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 1. voyage.] In my first voyage not experienced of the nature
of those climates, and hauing no direction either by Chart, Globe, or other
certaine relation in what altitude that passage was to be searched, I
shaped a Northerly course and so sought the same toward the South, and in
that my Northerly course I fell vpon the shore which in ancient time was
called Groenland, fiue hundred leagues distant from the Durseys
Westnorthwest Northerly, the land being very high and full of mightie
mountaines all couered with snowe, no viewe of wood, grasse or earth to be
seene, and the shore two leagues off into the sea so full of yce as that no
shipping could by any meanes come neere the same. The lothsome view of the
shore, and irksome noyse of the yce was such, as that it bred strange
conceits among vs, so that we supposed the place to be wast and voyd of any
sensible or vegitable creatures, whereupon I called the same Desolation: so
coasting this shore towards the South in the latitude of sixtie degrees, I
found it to trend towards the West, I still followed the leading thereof in
the same height, and after fifty or sixtie leagues it fayled and lay
directly North, which I still followed, and in thirtie leagues sayling vpon
the West side of this coast by me named desolation, we were past al the yce
and found many greene and pleasant Iles bordering vpon the shore, but the
maine were still couered with great quantities of snow, I brought my ship
among those Isles and there moored to refresh our selues in our weary
trauell, in the latitude of sixtie foure degrees or thereabout. The people
of the countrey hauing espied our shippes came downe vnto vs in their
Canoas, and holding vp their right hand to the Sunne and crying Yliaout,
would strike their breasts: we doing the like the people came aboard our
shippes, men of good stature, vnbearded, small eyed and of tractable
conditions, by whome as signes would permit, we vnderstood that towards the
North and West, there was a great sea, and vsing the people with kindeness
in giuing them nayles and kniues which of all things they most desired, we
departed, and finding the sea free from yce supposing our selves to be past
al daunger we shaped our course Westnorthwest thinking thereby to passe for
China, but in the latitude of sixtie sixe degrees we fell with another
shore, and there found another passage of twenty leagues broad directly
West into the same, which we supposed to be our hoped straight, we entred
into the same thirtie or fortie leagues, finding it neither to wyden nor
streighten, then considering that the yeere was spent (for this was the
fiue of August) not knowing the length of the straight and dangers thereof,
we tooke it our best course to returne with notice of our good successe for
this small time of search. And so returning in a sharpe fret of Westerly
windes the 19 of September we arriued at Dartmouth. [Sidenote: The 2.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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