by Captaine Iohn Smith.
9
diuerse Townes and people belonging; and by their relations and descriptions, more then 20 seuerall Habitations and Riuers that stretch themselues farre vp into the Countrey, euen to the borders of diuerse great Lakes, where they kill and take most of their Beuers and Otters. From Pennobscot to Sagadahock this Coast is all Mountainous and Iles of huge Rocks, but ouergrowen with all sorts of excellent good woodes for building houses, boats, barks or shippes; with an incredible abundance of most sorts of fish, much fowle, and sundry sorts of good fruites for mans vse
The mixture of an excellent soyle.Betwixt Sagadahock and Sowocatuck there is but two or three sandy Bayes, but betwixt that and Cape Cod very many: especialy the Coast of the Massachusets is so indifferently mixed with high clayie or sandy cliffes in one place, & then tracts of large long ledges of diuers sorts, and quarries of stones in other places so strangely diuided with tinctured veines of diuers colours: as, Free stone for building, Slate for tiling, smooth stone to make Fornaces and Forges for glasse or iron, and iron ore sufficient, conueniently to melt in them: but the most part so resembleth the Coast of Deuonshire, I thinke most of the cliffes would make such lime-stone If they be not of these qualities, they are so like, they may deceiue a better iudgement then mine; all which are so neere adioyning to those other aduantages I obserued in these parts, that if the Ore proue as good iron & steele in those parts, as I know it is within the bounds ofthe
