Having related unto you the pleasant situation of the Countrey, the healthfulnesse of the climate, the nature of the soile, with his vegetatives, and other commodities; it will not be amisse to informe you of such irrationall creatures as are daily bred and continually nourished in this countrey, which doe much conduce to the well being of the Inhabitants, affording not onely meate for the belly, but cloathing for the backe. The beasts be as followeth.

Concerning Lyons, I will not say that I ever saw any my selfe, but some affirme that they have seene a Lyon at Cape Anne which is not above six leagues from Boston: some likewise being lost in woods, have heard such terrible roarings, as have made them much agast; which must eyther be Devills or Lyons; there being no other creatures which use to roare saving Beares, which have not such a terrible kind of roaring: besides, Plimouth men have traded for Lyons skinnes in former times. But sure it is that there be Lyons on that Continent, for the Virginians saw an old Lyon in their plantations, who having lost his Iackall, which was wont to hunt his prey, was brought so poore that he could goe no further. For Beares they be common, being a great blacke kind of Beare, which be most feirce in Strawberry time, at which time they have young ones; at this time likewise they will goe upright like a man, and clime trees, and swimme to the Islands; which if the Indians see, there will be more sportfull Beare bayting than Paris Garden can affoard. For seeing the Beares take water, an Indian will leape after him, where they goe to water cuffes for bloody noses, and scratched sides; in the end the man gets the victory, riding the Beare over the watery plaine till he can beare him no longer. In the winter they take themselves to the clifts of rockes, and thicke swamps, to shelter them from the cold; and foode being scant in those cold and hard times, they live onely by sleeping and sucking their pawes, which keepeth them as fat as they are in Summer; there would be more of them if it were not for the Woolves, which devoure them; a kennell of those ravening runnagadoes, setting on a poore single Beare, will teare him as a Dogge will teare a Kid: it would be a good change if the countrey had for every Woolfe a Beare, upon the condition all the woolves were banished; so should the inhabitants be not onely rid of their greatest annoyance, but furnished with more store of provisions, Beares being accounted very good meate, esteemed of all men above Venison: againe they never prey upon the English cattle, or offer to assault the person of any man, unlesse being vexed with a shot, and a man run upon them before they be dead, in which case they will stand in their owne defence, as may appeare by this instance. Two men going a fowling, appointed at evening to meete at a certaine pond side, to share equally, and to returne home; one of these Gunners having killed a Seale or Sea calfe, brought it to the side of the pond where hee was to meete his comrade, afterwards returning to the Sea side for more gaine; and having loaded himselfe with more Geese and Duckes, he repaired to the pond, where hee saw a great Beare feeding on his Seale, which caused him to throw downe his loade, and give the Beare a salute; which though it was but with Goose shot, yet tumbled him over and over, whereupon the man supposing him to be in a manner dead, ran and beate him with the hand of his Gunne; The Beare perceiving him to be such a coward to strike him when he was down, scrambled up, standing at defiance with him, scratching his legges, tearing his cloathes and face, who stood it out till his six foot Gunne was broken in the middle, then being deprived of his weapon, he ran up to the shoulders into the pond, where hee remained till the Beare was gone, and his mate come in, who accompanied him home.

