Whose Maketh Navigation To These Countries Hath Not Only Extreme
Winds And Furious Seas To Encounter Withal, But Also Many Monstrous
And Great Islands Of Ice:
A thing both rare, wonderful, and greatly
to be regarded.
We were forced sundry times, while the ship did ride here at anchor,
to have continual watch, with boats and men ready with hawsers, to
knit fast unto such ice which with the ebb and flood were tossed to
and fro in the harbour, and with force of oars to hail them away,
for endangering the ship.
Our general certain days searched this supposed continent with
America, and not finding the commodity to answer his expectations,
after he had made trial thereof, he departed thence, with two little
barques, and men sufficient, to the east shore, being he supposed
continent of Asia, and left the ship, with most of the gentlemen
soldiers and sailors, until such time as he either thought good to
send or come for them.
The stones on this supposed continent with America be altogether
sparkled and glister in the sun like gold; so likewise doth the sand
in the bright water, yet they verify the old proverb, "All is not
gold that glistereth."
On this west shore we found a dead fish floating, which had in his
nose a horn, straight and torquet, of length two yards lacking two
inches, being broken in the top, where we might perceive it hollow,
into which some of our sailors putting spiders they presently died.
I saw not the trial hereof, but it was reported unto me of a truth,
by the virtue whereof we supposed it to be the sea unicorn.
After our general had found out good harbour for the ship and
barques to anchor in, and also such store of gold ore as he thought
himself satisfied withal, he returned to the Michael, whereof Master
Yorke aforesaid was captain, accompanied with our master and his
mate, who coasting along the west shore, not far from whence the
ship rode, they perceived a fair harbour, and willing to sound the
same, at the entrance thereof they espied two tents of seal skins,
unto which the captain, our said master, and other company resorted.
At the sight of our men the people fled into the mountains;
nevertheless, they went to their tents, where, leaving certain
trifles of ours as glasses, bells, knives, and such like things,
they departed, not taking anything of theirs except one dog. They
did in like manner leave behind them a letter, pen, ink, and paper,
whereby our men whom the captain lost the year before, and in that
people's custody, might (if any of them were alive) be advertised of
our presence and being there.
On the same day, after consultation, all the gentlemen, and others
likewise that could be spared from the ship, under the conduct and
leading of Master Philpot (unto whom, in our general's absence, and
his lieutenant, Master Beast, all the rest were obedient), went
ashore, determining to see if by fair means we could either allure
them to familiarity, or otherwise take some of them, and so attain
to some knowledge of those men whom our general lost the year
before.
At our coming back again to the place where their tents were before,
they had removed their tents farther into the said bay or sound,
where they might, if they were driven from the land, flee with their
boats into the sea. We, parting ourselves into two companies, and
compassing a mountain, came suddenly upon them by land, who, espying
us, without any tarrying fled to their boats, leaving the most part
of their oars behind them for haste, and rowed down the bay, where
our two pinnaces met them and drove them to shore. But if they had
had all their oars, so swift are they in rowing, it had been lost
time to have chased them.
When they were landed they fiercely assaulted our men with their
bows and arrows, who wounded three of them with our arrows, and
perceiving themselves thus hurt they desperately leaped off the
rocks into the sea and drowned themselves; which if they had not
done but had submitted themselves, or if by any means we could have
taken alive (being their enemies as they judged), we would both have
saved them, and also have sought remedy to cure their wounds
received at our hands. But they, altogether void of humanity, and
ignorant what mercy meaneth, in extremities look for no other than
death, and perceiving that they should fall into our hands, thus
miserably by drowning rather desired death than otherwise to be
saved by us. The rest, perceiving their fellows in this distress,
fled into the high mountains. Two women, not being so apt to escape
as the men were, the one for her age, and the other being encumbered
with a young child, we took. The old wretch, whom divers of our
sailors supposed to be either a devil or a witch, had her buskins
plucked off to see if she were cloven-footed, and for her ugly hue
and deformity we let her go; the young woman and the child we
brought away. We named the place where they were slain Bloody
Point, and the bay or harbour Yorke's Sound, after the name of one
of the captains of the two barques.
Having this knowledge both of their fierceness and cruelty, and
perceiving that fair means as yet is not able to allure them to
familiarity, we disposed ourselves, contrary to our inclination,
something to be cruel, returned to their tents, and made a spoil of
the same, where we found an old shirt, a doublet, a girdle, and also
shoes of our men, whom we lost the year before; on nothing else unto
them belonging could we set our eyes.
Their riches are not gold, silver, or precious drapery, but their
said tents and boats made of the skins of red deer and seal skins,
also dogs like unto wolves, but for the most part black, with other
trifles, more to be wondered at for their strangeness than for any
other commodity needful for our use.
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