Ocean's Story; or, Triumphs of Thirty Centuries: Maritime Adventures, Achievements, Explorations, Discoveries and Inventions; and of the Rise and Progress of Ship-Building and Ocean Navigation, from the Ark to the Iron SteamshipsGoodrich, Frank B. (Frank Boott)
History
Ocean's Story; or, Triumphs of Thirty Centuries: Maritime Adventures, Achievements, Explorations, Discoveries and Inventions; and of the Rise and Progress of Ship-Building and Ocean Navigation, from the Ark to the Iron Steamships
Goodrich, Frank B. (Frank Boott)
Discoveries in geography; Voyages and travels
Confidentia; but it is not known where she was lost, or what was the
fate of the crew. The will of which we have spoken, and a fragmentary
diary attributed to Sir Hugh, were found by the Russians, and were
restored to the kinsmen of the adventurers in England.
The Edward Buonaventura, commanded by Chancellor, and which was
separated from her consorts off Wardhus, reached Archangel, on
the White Sea, in Russia, in safety, and laid the foundation of a
commercial intercourse between Russia and England. On his return, his
ship was lost on the coast of Scotland, and he himself, with several of
his crew, drowned. Thus, of the three ships despatched, not one ever
reached home; and of the officers, merchants, and men, none survived to
revisit their country, except a few of the common seamen of the Edward
Buonaventura. The advantages acquired at such a cost of human life were
limited to the barren discovery of the ice-clad coast of Nova Zembla.
Nothing had been effected towards the accomplishment of a Northeast
Passage.
Martin Frobisher, a seaman of experience and enterprise, was the
first Englishman to cherish the project of attempting to penetrate
to Asia by the channel supposed to exist to the north of America.
He communicated his design to his friends, and spent fifteen years
in fruitless efforts to enlist capital and energy in the cause.
Sailors, financiers, merchants, statesmen,--all regarded the scheme as
visionary and hopeless. At last Lord Dudley, the favorite of Elizabeth,
interested himself in Frobisher's success, and from that moment he
experienced little difficulty in accomplishing his object. He formed
a company, amassed the requisite sums of money, and purchased three
small vessels,--two barks of twenty-five tons each, the Gabriel and
the Michael, and a pinnace of ten tons. This valiant little fleet
weighed anchor at Deptford on the 8th of June, 1576, and, passing the
court assembled at Greenwich, discharged their ordnance, and made as
imposing an appearance as their limited outfit would allow. Queen
Elizabeth waved her hand at the commander from a window, and, bidding
him farewell, wished him success and a happy return. On the 25th he
passed the southern point of Shetland,--known as Swinborn Head. He
anchored here to repair a leak and to take in fresh water. On the 10th
of July, he descried the coast of Greenland, "rising like pinnacles
of steeples, and all covered with snow." The crew made efforts to go
ashore, but could find no anchorage for the vessels, or landing-place
for the boats. On the 28th, Frobisher saw dimly, through the fog, what
he supposed to be the coast of Labrador, enveloped in ice. On the 31st
he saw land for the third time, and on the 11th of August entered a
strait to which he gave his name.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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