The beast called a Moose, is not much unlike red Deare, this beast is as bigge as an Oxe; slow of foote, headed like a Bucke, with a broade beame, some being two yards wide in the head, their flesh is as good as Beefe, their hides good for cloathing; The English have some thoughts of keeping them tame, and to accustome them to the yoake, which will be a great commoditie: First because they are so fruitfull, bringing forth three at a time, being likewise very uberous. Secondly, because they will live in winter without any fodder. There be not many of these in the Massachusets bay, but forty miles to the Northeast there be great store of them; These pore beasts likewise are much devoured by the Woolves: The ordinary Deare be much bigger than the Deare of England, of a brighter colour, more inclining to red, with spotted bellies; the most store of these be in winter, when the more Northerne parts of the countrey bee cold for them; they desire to be neare the Sea, so that they may swimme to the Islands when they are chased by the Woolves: It is not to be thought into what great multitudes they would encrease, were it not for the common devourer the Woolfe; They have generally three at a time, which they hide a mile one from another, giving them sucke by turnes; thus they doe, that if the Woolfe should finde one, he might misse of the other. These Deare be fat in the deepe of winter; In Summer it is hard catching of them with the best Greyhounds that may be procured, because they bee swift of foote. Some credible persons have affirmed, that they have seene a Deare leape three score feet at little or no forcement; besides, there be so many old trees, rotten stumps, and Indian barnes, that a dog cannot well run without being shoulder-shot: yet would I not disswade any from carrying good dogges; for in the winter time they be very usefull; for when the snow is hard frozen, the Deare being heavie, sinkes into the snow, the doggs being light runne upon the top and overtake them, and pull them downe: some by this meanes have gotten twenty Buckes and Does in a winter, the hornes of these Deare grow in such a straight manner, (overhanging their heads) that they cannot feede upon such things as grow low, till they have cast their old hornes: of these Deare there be a great many, and more in the Massachusets bay, than in any other place, which is a great helpe and refreshment to these planters. The Porcupine is a small thing not much unlike a Hedgehog; something bigger, who stands upon his guard and proclaimes a Noli me tangere, to man and beast, that shall approach too neare him, darting his quills into their legges, and hides. The Rackoone is a deepe furred beast, not much unlike a Badger, having a tayle like a Fox, as good meate as a Lambe; there is one of them in the Tower. These beasts in the day time sleepe in hollow trees, in the moone shine night they goe to feede on clammes at a low tide, by the Sea side, where the English hunt them with their dogges. The Squerrells be of three sorts, first the great gray Squerrell, which is almost as bigge as an English Rabbet; of these there be the greatest plenty, one may kill a dozen of them in an afternoone, about three of the clocke they begin to walke. The second is a small Squerrell, not unlike the English Squerrell, which doth much trouble the planters of Corne, so that they are constrained to set divers Trappes, and to carry their Cats into the Corne fields, till their corne be three weekes old. The third kind is a flying Squerrell, which is not very bigge, slender of body, with a great deale of loose skinne which shee spreads square when shee flyes, which the winde gets, and so wafts her Batlike body from place to place; it is a creature more for sight and wonderment, than eyther pleasure or profit. The Rabbets be much like ours in England. The Hares be some of them white, and a yard long; these two harmelesse creatures are glad to shelter themselves from the harmefull Foxes, in hollow trees, having a hole at the entrance no bigger than they can creepe in at: if they should make them holes in the ground, as our English Rabbets doe, the undermining Renoilds would rob them of their lives, and extirpate their generation. The beasts of offence be Squunckes, Ferrets, Foxes, whose impudence sometimes drives them to the good wives Hen roost, to fill their Paunch: some of these be blacke; their furre is of much esteeme.

The Ounce or the wilde Cat, is as big as a mungrell dog, this creature is by nature feirce, and more dangerous to bee met withall than any other creature, not fearing eyther dogge or man; he useth to kill Deare, which hee thus effecteth: Knowing the Deares tracts, hee will lye lurking in long weedes, the Deare passing by he suddenly leapes upon his backe, from thence gets to his necke, and scratcheth out his throate; he hath likewise a devise to get Geese, for being much of the colour of a Goose he will place himselfe close by the water, holding up his bob taile, which is like a Goose necke; the Geese seeing this counterfet Goose, approach nigh to visit him, who with a suddaine jerke apprehends his mistrustlesse prey. The English kill many of these, accounting them very good meat. Their skinnes be a very deepe kind of Furre, spotted white and black on the belly. The Woolves bee in some respect different from them of other countries; it was never knowne yet that a Woolfe ever set upon a man or woman. Neyther do they trouble horses or cowes; but swine, goates and red calves which they take for Deare, be often destroyed by them, so that a red calfe is cheaper than a blacke one in that regard; in Autumne and the beginning of the Spring, these ravenous rangers doe most frequent our English habitations, following the Deare which come downe at that time to those parts. They be made much like a Mungrell, being big boned, lanke paunched, deepe breasted, having a thicke necke, and head, pricke eares, and long snoute, with dangerous teeth, long flaring haire, and a great bush taile; it is thought of many, that our English Mastiffes might be too hard for them; but it is no such matter, for they care no more for an ordinary Mastiffe, than an ordinary Mastiffe cares for a Curre; many good Dogges have beene spoyled with them. Once a faire Grayhound hearing them at their howlings run out to chide them, who was torne in peeces before he could be rescued. One of them makes no more bones to runne away with a Pigge, than a Dogge to runne away with a Marrow bone. It is observed that they have no joynts from the head to the tayle, which prevents them from leaping, or suddaine turning, as may appeare by what I shall shew you. A certaine man having shot a Woolfe, as he was feeding upon a Swine, breaking his legge onely, hee knew not how to devise his death, on a suddaine, the Woolfe being a blacke one, he was loath to spoyle his furre with a second shot, his skinne being worth five or sixe pound Sterling; wherefore hee resolved to get him by the tayle, and thrust him into a River that was hard by; which effected, the Woolfe being not able to turne his joyntlesse body to bite him, was taken. That they cannot leape, may appeare by this Woolfe, whose mouth watering at a few poore impaled Kiddes, would needes leape over a five-foote pale to be at them; but his foote slipping in the rise, he fell a little short of his desire, and being hung in the Carpenters stockes, howled so loud, that he frighted away the Kids, and called the English, who killed him. These be killed dayly in some place or other, either by the English, or Indian; who have a certaine rate for every head: Yet is there little hope of their utter destruction, the Countrey being so spacious, and they so numerous, travelling in the Swamps by Kennels: sometimes ten or twelve are of a company. Late at night, and early in the morning, they set up their howlings, and call their companies together at night to hunt, at morning to sleepe; in a word they be the greatest inconveniency the Countrey hath, both for matter of dammage to private men in particular, and the whole Countrey in generall.