Having refreshed my self for a day or two upon Noddles-Island, I crossed the Bay in a small Boat to Boston, which then was rather a Village, than a Town, there being not [p. 20.] above Twenty or thirty houses; and presenting my respects to Mr. Winthorpe the Governour, and to Mr. Cotton the Teacher of Boston Church, to whom I delivered from Mr. Francis Quarles the poet, the Translation of the 16, 25, 51, 88, 113, and 137. Psalms into English Meeter, for his approbation, being civilly treated by all I had occasion to converse with, I returned in the Evening to my lodging.
The Twelfth day of July, after I had taken my leave of Mr. Maverick, and some other Gentlemen, I took Boat for the Eastern parts of the Countrie, and arrived at Black point in the Province of Main, which is 150 miles from Boston, the Fourteenth day, which makes my voyage 11 weeks and odd dayes.
The Countrey all along as I sailed, being no other than a meer Wilderness, here and there by the Sea-side a few scattered plantations, with as few houses.
About the Tenth of August, I hapned to walk into the Woods, not far from the Sea-side, and falling upon a piece of ground over-grown with bushes, called there black Currence, but differing from our Garden Currence, they being ripe and hanging in lovely bunches; I set up my piece against a stately Oake, with a resolution to fill my [p. 21.] belly, being near half a mile from the house; of a sudden I heard a hollow thumping noise upon the Rocks approaching towards me, which made me presently to recover my piece, which I had no sooner cock’d, than a great and grim over-grown she-Wolf appears, at whom I shot, and finding her Gor-belly stuft with flesh newly taken in, I began presently to suspect that she had fallen foul upon our Goats, which were then valued (our she Goats) at Five pound a Goat; Therefore to make further discovery, I descended (it being low water) upon the Sea sands, with an intent to walk round about a neck of land where the Goats usually kept. I had not gone far before I found the footing of two Wolves, and one Goat betwixt them, whom they had driven into a hollow, betwixt two Rocks, hither I followed their footing, and perceiving by the Crowes, that there was the place of slaughter, I hung my piece upon my back, and upon all four clambered up to the top of the Rock, where I made ready my piece and shot at the dog Wolf, who was feeding upon the remainder of the Goat, which was only the fore shoulders, head and horns, the rest being devoured by the she-Wolf, even to the very hair of the Goat: and it is very observable, that when [p. 22.] the Wolves have kill’d a Beast, or a Hog, not a Dog-Wolf amongst them offers to eat any of it, till the she-Wolves have filled their paunches.
The Twenty fourth of September, being Munday about 4 of the clock in the afternoon, a fearful storm of wind began to rage, called a Hurricane. It is an impetuous wind that goes commonly about the Compass in the space of 24 hours, it began from the W. N. W. and continued till next morning, the greatest mischief it did us, was the wracking of our Shallop, and the blowing down of many tall Trees, in some places a mile together.
December the Tenth, happened an Eclipse of the Moon at 8 of the clock at night, it continued till after 11, as near as we could guess; in old England it began after midnight, and continued till 4 of the clock in the morning; if Seamen would make observation of the time, either of the beginning or ending of the Eclipse, or total darkness of Sun and Moon in all places where they shall happen to be, and confer their observations to some Artist, hereby the longitude of all places might be certainly known, which are now very uncertainly reported to us.
1639. May, which fell out to be extream hot and foggie, about the middle of May, I [p. 23.] kill’d within a stones throw of our house, above four score Snakes, some of them as big as the small of my leg, black of colour, and three yards long, with a sharp horn on the tip of their tail two inches in length.
June the Six and twentieth day, very stormie, Lightning and Thunder. I heard now two of the greatest and fearfullest thunder-claps that ever were heard, I am confident. At this time we had some neighbouring Gentlemen in our house, who came to welcome me into the Countrey; where amongst variety of discourse they told me of a young Lyon (not long before) kill’d at Piscataway by an Indian; of a Sea-Serpent or Snake, that lay quoiled up like a Cable upon a Rock at Cape-Ann: a Boat passing by with English aboard, and two Indians, they would have shot the Serpent but the Indians disswaded them, saying, that if he were not kill’d out-right, they would be all in danger of their lives.
One Mr. Mittin related of a Triton or Mereman which he saw in Cascobay, the Gentleman was a great Fouler, and used to goe out with a small Boat or Canow, and fetching a compass about a small Island, (there being many small Islands in the Bay) for the advantage of a shot, was encountred [p. 24.] with a Triton, who laying his hands upon the side of the Canow, had one of them chopt off with a Hatchet by Mr. Mittin, which was in all respects like the hand of a man, the Triton presently sunk, dying the water with his purple blood, and was no more seen. The next story was told by Mr. Foxwell, now living in the province of Main, who having been to the Eastward in a Shallop, as far as Cape-Ann a Waggon in his return was overtaken by the night, and fearing to land upon the barbarous shore, he put off a little further to Sea; about midnight they were wakened with a loud voice from the shore, calling upon Foxwell, Foxwell come a shore, two or three times: upon the Sands they saw a great fire, and Men and Women hand in hand dancing round about it in a ring, after an hour or two they vanished, and as soon as the day appeared, Foxwell puts into a small Cove, it being about three quarters floud, and traces along the shore, where he found the footing of Men, Women and Children shod with shoes; and an infinite number of brands-ends thrown up by the water, but neither Indian nor English could he meet with on the shore, nor in the woods; these with many other stories they told me, the credit whereof I will neither impeach nor inforce, but shall [p. 25.] satisfie my self, and I hope the Reader hereof, with the saying of a wise, learned and honourable Knight, that there are many Stranger things in the world, than are to be seen between London and Stanes.