yet in ten weeks but seven died.

For once he paints a brighter picture:

The next night, being lodged at Kecoughtan, six or seven days the
extreme wind, rain, frost, and snow caused us to keep Christmas
among the savages, where we were never more merry, nor fed on more
plenty of good oysters, fish, flesh, wild fowl, and good bread.

He describes further ups and downs:

Now we so quietly followed our business that in three months, we
... provided nets and weirs for fishing.

Sixty or eighty with Ensign Laxon were sent down the river to live
upon oysters, and twenty with Lieutenant Percy to try fishing at
Point Comfort. But in six weeks, they would not agree once to cast
out their net.

We had more sturgeon than could be devoured by dog or man, of which
the industrious by drying and pounding, mingled with caviar,
sorrel, and other wholesome herbs, would make bread and good meat.

Despite the privations much food is available, Smith avers:

In summer no place affords more plenty of sturgeon, nor in winter
more abundance of fowl, especially in time of frost. There was once
taken fifty-two sturgeon at a draught, at another draught
sixty-eight. From the latter end of May till the end of June are
taken few but young sturgeon of two foot or a yard long. From
thence till the midst of September them of two or three yards long
and a few others. And in four or five hours with one net were
ordinarily taken seven or eight; often more, seldom less. In the
small rivers all the year there is a good plenty of small fish, so
that with hooks those that would take pains had sufficient....

Of fish we were best acquainted with sturgeon, grampus, porpoise,
seals, stingrays whose tails are very dangerous, brits, mullets,
white salmon, trouts, soles, plaice, herring, conyfish, rockfish,
eels, lampreys, catfish, shad, perch of three sorts, crabs,
shrimps, crevises, oysters, cockles, and mussels. But the most
strange fish is a small one so like the picture of St. George's
dragon as possibly can be, except his legs and wings; and the
toadfish which will swell till it be like to burst when it comes
into the air.

When Smith spoke of sturgeon he was most probably referring to the
James river, the best waters for sturgeon in Virginia to this day. The
"small rivers" were the fresh-water tributaries of the large sa