The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part IHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part I
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
[Sidenote: The land of Desolation.] The 20. as we sayled along the coast
the fogge broke, and we discouered the land, which was the most deformed
rockie and mountainous land that euer we saw: The first sight whereof did
shew as if it had bene in forme of a sugar-loafe, standing to our sight
aboue the cloudes, for that it did shew ouer the fogge like a white liste
in the skie, the tops altogether covered with snow, and the shoare beset
with yce a league off into the Sea, making such yrkesome noyse as that it
seemed to be the true patterne of desolation, and after the same our
Captaine named it, The land of Desolation.
The 21. the winde came Northerly and ouerblew, so that we were constrained
to bend our course South againe, for we perceiued that we were runne into a
very deepe Bay, where wee were almost compassed with yce, for we saw very
much toward the Northnortheast, West, and Southwest: and this day and this
night wee cleared our selues of the yce, running Southsouthwest along the
shoare.
Vpon Thursday being the 22. of this moneth, about three of the clocke in
the morning, wee hoysed out our boate, and the Captaine with sixe sayles
went towards the shore, thinking to find a landing place, for the night
before we did perceiue the coast to be voyde of yce to our iudgement, and
the same night wee were all perswaded that we had seene a Canoa rowing
along the shoare, but afterwards we fell in some doubt of it, but we had no
great reason so to doe. The Captaine rowing towards the shoare, willed the
Master to beare in with the land after him, and before he came neere the
shoare by the space of a league, or about two miles, hee found so much yce,
that hee could not get to land by any meanes. Here our mariners put to
their lines to see if they could get any fish, because there were so many
seales vpon the coast, and the birds did beate vpon the water, but all was
in vaine: [Sidenote: Very blacke water.] The water about this place was
very blacke and thicke like to a filthy standing poole, we sounded and had
ground in 120. fathoms. [Sidenote: Floting wood.] While the Captaine was
rowing to the shoare, our men sawe woods vpon the rocks like to the rocks
of Newfoundland, but I could not discerne them, yet it might be so very
well, for we had wood floting vpon the coast euery day, and the Moone-shine
tooke vp a tree at Sea not farre from the coast being sixtie foote of
length and fourteene handfuls about, hauing the roote vpon it: After this
the Captaine came aboord, the weather being very calme and faire we bent
our course toward the South, with intent to double the land.
The 23. we coasted the land which did lie Eastnortheast and Westsouthwest.
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