Chapter 17

{Fresh Water Sturgeon.} The first of these is the Sturgeon, of which we have Plenty, all the fresh Parts of our Rivers being well stor'd therewith. The Indians upon and towards the Heads and Falls of our Rivers, strike a great many of these, and eat them; yet the Indians near the Salt-Waters will not eat them. I have seen an Indian strike one of these Fish, seven Foot long, and leave him on the Sands to be eaten by the Gulls. In May, they run up towards the Heads of the Rivers, where you see several hundreds of them in one day. The Indians have another way to take them, which is by Nets at the end of a Pole. The Bones of these Fish make good Nutmeg-Graters.

{Pike.} The Jack, Pike, or Pickerel, is exactly the same, in Carolina, as they are in England. Indeed, I never saw this Fish so big and large in America, as I have in Europe, these with us being seldom above two Foot long, as far as I have yet seen. They are very plentiful with us in Carolina, all our Creeks and Ponds being full of them. I once took out of a Ware, above three hundred of these Fish, at a time.

{Trouts.} The same in England as in Carolina; but ours are a great way up the Rivers and Brooks, that are fresh, having swift Currents, and stony, and gravelly Bottoms.

{Gudgeon.} The same Gudgeons as in Europe are found in America.

{First Pearch.} The same sort of Pearch as are in England, we have likewise in Carolina, though, I think, ours never rise to be so large as in England.

{Second Pearch.} We have a white Pearch, so call'd, because he is of a Silver Colour, otherwise like the English Pearch. These we have in great Plenty, and they are preferable to the red ones.

{Third Pearch.} The brown Pearch, which some call Welch-men, are the largest sort of Pearches that we have, and very firm, white and sweet Fish. These grow to be larger than any Carp, and are very frequent in every Creek and Pond.

{Fourth flat.} The flat or mottled Pearch are shaped almost like a Bream. They are called Irish-men, being freckled or mottled with black, and blue Spots. They are never taken any where, but in the fresh Water. They are good Fish; but I do not approve of them, no more than of the other sorts of Pearch.

{Fifth Pearch, or Round Robin.} We have another sort of Pearch, which is the least sort of all, but as good Meat as any. These are distinguish'd from the other sorts, by the Name of Round-Robins; being flat, and very round-shap'd; they are spotted with red Spots very beautiful, and are easily caught with an Angle, as all the other sort of Pearches are.

{Carp.} We have the same Carp as you have in England.

{Roach.} And the same Roach; only scarce so large.

{Dace.} Dace are the same as yours too; but neither are these so large nor plentiful, as with you.

{Loach.} The same as in England.

{Sucking-Fish.} Sucking-Fish are the nearest in Taste and Shape to a Barbel, only they have no Barbs.

{Cat-Fish.} Cat-Fish are a round blackish Fish, with a great flat Head, a wide Mouth, and no Scales; they something resemble Eels in Taste. Both this sort, and another that frequents the Salt Water, are very plentiful.

{Grindals.} Grindals are a long scaled Fish with small Eyes; and frequent Ponds, Lakes, and slow-running Creeks and Swamps. They are a soft sorry Fish, and good for nothing; though some eat them for good Fish.

{Old-Wives.} These are a bright scaly Fish, which frequent the Swamps, and fresh Runs; they seem to be between an English Roach and a Bream, and eat much like the latter. The Indians kill abundance of these, and barbakue them, till they are crisp, then transport them, in wooden Hurdles, to their Towns and Quarters.

{Fountain-Fish.} The Fountain-Fish are a white sort which breed in the clear Running Springs and Fountains of Water, where the Clearness thereof makes them very difficult to be taken. I cannot say how good they are; because I have not as yet tasted of them.

{White-Fish.} The white Fish are very large; some being two Foot and a half long and more. They are found a great way up in the Freshes of the Rivers; and are firm Meat, and an extraordinary well-relish'd Fish.

{Barbouts Millers Thumbs.} Barbouts and Millers-Thumbs, are the very same here, in all respects, as they are in England. What more are in the fresh Waters we have not discover'd, but are satisfied, that we are not acquainted with one third part thereof; for we are told by the Indians, of a great many strange and uncouth shapes and sorts of Fish, which they have found in the Lakes laid down in my Chart. However as we can give no farther Account of these than by Hear-say; I proceed to treat of the Shell-Fish that are found in the Salt-Water, so far as they have already come to our Knowledge.

