The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3Whymper, Frederick
History
The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3
Whymper, Frederick
Adventure and adventurers; Arctic regions; Ocean; Voyages around the world
The boats having been repaired, they were delayed some days by the ice,
which shut them in. On June 20th Adrianson “began to be extreme sick,” and
the boatswain came to inform the others that he could not live long;
“whereupon,” says De Veer, “William Barents spake and said, I think I
shall not liue long after him; and yet we did not ivdge William Barents to
be so sicke, for we sat talking one with the other, and spake of many
things, and William Barents looked at my little chart which I had made of
our voyage (and we had some discussion about it). At last he laid away the
chart and spake vnto me, saying, Gerrit, give me some drinke; and he had
so sooner drunke but he was taken with so sodaine a qualme that he turned
his eies in his head and died presently, and we had no time to call the
maister out of the other scute to speak vnto him; and so he died before
Claes Adrianson (who died shortly after him). The death of William Barents
put us in no small discomfort, as being the chiefe guide and only pilot on
whom we reposed our selues next under God; but we could not striue against
God, and therefore we must of force be content.” Other passages indicate
that Barents had inspired great affection in the hearts of his companions,
and that his loss was felt with much poignancy.
[Illustration: UNLOADING, DRAGGING, AND CARRYING BOATS AND GOODS.]
The following passage is only one of many indicating the laborious nature
of their undertaking:—“The 22 of June in the morning it blew a good gale
out of the south-east, and then the sea was reasonably open, but we were
forced to draw our scutes ouer the ice to get vnto it, which was great
paine and labour unto vs; for first we were forced to draw our scutes over
a peece of ice of 50 paces long, and then put them into the water, and
then againe to draw them vp vpon other ice, and after draw them at the
least 300 paces more ouer the ice, before we could bring them to a good
place, where we might easily get out.” On the 25th and 26th of June a
tempest raged, and they were driven to sea, being unable, as they had
sometimes done before, to tie the boats to fast or grounded ice. They were
nearly swamped at this time by the great seas which constantly broke over
their open boats, and for some little time were separated in a fog, but by
firing muskets at length found out each other’s position and joined
company. One of the boats got into a dangerous place between fixed and
driving ice, and the men had to unload it, and take it and the goods
bodily across the masses to more open water. On June 28th, the narrative
continues, “We laid all our goods vpon the ice, and then drew the scutes
vpon the ice also, because we were so hard prest on all sides with the
ice, and the wind came out of the sea vpon the land, and therefore we were
in feare to be wholly inclosed with the ice, and should not be able to get
out thereof againe. And being vpon the ice, we laid sailes ouer our
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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