sprung up since the _English_ Planted and kept Cattle there, 5.
of such Garden Herbs (amongst us) as do thrive there and of such as
do not. 6. Of Stones, Minerals, Metals, and Earths.