{Large Crabs.} The large Crabs, which we call Stone-Crabs, are the same sort as in England, having black Tips at the end of their Claws. These are plentifully met withal, down in Core Sound, and the South Parts of North-Carolina.

{Small flat Crabs.} The smaller flat Crabs I look upon to be the sweetest of all the Species. They are the Breadth of a lusty Man's Hand, or rather larger. These are innumerable, lying in most prodigious quantities, all over the Salts of Carolina. They are taken not only to eat, but are the best Bait for all sorts of Fish, that live in the Salt-Water. These Fish are mischievous to Night-Hooks, because they get away all the Bait from the Hooks.

{Oysters.} Oysters, great and small, are found almost in every Creek and Gut of Salt-Water, and are very good and well-relish'd. The large Oysters are excellent, pickled.

{Cockles.} One Cockle in Carolina is as big as five or six in England. They are often thrown upon the Sands on the Sound-Side, where the Gulls are always ready to open and eat them.

{Clams.} Clams are a sort of Cockles, only differing in Shell, which is thicker and not streak'd, or ribb'd. These are found throughout all the Sound and Salt-Water-Ponds. The Meat is the same for Look and Taste as the Cockle. These make an excellent strong Broth, and eat well, either roasted or pickled.

{Muscles.} The Muscles in Carolina have a very large Shell, striped with Dents. They grow by the side of Ponds and Creeks, in Salt-Water, wherein you may get as many of them as you please. I do not like them so well as the English Muscle, which is no good Shell-Fish.

{Conks.} Some of the Shells of these are as large as a Man's Hand, but the lesser sort are the best Meat, and those not extraordinary. They are shap'd like the end of a Horses Yard. Of their Shells, the Peak or Wampum is made, which is the richest Commodity amongst the Indians. They breed like a long Thing shap'd like a Snake, but containing a sort of Joints, in the Hollowness whereof are thousands of small Coaks, no bigger then small Grains of Pepper.

{Skellops.} The Skellops, if well dress'd, are a pretty Shell-Fish; but to eat them only roasted, without any other Addition, in my Judgment, are too luscious.

{Man of Noses.} Man of Noses are a Shell-Fish commonly found amongst us. They are valued for increasing Vigour in Men, and making barren Women fruitful; but I think they have no need of that Fish; for the Women in Carolina are fruitful enough without their Helps.

{Wilks.} Wilks, or Periwinkles, are not so large here, as in the Islands of Scilly, and in other Parts of Europe, though very sweet.

{Snail-Horn.} The Sea-Snail-Horn is large, and very good Meat; they are exactly shaped as other Snail-Horns are.

{Fidlar.} Fidlars are a sort of small Crabs, that lie in Holes in the Marshes. The Raccoons eat them very much. I never knew any one try, whether they were good Meat or no.

{Runner.} Runners live chiefly on the Sands, but sometimes run into the Sea. They have Holes in the Sand-Beaches and are a whitish sort of a Crab. Tho' small, they run as fast as a Man, and are good for nothing but to look at.

{Spanish-Oysters.} Spanish Oysters have a very thin Shell, and rough on the outside. They are very good Shell-Fish, and so large, that half a dozen are enow to satisfy an hungry Stomach.

{Flattings.} The Flattings are inclosed in a broad, thin Shell, the whole Fish being flat. They are inferiour to no Shell-Fish this Country affords.

{Finger-Fish.} Finger-Fish are very plentiful in this Country; they are of the Length of a Man's Finger, and lie in the Bottom of the Water about one or two Foot deep. They are very good.

{Shrimps.} Shrimps are here very plentiful and good, and are to be taken with a Small-Bow-Net, in great Quantities.

{Small-Cockles.} The small Cockles are about the Bigness of the largest English Cockles, and differ nothing from them, unless in the Shells, which are striped cross-wise as well as long-wise.

The Fresh-Water Shell-Fish are,

{Muscles.} Muscles, which are eaten by the Indians, after five or six hours Boiling, to make them tender, and then are good for nothing.

