At Length This Fellow Aboard Us Spoke
Four Or Five Words Unto The Other And Clapped His Two Hands Upon His
Face, Whereupon The Other Doing The Like, Departed, As We Supposed,
With Heavy Cheer.
We judged the covering of his face with his
hands, and bowing of his body down, signified his death.
At length
he became a pleasant companion among us. I gave him a new suit of
frieze after the English fashion, because I saw he could not endure
the cold, of which he was very joyful; he trimmed up his darts, and
all his fishing tools, and would make oakum, and set his hand to a
rope's end upon occasion. He lived with the dry caplin that I took
when I was searching in the pinnace, and did eat dry new land fish.
All this while, God be thanked, our people were in very good health,
only one young man excepted, who died at sea the 14th of this month,
and the 15th, according to the order of the sea, with praise given
to God by service, was cast overboard.
The 17th of this month, being in the latitude of 63 degrees 8
minutes, we fell upon a most mighty and strange quantity of ice, in
one entire mass, so big as that we knew not the limits thereof, and
being withal so very high, in form of a land, with bays and capes,
and like high cliff land as that we supposed it to be land, and
therefore sent our pinnace off to discover it; but at her return we
were certainly informed that it was only ice, which bred great
admiration to us all, considering the huge quantity thereof
incredible to be reported in truth as it was, and therefore I omit
to speak any further thereof. This only, I think that the like
before was never seen, and in this place we had very stickle and
strong currents.
We coasted this mighty mass of ice until the 30th of July, finding
it a mighty bar to our purpose: the air in this time was so
contagious, and the sea so pestered with ice, as that all hope was
banished of proceeding; for the 24th of July all our shrouds, ropes,
and sails were so frozen, and encompassed with ice, only by a gross
fog, as seemed to be more than strange, since the last year I found
this sea free and navigable, without impediments.
Our men through this extremity began to grow sick and feeble, and
withal hopeless of good success; whereupon, very orderly, with good
discretion they entreated me to regard the state of this business,
and withal advised me that in conscience I ought to regard the
safety of mine own life with the preservation of theirs, and that I
should not, through my overboldness, leave their widows and
fatherless children to give me bitter curses. This matter in
conscience did greatly move me to regard their estates, yet
considering the excellency of the business, if it might be obtained,
the great hope of certainty by the last year's discovery, and that
there was yet a third way not put in practice, I thought it would
grow to my disgrace if this action by my negligence should grow into
discredit: whereupon seeking help from God, the fountain of all
mercies, it pleased His Divine Majesty to move my heart to prosecute
that which I hope shall be to His glory, and to the contentation of
every Christian mind. Whereupon, falling into consideration that
the Mermaid, albeit a very strong and sufficient ship, yet by reason
of her burden not so convenient and nimble as a smaller barque,
especially in such desperate hazards; further, having in account how
great charge to the adventurers, being at 100 livres the month, and
that in doubtful service, all the premises considered, with divers
other things, I determined to furnish the Moonlight with
revictualing and sufficient men, and to proceed in this action as
God should direct me; whereupon I altered our course from the ice,
and bore east-south-east to the cover of the next shore, where this
thing might be performed; so with favourable wind it pleased God
that the 1st of August we discovered the land in latitude 66 degrees
33 minutes, and in longitude from the meridian of London 70 degrees,
void of trouble, without snow or ice.
The 2nd of August we harboured ourselves in a very excellent good
road, where with all speed we graved the Moonlight, and revictualled
her; we searched this country with our pinnace while the barque was
trimming, which William Eston did: he found all this land to be
only islands, with a sea on the east, a sea on the west, and a sea
on the north. In this place we found it very hot, and we were very
much troubled with a fly which is called mosquito, for they did
sting grievously. The people of this place at our first coming in
caught a seal, and, with bladders fast tied to him sent him in to us
with the flood, so as he came right with our ships, which we took as
a friendly present from them.
The 5th of August I went with the two masters and others to the top
of a hill, and by the way William Eston espied three canoes lying
under a rock, and went unto them: there were in them skins, darts,
with divers superstitious toys, whereof we diminished no thing, but
left upon every boat a silk point, a bullet of lead, and a pin. The
next day, being the 6th of August, the people came unto us without
fear, and did barter with us for skins, as the other people did:
they differ not from the other, neither in their canoes nor apparel,
yet is their pronunciation more plain than the others, and nothing
hollow in the throat. Our miscreant aboard of us kept himself
close, and made show that he would fain have another companion.
Thus being provided, I departed from this land the 12th of August at
six of the clock in the morning, where I left the Mermaid at anchor;
the 14th sailing west about 50 leagues we discovered land, being in
latitude 66 degrees 19 minutes:
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