For The Bark Dionyse, Which Was Lost, Had In Her Much Of Their
House, Which Was Prepared And Should Have Been Builded For Them,
With Many Other Implements.
Also the Thomas of Ipswich, which had
most of their provision in her, came not into the straits at all,
neither did we see her since the day we were separated in the great
snow (of which I spake before).
For these causes, having not their
house nor yet provision, they were disappointed of their pretence to
tarry, and therefore laded their ships and so came away with us.
But before we took shipping, we builded a little house in the
Countess of Warwick's Island, and garnished it with many kinds of
trifles, as pins, points, laces, glasses, combs, babes on horseback
and on foot, with innumerable other such fancies and toys, thereby
to allure and entice the people to some familiarity against other
years.
Thus having finished all things we departed the country (as I said
before); but because the Busse had not lading enough in her, she put
into Bear's Sound to take a little more. In the meanwhile, the
Admiral, and the rest without the sea, stayed for her. And that
night fell such an outrageous tempest, beating on our ships with
such vehement rigour that anchor and cable availed nought, for we
were driven on rocks and islands of ice, insomuch that had not the
great goodness of God been miraculously showed to us, we had been
cast away every man. This danger was more doubtful and terrible
than any that preceded or went before, for there was not any one
ship (I think) that escaped without damage. Some lost anchor, and
also gables, some boats, some pinnaces, some anchor, gables, boats,
and pinnaces.
This boisterous storm so severed us one from another, that one ship
knew not what was become of another. The Admiral knew not where to
find the Vice-Admiral or Rear-Admiral, or any other ship of our
company. Our general, being on land in Bear's Sound, could not come
to his ship, but was compelled to go aboard the Gabriel, where he
continued all the way homewards, for the boisterous blasts continued
so extremely, and so long a time, that it sent us homeward (which
was God's favour towards us), will we, nill we, in such haste, as
not any one of us were able to keep in company of other, but were
separated. And if by chance any one ship did overtake other by
swiftness of sail, or met (as they often did), yet was the rigour of
the wind so hideous, that they could not continue company together
the space of one whole night.
Thus our journey outward was not so pleasant, but our coming
thither, entering the coasts and country by narrow straits, perilous
ice, and swift tides, our times of abode there in snow and storms,
and our departure from thence, the 3rd of August, with dangerous
blustering winds and tempest's, which that night arose, was as
uncomfortable, separating us so, as we sailed, that not any of us
met together until the 28th of September, which day we fell on the
English coasts, between Scilly and the Land's End, and passed the
Channel, until our arrival in the river Thames.
THE REPORT OF THOMAS WIARS,
Passenger in the "Emmanuel," otherwise called the "Busse of
Bridgewater," wherein James Leeche was Master, one of the ships in
the last voyage of Master Martin Frobisher, 1578, concerning the
discovery of the great island in their way homeward, the 12th of
September.
The Busse of Bridgewater was left in Bear's Sound, at Meta
Incognita, the 2nd day of September, behind the fleet, in some
distress, through much wind riding near the lee shore, and forced
there to ride it out upon the hazard of her cables and anchors,
which were all aground but two. The 3rd of September being fair
weather, and the wind north-north-west, she set sail, and departed
thence and fell with Friesland, on he 8th day of September, at six
of the clock at night, and then they set off from the south-west
point of Friesland, the wind being at east and east-south-east; but
that night the wind veered southerly, and shifted oftentimes that
night. But on the 10th day, in the morning, the wind at west-north-
west, fair weather, they steered south-east and by south, and
continued that course until the 12th day of September, when about 11
o'clock before noon they descried a land, which was from them about
five leagues, and the southernmost part of it was south-east-by-east
from them, and the northernmost next north-north-east, or north-
east. The master accounted that Friesland, the south-east point of
it, was from him at that instant, when he first descried this new
island, north-west-by-north fifty leagues. They account this island
to be twenty-five leagues long, and the longest way of it south-east
and north-west. The southern part of it is in the latitude of
fifty-seven degrees and one second part, or thereabout. They
continued in sight of it from the twelfth day at eleven of the clock
till the thirteenth day three of the clock in the afternoon, when
they left it; and the last part they saw of it bare from them north-
west-by-north. There appeared two harbours upon that coast, the
greatest of them seven leagues to the northwards of the southernmost
point, the other but four leagues. There was very much ice near the
same land, and also twenty or thirty leagues from it, for they were
not clear of ice till the 15th day of September, afternoon. They
plied their voyage homeward, and fell with the west part of Ireland,
about Galway, and had first sight of it on the 25th day of
September.
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF MASTER JOHN DAVIS,
Undertaken in June, 1585, for the discovery of the North-West
Passage, written by John James Marchant, servant to the Worshipful
Master William Sanderson.
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