The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)Veer, Gerrit de
History
The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)
Veer, Gerrit de
Barentsz, Willem, approximately 1550-1597; Northeast Passage
The 15 of September in the morning, as one of our men held watch, wee
saw three beares, whereof the one lay still behind a piece of ice [and]
the other two came close to the ship, which we perceiuing, made our
peeces ready to shoote at them; at which time there stod a tob full of
beefe [740] vpon the ice, which lay in the water to be seasoned, [741]
for that close by the ship there was no water; one of the beares went
vnto it, and put in his head [into the tub] to take out a peece of the
beefe, but she fared therewith as the dog did with ye pudding; [742]
for as she was snatching at the beefe, she was shot into the head,
wherewith she fell downe dead and neuer stir’d. [There we saw a curious
sight]: the other beare stood still, and lokt vpon her fellow [as if
wondering why she remained so motionless]; and when she had stood a
good while she smelt her fellow, and perceiuing that she [lay still
and] was dead, she ran away, but we tooke halberts and other armes with
vs and followed her. [743] And at last she came againe towardes us, and
we prepared our selues to withstand her, wherewith she rose vp vpon her
hinder feet, thinking to rampe at vs; but while she reared herselfe vp,
one of our men shot her into the belly, and with that she fell vpon her
fore-feet again, and roaring as loud as she could, ran away. Then we
tooke the dead beare, and ript her belly open; and taking out her guts
we set her vpon her fore-feet, so that she might freeze as she stood,
intending to carry her wt vs into Holland if we might get our ship
loose: and when we had set ye beare vpon her foure feet, we began to
make a slead, thereon to drawe the wood to the place where we ment
[744] to build our house. At that time it froze two fingers thicke in
the salt water [of the sea], and it was exceeding cold, the wind
blowing north-east.
The 16 of September the sunne shone, but towardes the euening it was
misty, the wind being easterly; at which time we went [for the first
time] to fetch wood with our sleads, and then we drew foure beames
aboue [745] a mile [4 miles] vpon the ice and the snow. That night
againe it frose aboue two fingers thicke.
The 17 of September thirteene of vs went where the wood lay with our
sleads, and so drew fiue and fiue in a slead, and the other three
helped to lift the wood behind, to make vs draw the better and with
more ease; [746] and in that manner we drew wood twice a day, and laid
it on a heape by the place where we ment to build our house.
The 18 of September the wind blew west, but it snowed hard, and we went
on land againe to continue our labour to draw wood to our place
appointed, and after dinner the sun shone and it was calme wether.
The 19 of September it was calme sunshine wether, and we drew two
sleads full of wood sixe thousand paces long, [747] and that we did
twice a day.
[The 20 of September we again made two journeys with the sledges, and
it was misty and still weather.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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