“It is a good harbor and pleasant bay, circled round, except in the
entrance, which is about four miles from land to land, compassed to
the very sea, with oaks, pines, juniper, sassafras, and other sweet
wood. It is a harbor wherein a thousand sail of ship may safely ride.
There we relieved ourselves with wood and water, and refreshed our
people while our shallop was fitted to coast the bay, to search for an
habitation; there was the greatest store of fowl that we ever saw. And
every day we saw whales playing hard by us, of which, in that place, if
we had instruments, and means to take them we might have made a very
rich return, which to our great grief, we wanted. Our master and his
mate, and others experienced in fishing, professed that we might have
made three or four thousand pounds worth of oil; they preferred it
before Greenland whale fishing and purposed the next Winter to fish for
whale here.”
The first of the exploring Pilgrims “were forced to wade a bow-shoot or
two in going aland, which caused many to get colds and coughs, for it
was many times freezing cold weather.” Much sickness developed in the
first harsh Winter and some deaths occurred later in Plymouth.