{Craw-Fish.} Craw-Fish, in the Brooks, and small Rivers of Water, amongst the Tuskeruro Indians, and up higher, are found very plentifully, and as good as any in the World.

And thus I have gone through the several Species of Fish, so far as they have come to my Knowledge, in the eight Years that I have lived in Carolina. I should have made a larger Discovery, when travelling so far towards the Mountains, and amongst the Hills, had it not been in the Winter-Season, which was improper to make any Enquiry into any of the Species before recited. Therefore, as my Intent was, I proceed to what remains of the Present State of Carolina, having already accounted for the Animals, and Vegetables, as far as this Volume would allow of; whereby the Remainder, though not exactly known, may yet be guess'd at, if we consider what Latitude Carolina lies in, which reaches from 29 to 36 deg. 30 min. Northern Latitude, as I have before observ'd. Which Latitude is as fertile and pleasant, as any in the World, as well for the Produce of Minerals, Fruit, Grain, and Wine, as other rich Commodities. And indeed, all the Experiments that have been made in Carolina, of the Fertility and natural Advantages of the Country, have exceeded all Expectation, as affording some Commodities, which other Places, in the same Latitude, do not. As for Minerals, as they are subterraneous Products, so, in all new Countries, they are the Species that are last discover'd; and especially, in Carolina, where the Indians never look for any thing lower than the Superficies of the Earth, being a Race of Men the least addicted to delving of any People that inhabit so fine a Country as Carolina is. As good if not better Mines than those the Spaniards possess in America, lie full West from us; and I am certain, we have as Mountainous Land, and as great Probability of having rich Minerals in Carolina, as any of those Parts that are already found to be so rich therein. But, waving this Subject, till some other Opportunity, I shall now give you some Observations in general, concerning Carolina, which are, first, that it lies as convenient for Trade as any of the Plantations in America; that we have Plenty of Pitch, Tar, Skins of Deer, and Beeves, Furs, Rice, Wheat, Rie, Indian Grain, sundry sorts of Pulse, Turpentine, Rozin, Masts, Yards, Planks and Boards, Staves and Lumber, Timber of many common sorts, fit for any Uses; Hemp, Flax, Barley, Oats, Buck-Wheat, Beef, Pork, Tallow, Hides, Whale-Bone and Oil, Wax, Cheese, Butter, &c. besides Drugs, Dyes, Fruit, Silk, Cotton, Indico, Oil, and Wine that we need not doubt of, as soon as we make a regular Essay, the Country being adorn'd with pleasant Meadows, Rivers, Mountains, Valleys, Hills, and rich Pastures, and blessed with wholesome pure Air; especially a little backwards from the Sea, where the wild Beasts inhabit, none of which are voracious. The Men are active, the Women fruitful to Admiration, every House being full of Children, and several Women that have come hither barren, having presently prov'd fruitful. There cannot be a richer Soil; no Place abounding more in Flesh and Fowl, both wild and tame, besides Fish, Fruit, Grain, Cider, and many other pleasant Liquors; together with several other Necessaries for Life and Trade, that are daily found out, as new Discoveries are made. The Stone and Gout seldom trouble us; the Consumption we are wholly Strangers to, no Place affording a better Remedy for that Distemper, than Carolina. For Trade, we lie so near to Virginia, that we have the Advantage of their Convoys; as also Letters from thence, in two or three Days at most, in some Places in as few Hours. Add to this, that the great Number of Ships which come within those Capes, for Virginia and Maryland, take off our Provisions, and give us Bills of Exchange for England, which is Sterling Money. The Planters in Virginia and Maryland are forc'd to do the same, the great Quantities of Tobacco that are planted there, making Provisions scarce; and Tobacco is a Commodity oftentimes so low, as to bring nothing, whereas Provisions and Naval Stores never fail of a Market. Besides, where these are raised, in such Plenty as in Carolina, there always appears good Housekeeping, and Plenty of all manner of delicate Eatables. For Instance, the Pork of Carolina is very good, the younger Hogs fed on Peaches, Maiz, and such other natural Produce; being some of the sweetest Meat that the World affords, as is acknowledged by all Strangers that have been there. And as for the Beef, in Pampticough, and the Southward Parts, it proves extraordinary. We have not only Provisions plentiful, but Cloaths of our own Manufactures, which are made, and daily increase; Cotton, Wool, Hemp, and Flax, being of our own Growth; and the Women to be highly commended for their Industry in Spinning, and ordering their Houswifry to so great Advantage as they generally do; which is much more easy, by reason this happy Climate, visited with so mild Winters, is much warmer than the Northern Plantations, which saves abundance of Cloaths; fewer serving our Necessities, and those of our Servants. But this is not all; for we can go out with our Commodities, to any other