Game: European Colonists

At the beginning of the colonial era, North America teemed with game and wildfowl. However, early English colonists were ill prepared to take advantage of this abundance, and many survived only because Native Americans supplied food and taught them how to hunt. After the first few years, colonists became proficient at trapping and hunting, and game became an extremely important food source for early Americans. The main advantage of wild game and fowl was that, unlike domesticated animals, they cost nothing to maintain. In addition, many birds and wild animals were crop pests, and killing them increased farm yields.