the purpose.

There are also in many places plenty of these kinds which follow:

Sea crabs, such as we have in England.

Oysters, some very great, and some small; some round and some of a
long shape. They are found both in salt water and brackish, and
those that we had out of salt water are far better than the other
as in our own country.

Also mussels, scallops, periwinkles and crevises.

_Seekanauk_, a kind of crusty shellfish which is good meat about a
foot in breadth, having a crusty tail, many legs like a crab, and
her eyes in her back. They are found in shallows of salty waters;
and sometimes on the shore.

There are many tortoises both of land and sea kind, their backs and
bellies are shelled very thick; their head, feet and tail, which
are in appearance, seem ugly as though they were members of a
serpent or venomous; but notwithstanding they are very good meat,
as also their eggs. Some have been found of a yard in breadth and
better.

In a charming drawing of a group of Indian maidens John White, the
artist associate, commented: "They delight ... in seeing fish taken in
the rivers."

Over and over the first visitors to the Chesapeake bay painted rosy
pictures of its marine life, stressing the abundance, variety and
tastiness of the fish and shellfish. Exploration and communication were
chiefly by water: it was natural that emphasis be laid on water
resources. Though it is proverbial that fish stories partake of
fiction, in the case of John Smith and his successors, it is doubtful
whether they were greatly exaggerated. This was a world where nature,
especially in the waters, was immeasurably prolific.

On the other hand, the conclusions drawn by many of those reading the
reports were probably unjustified. The infinite plenty was one thing.
Making constant and profitable use of it was another.

Thus, although Smith cited an impressive roster of edible fish in the
vicinity of Jamestown, it was not to follow that the settlers were
always able to turn them to advantage. There were several good reasons.

Long before Jamestown the fisheries off the coast of Northern America
and Canada were known to be richly productive, with promise of an
organized and dependable industry. But farther south conditions were
found to be quite different. The fishing in the Chesapeake bay had
frustrating ways. Sometimes there were hordes of fish. Again they