The Wind Being Contrary To Go
To The North-Westward, We Bear In With This Land To Take Some View
Of it, being utterly void of the pester of ice, and very temperate.
Coming near the coast we found many
Fair sounds and good roads for
shipping, and many great inlets into the land, whereby we judged
this land to be a great number of islands standing together. Here,
having moored our barque in good order, we went on shore upon a
small island to seek for water and wood. Upon this island we did
perceive that there had been people, for we found a small shoe and
pieces of leather sewed with sinews and a piece of fur, and wool
like to beaver. Then we went upon another island on the other side
of our ships, and the captain, the master, and I, being got up to
the top of a high rock, the people of the country having espied us
made a lamentable noise, as we thought, with great outcries and
screechings; we, hearing them, thought it had been the howling of
wolves. At last I halloed again, and they likewise cried; then we,
perceiving where they stood - some on the shore, and one rowing in a
canoe about a small island fast by them - we made a great noise,
partly to allure them to us and partly to warn our company of them.
Whereupon Master Bruton and the master of his ship, with others of
their company, made great haste towards us, and brought our
musicians with them from our ship, purposing either by force to
rescue us, if needs should so require, or with courtesy to allure
the people. When they came unto us we caused our musicians to play,
ourselves dancing and making many signs of friendship. At length
there came ten canoes from the other islands, and two of them came
so near the shore where we were that they talked with us, the other
being in their boats a pretty way off. Their pronunciation was very
hollow through the throat, and their speech such as we could not
understand, only we allured them by friendly embracings and signs of
courtesy. At length one of them, pointing up to the sun with his
hand, would presently strike his breast so hard that we might hear
the blow. This he did many times before he would any way trust us.
Then John Ellis, the master of the Moonshine, was appointed to use
his best policy to gain their friendship, who shook his breast and
pointed to the sun after their order, which when he had divers times
done they began to trust him, and one of them came on shore, to whom
we threw our caps, stockings, and gloves, and such other things as
then we had about us, playing with our music, and making signs of
joy, and dancing. So the night coming we bade them farewell, and
went aboard our barques.
The next morning, being the 30th of July, there came thirty-seven
canoes rowing by our ships calling to us to come on shore; we not
making any great haste unto them, one of them went up to the top of
the rock, and leaped and danced as they had done the day before,
showing us a seal skin, and another thing made like a timbrel, which
he did beat upon with a stick, making a noise like a small drum.
Whereupon we manned our boats and came to them, they all staying in
their canoes.
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