Part of the West-Indies, or elsewhere, in the Depth of Winter; whereas, those in New-England, New-York, Pensylvania, and the Colonies to the Northward of us, cannot stir for Ice, but are fast lock'd into their Harbours. Besides, we can trade with South-Carolina, and pay no Duties or Customs, no more than their own Vessels, both North and South being under the same Lords-Proprietors. We have, as I observ'd before, another great Advantage, in not being a Frontier, and so continually alarm'd by the Enemy; and what has been accounted a Detriment to us, proves one of the greatest Advantages any People could wish; which is, our Country's being faced with a Sound near ten Leagues over in some Places, through which, although there be Water enough for as large Ships to come in at, as in any part hitherto seated in both Carolinas; yet the Difficulty of that Sound to Strangers, hinders them from attempting any Hostilities against us; and, at the same time, if we consider the Advantages thereof, nothing can appear to be a better Situation, than to be fronted with such a Bulwark, which secures us from our Enemies. Furthermore, our Distance from the Sea rids us of two Curses, which attend most other Parts of America, viz. Muskeetos, and the Worm-biting, which eats Ships Bottoms out; whereas at Bath-Town, there is no such thing known; and as for Muskeetos, they hinder us of as little Rest, as they do you in England. Add to this, the unaccountable Quantities of Fish this great Water, or Sound, supplies us withal, whenever we take the Pains to fish for them; Advantages I have no where met withal in America, except here. As for the Climate, we enjoy a very wholsome and serene Sky, and a pure and thin Air, the Sun seldom missing to give us his daily Blessing, unless now and then on a Winters Day, which is not often; and when cloudy, the first Appearance of a North-West Wind clears the Horizon, and restores the Light of the Sun. The Weather, in Summer, is very pleasant; the hotter Months being refresh'd with continual Breezes of cool reviving Air; and the Spring being as pleasant, and beautiful, as in any Place I ever was in. The Winter, most commonly, is so mild, that it looks like an Autumn, being now and then attended with clear and thin North-West Winds, that are sharp enough to regulate English Constitutions, and free them from a great many dangerous Distempers, that a continual Summer afflicts them withal, nothing being wanting, as to the natural Ornaments and Blessings of a Country, that conduce to make reasonable Men happy. And, for those that are otherwise, they are so much their own Enemies, where they are, that they will scarce ever be any ones Friends, or their own, when they are transplanted; so, it's much better for all sides, that they remain as they are. Not but that there are several good People, that, upon just Grounds, may be uneasy under their present Burdens; and such I would advise to remove to the Place I have been treating of, where they may enjoy their Liberty and Religion, and peaceably eat the Fruits of their Labour, and drink the Wine of their own Vineyards, without the Alarms of a troublesome worldly Life. If a Man be a Botanist, here is a plentiful Field of Plants to divert him in; If he be a Gardner, and delight in that pleasant and happy Life, he will meet with a Climate and Soil, that will further and promote his Designs, in as great a Measure, as any Man can wish for; and as for the Constitution of this Government, it is so mild and easy, in respect to the Properties and Liberties of a Subject, that without rehearsing the Particulars, I say once for all, it is the mildest and best establish'd Government in the World, and the Place where any Man may peaceably enjoy his own, without being invaded by another; Rank and Superiority ever giving Place to Justice and Equity, which is the Golden Rule that every Government ought to be built upon, and regulated by. Besides, it is worthy our Notice, that this Province has been settled, and continued the most free from the Insults and Barbarities of the Indians, of any Colony that was ever yet seated in America; which must be esteem'd as a particular Providence of God handed down from Heaven, to these People; especially, when we consider, how irregularly they settled North-Carolina, and yet how undisturb'd they have ever remain'd, free from any foreign Danger or Loss, even to this very Day. And what may well be look'd upon for as great a Miracle, this is a Place, where no Malefactors are found, deserving Death, or even a Prison for Debtors; there being no more than two Persons, that, as far as I have been able to learn, ever suffer'd as Criminals, although it has been a Settlement near sixty Years; One of whom was a Turk that committed Murder; the other, an old Woman, for Witchcraft. These, 'tis true, were on the Stage, and acted many Years, before I knew the Place; but as for the last, I wish it had been undone to this day; although they give a great many Arguments, to justifie the Deed, which I had rather they should have a Hand in, than myself; seeing I could never approve of taking Life away upon such Accusations, the Justice whereof I could never yet understand.

