‘To dig for clams’

1677 map

Clam digging on Cape Cod.

—Photo by Invertzoo

“The luscious lobster with the codfish raw,

The brinish oyster, mussel, periwig,

And tortoise sought for by the Indian squaw,

Which to the flats dance many a winter’s jig,

To dive for cockles and to dig for clams.’’

—From New England’s Prospects (1639), by William Wood, in which he celebrates the great protein factory of Massachusetts Bay.