One Of His Fellows Still
Following Our Ship Close Aboard, Talked With Him, And Made A Kind Of
Lamentation, We Still Using Him Well, With "Yliaout," Which Was The
Common Course Of Courtesy.
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.
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