To his friend Cap: Smith vpon his description of New England.

Ir; your Relations I haue read: which shewe,
Their's reason I should honour them and you;
And if their meaning I haue vnderstood,

I dare to censure, thus: Your Proiect's good;
And may (if follow'd) doubtlesse quit the paine,
With honour, pleasure and a treeble gaine;
Beside the benefit that shall arise

To make more happie our Posterities.

For would we daigne to spare, though' twere no more Then what o're-filles, and surfets vs in store,

To order Nature's fruitfulnesse a while

In that rude Garden, you New England stile;
With present good, ther's hope in after-daies
Thence to repaire what Time and Pride decaies.
In this rich kingdome. And the spatious West
Being still more with English blood possest,
The Proud Iberians shall not rule those Seas,
To checke our ships from sayling where they please;
Nor future times make any forraine power
Become so great to force a bound to Our.

Much good my minde fore-tels would follow hence
With little labour, and with lesse expence.
Thriue therefore thy Designe, who ere enuie:
England may ioy in England's Colony,
Virginia seeke her Virgine sisters good,
Be blessed in such happie neighbourhood:
Or, what-soere Fate pleaseth to permit,
Be thou still honor'd for first moquing it.

George Wither,

è societate Lincols.

B

In the deserued honour of my honest and worthie Captaine,

John Smith, and his Worke.

Captaine and friends when I peruse thy booke
(With Judgements eyes) into thy heart I looke:
And there I finde (what sometimes-Albyon) knew)
A Souldier, to his Countries-honour, true.

Some fight for wealth; and some for emptie praise;
But thou alone thy Countries Fame to raise.
With due discretion, and vndanted heart,
I (oft) so well haue seene thee act thy Part
In deepest plunge of hard extreamitie,

As forc't the troups of proudest foes to flie. Though men of greater Ranke and lesse desert Would Pish-away thy Praise, it can not start

From the true Owner; for, all good-mens tongues Shall keepe the same. To them that Part belongs. If, then, Wit, Courage, and Successe should get Thee Fame; the Muse for that is in thy debt: A part whereof (least able though I bee) Thus heere I doe disburse, to honor Thee.

Rawly Croshaw.

Michael Phettiplace, William Phettiplace, and Richard Wiffing, Gentlemen, and Souldiers vnder Captaine Smiths Command: In his deserued

Hy

honor for his Worke, and worth.

Why may not we in this Worke haue our Mite,

That had our share in each black day and night, When thou Virginia soild'st, yet kept'st vnstained; And held'st the King of Paspeheh enchained. Thou all alone in Saluage sterne didst take. Pamunkes king wee saw thee captiue make Among seauen hundred of his stoutest men, To murther thee and vs resolued; when Fast by the hand thou ledst this Saluage grim, Thy Pistoll at his breast to gouerne him: Which did infuse such awe in all the rest

(Sith their drad Soueraigne thou had'st so distrest)
That thou and wee (poore sixteene) safe retir'd
Vnto our helplesse ships. Thou (thus admir'd)
Didst make proud Powhatan, his subiects send
To Iames his Towne, thy censure to attend :
And all Virginia's Lords, and pettie Kings,
Aw'd by thy vertue, crouch, and Presents brings
To gaine thy grace; so dreaded thou hast beenc:
And yet a heart more milde is seldome seene;
So, making Valour Vertue, really;

Who hast nought in thee counterfet, or slie:
If in the sleight bee not the truest art,
That makes men famoused for faire desert.

Who saith of thee, this sauors of vaine-glorie,
Mistakes both thee and vs, and this true storie.
If it bee ill in Thee, so well to doe;
Then, is it ill in Vs, to praise the too,
But, if the first bee well done; it is well,
To say it doth (if so it doth) excell!
Praise is the guerdon of each deere desert,
Making the praised act the praised part

With more alacritie: Honours Square is Praise;
Without which, it (regardlesse) soone decaies.

And for this paines of thine wee praise thee rather,
That future Times may know who was the father
Of this rare Worke (New England) which may bring
Praise to thy God, and profit to thy King.

Because the the Booke was printed ere

the Prince his Highnesse had altered the names, I intreate the Reader, peruse this schedule; which will plainely shew him the correspondence

The old names.

Cape Cod

Chawum

Accomack

Sagoquas

Massachusets Mount

Massachusets Riuer

Totant

of the old names to the new.

Naemkeck

Bastable

Monahigan

Segocket

Aggawom

Southampton Matinnack

Smiths Iles

Smiths Iles

Metinnicus

A Country not discouerd Bristow

A DESCRIPTION OF New-England, by Captaine John Smith.

N the moneth of Aprill, 1614. with two Ships My first voyage from London, of a few Marchants, I chanced

to new-England.

to ariue in New-England, a parte of Ameryca, at the Ile of Monahiggan, in 43 of Northerly latitude: our plot was there to take Whales and make tryalls of a Myne of Gold and Copper. If those failed, Fish and Furres was then our refuge, to make our selues sauers howsoeuer: we found this Whalefishing a costly conclusion: we saw many, and spent much time in chasing them; but could not kill any: They beeing a kinde of Iubartes, and not the Whale that yeeldes Finnes and Oyle as wee expected. For our Golde, it was rather the Masters deuice to get a voyage that proiected it, then any knowledge hee had at all of any such matter. Fish and

Furres was now our guard: and by our late arriual, and long lingring about the Whale, the prime of both those seasons were past ere wee perceiued it; we thinking that their seasons serued at all times: but wee found it otherwise; for by the midst of Iune, the fishing failed. Yet in July and August some was taken, but not sufficient to defray so great a charge as our stay required. Of dry fish we made about 40000. of Cor fish about 7000. Whilest the sailers fished, my selfe with eight or nine others of them might best bee spared; Ranging the coast in a small boat, wee got for trifles neer 1100 Beuer skinnes, 100 Martins, and neer as many Otters; and the most of them within the distance of twenty leagues. We ranged the Coast both East and West much furder; but Eastwards our commodities were not esteemed, they were so neare the French who affords them better: and right against vs in the Main was a Ship of Sir Frances Popphames, that had there such acquaintance, hauing many yeares vsed onely that porte, that the most parte there was had by him. And 40 leagues westwards were two French Ships, that had made there a great voyage by trade, during the time wee tryed those conclusions, not knowing the Coast, nor Saluages habitation.