The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 06: Madiera, the Canaries, Ancient Asia, Africa, etc.Hakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 06: Madiera, the Canaries, Ancient Asia, Africa, etc.
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 snow, no viewe of wood, grass or earth to be
seene, and the shore two leagues off into the sea so full of yce 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
conceites 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 therof 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 Isles bordering
vpon the shore, but the mountaines of the maine were still couered with
great quantities of snow, I brought my ship among those Isles and there
mored to refresh ourselues in our weary trauell, in the latitude of sixtie
foure degrees or there about. The people of the countrey hauing espyed 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 kindenes in giuing them nayles and kniues which of all
things they most desired, we departed, and finding the sea free from yce
supposing our selues 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 entered into the same thirty or
fortie leagues, finding it neither to wyden nor streighten, then
considering that the yeere was spent (for this was in the fine 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 29. of
September we arriued at Dartmouth. And acquainting master Secretary with
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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