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.
Certain honourable personages and worthy gentlemen of the Court and
country, with divers worshipful merchants of London and of the West
Countrie, moved with desire to advance God's glory, and to seek the
good of their native country, consulting together of the likelihood
of the discovery of the North-West Passage, which heretofore had
been attempted, but unhappily given over by accidents unlooked for,
which turned the enterprisers from their principal purpose,
resolved, after good deliberation, to put down their adventures, to
provide for necessary shipping, and a fit man to be chief conductor
of this so hard an enterprise.
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