But, to return to the Subject in Hand; we there make extraordinary good Bricks throughout the Settlement. All sorts of Handicrafts, as Carpenters, Joiners, Masons, Plaisterers, Shooemakers, Tanners, Taylors, Weavers, and most others, may, with small Beginnings, and God's Blessing, thrive very well in this Place, and provide Estates for their Children, Land being sold at a much cheaper Rate there, than in any other Place in America, and may, as I suppose, be purchased of the Lords-Proprietors here in England, or of the Governour there for the time being, by any that shall have a mind to transport themselves to that Country. The Farmers that go thither (for which sort of Men it is a very thriving Place) should take with them some particular Seeds of Grass, as Trefoil, Clover-grass all sorts, Sanfoin, and Common Grass, or that which is a Rarity in Europe; especially, what has sprung and rose first from a warm Climate, and will endure the Sun without flinching. Likewise, if there be any extraordinary sort of Grain for Increase or Hardiness, and some Fruit-Trees of choice Kinds, they will be both profitable and pleasant to have with you, where you may see the Fruits of your Labour in Perfection, in a few Years. The necessary Instruments of Husbandry I need not acquaint the Husbandman withal; Hoes of all sorts, and Axes must be had, with Saws, Wedges, Augurs, Nails, Hammers, and what other Things may be necessary for building with Brick, or Stone, which sort your Inclination and Conveniency lead you to. For, after having look'd over this Treatise, you must needs be acquainted with the Nature of the Country, and therefore cannot but be Judges, what it is that you will chiefly want. As for Land, none need want it for taking up, even in the Places there seated on the Navigable Creeks, Rivers, and Harbours, without being driven into remoter Holes and Corners of the Country, for Settlements, which all are forced to do, who, at this day, settle in most or all of the other English Plantations in America; which are already become so populous, that a New-Comer cannot get a beneficial and commodious Seat, unless he purchases, when, in most Places in Virginia and Maryland, a thousand Acres of good Land, seated on a Navigable Water, will cost a thousand Pounds; whereas, with us, it is at present obtain'd for the fiftieth Part of the Money. Besides, our Land pays to the Lords, but an easy Quit-Rent, or yearly Acknowledgement; and the other Settlements pay two Shillings per hundred. All these things duly weighed, any rational Man that has a mind to purchase Land in the Plantations for a Settlement of himself and Family, will soon discover the Advantages that attend the Settlers and Purchasers of Land in Carolina, above all other Colonies in the English Dominions in America. And as there is a free Exercise of all Persuasions amongst Christians, the Lords-Proprietors, to encourage Ministers of the Church of England, have given free Land towards the Maintenance of a Church, and especially, for the Parish of S. Thomas in Pampticough, over-against the Town, is already laid out for a Glebe of two hundred and twenty three Acres of rich well-situated Land, that a Parsonage-House may be built upon. And now I shall proceed to give an Account of the Indians, their Customs and Ways of Living, with a short Dictionary of their Speech.

An ACCOUNT of the INDIANS of NORTH-CAROLINA.

The Indians, which were the Inhabitants of America, when the Spaniards and other Europeans discover'd the several Parts of that Country, are the People which we reckon the Natives thereof; as indeed they were, when we first found out those Parts, and appear'd therein. Yet this has not wrought in me a full Satisfaction, to allow these People to have been the Ancient Dwellers of the New-World, or Tract of Land we call America. The Reasons that I have to think otherwise, are too many to set down here; but I shall give the Reader a few, before I proceed; and some others he will find scatter'd in my Writings elsewhere.