Sunday (12) our men cut wood on shoare, and brought it aboord, and wee
balasted our shippe with stones.
This morning Gabriel saw a smoke on the way, who rowed vnto it with his
skiffe, which smoke was two leagues from the place where we road: and at a
Northwest sunne he came aboord again, and brought with him a Samoed,
[Footnote: This was the first meeting between West Europeans and Samoyeds.]
which was but a young man: his apparell was then strange vnto vs, and he
presented me with three young wild geese, and one young barnacle [Footnote:
_Anser bernicla_, L.].
Munday (13) I sent a man to the maine in Gabriels boat and he brought vs
aboord 8 barricoes of fresh water: the latitude of the said Morgiouets is
sixtie eight degrees and a terce. It floweth there at a Southsouthwest
moone full sea, and hyeth two fadome and a halfe water.
At a Westnorthwest sunne we departed from this place, (14) and went East 25
leagues, and then saw an Island by North and by West of vs eight leagues,
which Island is called Dolgoieue: [Footnote: Dolgoi Island.] and from the
Eastermost part of this Island, there lyeth a sand East and by South 7
leagues long.
Wednesday (15) at a North and by East sunne Swetinoz [Footnote: Swjatoi
Nus.] was South of vs 5 leagues. This day at aftemoone we went in ouer the
dangerous barre of Pechora, and had vpon the barre but one fadome water
[Footnote: The capes at the Mouth of the Petchora, Cape Ruski Savorot, and
Cape Medinski Savorot are very nearly in lat. 69 deg.].
Thursday (16) we road still.
Friday (17) I went on shoare and obserued the variation of the Compasse,
which was three degrees and a halfe from the North to the West: the
latitude this day was, sixtie nine degrees ten minutes.
From two or three leagues to the Eastward of Swetinoz, vntill the entering
of the riuer Pechora, it is all sandie hilles, and towards Pechora the
sandie hilles are very low.
It higheth on the barre of Pechora foure foote water, and it floweth there
at a Southwest moone a full sea.
Munday (20) at a North and by East sunne, we weyed, and came out ouer the
sayd dangerous barre, where we had but fiue foote water, insomuch that wee
found a foote lesse water comming out then wee did going in. I thinke the
reason was, because when we went in the winde was off the sea, which caused
the sands to breake on either side of vs, and we kept in the smoothest
betweene the breaches, which we durst not haue done, except we had seene
the Russes to haue gone in before vs: and at our comming out the winde was
off the shoare, and fayre weather, and then the sands did not appeare with
breaches as at our going in: we thanke God that our ship did draw so little
water.
When we were a seaboord the barre the wind scanted vpon vs, and was at
Eastsoutheast, insomuch that we stopped the ebbes, and plyed all the floods
to the windewards, and made our way Eastnortheast.
Tuesday (21) at a Northwest sunne we thought that we had seen land at East,
or East and by North of vs: which afterwards prooued to be a monstrous
heape of ice.
Within a little more than halfe an houre after we first saw this ice, we
were inclosed within it before we were aware of it, which was a fearefull
sight to see: for, for the space of sixe houres, it was as much as we could
doe to keepe our shippe aloofe from one heape of ice, and beare roomer from
another, with as much wind as we might beare a coarse. And when we had past
from the danger of this ice, we lay to the Eastwards close by the wind.
The next day (22) we were againe troubled with the ice.
Thursday (23) being calme, we plyed to the windwards, the winde being
Northerly. We had the latitude this day at noone in 70 degrees 11 minutes.
We had not runne past two houres Northwest, the wind being at
Northnortheast and Northeast and by North a good gale, but we met againe
with another heape of ice: we wethered the head of it, and lay a time to
the seawards, and made way West 6 leagues.
Friday (24) at a Southeast sunne we cast about to the Eastwards, the wind
being at Northnortheast: the latitude this day at noone was 70 degrees 15
minutes.
On S. Iames his day (25) bolting to the windewardes, we had the latitude at
noone in seuenty degrees twentie minutes. The same day at a Southwest
sunne, there was a monstrous Whale aboord of us, so neere to our side that
we might haue thrust a sworde or any other weapon in him, which we durst
not doe for feare hee should haue ouerthrowen our shippe: and then I called
my company together, and all of vs shouted, and with the crie that we made
he departed from vs: there was as much aboue water of his backe as the
bredth of our pinnesse, and at his falling downe, he made such a terrible
noyse in the water that a man would greatly haue maruelled, except hee had
knowen the cause of it: but God be thanked, we were quietly deliuered of
him. [Footnote: Of the various species of Whales, the Narwhal occurs very
rarely off Novaya Zemlya. It is more common at Hope Island, and Witsen
states that large herds have been seen between Spitzbergen and Novaya
Zemlya. The White Whale (_Delphinapterus leucas_, Pallas), on the other
hand, occurs in large shoals on the coasts of Spitzbergen and Novaya
Zemlya.
